Wipe-Out Hill
We had always done the Wipe-Out Hill obstacle as part of Sevenmile Rim, but this time we were going to do the actual trail. We did Sevenmile Rim to its true finish, and then we did the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes trail backwards to get to the trailhead for Wipe-Out Hill.
The first portion of the trail to Determination Towers would have been difficult to find without the GPS track that we had. It took us over sandy hills, down into ravines, and through a couple of washes. One section of wash had a bit of water in it. The trees were yellow for the most part, making the whole area very scenic and nice.
We could finally see Determination Towers and we were heading straight for them for awhile. It didn't take long before we were winding our way through a fun slickrock section to get up to right underneath the Towers. We couldn't believe that people actually climbed them on a regular basis. They're really tall and completely vertical in most places. It was really cool to get so close to them.
Once we got past them and picked up the trail again, it was pretty mellow. We could see a big group of vehicles slowly making their way down from the higher section by Merrimac Butte, so we pulled off to wait for them to get by us. We were on a big slickrock slab, so there was plenty of room. When they got there, we found out that they were part of a Jeep Jamboree that was in town. It was a nice mix of vehicles.
We continued on after they went past, and the hill they were coming down was challenging and fun on the way up. It wasn't long before we were at the top of the Wipe-Out Hill obstacle.
Almost everyone went up and down the hill multiple times. No one had any issues, although everyone really disliked the very tippy section at the very bottom. Mike C. even pointed out a rock that broke in two when Bob went up and down the obstacle when he was here at the end of Sevenmile Rim.
Don was on his way up it and when he got to the top he just kept going. His Jeep let him drive up to the top of the wall that is right next to the top of the obstacle. From below, it looked pretty bad. From where he was, though, he just needed a little spotting to get down from where he was. Yikes!
After we were done playing on the obstacle we headed out. We made a wrong turn, but finally ended up on the correct trail. We all noticed the face of the very serious man in the rocks to our right.
Once we got to the end, everyone aired up. The weather was supposed to be really bad for the trip home to Denver, and no one was sure what they were going to do. In the end, Mike S. decided to leave very early the next day and Mike C. left a little while after him.
This was a fabulous day, and we all enjoyed the new trail.
Reports from Other Days: 2
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Wipe-Out Hill. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
