Thunder Trails, and East Naturita Winter Trailhead, Colorado

 Although I've been loving all of the new places for me to explore in the desert, I have also had a hankering to get into the pines, and the national forest outside of Norwood, was calling my name.

Lone Cone from Busted Arm Draw.

I started at the Thunder Trail system, which is relatively new, as of 2015, up on Wright's Mesa in the Uncompahgre National Forest. Colorado is not the most awesome state when it comes to road maintenance, so I either check out places ahead of time now, if I can, or a do a great deal of research before heading out on any dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. The road to the Thunder Trails sounded good according to the Chamber of Commerce, so off I went. Everything was fine up until the last mile before getting to the trailhead, the road is narrow and goes down into a ravine. There are a couple of sections with some pretty large rocks sticking up. Luckily my LQ has more clearance than most.

Once at the trailhead, I parked and started walking down the same road, which is very driveable from that point on, to see where the dispersed camping spots were. There are six designated dispersed spots along the first two miles of Thunder Road, after passing the trailhead. The first three spots are very close, but there was no way I would have been able to get my trailer into them, so I got saddled up and started riding down the road instead. The trailhead has plenty of parking room and a few areas you could camp if need be, so that was my plan if I couldn't access any of the sites. 

Thunder Trails Trailhead.

Thunder Trails Trailhead.

 Finally I came across the very last spot and it was perfect, so I left the road and got onto the trail system instead. Camping is free, but you can only camp in these specific spots, and there is no water and no amenities, not even a bathroom at the trailhead.

Signs show where the designated camping spots are.

There are four loops, totaling 19.5 miles with Thunder Road running right down the middle, so if you were a hiker you could drive in to whichever loop you might want to hike that day, park along the road and then hike it from there. As a rider you can ride one whole side of all four loops and come straight back down the middle. I started on the western side on the last part of the Portis Loop, then did the Naturita Rim Loop and then went back along the road until I got to the western side of the Thunder Loop which took me back to the trailhead.

Plenty of maps along the way.

On the Portis Loop.

Views of Lone Cone on the Naturita Rim Loop.

Trails and junctions are clearly marked.

Looking over towards Norwood, on the Thunder Loop.

This area is at about 8000 feet, and the common theme while I was there was for it to be bright and sunny in the morning and then in the afternoon some clouds would roll in and there would sometimes be some intermittent spitting of rain. I was prepared and had my rain jacket aboard, but it never rained very hard or for very long.

Once back at the trailhead I drove on over to my camp spot and got set up. My spot was the only one that did not have cell service, I still had it about 3/4 of a mile closer to the trailhead.

My perfect camp spot, the last one.

The next day the obvious choice was to do the east side of all the loops, starting with the Thunder Loop, which is the one that is accessible from the trailhead. The east side is the easier side, as far as tread goes, the west side has patches that are extremely rocky. All the trails and junctions are very well marked.

On the Thunder Loop.

On the Thunder Loop.

Some brand new bridges on the Portis Loop.

Lots of Pasque Flowers blooming

Pasque Flowers.

Once I got to the Goshorn Loop, where the road ends, there is another small trailhead for cars. The Goshorn Loop was actually one of the more diverse and scenic trails. It starts in the pines, passes a small stream, I found an old cabin near the stream, then the trail cuts right through some rock, and lastly there are some great mountain views along the canyon rim.

On the Goshorn Loop.

On the Goshorn Loop.

Found a small stream.

Found an old cabin near the stream.

With two long days of riding, although I saw a few cars and a couple of people at the trailhead, I never encountered a single soul on any of the trails. This system is multi use and is open to bikes and motorcycles. There are a few random old roads/tracks, that are only open to foot and horse traffic, which you can take to cut across to a section of trail.

Middle Peak and Dunn Peak.

On the Goshorn Loop.

All of the trails have these gates, usually right before a junction.

On Saturday, I gave my horse the day off and I decided to leave relatively early because my next destination was a bit of an unknown. Again I had gotten my information from the Chamber of Commerce about this upcoming road and camping area, and since the road to the Thunder Trails was not quite as wonderful as they had made it sound, I figured I needed to give myself some extra time.

I headed up Lone Cone Rd. also known as County Road 44ZS and just after the pavement ends, forest service road 642 is on the right. The East Naturita Winter Trailhead is a large area that you can camp at if you are in a motor vehicle. There are some cross country ski trails there and the road continues on with at least 9 dispersed camping spots along the way, until it dead ends. Lo and behold the road was actually great and most of the sites were much easier to navigate with a trailer. This area is called Busted Arm Draw and there are no amenities, no water and no bathroom at the trailhead. I had intermittent cell service. My spot was the only one with a picnic table, and they all had fire rings.

Found a great spot at Busted Arm Draw.

Since I had gotten there so quickly I decided to entertain myself by changing out one of my trailer tires, which I am not a fan of. I use truck tires, they last 20 times longer, but when I purchased this trailer, the last owner had just bought new trailer tires about a year earlier. Not surprisingly one of them was already looking pretty rough, so luckily the spare was a brand new truck tire and so I switched it out. That killed some time Then there was some more rain spitting and windy stuff for a bit, and then a partial rainbow appeared. At about 8300 feet elevation, the nights were mild, and I happened to be there during a full moon, it was so bright I could have gone on a night ride.

Brand new truck tire, accomplished!

A partial rainbow appeared.

In the morning I followed the county road until it ended, there are some lovely mountain views along this road, but even though there is a map with cross country ski trails on it, they don't really exist in the summer. In fact at all of the areas where the trails were supposed to be, there were signs saying "keep off, for revegetation", so I decided to ride to the reservoir instead.

Views of an old cabin on private land.

Great mountain views on the county road.

County road 642.

The national forest becomes private land just a short distance farther up Lone Cone Rd. so I had to follow the road until I got to the Miramonte Reservoir, which is in the Dan Noble State Wildlife Area. You have to have a pass, fishing license, or hunting license to enter state wildlife areas, but all I did was ride in to look at the water up close, and then I headed back. You can camp at this reservoir with larger rigs and the road was in great shape.

Dan Noble State Wildlife Area.

Miramonte Reservoir.

I spent one more night and then drove home the next day, since there wasn't really anywhere else to ride from there. But camping at Busted Arm Draw was really nice, and my spot had the best view of Lone Cone.

Lone Cone from my camp spot at Busted Arm Draw.

GPS COORDINATES TO THUNDER TRAILS TH

GPS COORDINATES TO EAST NATURITA TH

Coal Canyon Trailhead, Little Book Cliffs, Colorado

I rode a lot in the Ochoco's and the Malheurs in Oregon with the wild horses there, and so I knew that one place I could see some, now that I am in Colorado, is at the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range, not too far from Grand Junction. 

A palomino stallion at the Little Book Cliffs.

I had checked the area out once before by car and so I knew I could get my LQ in there, barely. There are a couple of washes you have to drive through, ( I wouldn't suggest taking a really long rig in, or one without a lot of clearance) otherwise the road isn't bad. There is a large shooting range before you get to the trailhead. Some of the shooting goes on right next to the road, I felt bad for my pony, who probably got deafened in the back of the trailer as we were passing by.

When you get there you can still here the shots echoing off the cliffs, but it was a busy Sunday, and the next couple days were much quieter.

Coal Canyon Trailhead.

Coal Canyon Trailhead has a bathroom and plenty of room for parking trailers. There are two dispersed camping spots, one under the huge powerlines, which is the one thing that mars the beauty of the area,  and another one, if you want to drive through yet another wash, on the left just before the fence line. This main trailhead is open all year, but there is a gate that goes into the wild horse area that is closed from December 1st until May 1st... or 30th, depending whether you believe the sign that is on the gate, or what it says on the BLM website. This means that foot and horse traffic is always allowed, and during the open season, motorized use is allowed on roads, but not trails. There are no other amenities and no water. I had plenty of cell service, with Verizon.

One of the camping spots.

The trailhead has a map and I also had an online map, they were very different though, so for the most part I just followed my nose. There were some other people riding that day and as I started out on the Coal Canyon Trail, they were coming back, and informed me that some of the wild horses were up ahead on the left. 

Hoodoos on the Coal Canyon Trail.

Lots of Indian Paintbrush.

Some interesting white rock formations in the area.

Because I decided to check out the horses I veered up a steep trail and since I was already up there, after observing them, I decided to just keep going toward a fence line with a gate.

Spotted some of the wild horses.

My pony watching the wild horses.

They were down in a basin below me.

The stallion looks a little beat up.

Passing through the gate took me out of the wild horse area and on to a trail that started heading downhill and over towards civilization. A couple of cyclists saw me and said they had never seen an equestrian out there before, but they thought it was really cool. After awhile I found myself on a cliffside way above 1-70 looking down on Palisade, and with great views of the Grand Mesa.

Views of the Grand Mesa.

Riding along a cliff way above 1-70.

A colorful collared lizard. My first time seeing one.

I turned back eventually, as this trail would have ended up down at the highway, which is not where I wanted to be. I passed by the wild horses again and then made my way back to camp.

Heading back on the Coal Canyon Trail.

The next day I dropped down into the Main Canyon to follow that trail and potentially make a loop. The Main Canyon has water running through it, not much, but enough to sustain the wildlife. The trail is narrow and steep getting into the canyon but then totally flat after that. It didn't take long before I found the first of many horses. Because there is not a lot of wide open space in these canyons several different herds have to coexist. I found myself with a black stallion standing right on the trail, with his herd, and a palomino stallion directly on the other side of the creek, so I had no choice but to ride right down the middle. As I mentioned I have seen quite a few wild horses over the years but I learned quickly that these ones are especially relaxed about humans. As I rode directly beneath the black stallion who at this point was on the creek bank about 12 feet above me, he didn't even look my way. He was keeping an eye on the palomino. They are clearly very used to people and domestic horse traffic.

On the Main Canyon Trail.

Just enough water to sustain the wildlife.

Wild horses in the Main Canyon.

This horse looks just like my friend's mare.

A pregnant mare.

This is what happens when you never get weaned!

Eventually I got to a junction with the Cottonwood Canyon Trail which I would have liked to have done as part of a loop, but as I started climbing it there were some big rock areas that you had to hop up. My pony is getting older and although she can go all day still and does uphill without issue, coming back down steep stuff with big steps where she has to jump with her two front feet, while then maneuvering  her back feet down is getting harder on her. So I decided to just go back the same way, I'll leave the mountain goat trails for another time, when I have a younger spry horse.

Some interesting rocks in one area.

The Grand Mesa.

As expected, I ran into the wild horses again, the black stallion and his herd were gone, but another bay stallion with what I thought was his herd, (more about that later), was blocking my way back, so as I was scoping out a way to get around him, I ended up on a ledge above them. I hung out there for awhile and then eventually made my way past the bay.

As I got to the trail that lead back up to camp, I spotted some Bighorn Sheep. They were also unconcerned about my presence, which makes for great picture taking opportunities. I happened to look up as I was riding on the narrow part of the trail, and there was a lone black bachelor, watching me from afar, on the tip top of a very steep slope.

Hanging out on a ledge above one of the herds.

The palomino stallion at the creek.

Heading back to the trailhead.

Bighorn Sheep.

The solo bachelor.

He was on the side of a steep slope. This is just the top quarter of the cliff.

More sheep, close to the trailhead.

That evening at camp there was no one around, except for an older couple who were taking a short hike. I was busy checking myself and my horse for ticks, there were a few, when suddenly I spotted some of the horses coming over the ridge. That is when I realized it was the bay stallion from earlier and his herd was actually a bachelor band. Meanwhile the lone black was still up on the slope mostly minding his own business, but the bay was going along the hillside trying to chase him around a little bit. Meanwhile four more bachelors arrived on the scene. It was quite the horse drama, and the hikers were standing watching all of this when the four new stallions went galloping by them. 

At one point the bay came over near the fence because he saw my mare, since I wasn't riding her he probably thought he was seeing a viable mate, but then he saw me, eyeballed me for a minute, and then thought better of it. Meanwhile the hikers came over and I was explaining herd behavior to them, and why all of it was happening. The four new bachelors went across the cliffside and fetched the solo black, and they all came down off of the very steep cliffs, Man From Snowy River style.

The bay, on the other side of the fence, checking my mare out.

A young bachelor.

Another bachelor, hanging with the bay.

Four more bachelors showed up along the cliffside.

Close up of the four other bachelors.

I left the next day and did another ride on the way home, but there are multiple other trails I could have done. There are also a couple of other access points, one of which is from De Beque, but like a lot of BLM and forest service roads in this state, most are not maintained, and taking a trailer on them would be a disaster. I have found that I can't drive around willy nilly like I used to, most roads need to be scoped out ahead of time. 

GPS COORDINATES TO COAL CANYON TH