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Veterans Day on the Dolores Triangle

IntrepidXJ

IntrepidXJ

Registered User
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Since I had today off for Veterans Day, I met up with Greg and we headed out to do some exploring on the Dolores Triangle. We experienced a little of everything today. We started out in the dusty desert and crossed the Dolores River twice. Then I had a bit of a setback when my lower radiator hose ruptured and I had to repair it on the trail. We followed some easy two-tracks with plenty of speed, and slowed down over plenty of bumpy rocky trail. There were even some ledges we needed to crawl over. We got lost a few times and got stopped by some dead ends. Towards the end of the day we even got to play in some snow. It was a great day :)

We started out by heading through the Colorado National Monument and Glade Park on our way to Utah. We stopped on the state line and aired down our tires.
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We took a short side trail to play in some sand.
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Intersection that leads to Granite Creek and the Dolores River ford...we headed towards Granite Creek
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IntrepidXJ

IntrepidXJ

Registered User
Location
Grand Junction, CO
This area reminded me of the Dome Plateau trail
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Next we headed down to Utah Bottoms to see about a ford of the Dolores that was listed on one of Greg's maps. Here's a view of the ford as we headed down to explore it some more.
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According to our map, on the other side of this crossing was the end of the Entrada Bluffs Road. What we actually found on the other side was a 'No Trespassing' sign and roads that were gated closed and private....so we had to cross the Dolores again and head back.

Greg heading through the tamarisk to cross.
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On the other side...greeted with a dead end
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Me crossing back over
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IntrepidXJ

IntrepidXJ

Registered User
Location
Grand Junction, CO
After exploring Utah Bottom some more, we headed back up and over to Granite Creek
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Granite Creek crossing (kinda small compared to the Dolores ;) )
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Easy two-track on our way towards Steamboat Mesa
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Back in Colorado
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Shortly after entering Colorado again, is when my lower radiator hose blew up. Thankfully I had a spare and enough coolant and water to get my Jeep running again so we could continue on. After replacing the hose and cleaning up the mess we were on our way again, through a network of rarely travelled roads.

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IntrepidXJ

IntrepidXJ

Registered User
Location
Grand Junction, CO
After some wrong turns and dead ends, we managed to find our way back to a road that would get us home. We even had plenty of snow to play in.
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We eventually made it back to Glade Park where we split up to head home. I even made it home before sunset ;)

Even with my little setback, I had a great day off from work. There are plenty of trails I need to get back and check out on the Dolores Triangle :)
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
That was a great trip Randy, I'm already looking forward to the next one! I really enjoy getting out to explore the Dolores Triangle. I loved how much the day varied, from the nice temperatures to the changing road, elevation & scenery. I wish we could continue on past that river ford to Entrada Ranch road!

From what I saw on my GPS, we maxed out at 9,400 ft. It always a good time getting lost up there... :D Not bad for a days worth of fun! Thanks for the pics.
 
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