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

Transfer Trail 150815

August 15, 2015 by Monica

Transfer Trail

Trail Run on August 15, 2015
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader
View trail information for Transfer Trail

Monica I.
Red 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Matt K.
White 2016 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
Walt S.
Gray 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392
Julie M.
Green 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

We had a great night's sleep at the Supply Basin Campground the night before, listening to coyotes. Walt came up Coffee Pot Road in the morning from his hotel in Eagle, and we didn't hang out for long before we were on our way down the Adams Lake trail a short distance. We planned on taking Transfer Trail down to I-70 and then looping back up via Main Elk Creek Road. We had a lot of miles to cover in one day.

The weather couldn't have been better. We had blue skies, warm temperatures that weren't too hot, and trails that were mostly dry. That was good news, because we knew how nasty the southern portion of Transfer Trail can be when it's wet. The scenery started out beautiful and stayed that way for most of the day. It seemed like we had the trail to ourselves.

You could see for many miles sometimes as the trail passed in and out of patches of healthy pine trees. Monument Lake was gorgeous, with blue waters flashing in the sunshine.

Soon after that, we came to the Blue Lake trail. We did that trail and then came back to Transfer Trail. Then we passed the end of the White Owl Lake trail, a place we were at the day before. Full circle!

The scenery got really interesting as we got to Quartzite Ridge. Quartzite is an interesting rock that is often in natural but very squared-off blocks. It also forms big, flat areas of nearly smooth rock like slickrock. We joked about how ancient civilizations lived there and the stone buildings had fallen to their state now. It was almost believable. It's a weird, otherworldly place.

We found ourselves behind big, stock trucks moving slowly, but they soon let us pass. There was a fun patch of rocks, and we wondered how they'd do in them. We didn't see them again until a while later. When we got to Haypress Lake, we took the trail to the other side for lunch in one of our favorite spots (this is also an amazing campsite).

We had lunch and watched a few people go by in trucks and dirtbikes, but the trail was pretty quiet. The sun was nice, and the scenery was amazing. We took our time at lunch, but then we moved on.

When we got to Bowen Lake, Julie and Walt hung out near the trailhead while Matt and Monica did the trail. Then we were all together again and heading south.

There were some muddy spots, and we didn't spend much time at Windy Point. It's too bad that the trail isn't a bit wider there, so you can spend a bit more time. After that, the trail got steep and stayed steep.

Monica told tales about how ugly the trail is when it's muddy. We saw the big spots eroded by water and where it was previously muddy, but dry it was fine. It was still a very long descent between switchbacks. This part of the trail isn't one of our favorites, but we had plans to gas up in Glenwood Springs. There wouldn't have been a place to turn around, anyway.

We worked our way down and we were lucky not to find anyone on their way up. When we were up on the Flat Tops, the weather was perfect. In Glenwood Springs, it was hot and very crowded. We stopped at what seemed like the world's busiest gas station, and Walt aired up and headed for home. The rest of us headed west to check out Main Elk Creek Road and head back up into the Flat Tops.

around_a_lake
aspens
beautiful
big_view_part_1
big_view_part_2
big_view_part_3
big_view_part_4
big_view_part_5
big_view_part_6
brown_stripe_in_green
bumpy
curvy
deep_blue
descent_to_town
downhill_fast
flowers_and_aspens
forest_service_sign
gate_near_the_southern_end
haypress_lake_dead_end_sign
haypress_lake_forest_service_sign
haypress_lake_part_1
haypress_lake_part_2
haypress_lake_part_3
haypress_lake_sign
healthy_trees
high_road
into_the_trees
julie_and_matt
julie_on_the_trail
lakes_in_the_distance
lines_of_quartzite
little_flowers
low-hanging_tree
lush
marshy
monument_lake_part_1
monument_lake_part_2
monument_lake_part_3
morning_sky
mud_puddles
muddy
multicolored
narrow_shelf
northern_end
off_the_side_part_1
off_the_side_part_2
old_ute_trail_marker
open_space
overgrown
patchy_trees
pond
potholes
puddle
quartzite_blocks
quartzite_ledge
quartzite_like_slickrock
quartzite_ridge_ahead
ridges
rutted
shadows
sloppy
southern_end_sign
stones
tall_aspens
tire_tracks
to_the_lunch_spot
trail_ahead
unnamed_water
walt_on_the_trail
warning_sign
wavy
weird
whoopdeedoos
windy_point_part_1
windy_point_part_2
windy_point_part_3
yellow_flowers

Report from a Different Day

July 21, 2007

Led by Monica I.
This was the last trail for the day. It was getting late and we knew we still had lots of miles to cover before we could head back to Eagle and the hotel. We started at the trailhead off of the Adams Lake trail and headed down. It was bumpy…
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 */ /* ----------------------------------------- */