Power Wagon on narrow, steep, shelf roads

[retired]

 

[Gamedog]

just got back from Moab and I will say Moab is more suited for the jeeps. I go 2X a year and this is the first time in the PW. great time to be there tho as nobody was on the trail. Camped on White rim and does not get any better.

Man that looks awesome!

 

[retired]

Mant that looks awesome!

It was great. I think we may have been the only two people on the White rim camping we were at white crack which is unbelievable. you will never see night skies like on the white rim.
this is what you see looking over the edge of the camp spot.

 

[Overlander]

I've been out there on a moonless night and could easily walk around by the light of the stars. Such incredible night sky.

 

[olyelr]

Didn't see this video posted on here but it's definitely the right spot for it:


The commentary is hilarious.

Oh my fawk. Aint NO WAY. No way in hell.

 

[Grand Mesa]

Glad to see that you saw some Desert Big Horn Sheep along the White Rim Trail too. The Rams are majestic.

 

[Overlander]

Or is it the only?...
View attachment 230162

Pretty sure Mrs. Overlander would be crying just like this lady...

 

[Grand Mesa]

Pretty sure Mrs. Overlander would be crying just like this lady...

At least on Black Bear Pass its all one way going down. You might have to back up for a bit, but you don't have to worry about passing someone coming up. I could see vehicles going off of it, if they had to drive back up it in reverse in order to find a place to pass.

My Avatar photo is of an old 1880's cattle trail near my home at a switchback blown out from the side of the cliff. I was going downhill on it in my Power Wagon. I get concerned when driving on it about having to back up it. There's a stretch of approximately 1 mile of it being a quite narrow shelf road on a 1,000 foot cliff of which there are no passing opportunities. Most of that route has not much more than 18 inches of extra roadway to spare. Some corners are right on the edge with the Power Wagon's width.

Below is a 2018 internet description of it. I won't post its name due to I don't want it to get the heavier tourist traffic like Black Bear has.

"there were stretches where passing would be deadly. The drop-off was impossibly steep, and the sides of the trail were loose. We saw a place where someone probably went off the side, and a memorial was there now.

The last two legs of the trail between the switchbacks and the top were insane. It was the longest section of trail between switchbacks that we could remember, and it was almost level as it went from one side of the cliff to the other."

 

[Travelin Ram]

Didn't see this video posted on here but it's definitely the right spot for it:


The commentary is hilarious.

We considered Blackbear last summer and decided it just wouldn’t be fun, mainly because of the wheelbase of the PW on that first tight switchback.
The videographer is a bit dramatic, because most days you’ll encounter the tourist carrying excursion vehicles. Which are stock full size trucks with seating bodies on the rear. They are two door trucks, though. It’s the wheelbase, not the width that’s the concern. Look how wide modern lifted Jeeps are.

I do agree with his main proposition; rent a Jeep and enjoy the ride. A two door would be a piece of cake. Great video!

 

[retired]

I've been out there on a moonless night and could easily walk around by the light of the stars. Such incredible night sky.

It Was a that way just small moon and clear as a bell. Lost count of the falling stars. We kicked ourselves for not having a telescope.

 

[retired]

Glad to see that you saw some Desert Big Horn Sheep along the White Rim Trail too. The Rams are majestic.

It was a treat for sure. Saw a few of them but most would not let us get much of a look at them. Saw some deer from afar but they were really skittish. Swear I saw an oversize coyote but it was running so fast I was not sure what it was but it was headed for the rocks at mach speed.

 

[Grand Mesa]

It was a treat for sure. Saw a few of them but most would not let us get much of a look at them.

There's a herd of 8-10 which hangs around along the steep canyon wall roadway near our exit 49 on I-70 which parallels the Colorado River. Been seeing them nearly every time we go into Grand Junction and they're quite beautiful to see. Once nearly extinct, they were reintroduced into the Colorado National Monument in 1979. In 2020 their number is approximately 230 within this area alone of the Colorado Plateau.

Here's a driver's video back in October approaching one on the roadway of I-70 just pass exit 49.

 

[Grand Mesa]

Another Black Bear road accident. A 1 year old dog and the young woman driver survived with serious injuries due to they were ejected along with the engine of an out of state 2021 Ford Ranger. Makes me not to want to wear my seat belt while driving the PW on our Colorado shelf roads.

Vehicle rolls 400 feet down Colorado's 'most dangerous' road, person ejected | OutThere Colorado

According to the San Miguel County Sheriff's Offfice, Black Bear Pass and Bridal Veil Road were closed early on Sunday following a severe rollover crash that involved a 2021 Ford

www.outtherecolorado.com

 

[Keith67]

Another Black Bear road accident. A 1 year old dog and the young woman driver survived with serious injuries due to they were ejected along with the engine of an out of state 2021 Ford Ranger. Makes me not to want to wear my seat belt while driving the PW on our Colorado shelf roads.

Vehicle rolls 400 feet down Colorado's 'most dangerous' road, person ejected | OutThere Colorado

According to the San Miguel County Sheriff's Offfice, Black Bear Pass and Bridal Veil Road were closed early on Sunday following a severe rollover crash that involved a 2021 Ford

www.outtherecolorado.com

Yikes. I did Black Bear Pass in my Tacoma a few years ago, it was fun, but I don’t think I’d want to take the Power Wagon on it. Definitely not a trail you’d want to fall off.

 

[Grand Mesa]

Yikes. I did Black Bear Pass in my Tacoma a few years ago, it was fun, but I don’t think I’d want to take the Power Wagon on it. Definitely not a trail you’d want to fall off.

Here's a full sized Ram pickup on Black Bear Pass (July 15, 2021).

HD Ram That Flipped on Black Bear Pass Was One Roll Away From Disaster

Nobody was injured when this Ram went over, which isn't always the case with wrecks on Colorado's fabled Black Bear Pass.

www.thedrive.com

 

[retired]

just poor driving on these..hope she recovers.

 

[SkeeterBait]

C.W. McCall said it best in his comical song about this road... "you don't have to be crazy to drive this road, but it helps"
When I said put a rock under the wheel, I mean a ROCK...!