Spring '09 Kokopelli trail trip

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I'm a bit behind on a couple of trip reports, so I'm trying to catch up.

Earlier this year plans were made on ExpeditionUtah.com to run the Kokopelli trail from Loma, CO into Moab, UT. A few friends from Canada, Jan and Colin, were Overland touring around the USA and wanted to run the Koko as part of their trip. Jan was in his 70 Series Landcruiser and Colin was in a well-build FJCruiser. Joining us on this trip were Kevin Kemp (kkemp on RME) and his wife Nan in the red YJ and Randy Langstrat in his black XJ. I was driving our FJ80, so with 5 vehicles we set out on the trail from Loma, early in the May morning.

The Kokopelli 4x4 trail is a route that is 150 miles long and closely follows the popular mountain biking trail, with the exception of a few places that aren't passable in a 4x4. The 4x4 trail stays as close to the mountain biking route as it legally can. The Koko covers a huge variety of terrain, ranging from easy 2 track to technical, traversing large washes, then rocky climbs and descents. The elevation also ranges from low desert to a high mountains alongside the La Sal mountains. If you're driving the trail you should plan on spending 2 days to travel it, 3 if you have a big, slow-moving group.

We met at Loma, CO at the mountain biking trail head to see the Kokopelli Trail map and prepare for the trip.

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From the trailhead we started driving West on the dirt road, then hopped onto the pavement for a quick run down the 6 and 50 Highway. We turned off the Highway at Sidewinder Road, under the freeway and into Rabbit Valley from the back way. We aired down as we came into Rabbit Valley, to prepare for the rocky trail ahead.

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Soon enough our group was in the heart of Rabbit Valley with it's amazing views. We all stopped to soak in the sights and take some photos.

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
The trail quickly gets narrow as it cuts it's way across the rocky hills in Rabbit Valley. There are more than a few spots that captured our attention as we passed right next to large boulders and steep hills. After a bit of seat cover puckering, we started across the wide valley, turning North, then West and eventually South as we climbed out of the valley.

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
We took a quick break after working our way out of the valley, then headed towards the Westwater section of the trail. There's a little bit of everything on the Westwater section, some pavement, a handful of wash crossings and lots of 2 track trail. We took a quick lunch just before the Cisco Boat ramp, then continued on our way. At this point the 4x4 trail separates from the mountain bike trail and heads towards Cisco, then crosses the deep Cisco Wash, when possible. I saw 'when possible' because depending on recent weather conditions in the Book Cliffs, there may be a good deal of water flowing thru the wash. If that's the case, you are best off going all the way into Cisco and catching Hwy 128 to the turnoff by McGraw Bottom and onto Dome Plateau. The Cisco wash was dry this time, so we each dropped in, then clawed our way out.

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
After finding the pavement of Hyw 128 we headed South, then picked up the Kokopelli Trail on our way to the Dome Plateau portion. The first several miles of trail are a bit bumpy and bland, but the visual payoff comes quickly and is well worth the wait.

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
We dropped down to the Colorado River at Dewey Bridge and followed the Kokopelli trail up Entrada Ranch Road. From here we took a detour from the Koko to our planned camp site for the night... we slowly worked our way up the Top of the World trail, soaked in the views and then setup camp. We build a fire and wasted the night away with good company, conversations, amazing scenery and perfect temperatures.

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The following morning we all woke up with the sun, took a few more pictures of the light on the valley below, then headed down Top of the World.

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
We picked up the Kokopelli on Entrada Ranch Road and headed towards Rose Garden Hill. This starts out as a smooth drive, but as the road gets deeper into the desert and begins to climb, the road condition deteriorates.... just how we like it! There are a handful of ledges tossed in to make sure you're paying attention to the trail and soon enough you're staring down at Rose Garden Hill. I hate to admit it, but I didn't get too many pictures at this point. Wish I would have, because this part of the trail is my favorite area.

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We took our time coming down Rose Garden and didn't really have any issues. I did have to roll a massive rock out of the trail in order to get by it, thankfully gravity was on my side. At the bottom of the hill we came out on the Onion Creek Road. At this point we noticed Colin had a tire that was loosing air... he somehow managed to smack a rock with the wheel, bending the bead and destroying the sidewall of the tire. We swapped out his spare and he decided to head into Moab and find a replacement tire. Also at this time the Kemps decided to bail, as they had plans back at home later in the day. We said our goodbyes, made plans to meet back up with Colin in Moab then Jan, Randy and I turned up Hideout Road and the La Sals.

After passing the La Sals we took the La Sal loop road past a recently burned area and then found the upper turnoff for Sand Flats road. We worked our way down Sand Flats road, finding an increasing amount of people as we got closer to town. Eventually we were dropping into town and back to reality and civilization.

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We meet up with Colin at the Moab Brewery, Randy had to take off for a minor home repair emergency, so Jan, Colin and I shared some food and drinks, discussing the exciting and amazing parts of the trip. It was a great time, writing this makes me look forward to the next Koko adventure!

Hopefully soon I will add the GPS track to the first post, if anyone wants to see the route we took and would like to duplicate the drive. :)
 

JL Rockies

Binders Fulla Expo
Location
Draper
I was given some bad information. I was told this trail was bike ONLY when I said I wanted to try it. I see it all the time when I got up to top of the world and I think to myself "looks like there's been rig traffic on that there trail".

Nice pics
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Beautiful. Now that's 4-wheelin. :cool:

Thanks Shane, it's a great trip... we ought to get together for this one some time. ;)


I was given some bad information. I was told this trail was bike ONLY when I said I wanted to try it. I see it all the time when I got up to top of the world and I think to myself "looks like there's been rig traffic on that there trail".

Nice pics

Yep, you were given bad info. 90% of the Kokopelli trail is 4WD roads, you just have to know what roads connect to complete the trail. Glad you enjoyed the report!
 
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