Ridgeway, CO

​July 31, 2022

Well, from an uneventful, quiet night on the Mesa, (yeah!!!) to an easy un-muddied exit, I continued south. I wound up taking the drive towards Telluride and upon reading the reviews decided to take a dirt road towards the national forest. What a stunning drive through high plateaus, and scenic mountains! With many ranches, and many for sale. I decided to stop just after I saw a sign that warned about further entry, which requires four-wheel drive, and limited, if nonexistent, emergency services. This road was going to travel into the roughest mountain terrain. I spent some time here catching up on Internet, a connection which surprised me, however I was up at 9200 feet in virtually open field with no shade. So Maybe cell reception was unobstructed. Jo Jo and I enjoyed several cool and comfortable walks, and surprisingly, there was a lot of traffic, mostly jeeps. The air was crisp, and fresh, with just a slight odor of cow. I even got some television reception which has been rare. I prepared some dinner with leftovers for the future, and thought I was good for the night. Suddenly at 8 PM a silver truck literally pulled out right in front of me. A man stared through the windshield, although I don’t know if he could see me. I was concerned, but remained silent, without letting them know that anyone was in here. He pulled out onto the road with a second vehicle next to him, and they had conversation for several minutes. He then pulled up right next to me, got out, and knocked on my slider. Naturally Jo Jo, being the premier security dog, went nuts. I never open up my door in a situation like this, and I don’t generally have this situation, but I opened up the window and said hello! Long story short, apparently, I am camping on private property. He was a ranch hand and not the owner of Heath Ranch, and I assured him that it was not my intention to trespass on any private property. My apps, and maps led me to believe this was national forest property. According to him, it was not. I even asked if they had room at the ranch for me to camp or park. They said no, they don’t have the liability to cover that. Ugh. I left about five minutes later, after checking some resources, but I was not happy driving 5 miles at dusk, navigating not only the potholes, but the massive elk that I saw on both sides of the road. Part of me was tempted to just pull over any old place, but I decided to pursue an area near the town of Ridgeway. If that didn’t work, I was willing to head back an hours drive towards where I spent last night on the Mesa, near Montrose. Fortunately the BLM trail head parking worked out fine as there was room, and no one bothered me. Encountering this situation just reminded me that there is no 100% guarantee of finding a dispersed or undesignated campsite. With all the apps and maps that I own there is still a big question mark of uncertainty. Avoiding this scenario, would mean I could just register at a designated, commercial campsites. One of my last choices. I’m still not convinced that I was chased out of there under legitimate reasons. I’ll have to do some research when I get home. In the end, I’m safe and sound. I am reminded that I need to be flexible, and open minded, and to go with the flow in this case. It’s just part of the adventure that I have decided to embrace. I headed towards Telluride in the morning.
























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