WeBeJeepin’ Moab

A last camp out of the fall took place this weekend with a few showing up just for the day as well as the dedicated over-nighters, a total of 10 vehicles. Here we are at Hurrah pass. The plan was to go part way up Lockhart Basin and then come down to the area around the Wind Caves and then find a place to camp.

Everyone enjoying the view and the still mild October weather.

Here’s the group entering Lockhart Basin. This area had a wash out a few weeks ago and we wanted to check out the repairs that the county made.

There’s still some challenge to the trail but it’s open.

More shots of Lockhart. That’s Dee leading the way up.

Here’s Matt and Jacob.

Then we started working our way back down.

Gary Lee lost his focus and drove into a crack. Moab TJ to the rescue!

After all the adventure, we found a place to pitch the tents.

Jacob brought along his potato cannon powered by spuds and hairspray. FIRE IN THE HOLE!

Jim set up his camp and the beverage station. He was kind enough to leave his bottle opener out for everyone to use. It, of course was attached to his keys. The next morning, when it was time to leave, no bottle opener and even worse, no keys……

We started looking everywhere and Jim started unpacking everything in his rig.  Jeff decided on a whim to try his key in Chief 9 and it worked. So, I still don’t know if Jim found his keys or not but we were able to leave. 

The evening was cool and filled with stars. We had a nice fire and good conversation around it. Later, there was quite a bit of snoring so I think everyone had a good trip.

The next morning, we drove home in a little over an hour.

Melissa

Trail Reports

The group is on a fall fix up routine so here we are on yet another trail, maintaining fences and installing signs. Today was also rig break down day. Jeff’s drtsqrl had a major transfer case issue about a mile into the trail, requiring a trailer pick up and delivery. Three vehicles stopped to help with this. (Two rejoined us later)

Gary Lee also broke a front axle just after the waterfall on Gold Bar and tip-toed home.

Here’s the group making some fence repairs.

We also placed some Christmas tree ornaments, which are yellow tabs to hang from the fencing for visibility.

Here’s the new Rusty Nail sign.

It was a beautiful and warm day and the views from Gold Bar and the Spike are stunning.

More Christmas tree ornaments.

Now to a bit of wheeling. Jim and I decided to try Double Whammy. This was Jim’s first successful attempt. A few years ago he flopped Bat Cat on this one.

Perfectly done. No problem.

Then a few of us decided to run Rusty Nail backwards. Can you see Jeep arch there in the distance?

Just onto Rusty Nail, we put another sign on this illegal obstacle. We put one here about a year ago and noticed during Memorial weekend that it had been stolen/removed/whatever. Anyway, this one is a no-no and we need to stay on the trail.

Here we are, headed to No Left Turn. Which, when done backwards is No Right Turn.

Gene makes it through with a minimum amount of spotting.

Lance is a different story. This was his first time through and he got a bit focused on the rocks and took a little lean into them.

All was well though. Jim got him back on track and took him high up the wall to keep his diff off the rock. Nice job.

We all worked our way down Rusty Nail without incident. It was another fun wheelin’/work day.

Trail Reports

A large group of workers showed up to view the leaves and clean up the La Sal Pass trail. Since this trail will soon be under the snow, we thought it would be a great time to get any trash cleaned up as well as to see the fall colors.

The vehicles were just as colorful as the leaves and we found lots of trash along the route so we took it nice and slow.

The aspens are beautiful and the weather was warm and sunny. A perfect day to be out in the mountains.

Beautiful and quite a bit different than my regular trail reports. This road has been adopted by the Moab Friends for Wheelin’ and is a nice, easy route through the mountains.

We did find one little old tree that needed sawing. Ber made a good start on it but Gary Lee couldn’t resist the grand finish!

Crazy, huh? He was on a roll ALL day.

Here’s a group shot at the top.

Then we worked our way back down, finding bits of trash we missed on the way up.

More wonderful colors. It’s been a beautiful fall and there’s still lots of trails to run. Come on down. See ya!

Melissa

Trail Reports

 

Well, the same group of Canadians and a few other guests came out for a running of Pritchett Canyon. We ended up with 12 trucks, a pretty good group size for such a technical trail.

The rain showers earlier in the week had left lots of water and signs of flash flooding.

The Brickyard had some definite puddles and just enough mud and dirt to make it interesting.

Everyone chose the line that they liked best.

Sometimes it looked like the Brickyard Nascar race, “They’re 3 wide!”

Can you recognize this picture? No? It’s the base of Chewy where we used to have a fence…..

We’re pretty used to damage by Jeeps and other off-roaders but Mother Nature? The way the vegetation was moved up onto Chewy, I’m guessing there was 4-5 feet of fast moving water through this wash. The only fencepost it didn’t get was the one we drilled into a massive boulder and even that one was moved. Guess we’ll need another work day in the near future. Too bad!

Here’s the base of Chewy and no this isn’t Melanie. Ted, from Canada, has a truck that looks quite a bit like her vehicle.

After everyone was up Chewy, we had a few posers on this rock ledge.

Everyone big wanted to give it a try and most made it too.

More fun on the ledges.

Everyone keeps a tryin’. Then we worked our way over to Rocker Knocker.

Show us how it’s done Ted! Most everyone made this obstacle too. We stopped for lunch at the top of Rocker Knocker and then worked our way to the Broken Step where Steve had a bit of a problem.

Luckily this Samurai is light. Pritchett Canyon has a way of getting you!

But, after adding a bit of oil, the little Samurai fired right up. Steve was unhurt and gives a big thumbs up after his first flop ever.

Now it’s over to Axle Hill. I think this obstacle is pretty (I know that’s probably a sick thing to say). Look at the background though.

It’s hard to capture how steep this is but I sure try.

We had a few interesting moments and some wheel lifts but all was well.

Oh, I guess Ted got a bit stuck at the top. Like I was told on my second trip through Pritchett, “You need bigger tires!” See that rear tire is not touching anything. A quick pull and he was off.

Now over to Rock Pile. I love this obstacle and most of us made it, once we cleared that first ledge at the bottom.

We have a new member to the Rock Pile club. Jim makes it for the first time! Congrats Jim.

Some folks preferred to “crawl” up the Son of Rock pile.

Then, off to Yellow Hill.

And, home again, home again. We sure enjoyed those of you who joined us this weekend. Hopefully Corey and Rayne will bring their friends again next year for another week of work and fun!

See ya on the trail.

Melissa

Trail Reports