Winter Wheelin' on the Waterfall Waterfall Trail in Chokecherry Canyon Farmington, New Mexico by Mark Werkmeister

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The Chokecherry Canyon OHV area offers a myriad of possibilities for playing on the endless varieties of eroded sandstone surfaces.

Excuses? Who needs excuses to go four wheeling? Excuses for the enthusiast are seldom needed, especially if the wheeling destination is a place with as much fun potential as Chokecherry Canyon in Farmington, New Mexico. Oh, we had excuses. Lots of them: Out-of-state friends were coming who specifically requested a trip to Farmington; it was February and we hadn't been `wheeling in Chokecherry since the heat of the previous summer; we needed to start familiarizing ourselves with the trails available for the SWFWDA 1997 Summer Quarterly. Good reasons all but the real reason to go to Farmington was that the four wheeling is great and we wanted to go. `Nuff said.

This trip was a little bit unique. We had gone in the depths of winter before but a last-minute snow storm had dumped several inches of the white stuff on the Farmington area just a couple of days before we were to leave. We knew that the sun would quickly melt the snow but the sunshine on the north side of the hills is non-existent and it hadn't been very warm. We wondered just how the moisture would affect traction....

A mixed group of New Mexico 4-Wheelers from Albuquerque (and beyond), Creeper Jeepers from Durango, and the local Cliffhangers gathered at the designated meeting place on Saturday morning. It was slightly brisk, no, it was downright cold with a bit of a breeze from the north as we gathered to check out each other's rigs and see who would show for the day. I seemed to be the only one without a top but I just couldn't see hauling a full-length hard top on the Scrambler in the confines of Chokecherry's canyons.

A quick vote in trail requests determined that the Waterfall Trail was the quest for the day and off we went behind trail leaders Garrett Sisson and Roger Armstrong. I should have known something was up when we turned the WRONG way when we reached the canyon. Something WAS up (we were!) as we climbed up a steep and narrow defile that I had never seen before. It seems that Garrett and Roger were taking the LONG way around to the trail head because they believed the Waterfall Trail to be still too snow covered to be sanely passable. We spent all morning touring the west rim of the Chokecherry Canyon, having a ball on the various hill climbs and finding that the moisture and mud made the normally crumbly sandstone of Chokecherry even more treacherously slick. Many of the morning's hills were conquered in tire-spinning second gear mode instead of the normal rock crawler granny low.

Lunch time found us out of the wind in a small canyon just around the corner from the start of the Waterfall Trail. Garrett and Roger confessed their doubts about the trail's availability but agreed to take us over to the starting point after lunch and check the conditions. A quick hike after lunch found that while there was considerably more moisture than is normal for this desert four wheeling haven, there was very little snow to contend with on the trail itself. The fun of the Water Trail commenced!

Project Too Long eases onto the second ledge of Riff Raff. The first ledge is even bigger than the second even though it looks miniscule in the photo.

Yep! That's a big ledge. Those are 35" tires frantically clawing at the crumbly sandstone of Riff Raff's second ledge.

The Waterfall Trail starts off with a hard one-two punch that sends anybody without a strong rig and an ardent desire for challenge packing it in. The first obstacle is named Riff Raff and it serves to keep its namesake constituents off of the rest of the trail. Riff-Raff is two high ledges, the first diagonaling up to the right and the second angling up to the left. Vehicles must climb the first ledge from left to right and then make a hard left turn up the four foot high second ledge. It keeps the Riff Raff out all right!

Joel Wilson of Santa Fe, NM clambers up the multiple steps of The Waterfall with the hard right turn of the exit soon to come.

Once up Riff Raff, the trail cuts into a small canyon and follows it back into deepening walls. A mere two hundred feet from the trail head is the namesake obstacle for the trail, The Waterfall. This is one obstacle that is not well served by pictures. The climb up the "waterfall" in this dry watercourse is hard enough but if you follow the obvious line, the ascent of the last ledge puts your bumper into a sheer sandstone wall with the outlet you seek at 90 degrees to your right. There are two successful options here: 1) Either have such a good approach angle, large tires, and low gears that you can drive your left front tire up and over the sandstone wall in front of you until you can turn to your right, or 2) Start at the bottom of the waterfall with your line of approach such that you hit the exit notch straight on at the top of the climb. Neither approach is a guarantee for success! Many a fender has met the gritty local rock here and one CJ7 in our group nearly rolled when a rear tire fell off one of the Waterfall's deep steps. Only some quick counterbalance in the form of three bodies on the high side of the Jeep kept it from going greasy side up!

A Wrangler tries the "up and over the offending rock" approach to the departure turn in The Waterfall. This turn must be executed after climbing a steep set of stair steps with no room at the top to turn.	A CJ7 tries the short wheel base approach to the notch. It helps your rocker panels stay happy if you have a spring over axle suspension and 35" tires.

Kevin Cutler eases down one of the many ledge you contend with in Chokecherry Canyon. Kevin made the trip all the way from Houston for a couple of days of play on some of New Mexico's finest rocks!

Once the Waterfall is bested there is one more little series of ledges right below the top of the canyon that has left many a pucker mark on the seats. The ledges are just a bit off camber and too big a hop to the right will put you in a hole and upside down lightening quick. By the time our group of vehicles reached the canyon rim, the afternoon was waning fast. The rest of the trail would have to be left for the following day.

The next morning, many of the same vehicles and drivers showed their mettle by gathering for a shot at the second part of the trail. The temperatures were a few degrees warmer and the wind showed less of a propensity for blowing, it was going to be nice! We didn't take the "scenic" route this time, we went straight to the spot where we had left off the day before. The backside of the Waterfall Trail has several tight, off camber "turning radius is important" spots that were made much more interesting by the degree of moisture present. The soil of Chokecherry Canyon is some funny stuff and a little moisture can make a decent approximation of quick sand. Not deep enough to get stuck in but plenty deep to liberally slather your tires with a coat of the offending yellow grease.

By the time we got to The Notch, the air was warm enough for people to start shedding jackets but the back sides of the hills were not drying very fast. The Notch can be attacked two ways, depending on your wheel base and your love of rocker panels. Both approaches were conquered numerous times (the bypass was impossible due to snow cover and mud) but The Notch once again claimed its fair share of sheet metal.

One of the local trucks eases down the ledges when we found our final descent into the canyon blocked by snow. Sure, it doesn't look bad in a long wheel base Toy, try it in a CJ5!

Trail leader Roger Armstrong was the first to pick a spot to drop off the ledge into the weekend's final canyon. It was a steep enough drop that a tow strap was attached to the CJ5 to keep it off of its face.

As lunch time approached, we found ourselves on the north rim of the last little side canyon. The normal route into the bottom of the canyon was completely covered in snow, ice, and mud so everyone spread out to examine the other options into the canyon. The entire descent is solid rock so there were multiple choices. The choice was narrowed down by vigorous discussion to two spots, both featuring monster ledges that would have to descended. It came down to the trail leader picking his favorite spot and rolling the dice. Roger Armstrong eased his borrowed Wrangler down over the ledge with no incident and the rest of us followed him into the canyon bottom for lunch.

After lunch, we climbed up out of the canyon around a natural chimney, scaled some more of Chokecherry's ever present ledges and found ourselves at Triple Whammy. Since it faces north, it was completely covered with a liberal coating of snow. Watching the first several vehicle's futile attempts to scale it was enough for the rest of us and we convoyed back to town to start the trip home.

We have now played in Chokecherry's canyons when the summer's sun becomes blisteringly hot and challenged the wet, cold, and even snowy rocks in the depths of winter. Whatever the season, the sandstone perils of Chokecherry Canyon and the warm hospitality of the Cliffhangers continue to provide world class four wheeling frolic that is sure to satiate the appetite of any rock crawler.

Come on out and join the Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association at their 1997 Summer Quarterly in Farmington, NM on July 31-August 3. Chokecherry Canyon's finest trails will be featured and we guarantee no snow!

Submitted by Mark Werkmeister

The Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association is organized to promote interest and provide education in organized 4-wheeling and the safe and responsible use of off-highway vehicles; to keep members informed of the needs of vehicular recreationists, and to keep Association members informed of impending legislation and land use matters; to enjoy and protect all local, state, and national resources, and to assist various government agencies in the development of off-road trails and areas; to render aid and assistance as needed; to adhere to the principles and practices of United Four Wheel Drive Associations, and to maintain active membership in UFWDA as an Association.

Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association - Four Wheeling Responsibly!

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