Author: Bryan Woods

Saturday, July 13 the club replaced the trail sign on Old Fulford Rd. It now acknowledges that the club has officially adopted the trail. The previous trail sign was installed in 1988, so it was in desperate need of replacement. The new sign more clearly warns that it is a high clearance 4×4 trail, as many cross-over owners were attempting it.

Before and after:

Our upcoming events calendar:

• Flat Tops Overlanding 8/9-11
• Campout on the Colorado 8/16-18
• Moab 8/30 – 9/1

As always the most up-to-date event details are on the Facebook group.

The club has been included on the upcoming Wearyman Creek Watershed Health Improvement Project. We’ll continue to attend stakeholder meetings and advocate for the best interests of our user base. Please respond to the public stakeholder survey to ensure your voice is heard.

Save the dates for the following events. Full details are on the Facebook group.

April 11: Club meeting 6:30pm at the Eagle Library

April 28: Gypsum Hills Trail Run

May 18-19: Driver skills training in Grand Junction

May 29 – June 2: Rock Junction in Grand Junction

June 8: Old Fulford Trail Maintainence

Aug 9 – 11: Overlanding on the Flat Tops

Aug 30 – Sept 2: Labor Day Weekend in Moab

The club meeting Tuesday, January 2, 2024 for our annual meeting. We elected a new board and began event planning for 2024. Please save the dates for the following events:

May 29 – June 2: Rock Junction in Grand Junction hosted by Grand Mesa Jeep Club
June 8: Old Fulford trail maintenance
July 19 – 21: Campout along the Colorado at Rancho del Rio
August 9 – 11: Flat Tops Overlanding
August 30 – September 2: Labor Day in Moab hosted by Red Rock 4 Wheelers

There will be plenty more events to come. This is just a preliminary list of anchor events that you’ll hear a lot more about in the coming months.

As always you can stay up to date on the Facebook group.

The club met Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at the Avon library.

We have tentatively have scheduled a ride-along with USFS staff to review this year’s work on Old Fulford Rd, and to discuss potential work for next year. This ride-along will be subject to any snow this week.

Starting next year we will likely be requiring an active club membership to participate in club trail rides. Those interested in learning more about the club will be welcome on at least one trail run as a guest before being required to join as a member. We’ll be reviewing this requirement as a future meeting over the winter.

We will be discussing dues for next year at our next meeting. Current dues are $100 for a voting member, and $50 for an associate member. These are subject to change for next year based on a membership vote.

If you are voting member, you should have access to the voting members only Facebook page. That page is used to discuss official club business. Please contact a board member if you need to be added.

Potential new trips discussed for next year:
– Moab
– San Juans
– Benson Cabin

Effective today, all of the trail guides on the website will require you to log into your account with an active membership.

Thanks to everyone who came to our Campout and joined on the trail rides. As a recap of trail activity this weekend:

1) The club cleared brush back from the edge of Wearyman on Wednesday and opened the gate on Friday afternoon. We finished the run out Ptarmigan Pass which is now clear for the season.

2) Saturday we participated in the Gypsum Daze parade, and completed Trail Gulch to Agnew Gulch to the Big McClosky.

3) Sunday we ran the Sheephorn loop. We attempted to head up to McCord Pass to run Piney Ridge, but the ascent to the pass is block by snow and debris in two spots in the avalanche chute. It’s going to need more time.

We also received a report that the drift on the Lake County side of Hagerman Pass is still several feet deep. That drift usually doesn’t melt until August, so it’s going to be some time still. In the past the Ivanhoe water bandits have cleared the road. Based on our chat with them a couple months ago, that is a thing of the past. There is an illegal bypass through the tundra that has formed around the drift. Please do not use it. This is something that we are going to have to address in coordination with Two Mile High Off-Road Club.

We have a meeting Thursday, 7/20, 6pm at the Eagle library. We’ll put some more trail runs on the schedule as we go. Our next organized event in August 5-6 overlap trip across the Flat Tops.

At our June meeting, we committed to participating in three parades this summer:
Eagle Flight Days
Vail America Days
Gypsum Daze

To prepare for this, we’ll be meeting at Bryan’s house on June 23 to prepare the “float.”

We have posted a preliminary trail run schedule for our Campout on the Colorado, July 14-16. We will add additional trails if necessary due to attendance. No pre-registration for trails is required as these are optional free activities. You can register online for the campout.

• Friday:
  1pm depart Minturn Shell (401 Main St, Minturn) for McAlister Gulch
  6pm depart Rancho del Rio for Sheephorn Sunset drive
• Saturday:
  10am depart Ranch del Rio for Crescent and Mackinaw Lakes (difficult), or Big McClosky and Gypsum Hills (stock-friendly). Pick your trail run.
  6pm dinner at Rancho del Rio
• Sunday:
  10 am depart Rancho del Rio for Red and White. Finish in Vail.

We had a beautiful day out in the Gypsum Hills area on Sunday, April 30. Thanks to all who joined us. Conditions were dry and almost entirely snow free.

Enjoy the warm summer heat with snow bashing and possibly tree clearing. This will be one of our yearly events starting this year. Join us up Old Fulford Road and go as far up New York Mountain. We will meet first at Sinclair Gas Station in Eagle before heading up. Hope to see you there!
May 27, 2023. 9:30am at the Sinclair Gas Station in Eagle. Coordinates: 39.659259, -106.825920
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/3wSXUlSJc

Our next meeting is Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 6pm. We’ve reserved the big conference downstairs at the Eagle Library.

We’ll be hosting special guest Trish Barrere from the White River National Forest. She’ll be discussing projects on FSR 779, Metcalf and FSR 759, Holy Cross City. Plus she’ll give an update on FSR 747, Wearyman.