Mapping the Tabeguache

IntrepidXJ · 06-07-2009, 05:25 PM

After finally running the full Kokopelli Trail last month, I decided I wanted to finish off the 'Grand Loop' trails. Today I tackled the second trail; the Tabeguache Trail. The Tabeguache (pronounced 'tab-a-watch') Trail is mountain bike trail that starts out near Montrose and ends up near Grand Junction. Like the Kokopelli Trail, it is made up mostly of 4-wheel drive roads with a few sections of single-track mixed in. However, unlike the Kokopelli, there is not a lot of information about the Tabeguache route available...especially for someone wanting to take a Jeep along as much of the route as possible.

I spent the last week and a half researching the trail and putting together my best guess at a track using a bunch of BLM and Forest Service maps along with Google Earth. While the track I ended up putting together was pretty close, I did run into some problems early on. I ran into some downed trees, an ATV only section of trail and a few locked gates at private property.

I left Montrose around 8am and got back home around 7:30, so I was on the trail for almost 12 hours. Including all of my backtracking, I ended up traveling just over 160 miles off the pavement.

I'll be putting together a much more detailed page about the Tabeguache Trail shortly (once I get the track I kept cleaned up) so I won't go into much detail about the actual route here. Since I was more concerned about not getting lost today I didn't end up taking too many photos, plus the skies were cloudy most of the day so I didn't get that many good pictures, either.

While I managed to nail down a pretty good 4x4 route on this first attempt, there are a few more routes I want to test out in the future to see if they might work better.....so this project is still a work in progress.

Anyway...enough talk, here's some pictures

Signs at the trailhead in Shavano Valley

The trail was fairly well marked, but there were a number of broken and missing signs along the way, too

Headed down to Dry Creek

My first wrong turn....my Jeep won't fit over that bridge

Dry Creek is not very dry

IntrepidXJ · 06-07-2009, 05:25 PM

A few rough sections early on in the trail

Climbing up higher onto the Uncompahgre Plateau

Up in the Aspens

Waterfall

I was able to move this one by hand...

IntrepidXJ · 06-07-2009, 05:26 PM

La Sals in the distance

Dominguez Canyon

Finally...some blue sky as I near Grand Junction

Unaweep Canyon

Enjoy!

ol"blue · 06-07-2009, 05:39 PM

Great pics of some beautiful country.

Moparboy01 · 06-07-2009, 10:38 PM

x2^^ awesome pictures, wish I had something like that out here, I'm jealous

IntrepidXJ · 06-08-2009, 12:07 AM

My trip on the Tabeguache Trail yesterday ended when I reached Highway 141 in Whitewater, even though the actual trail continues on to Monument Road in Grand Junction. The reason for this is that there is no motorized access to the trail on the north side of the highway. However, the section on the other side can be driven, but only as an out and back ride from Little Park Road. Most know this section of trail as Bangs Canyon. I have driven part of this trail before, but not all of it.

Amanda and I set out this morning to take a short trip and drive more of the Bnags Canyon section of the Tabeguache Trail so I can add it to my full trail track. Here's a few photos from the short trip.

IntrepidXJ · 06-08-2009, 12:08 AM

CRoading · 06-08-2009, 02:31 AM

Awesome pics on Mapping the Tabeguache...

I really enjoyed looking at every pics and those nice trails...

06-07-2009, 05:25 PM	#1
IntrepidXJ Seasoned Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 386 My Photos 2000 Cherokee Year: 2000 Model: Cherokee Engine: 4.0 Transmission: AW4 Transfer Case: 231 Front Axle: D30 Rear Axle: 8.25 Tires: 32x11.5 Bighorns Lift Specifications: Approx 5"	Mapping the Tabeguache After finally running the full Kokopelli Trail last month, I decided I wanted to finish off the 'Grand Loop' trails. Today I tackled the second trail; the Tabeguache Trail. The Tabeguache (pronounced 'tab-a-watch') Trail is mountain bike trail that starts out near Montrose and ends up near Grand Junction. Like the Kokopelli Trail, it is made up mostly of 4-wheel drive roads with a few sections of single-track mixed in. However, unlike the Kokopelli, there is not a lot of information about the Tabeguache route available...especially for someone wanting to take a Jeep along as much of the route as possible. I spent the last week and a half researching the trail and putting together my best guess at a track using a bunch of BLM and Forest Service maps along with Google Earth. While the track I ended up putting together was pretty close, I did run into some problems early on. I ran into some downed trees, an ATV only section of trail and a few locked gates at private property. I left Montrose around 8am and got back home around 7:30, so I was on the trail for almost 12 hours. Including all of my backtracking, I ended up traveling just over 160 miles off the pavement. I'll be putting together a much more detailed page about the Tabeguache Trail shortly (once I get the track I kept cleaned up) so I won't go into much detail about the actual route here. Since I was more concerned about not getting lost today I didn't end up taking too many photos, plus the skies were cloudy most of the day so I didn't get that many good pictures, either. While I managed to nail down a pretty good 4x4 route on this first attempt, there are a few more routes I want to test out in the future to see if they might work better.....so this project is still a work in progress. Anyway...enough talk, here's some pictures Signs at the trailhead in Shavano Valley The trail was fairly well marked, but there were a number of broken and missing signs along the way, too Headed down to Dry Creek My first wrong turn....my Jeep won't fit over that bridge Dry Creek is not very dry __________________ Randy Langstraat .: myXJ.net \| adventureJK.com :.

06-07-2009, 05:25 PM	#2
IntrepidXJ Seasoned Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 386 My Photos 2000 Cherokee Year: 2000 Model: Cherokee Engine: 4.0 Transmission: AW4 Transfer Case: 231 Front Axle: D30 Rear Axle: 8.25 Tires: 32x11.5 Bighorns Lift Specifications: Approx 5"	A few rough sections early on in the trail Climbing up higher onto the Uncompahgre Plateau Up in the Aspens Waterfall I was able to move this one by hand... __________________ Randy Langstraat .: myXJ.net \| adventureJK.com :.

06-07-2009, 05:26 PM	#3
IntrepidXJ Seasoned Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 386 My Photos 2000 Cherokee Year: 2000 Model: Cherokee Engine: 4.0 Transmission: AW4 Transfer Case: 231 Front Axle: D30 Rear Axle: 8.25 Tires: 32x11.5 Bighorns Lift Specifications: Approx 5"	La Sals in the distance Dominguez Canyon Finally...some blue sky as I near Grand Junction Unaweep Canyon Enjoy! __________________ Randy Langstraat .: myXJ.net \| adventureJK.com :.

06-07-2009, 05:39 PM	#4
ol"blue CF Veteran Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Dandridge Tennessee Posts: 13,951 My Photos 1997 & 2004 Grand Cherokee Year: 1997 & 2004 Model: Grand Cherokee Engine: 5.2 V8 ; 4.7 V8 Transmission: 4 spd Auto.; 5 spd. Auto Transfer Case: Both Have Full-Time 4WD Front Axle: D30 w/3.73 gear Rear Axle: D44 w/3.73 gear Tires: 245x70x16 Lift Specifications: 97 Orvis Fact. Up Country Misc Accessories: Both have HD Cooling Systems & Tow Packages, '97 has Fact. Skid Plates	Great pics of some beautiful country. __________________ '97 Grand Cherokee Limited Orvis Up Country 5.2, 4X4 '04 Grand Cherokee SE 4.7, 4X4 '04 Saturn Vue 250 WHP V-6 AWD '85 Dodge Omni GLHTurbo T-2 282 WHP '86 Dodge Omni GLHTurbo T-2 397 WHP If you're not breaking parts you're not making enough power!!! "I NEED MORE TRACTION, NOT MORE BOOST" http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...r54_2048_0.gif

06-07-2009, 10:38 PM	#5
Moparboy01 XJ and ZJ owner :) Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 324 My Photos 1998 Cherokee Year: 1998 Model: Cherokee Engine: 4.0L Transmission: AW-4 Transfer Case: Stock Front Axle: Dana Rear Axle: Chrysler Tires: Trxus Mud Terrains Lift Specifications: 4.5 Rusty's lift, with 2 inch coil spacer Misc Accessories: Surco Roof Rack, Hi-lift, Rusty stinger bumper, cobra cb	x2^^ awesome pictures, wish I had something like that out here, I'm jealous __________________ 1998 Cherokee, 6.5 inch Rusty's, 33 inch super swamper trxus mts, JKS disco, Safari snorkel, roof rack, jet performance chip, rubicon throttle body, Rusty's stinger bumper, oh yeah and an empty wallet 1998 Grand Cherokee, 3.5 Rubicon Express, 1 inch CrawlerReady coil spacers, Hanson front bumper, Tabor winch, 31 inch Txrus Mts If I wanted A Hummer, I Would Have Asked Your Sister! 343 Never Forgotten Genoa/Kingston Fire Department Down & Dirty club member ddoffroad.com

06-08-2009, 12:07 AM	#6
IntrepidXJ Seasoned Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 386 My Photos 2000 Cherokee Year: 2000 Model: Cherokee Engine: 4.0 Transmission: AW4 Transfer Case: 231 Front Axle: D30 Rear Axle: 8.25 Tires: 32x11.5 Bighorns Lift Specifications: Approx 5"	My trip on the Tabeguache Trail yesterday ended when I reached Highway 141 in Whitewater, even though the actual trail continues on to Monument Road in Grand Junction. The reason for this is that there is no motorized access to the trail on the north side of the highway. However, the section on the other side can be driven, but only as an out and back ride from Little Park Road. Most know this section of trail as Bangs Canyon. I have driven part of this trail before, but not all of it. Amanda and I set out this morning to take a short trip and drive more of the Bnags Canyon section of the Tabeguache Trail so I can add it to my full trail track. Here's a few photos from the short trip. __________________ Randy Langstraat .: myXJ.net \| adventureJK.com :.

06-08-2009, 12:08 AM	#7
IntrepidXJ Seasoned Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 386 My Photos 2000 Cherokee Year: 2000 Model: Cherokee Engine: 4.0 Transmission: AW4 Transfer Case: 231 Front Axle: D30 Rear Axle: 8.25 Tires: 32x11.5 Bighorns Lift Specifications: Approx 5"	__________________ Randy Langstraat .: myXJ.net \| adventureJK.com :.

06-08-2009, 02:31 AM	#8
CRoading Seasoned Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 453 My Photos	Awesome pics on Mapping the Tabeguache... I really enjoyed looking at every pics and those nice trails... __________________ Jeep Tops - Truck Mufflers - Jeep Lift kits

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