Alright, I think I have found my new favorite trail. I had read a lot about the trail from various web sites and heard people talk about it, but I couldn't wait to try it out. Well I finally got my chance. Originally we had scheduled to run Red Cone Pass this weekend but we decided to mix things up a little and do Holy Cross. I was stoked, and a little worried. Art had run the trail two weeks before and came back with, 3??? new dents, or should I say modifications. Anyway, we gathered at our meeting spot on I-70 at the Buffalo heard outlook at about 8:00am. We had a good sized group of nine vehicles. But the nice thing was everyone was equipped for the trail.

    The drive to the trail head is pretty simple. We took the back way in by turning off of I-70 at the top of Vail pass and drove Shrine pass down to highway 24. From there we drove north to FR703. You can also take I-70 all the way to Minturn and head south on 24 until you hit FR703. FR703 follows the Homestake creek for about 5 miles before passing the trail head. We spent a few minutes at the trail head airing down and disconnecting sway bars. There is large area here for this. Once we hit the trail Holy Cross gives it up right away. Although the trail is known for the obstacles on the upper part of the trail and above the city, the entire trail is not for the ill equipped. There are several rocky section that are not really picture worthy but can hold you up. I managed to cut my CB antenna wire on a rock just a mile or so into the trail. The first real obstacle is an off camber shelf that requires some careful maneuvering. Just after that is a section of rocks that have a v cut stair step to the right and one big step to the left. The shorter wheelbase Jeeps went up the left, while everyone else stayed right.

Following this section is the obstacle that was once known as the leaning tree, or hardtop eater, but now you can barely tell it is there because the tree was knocked down. Finally as you continue to climb up the valley you come to the creek crossing. While we were here the weather started to turn on us and it started to rain. Several in the group crossed the creek, but only four of us decided to make a run for the city. The rest of the trail continues in a fashion you are use to, more rocks, roots, mud holes, etc. We reached Holy Cross City just in time for the rain to stop. We explored some of  the cabins and old machinery before heading for the hardest part of the trail. Chris whimped out and left his Rover at the city. Jeff and I started up the top portion of the trail, but I quickly join Chris on the side lines and pulled my Jeep off the trail. I parked just before the off camber section that many a vehicles have claimed a roll over. Jeff had no problem in his Cherokee. We just had to stack some rocks, and he had to get rid of the muffler. After this there are a series of rock ledges that require careful tire placement to get up. Eventually we got Jeff up and made it to the end of the trail.

Chris, Jeff, and I were camping Sunday night so we were in no hurry to get down. So we decided to hike up to the lake. What a good idea that was too, because when we got to the lake it was a perfectly pristine location. The water was dead calm, the sun made an appearance, everything was perfect. We hung out at the lake for a while, but then we were getting hungry so it was time to set up camp. We returned to our vehicles and started the descent down. Everything went ok, but Holy Cross presents another set of challenges coming down. When I was crossing the top side of the creek, I managed to come off a rock and landed hard on my transfer case skid plate. I bent it pretty good, but I didn't get to know the effects until I got on the highway the next day. The transfer case was to high and was vibrating, I limped it home where I'd take care of it with a BFH and a 2X4. Chris gave us a scare just before we got to camp. He rode a little to high on a rock face and as he was coming down, the land crusher bounce pretty good and the back left tire came a good couple feet of the ground. I was outside watching and thought it was all over. I thought Chris was about to test the Land Rovers roll cage strength. But he landed on all four feet and drove away. Whew! 

    The next morning we got up, had some breakfast and discussed the best routes to get home. We camped at about 11000 feet up on the trail, so we got a little wheelin in as we descended back to the trial head. On the way out we took the by-pass that turns into an easy road that ends up as FR704. This eventually takes you back around to FR703 and the trail head. So that ended our expedition of Holy Cross. It was a great trail and I can't wait to hit it again.

Justin

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