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Hanks Valley Road 161017

October 17, 2016 by Monica

Hanks Valley Road

Trail Run on October 17, 2016
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader
View trail information for Hanks Valley Road

Roger R.
Gray 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
Monica I.
Red 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Walt S.
Gray 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392

There are a lot of things named after some guy named Hank in this area of the Uncompahgre National Forest. We have no idea who he was, but we were going to take the trail into Hanks Valley to see what we could find. We were making a big loop using Sanborn Park Road and Dave Wood Road, and we had to check out the trail because it looked interesting on the topo maps. It was squiggly and it went to the edge of a canyon, so it was promising.

The trail was more of a road in most spots at the start, wide with gravel. There were ranch houses here and there, and cows all over the place. We stopped for a little morning break and enjoyed the scenery. It was the last day of our trip, so everyone had lots of snacks to finish up, as always.

There were aspen groves, but we'd missed the yellow leaves in almost all of the spots. All of the leaves had fallen off already. On the positive side, it opened everything up to big views of the valley.

It seemed like the trail was going to be pretty flat, but then we headed down a narrow hill. At the bottom, we were going to cross Hanks Creek at a small water crossing, but there were lots and lots of cows hanging out there. It took us through a slow journey through them, waiting for them to move. As it happens about half of the time, a single cow got in front of Monica and couldn't find a way off of the trail for a bit. That made our climb up the hill on the other side pretty slow while we waited for that cow to find its way away from us.

Just after we left that cow, the trail turned from relatively smooth to very bumpy. Other vehicles had been along it when it was muddy, and the dried ruts were pretty deep and plentiful. We couldn't get going very fast, and the section was pretty long. We knew we still had a way to go before the end, and we were happy when that section ended.

We crossed through a gate and a very eroded cattle guard, the most difficult part of the trail. Mike S. has been stuck on a cattle guard before, so his name came up. We had a good laugh and we were bummed that his Jeep had broken down days earlier, forcing him to go home early.

After the cattle guard, the trail was pretty smooth to the end. The last bits were a little overgrown, with very few signs of use. The end had some impressive views, and it felt very remote.

Roger and Monica had brought only one pair of shorts each just in case the weather cooperated. It cooperated, and they ended up wearing their shorts for the entire trip. It was Day 4 for the shorts, giving us another laugh.

We turned around and headed back, and the views of the San Juan Mountains on that half of the trek were gorgeous. We also stopped to check out a huge, rusted snow plow we'd seen on the way in. It didn't look like it was used anymore, and it was pretty cool. We wondered what it had seen out there in the wilderness over the decades.

When we got back to the trailhead we turned left to finish Sanborn Park Road. It was a nice trip through the trees.

around_a_pond
austin-western_company_sign
big_sky
blue_sky
cool_clouds
cow_ahead
cow_pond
cows_at_hanks_creek
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different_trees
distant_peaks
downhill
early_trail
fall_colors
fence_and_cattle_guard
flooded
getting_bumpy
graded
hanks_creek
hanks_valley
healthy_pines
like_they_own_the_place
little-used_trail
lone_cone
monica_parked
open_space
powerlines
previously_muddy
remote
ridge_of_rock
rocks
rocky_near_the_end
roger_in_scenery
roger_parked
ruts
san_juans_part_1
san_juans_part_2
san_juans_part_3
san_juans_part_4
scrub_oak_and_ruts
shadows
short_climb
shorts_day_4
snow_plow_part_1
snow_plow_part_2
snow_plow_part_3
someone_had_challenges
trailhead_sign_1
trailhead_sign_2
trailhead
up_from_hanks_creek
view_at_the_end_part_1
view_at_the_end_part_2
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view_at_the_end_part_4
walt_parked
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