Today's plan was to head west out of Delta and to explore Escalante Canyon and the Uncompahgre Plateau. I would use 2 trails and half of the third one which would leave me in the town of Montrose, ready for the drive up to Glendale Springs where I would stay tonight. Problem was that as I started getting the Trailblazer ready at the hotel, a heavy rainstorm moved through, causing me a half hour delay while I waited it out. Even worse, there were storm clouds all over the horizon in all directions so I wasn't even sure I would head out today. But as the weather cleared I decided to at least head out to the first trail and see how it went. These shots are from the the Escalante Rim Trail which starts on the plateau west of Delta and then drops into the Canyon. The storms were all moving from west to east with lots of wind and lightning. I waited it out a bit and finally could see clear skies up ahead to the west.
Just before the shelf road that takes you down into the canyon, there is a great overlook. The shelf road is stable with not too many loose rocks. There are a couple of switch-back areas but I had enough room to not have to reverse.
At the end of the trail, it passes through Escalante Creek which has a warning for sudden water level changes and flash floods. I was worried that the rains would make it impassable but luckily it was at a normal level. Because of the constant threat of rain, I decided to take the easier of the trails south.
Escalante Canyon Road runs parallel to the harder Dry Mesa Jeep Road which has a very steep section as it goes up (or down) the Escalante Canyon wall. Escalante Canyon Road on the other hand runs mostly through the bottom of the canyon and climbs out of it later with less severity.
There is plenty of interesting geology along the trail.
More bighorn sheep, except these were in a pasture.
An interesting stop is Captain Smith's Cabin which is between the road and the canyon wall.
An interesting stop is Captain Smith's Cabin which is between the road and the canyon wall.
I could see lightning in the distance and hear the thunder so I could not hang around too long. The potholes are areas of Escalante Creek up to 11 feet deep where there is dangerous swirling water currents. The geology in the area allows the erosion of the softer rock to create these holes. Lots of signs warning of the dangers of swimming in the area, although it would be a nice area to take your time and climb down to.
The threat of rain kept increasing as I headed south. I stopped at a very nice set of campsites that are above the potholes as they call them.
Unfortunately some careless visitors left the campsite littered with cans and a piece of wood glowing red due to the wind picking up. I decided to do my good deed for the day and doused the log with water and picked up the cans to take out of there. The campsites are great by the way.
Further down the trail is when the rain actually started. First just a sprinkle but then it started to come down heavy enough that I had to close my windows. At first I continued as the road is gravel and posed no problem for the Mickey Thompson's. During breaks in the rain there were some great photo ops in the canyon.
However, soon after this creek crossing (which seemed to be getting deeper by the minute) the road enters Uncompahgre - Gunnison National Forest and turns into a dirt road and not gravel. Problem was that with the rain it was no longer dirt, but about an inch of sticky mud. At first I slogged through it but as I got to steeper parts, the Trailblazer started to slip and slide. You see, the deep tread of the Mickey Thompson's started to fill up with mud and thats when things can get tricky. A blast of the throttle will clear them out but this has to be done quite often. So I had to make the decision to turn back as all I could see was rain in front of me and according to my guide book, I was coming up to the part of the trail that climbs up the canyon wall to the plateau. Even though it is not supposed to be that steep, I decided to play it safe as I was alone and the day was growing short.
This is what the Trailblazer looked like after only 15 or so minutes in the muddy part of the trail.
The drive back north was uneventful and I made it back to Delta. First thing I did was to locate a coin-op car wash and clean that mud off. Let me tell you it was the stickiest mud I have ever seen, sometimes I had to hold the high pressure jet an inch or two away from the clump just to blast it off the body. Now, I don't have any pictures from the Delta to Glenwood Springs drive because as soon as I got out of Delta and into the Elk Mountain Range, I hit a constant, unrelenting downpour. If you haven't driven over a high mountain pass through a lightning storm, I wouldn't suggest you do. Some of the lightning hits were so close and bright that I had to to shut my eyes for a split second, during which I could hear the thunder, so I new it was close.
The drive back north was uneventful and I made it back to Delta. First thing I did was to locate a coin-op car wash and clean that mud off. Let me tell you it was the stickiest mud I have ever seen, sometimes I had to hold the high pressure jet an inch or two away from the clump just to blast it off the body. Now, I don't have any pictures from the Delta to Glenwood Springs drive because as soon as I got out of Delta and into the Elk Mountain Range, I hit a constant, unrelenting downpour. If you haven't driven over a high mountain pass through a lightning storm, I wouldn't suggest you do. Some of the lightning hits were so close and bright that I had to to shut my eyes for a split second, during which I could hear the thunder, so I new it was close.
On top of that I had to watch out for and avoid at least 4 or 5 rock/mud slides that made their way onto the road. And to top it all off, people insisted on driving 50 or 60 mph in areas clearly marked 35 and 40 for a reason. I had to pull over 3 or 4 times just to get them off my tail. The good news is I made it to Glenwood Springs and checked into a nice hotel. The Trailblazer sure looked clean in the parking lot. Well, tomorrow is a sad day as I start on my 3 day trip back to Toronto. Overall it was an absolute great experience in Colorado. I achieved my goal of seeing and driving through 3 distinct parts of the state. My vehicle and modifications passed with flying colours. I can't wait to start planning my next expedition. First things first, I will report in from the trip back.
Map References - Day 8 - Sep 16
View Sep 16 track in larger window.
September 16 track:
Escalante Canyon:
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