Blanca Peak Trail, Colorado

by The Flatlander for

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TRAIL DESCRIPTION

For the history of the Forest Service's attempts to close the upper portion of this trail see Help Keep Blanca Open

The Blanca Peak Trail is one of Colorado's toughest. It is rated as a 9 on a 10 point scale by the Colorado Association of 4WD clubs (CA4WDCs) . There are no tens. The trail is in Southern Colorado about 40 miles west of the I-25 Walsenburg exit as the crow flies. Directions can be found in the CA4WDCs "The 4x4 Trail Book" which states, "Several spots on the trail can be extremely hazardous." This point was driven home in our minds when we learned that just a few weeks before a FJ-40 had done several full rolls down the side of a steep slope when it slipped off Blanca's Jaws 2 obstacle.

The trail also offers two mountain lakes in very scenic settings, abandoned mining cabins, and hiking beyond the end of the 4WD trail. To fully experience the rugged beauty of the area, a two day trip is recommended with overnight camping at Como Lake near the top. The view of the stars from so high up, under such a clear and unpolluted sky is awe inspiring as one considers the grandeur of the mountain and at the same time is humbled by the incomprehensible expanse of the universe. Indian legend has it that this mountain was used by the gods to come down to earth and return back up into the heavens.

THE FRACTURED AXLE CLUB

The Fractured Axle Club had been planning this trip all summer. In addition to Blanca Peak which was scheduled first, two other challenging Colorado trails were on the itinerary. These were Wheeler Lake and Holy Cross City both farther north and west.

The Fractured Axle Club is an informal group of 4-wheelers that "met" and correspond on electronic BBs, mostly on the Prodigy Off Road/Sport Utility BB. This outing included DAMo with his CJ5 from Louisiana, Lizard with his CJ7 from Salt Lake City, Utah, Engineer with his CJ7 from Denver, CO, Cruiser with his FJ25 from Denver, CO, Andy with his 4- runner from Colorado Springs, CO, CRACKER with his classic Bronco from Pueblo, CO and me with my Bronco II from Nebraska. Most ran 33s with at least one locker, many with a locker in front too.

TRAILHEAD

We met at 9am on Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend at the Blanca trail head and aired down. Lizard was the last to arrive and had driven all night coming in from Salt Lake City, Utah just to join us for this trail. CRACKER lead the way as we stated up on warm, sunny morning. We began working our way up the switchbacks and were enjoyed the view back toward Alamosa. Then we turned into a steep sided mountain valley that would lead us to the top.

JAWS 1

Shortly after entering the valley we came upon the first major obstacle in the trail, Jaws 1. We assume the Jaws name came from the insatiable appetite the Blanca obstacles have for paint, sheet metal, drivetrain components and tires. Jaws 1 is a rock ridge that runs diagonally across the trail. It takes some skill to negotiate it without high centering on the obstacle. CRACKER, shown in the picture in his classic Bronco, did much better than most of us. He made it cleanly on the second try. I got high centered and gladly accepted some help from my friends to get over the obstacle. One of our group got a little high on the south side of the obstacle and had us scurrying to jump on his bumper and get that side back on the ground. That didn't deter DAMo though. He kept at it until he guided his CJ 5 over on his own.

JAWS 2

Jaws 2 was next. It comes straight across the road and is a break over angle problem also. It is on a steep uphill grade with a steep drop off on the left. Just a few weeks ago an FJ40 slipped off this obstacle and rolled several times until it came to rest on the trail below. Fortunately, and with an incredible measure of good luck, no one was hurt. But we were all aware of it and were extra cautious to keep to the far right side away from the drop off and also careful not to use too much momentum. This resulted in the need for a tow strap for Cruiser with his 31" tires (see picture) who had so elegantly negotiated Jaws 1. I made it over the first try to the horrifying sounds of scrapping, bending metal from my underside. Blanca's Jaws was wetting its appetite on my undercarriage.

JAWS 2 1/2

Nature is taking its toll on this old trail and the result is more and more challenging obstacles. This previously unnamed obstacle is one of them. DAMo is shown in his CJ5 doing the obstacle the hard way in this picture.

JAWS 3

Last year I "walked" this obstacle in the dark. Maybe I should have waited for nightfall again because when I could see to pick my line I ended up having to winch my way out of a pinch this time. I got caught in a V groove. When I tried to back up a rock would try to break the bead on my rear tire and I could hear a loud hiss. When I went forward my bumper hit solid rock. So out came the winch cable. The picture shows Lizard doing the obstacle the right way in his CJ7. Lizard walked his CJ7 up every obstacle on Blanca. He obviously has his CJ set up very well and is a very skilled 4-wheeler.

COMO LAKE

Como Lake was a beautiful sight surrounded by granite peaks. We wished we had time to camp and explore the remnants of the old mining camp there but we were on a tight schedule this trip and would have to get back down Blanca before nightfall.

JAWS 4

So we proceeded toward Jaws 4. The bog did it's work on filling our tires with greasy mud just before Jaws 4 which is a kind of a "wall" just around a curve on a steep upslope just past Como Lake. I can't recall anyone making it the first try. Going up the wall to the right resulted in spinning tires and slipping and leaning much too much to the left as they slipped. Several took a rough path around to the left instead. I made it up the right side on the second try.

TRAIL'S END

We all stopped at the last lake at the top, all 7 rigs for a group picture. We had completed one of Colorado's most challenging and scenic trails. Most notable accomplishment went to Engineer who's CJ7 had made it all the way with no strapping with open axles at both ends. Cleanest run went to Lizard in his well built CJ7. The Rookie award went to Andy in his 4-Runner with 33s and ARBs in both ends. This was the roughest trail he had ever done and he did parts of it better than some of us who had done it before.

THE TRIP DOWN

We got back down the difficult spots just before dark. Blanca was still hungry though and ate one of my 33X12.5 BFG MT Moab Edition tires before it let me off the mountain. And before the end of the end of the outing, in the true spirit of the Fractured Axle Club, I did manage to fracture my front axle (for the third time this year).

4X4NOW Editor's note: Blanca is in The [Colorado] 4X4 Trail Book Number 1

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