TrailDamage.com

Photos, videos and information about 4x4 trails in Colorado and Utah

  • Trails
    • Colorado
    • Utah
  • Reports
    • Featured Photos
    • Featured Videos
    • Reports Calendar
  • Members
  • Search
  • Trail Damage Winners
  • FAQ
  • Community
  • Upcoming Events
  • Membership
  • Log In
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Slaughterhouse Gulch 070407

April 7, 2007 by Monica

Slaughterhouse Gulch

Trail Run on April 7, 2007
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader
View trail information for Slaughterhouse Gulch

Gary R.
Yellow 1978 Jeep CJ-7
Mike C.
Red 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
Don W.
Silver 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

The weather almost made it look like summer was coming as we planned this trip, and as the date approached it went right back to winter. It was cold and snowy in town as we headed up to the trail, and we wondered if we were crazy for wheeling. We were ready to start the Colorado season, though, so we toughed it out.

We aired down and started on the trail, and followed some tracks in front of us. There was only an inch of snow on the ground, so we hoped that we'd be able to finish the trail.

Only Don was up for Poser Rock. It was snowy and probably pretty risky, but he didn't have any issues. He got some nice flex.

When we got to the crossroads for the loop we noticed that the tracks we were following went in but didn't come back out the other side of the loop. Either they turned around and gave up, or they were still out there.

The snow kept getting deeper, but it seemed to be fairly easy to negotiate. Then we started up a hill in the trees and found the Jeeps we were following. The snow suddenly got quite a bit deeper, with a thick layer of ice underneath. The three Jeeps in front of us were all having a hard time staying on the trail and moving forward, even with winches.

We stayed and helped for a bit, then realized that even if we got past this point we wouldn't be doing the loop with the trail conditions like this. We weren't that far from the meadow at the top of the big downhill, but we decided to turn around rather than wait.

We got turned around and planned on heading over to the mud pits to play. The people in the Jeeps in front of us said they were going to do the same thing. On our way down, we ran into a couple more Jeeps on their way up. They also turned around to follow us down to the mud pits. A couple other vehicles were headed up, but we didn't see them again after passing them.

We were the first ones on the section of trail to the mud pits -- at least since the last snow or two. When we got to the pits, there was hardly any snow because they're so exposed. It was warm enough to actually have a lot of slick mud and sloppy puddles.

Gary and Don parked on a couple of rocks and we broke out our lunches. We watched two of the Jeeps play in the mud, then watched the other three. After we finished our lunch, it was our turn.

Mike was all over the mud, having no issues climbing out of the biggest mud hole on the far side. It was good to see, because everyone else had some issues there. He got his Jeep nice and dirty.

Gary played for a bit, then tried a hill in the middle. It had deep ruts, and the mud was really slick. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get up the hill. It seemed impossible. Eventually, he went to find another hill to play on.

Don had to give it a try, of course. He tried a few lines, but he ended up having the same issues Gary had. It was just too slick and steep, and the ruts were too deep. He was working his way off of it when his front end slid sideways. He was close to going over and flopping sideways into a deep mud puddle.

He was going to need some help out of the mud, so Mike hooked Don's winch up to his Jeep. The mud was so slick, so another Jeep helped out as an anchor to keep Mike from sliding. Gary hooked up a tow strap to the back of Don's Jeep to stop him from flopping over during the recovery.

When Don started winching himself up the sloppy hill, his rear end slid sideways and he ended up winching straight up the hill. It was a close call, but he came out of it without dumping himself into the mud.

After that, we decided to see where the trail goes past the mud pits. After all of these years, we've never gone past them. We didn't get very far. The snow was very deep and heavy, so we had to back out after a couple of minutes.

We headed out, aired up, and went to dinner at Crossroads in Pine Junction. It was a good dinner, and it was nice to be warm. Even though we didn't get to do the big loop on the trail, it still ended up being a fun day of snow and mud.

airing_down_part_1
airing_down_part_2
don_at_lunch_part_1
don_at_lunch_part_2
don_at_lunch_part_3
don_in_the_mud_part_01
don_in_the_mud_part_02
don_in_the_mud_part_03
don_in_the_mud_part_04
don_in_the_mud_part_05
don_in_the_mud_part_06
don_in_the_mud_part_07
don_in_the_mud_part_08
don_in_the_mud_part_09
don_in_the_mud_part_10
don_in_the_mud_part_11
don_in_the_mud_part_12
don_in_the_mud_part_13
don_muddy_part_1
don_muddy_part_2
don_on_poser_rock_part_1
don_on_poser_rock_part_2
don_on_poser_rock_part_3
don_on_poser_rock_part_4
don_on_poser_rock_part_5
early_trail
first_to_the_mud_pits
gary_at_lunch
gary_in_the_mud_part_1
gary_in_the_mud_part_2
gary_in_the_mud_part_3
gary_in_the_mud_part_4
gary_in_the_mud_part_5
gary_in_the_mud_part_6
gary_in_the_mud_part_7
gary_in_the_mud_part_8
gary_in_the_mud_part_9
jeeps_at_the_mud_pits
looks_like_winter
mike_and_don
mike_in_the_mud_part_1
mike_in_the_mud_part_2
mike_in_the_mud_part_3
mike_in_the_mud_part_4
mike_in_the_mud_part_5
mike_in_the_mud_part_6
mike_in_the_mud_part_7
mike_in_the_mud_part_8
mike_in_the_mud_part_9
mike_muddy_part_1
mike_muddy_part_2
mike_on_the_trail
mike_straddling_the_trail
mud_pits
poser_rock
snow_was_too_deep
virgin_snow

Reports from Other Days: 15

Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Slaughterhouse Gulch. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.

October 2, 2021

Led by Matt K.
Matt waited at the gas station meeting place for 20 minutes, but nobody else showed up for the trail run. Matt knew that Slaughterhouse Gulch is not a hard trail to run, so he decided to go on his own. It looked like it was going to be a very…
»
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
Join Us!
If you aren’t a Member or Subscriber, you can’t see all of the content on this site. Get membership information to see why this site is best when you join and log in

Information for Subscribers

When you log in you’ll see more information here:

  • Recent Community Forum posts
  • Recent polls
  • Upcoming Events you can attend
  • Links to online users

© 2000-2023 · TrailDamage.com · Terms and Conditions · About · Contact
Trail information is only accurate on the date posted. Trails may have changed or closed since that date. Use this information for historical purposes only.
Contact the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management for up-to-date trail information.

/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* View slug: reports-other-reports-for-same-trail-slider - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* place the prev/next controls on the sides */ .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-next-link, .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-previous-link { border: none; font-size: 300%; position: absolute; top: 70px; } .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-previous-link { left: 0; } .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-next-link { right: 0; } /* center the page selector horizonatally */ .td-transition-controls ul.wpv_pagination_dots { text-align: center; margin-top: 10px; } /* center the page selector horizonatally */ .td-transition-controls ul.wpv_pagination_dots li.wpv_pagination_dots_item, .td-transition-controls .wpv_pagination_dots li a { display: inline-block; float: none; } /* remove the default styles */ .td-transition-controls .wpv_pagination_dots li a { text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none; } .td-slider-container { padding: 0 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; position: relative; width:100%; display:table; } .td-slides { position: relative; } .td-slides-image { float:left; display:table-cell; } .td-slides-image img { border:1px solid #c0c0c0; } .td-slides-content { padding:4px 4px 4px 10px; border-top:1px solid #c0c0c0; border-right:1px solid #c0c0c0; border-bottom:1px solid #c0c0c0; display:table-cell; height:227px; overflow:hidden; } .td-slides-content h3 { margin-top:8px; } .td-slides-leader { font-size:smaller; margin-top:4px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* View slug: reports-other-reports-for-same-trail-slider - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for a Single Report - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .entry-header { display:none; } .entry-content h1 { margin-top:16px; padding-top:0; } h1 a { color:#222; } h1 a:hover { color:#666; } p.entry-meta { font-size:small; } #report-body-spacer { clear:both; width:100%; height:20px; } #addtoany-bar { margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; } .category-reports .post-info .author, .post-info .date { display: none; } .addthis_recommended_horizontal { text-align:center !important; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for a Single Report - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in REPORTS Runners - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ #runners-container { width:100%; clear:both; } .runner { border:1px solid #c0c0c0; margin:0 6px 6px 0; float:left; width:49%; height:81px; } .runner-image { float: left; } .runner-image img { margin:2px 10px 0 2px; height:75px; width:75px; } .runner-name { text-transform:uppercase; } .runner-name a { color:#222; } .runner-name a:hover { color:#666; } .runner-vehicle { font-size:small; } @media only screen and (max-width: 768px) { .runner { width:100%; } } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in REPORTS Runners - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */