Exploring the Dolores Triangle

Date: October 8, 2008

On Wednesday, I decided to skip the official trail rides and head out to explore an area with Ryan (DrMoab) that is not as well known as a lot of the other trails in the Moab area. We were headed for the Dolores Triangle. This area is located out past the Dewey Bridge on the East side of the Colorado River and North of the Dolores River. The only way to access this area from Moab is to cross the Dolores River, which is not usually possible in the Spring. It was even pretty deep when we crossed it on this day. This area is also accessible from the Grand Junction area without the need to cross the river, which I can also use as an alternate route into Moab in the future.

Anyways, we got a later start and headed North from Moab on Highway 128 to the Dewey Bridge. Before heading over to the Dolores Triangle there was another trail I wanted to check out first, called Pole Canyon Rim. This trail follows some power lines to a nice overlook over the Richardson Amphitheater and Colorado River.

Ryan following me up the trail
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128101-1/IMG_3198.JPG

Much of the trail was broken slickrock and bumpy
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128103-1/IMG_3199.JPG

View over the Colorado River from the first overlook
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128123-1/IMG_3209.JPG

Headed to the second overlook on a much smoother section of trail
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128135-1/IMG_3215.JPG

View from the second overlook
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128151-1/IMG_3223.JPG

Headed back down around Pole Canyon looking across towards Dome Plateau
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128179-1/IMG_3237.JPG

After making is back down to Entrada Bluffs Road, we headed over to the Dolores River crossing. I walked across part of the river to see how deep it was before crossing. It was actually just about as deep of water as my Jeep can cross without issues.

This is the crossing. The deepest part is on the other side.
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128206-1/IMG_3246.JPG

Just about at the deepest part of the crossing
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128218-1/IMG_3253.JPG

This road follows along the Dolores River for a little ways
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128238-1/IMG_3263.JPG

We passed this old cabin along the way
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128248-1/IMG_3268.JPG

Once on the Dolores Triangle, we decided to head up onto Hotel Mesa to an overlook to see if we could see the confluence of the Dolores River and Colorado River.

The road onto Hotel Mesa was not a very well traveled two-track and a pretty wide open area
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128266-1/IMG_3272.JPG

The good news was that once we reached the overlook, we had a great view of the confluence
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128280-1/IMG_3279.JPG

We also had a good view down into Lake Bottom, where we crossed the Dolores
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128274-1/IMG_3276.JPG

After leaving the overlook, it was starting to get late, so we decided to head back. Of course, we had to cross the Dolores again.

Ryan crossing the river
http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128190-1/IMG_3293.JPG

http://www.myxj.net/g2/d/128194-1/IMG_3295.JPG

It was a great day of exploring a new area, but we barely made a dent in the area. I am hoping to spend a lot more time exploring this area in the future, as there are a number of roads and trails in this area.

Full galleries are here:
Pole Canyon Rim
Dolores Triangle
Hotel Mesa

Nice TR! Thanks for sharing! :2thumbs:

what lift and size tires do yall have on the XJ's? They are lookin good. Nice TR!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeepin Biker

what lift and size tires do yall have on the XJ's? They are lookin good. Nice TR!!

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My XJ is the black one and it has about 5" of lift and 32x11.5 tires.

The yellow one is about 5.5-6" of lift with 33" tires

Man got some epic trips rolling in. :cool2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by accadacca

That John Denver's full of sh*t, man.

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I though I was the only person that saw that movie.

"Hmmm, Calafornia. Beautiful."

The crossing in the photographs is the one roughly 1 1/4 Miles upstram from the confluence with the Colorado River?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hatchcanyon

The crossing in the photographs is the one roughly 1 1/4 Miles upstram from the confluence with the Colorado River?

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I don't know the exact mileage, but that sounds about right. There is another crossing further upstream, but it looked like it was a bit too deep to cross there on that day.

The second crossing ist 10 Miles upstream and 2 Miles east of the gaging station. The river channel is less wide at this point. Therefore it is reasomable to expect deeper water or a faster flow.