Holy Cross City 4WD Trail - 1996

by The Flatlander for

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Summary: This is a scenic and challenging high mountain trail in central Colorado west of US 24 between Leadville and I-70. It is an old mining trail that gold miners built and used until 1883 when the mines on Mt. Holy Cross played out. Some cabins in the Holy Cross City mining town remain as well as the boilers that powered the mining operations. It is one of the more challenging 4WD trails in Colorado. The short stretch just past the Holy Cross City ghost town is perhaps the most challenging in Colorado. The Colorado Association of 4WD Clubs rates the portion of the trail below the ghost town as an 8 on a 10 point difficulty scale. The section above would be a 9 or 10.

Location: To get there from Denver go west on I-70. Take exit 171 off I-70 for Minturn and Leadville. Go south on US 24 to the turnoff for Blodgett Campground near milepost 156 (Forest Route 703, aka Homestake Road) and turn west. Coming from Leadville go north on US 24 and turn west on FR 703. Follow FR 703 for about 8 miles to the trail head which is marked just off the parking area at the beginning of the trail. The 4WD trail is only about 4 miles long but a full day should be allowed to complete the trail and do some exploring.

Scenery: The remains of the old boilers can still be seen just below the ghost town. Aspen and evergreen forests begin to thin out only as one approaches the end of the trail. The trail runs along a nice mountain stream (French Creek) for a a fair share of its length.

The Trail: There is a parking area at the base of the trail and a sign for the trail at its beginning. You begin to get a taste of the challenge the trail offers as significant obstacles shock the unsuspecting less than a tenth of a mile from the trail head. About 1.3 miles in there is an escape route to a car road to the southwest (left going up). This is the only fork in the trail until Holy Cross City is reached. This "escape route" is handy when coming down if you are running late. French Creek is crossed about 2.8 miles in. The old boilers just below the old ghost town are encountered about 3.6 miles in. A right turn just past the ghost town at about 3.9 miles in (skip the first right that actually goes into the ghost town) leads to the dangerous and extremely challenging section leading toward Cleveland Lake. The last 9-10 obstacle is 4.1 miles in and it is only of few more tenths of a mile from there to the end of the 4WD access. Both trail and ghost town can be quite busy on a 4th of July weekend as can be seen in the picture of the ghost town.

Flatlander's Trail Report, July 5, 1996:

It was the Fractured Axle Club's 4th annual trip to Holy Cross City. This trail had been hard on our vehicles in the past totalling two 4WDs and seriously damaging two others. We nearly had serious damage again this year. Holy Cross City is not a forgiving trail, especially the last section.

CRACKER with his 1967 Bronco, Cruiser Rob in his 1960 FJ25, and me in my heavily modified Bronco II made up this year's team. Cruiser is shown here on some of the rough early part of the trail. I've not heard of names for the obstacles on this trail so I am inventing some, based mostly on the misfortune of various Fractured Axle Club members.

"Hardtop Headache" This tree is really hard on hard tops due to the lean forced by the adjacent rock. Both Cruiser and I have souvenirs from this tree. CRACKER gets through with little difficulty as usual.

"Gunslinger Alley" A rock out crop sticks up about where Cruiser and his FJ25 are. If you try to go around on the downhill side or slip off on that side you may end up with your 4WD on its side as Gunslinger learned in 1994. It took us about an hour to winch him upright and get him going again.

"Eclipse's Nightmare" It was bright and sunny today but on July 4, 1993 a blizzard was just starting as Eclipse tried to bring his stock Bronco II up the boulders on the other side of French Creek. He got too far left and slipped into a big rock that caved in his left door. Lizard strapped him out during the blizzard and Eclipse drove it out. But the caved in door and a cracked transfer case was enough for Eclipse's insurance company to total the vehicle.

The boulders on the other side of French Creek can usually be negotiated with concentration and a good line with a well equipped 4X4 (meaning lockers and at least 33s). But the group in front of us was having a devil of a time. Wet tires sure don't help. The Fractured Axle group cleared this obstacle cleanly this year as CRACKER demonstrates in his classic Bronco.

"Flatlander's Tumble" This is the the most dangerous obstacle on the trail. You can see how close Cruiser's tires are to the edge of the obstacle. In August of 1993 when I was coming down this obstacle my left front tire slipped off and I did a full roll, which totaled my first Bronco II. I winched it out and drove it back but all the glass was out and every piece of sheet metal was mangled. This is on the most difficult section of the trail between the ghost town and Cleveland Lake.

"Flatlander's Frustration" I've yet to make it up this obstacle without a winch. In 1994 a coil spring came lose while trying it and this year I almost rolled. At the time this picture was being taken I was yelling for someone to hook my winch up to a tree before it went on over. At the time I really didn't appreciate CRACKER taking time to take pictures but it came out OK and he did get an excellent shot of yet another near Fractured Axle Club calamity on the Holy Cross City Trail.

Holy Cross City is one of our favorite trails. The Fractured Axle Club will return.

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

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