WeBeJeepin’ Moab

Sunday, May 26th, 2013, a large group of locals and guests from Georgia went out to run Pritchett Canyon. The day dawned beautiful but threatened to be a hot one so we hurried to get started on what turned out to be typical Pritchett Jeep revenge.

Melanie was riding with me so captured some shots from the inside of Redroxx, showing how beautiful the canyon is. The first 2 miles are pretty uneventful so it is a perfect time to take in the scenery.

The first little side obstacle made for some good photo opportunities.

We quickly moved to the Brickyard obstacle and then on to Chewy.

We had a bit of a wait here for a group in front of us but soon had the opportunity to give it a try. Chewy is a long and difficult obstacle but everyone gave a great show.

Susan giving the first shelf of Chewy a great try. She almost made it today.

The upper portion of Chewy needs careful attention as these shelves are off-camber and slippery.

Go Flipper! Rick ran his Samurai over the entire lower portion before finally making it up.

We then worked our way towards the second half of the trail. This one steep ledge usually gets everyone’s attention.

Over to a slickrock portion of the trail just before Rocker Knocker that has several options.

A big wheel lift is followed by an even bigger one!

Poor Kirk needed some rescue after his Jeep decided to sit up and beg for mercy. Pritchett isn’t finished with him yet.

Everyone made it up Rocker Knocker and then up and over to Axle Hill after lunch.

Fun times on Axle Hill. This one is named after Susan. Here she is driving it successfully this time.

Now I got to give it a try. Axle Hill is one of my favorites.

No problem-o.

Go Larry but watch that tub grip! You might want to keep those fingers for next time!

Go Moaby J! Awesome representation of the square headlights!

Doug looks like he’s out for a Sunday drive.

We started watching some of the action over on Son of Rockpile.

Moments later, Kirk took a dramatic flop.

We started attaching some straps for a recovery effort.

And got the Jeep back on the tires. Unfortunately, some of the guys were holding on to one of the straps and went flying when the Jeep came over quickly.

Here I get to play nurse, one of my least favorite roles on the trail…..for everyone involved.

And, believe it or not, Randy survived the whole Moab trip. Nothing a few band-aids and ice can’t fix.

Now it’s time to give some first aid to the Jeep. She spilled out all her life fluids and needed the plugs pulled.

In the meantime, Larry decided to get his tires up on Rock Pile and give it a whirl.

Nice photos and scary stuff. You’ve got to save something for next time! Rock Pile and the Big Hot Tub…..

Here’s Susan getting ready to go up the Son of Rock pile. She went up with no problem.

Everyone made it up Yellow Hill and then a slow journey out on the county road to 191……except for the isolated really fast journey through the sand dunes that left Larry and Steph temporarily lost in the desert.

Another wonderful trail day and except for some minor people and Jeep injuries, everything was perfect. Hold on Melanie!!!!!

 

Trail Reports

The Georgia Trailriders made the long haul from Northern Georgia to Moab, Utah to try out the slickrock. We have been on the trail with many of these folks before, both at EJS and when the club visited 3 years ago at this same time.

I would like to make this blog more fluid and have people send some photos to me, especially of Rusty Nail portion as I was busy spotting and didn’t take photos. Please send photos to webejeepinmoab@gmail.com

Saturday started out busy with lots of Jeeps and excited participants. Here’s a photo of the group lined up on the county road.

And an interesting monument to axles of the past.

Everyone made it through Rusty Nail just fine. We stopped for lunch and worked our way over to the Golden Spike trail to drive the Golden Crack. Beautiful scenery of the vehicles with the La Sals and Behind the Rocks area in the background.

Another great view of the back country. Jeep Arch is just visible behind the white Jeep.

First we drove across the crack headed toward the East. Doug shows us how it’s done.

 

Here’s Melanie headed over in Over EZ.

And a small wheel lift caught on camera.

After we all made it successfully across, we turned around and headed back to go home via Gold Bar Rim. Here’s Susan coming across the crack.

Great driving skills over the crack for one of our younger drivers.

Dee even captured a couple of photos of Redroxx taking me over the Crack.

After the crack, we had a bit of an issue that required recovery…… All was well.

Lots of steps between the crack and home, requiring the driver to pay close attention.

We stopped for a few minutes to let everyone try Double Whammy. Glen gave quite a show and nearly rolled Moab YJ but I don’t think anyone got it on camera. Here’s Over EZ coming up.

We also took a break at the over look at the top of Gold Bar Rim. Awesome views of 191 and into Arches National Park.

I hope to add some more photos into this report so we’ll call it almost finished. A wonderful trail, beautiful weather, and great friends made for the perfect day.

Trail Reports

A group from WeBeJeepin went out to pre-run Pritchett Canyon before Easter Safari 2013! Here are some photos from the trail.

The Brickyard is the first main obstacle on the trail. There are several choices here but this is the more difficult.

Another view of the difficult side.

The reason why its called the brick yard is this brick in the tree by the obstacle.

Tough and very difficult Chewy obstacle. Out of 5 trucks full of locals, 3 made it without a winch line. This yellow Samurai is Jeff Stevens, our gunner for the day.

Another view of Chewy.

Here is the technical climb of Rocker Knocker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcoxPMDf50

Another view of Rocker Knocker.

Axle Hill.

Another Jeep on Axle Hill.

Jeff driving the Rock Pile.

Trail Reports

Thanksgiving weekend in Moab is traditionally the last hurrah of Jeeping for the winter season. Although many still wheel all through the snow and cold, this time period seems to hold with pretty good weather, allowing for some good times. Today, the group decided to visit Behind the Rocks.

As you can see, Utah is still looking snow free (except for a tiny amount on the LaSals). This turned out to be a beautiful morning.

The first gatekeeper obstacle continues to be an interesting challenge and we took turns having fun climbing it.

From there, it was pretty uneventful until we got to the High Dive obstacle. I can’t believe how the drop off at the very bottom has gotten steep.

Jeff went down fairly uneventfully except for a nice wheel lift at the bottom. I had a big wheel lift too but didn’t get photos in time to post them here.

Dee, however, decided she wanted to ride a wheel lift all the way down on her buggy. With the morning sun, it’s hard to see how big the lift is here but I can guarantee there is suction power at work keeping this buggy from flipping down to the bottom….

I grabbed this quick shot of Dee at the bottom. Too bad I didn’t video so you could hear the screams…..it was one of those, “give it gas and pray” moments. Luckily it turned out in her favor and we were all able to laugh about it.

And to cheer for Susan.

I figured that after Dee’s dramatic experience, I should turn the video function on. Susan failed to scream though.

I can’t believe how blue the sky is out here. We are touring around the arches…..

Picture Frame arch.

I was able to grab a quick photo through a dirty windshield of Jeff climbing Hummer Hill. That’s one of the problems with a good group is that by the time you catch up to everyone, they are already up and over the obstacles, needing no spotting.

From here we decided to go around White Knuckle hill and approach it from the bottom to climb it. Everyone in our group was successful today. I went up first (again, no photo). Gary Lee was right behind me so I missed him too. Jeff was the first one I had a photo of. We had a small group of spectators that were at the top of White Knuckle and allowed us to come up first.

Here comes Susan. She needed a couple of tries.

And Dee’s first trip up White Knuckle Hill……EVER! Congratulations Dee!

Sorry the roll cage blocked out your face Dee. I wanted to include this photo so you could see the college boys admiring you and your awesome buggy.

It was another wonderful Moab trail day. Hope to see you out soon! Happy Holidays.

Melissa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trail Reports

Ok, I realize the evil blogger is nothing short of evil for not posting blogs all summer. Well, its been interesting year. Gary Lee got promoted to Georgia so we moved. Our Moab house sold.  It’s been crazy BUT, I think I’m back on track.

I’ve also been traveling quite a bit since I kept my job in Salt Lake city but am doing a lot more sales support.

Here’s a view from New Zealand where I visited for work in July

And one from Hong Kong…..

Even to the Great Wall of China!…..

But this bloggers favorite place is Moab!

I’m really happy when I can visit and get some Jeeping in.I’m starting to understand how special it is when you can’t just visit every weekend. Well, today, it’s Pritchett Canyon!

A really nice day and a good line up of trucks.

Lots of good wheeling. Here’s Jim on the Brickyard!

And Gary Lee was along too in Over EZ

Chewy has changed SOOOOO much since the springtime. Both the lower and upper sections have deteriorated so that the lower section takes a real lead foot and the upper section is really off-camber. Check out some of these videos.

After we finished at Chewy, we worked our way across the beautiful canyon.

Some decided to try this optional obstacle near Rocker Knocker.

The mud and the water made it a difficult go, especially for the late comers who were treated to muddy rocks.

Then it was Rocker Knocker time. One of the best obstacles in Pritchett and everyone did great!

We had lunch at the top of Rocker Knocker and then started on the upper section which includes Diffy’s Dump, Axle Hill, Rockpile, and Yellow Hill.

Here’s Jeff at the top of Axle Hill.

And…..here’s a photo of Gary Lee who just missed the Rockpile. The good news is that the man and the truck are fine. There was a large group of UTV’s at the base of the Rockpile. They were very helpful with tipping Over EZ well back OVER. So, Redroxx repaid the favor by towing several of them up the Rockpile. I don’t think Redroxx even knew they were there.

Then it was up Yellow Hill and the completion of the Pritchett Canyon trail.

But, the county road can get you as well. Here’s Redroxx getting a rough trail weld. The bracket that holds the steering box (or pump) in place, failed. I noticed when Redroxx didn’t want to steer.

But, we eventually made it off the trail and ended up having a great day. Now, I’m finishing this blog here in Georgia, wishing for more trail days in Moab. Guess I’ll see everyone on Thanksgiving!

 

Trail Reports

Last Sunday, May 27th, a group of us went out to run Rusty Nail. We had a couple guests from RME (Rocky Mountain Extreme) and with the worst of the windstorms behind us, we set off to have a great day in Moab.

Everyone has names for these obstacles on this short spur trail between Gold Bar Rim and the Golden Spike but Jim calls them Rocky #1, Rocky #2, and Rocky #3. The last obstacle I’ve always heard called No Left Turn. Here’s Larry on Rocky #1.

Gene was our trail leader today and he put his CJ through it’s paces. He elected to bypass Rocky #1 by using Rocky #2 which is just to the left. By the way, none of these obstacles are by any means easy. A couple of ATV’ers came up to the base of Rocky #2, watched us for awhile and then went back the way they had come. Here’s Gene’s attempt at Rocky #3 on the left side which was not successful. He elected to back off and let someone else go. This turned out to be me and after 20 minutes on the right hand side with lots of rock stacking and excellent spotting, I made it up.

This set the stage for everyone else to go (and everyone did!) Here’s Susan.

And of course, here comes Rick on his favorite obstacle.

Another gal Jeeper from RME. Sorry, I’m terrible with names but she did a great job with some good on-board spotting.

Here we are on No Left Turn. Gene was first down and the rest of us followed, sans spotter. By the time he came back to check on us, most of us were already down.

Here’s Larry on the lower rock portion.

And Rick in Flipper.

The weather started moving in and I had lots of chores to do so Melanie, Susan, and I decided to head back using Gold Bar Rim while the others went on to Where Eagles Dare. Here’s a great shot of Jeep Arch as we made our way onto the Gold Bar Trail.

Another shot looking out across Canyonlands with the Colorado River in the background.

The girls made it off with plenty of time to get ready for a BBQ while many of the guys went all the way through to Poison Spider trailhead. Rick and Jeff came back across the Spike using Gold Bar and apparently Rick’s Flipper broke down, requiring some on-trail welding. Jeff made it to the BBQ just in time to eat though.

Another nice trail day.

Trail Reports

Jim took a group of us out to the Rainbow Terrace area which is located off Hwy 313, out and around Dalton Wells last Saturday, May 26th. The day started out lovely but breezy so we took advantage of the weather and started off looking for rock art.

Our first stop was this rock art panel located very near the turn off from 313. These rock paintings are called pictographs and the type is considered Barrier Canyon style, dating anywhere between 1500 and 4000 years old.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrier_Canyon_Style My husband and I have been watching the television show Ancient Aliens and this panel with the alien gray figure fits right into those theories. Notice those giant eyes and gray color as compared to the other figures? Scary!

After exploring around the rock art walls, we set off again, heading towards the Dellenbaugh Tunnel. The incredible beauty of the day was to be short-lived as the breezy weather turned into a sand storm. That didn’t stop us from heading on to the Tunnel and making the hike down and through the other side.

Here’s a photo of us stopped at the tunnel with what we call “franken-rock” in the background. After we hiked through the tunnel, we went over to the donkey rocks area for lunch. A sandstorm descended and we decided to call it a day. A nice short trip though.

 

Trail Reports

A group of us went out on Mother’s Day to enjoy a bit of wheeling as well as to check out some of the Arches hidden in the Metal Masher Area. Jim, Rick, and Ber had all been there before and agreed to show us Rubble, Jack’s, and Periscope Arch. This first photo shows an arch that’s pretty much in the center of the photo (2 large darker boulders are partially blocking it). I believe Jim called it Rubble Arch and it’s right across the trail from the Gooney Bird rock on the Gemini Bridges Road.

Sometimes spotting arches can be a difficult task. Look carefully everyone! Of course, once we knew that we were going out to Metal Masher, a few in the group wanted to see how Widow Maker was doing. Rick had metioned that the winch anchor at the top of the obstacle could be pulled out from the ground and we wanted to see if it could be repaired.

Jim was the first one up to the Widow Maker and he drove right up as you can see in the video below.

 

 

Rick decided to take a pull in Rock Dawg as did I in Moab TJ and Ber. Larry successfully made it up too but I didn’t capture a video. Sorry Larry, I thought I had it. Maybe it’s on Lou’s camera?

We had a new participant with the group today. Kevin, from Texas. He elected to take a pull up the Widow Maker as well.

I get asked about break-over angles with the 4 door JK’s and in Moab, it’s quite possible to get hung up, no matter your wheelbase. Stuck on Widow Maker? Don’t leave me RALPHY! Okay, so Larry dragged him up and all was well……

Jeff gave quite a show climbing Widow Maker as well.

After the fun on the obstacle, we drove out to find the arches. The first one we came to was our lunch stop and is called Jack’s arch. You can barely see Jeff inside this nice-sized arch. After lunch, we drove over to the next canyon to check out Periscope Arch.

This arch required a short hike but it was nice and cool in the shade.

Another very interesting formation although we were hit by flying shrapnel as Jeff threw sandstone rocks into it to see if there was any water inside. I think the answer was no. OUCH!

It’s also time for the cactus to flower and the first flowers are opening up to the hot desert sun. I found one of yellow…..

And one of pink….. All flowers for Mother’s Day and I hope everyone had a wonderful day, just like we did.

Thanks all and see ya on the trail.

Melissa

Trail Reports

On Saturday the 10th of March, a small group of us went out to pre-run Pritchett Canyon for the Easter Jeep Safari. This past weekend was beautiful in Moab with the temperatures reaching into the 60′s. It was a bit cool in the morning but soon we were enjoying the warm sunshine.

I think the canyon walls around the Brickyard are just beautiful. We had Pritchett to ourselves all day long.

Larry was out today.

Everyone tried the Brickyard obstacle to the left without much of a challenge.

Jim rode with me today as he was having some work done on Chief 9. He found plenty to do as the fencing was down in multiple spots. It looked like cattle damage and most of it was able to be at least spot repaired.

We noticed a big rock had moved on Chewy, somewhat forcing the line more back toward the middle. We’ll see how this works with smaller Jeeps during Safari but Rick makes it look easy.

We were moving through Pritchett so quickly that a few of my videos have more than one rig climbing an obstacle.

Rick was having a bit of spring fever, literally……his springs are designed to come out of the mounts during articulation and should go back into place but didn’t really happen. A big rock and some help from Jeff got them temporarily back into place.

Then it was fun on Rocker Knocker. Susan shows us how it’s done.

Then Larry shows us his high line for longer wheelbases.

Over to Axle Hill where everyone makes it look too easy.

Rick and Jeff made it look pretty easy too but if you climb too far to the right, you may have a bit of a struggle on the second section.

 

Uh-oh! What’s this? Jim, what could you possibly be thinking?

a. Why’s everyone going so fast? It’s too early to go to church!

b. Why didn’t we bring some fencing and tools? There’s plenty of work to do and you guys are all playing around!

c. I think I strained my hamstring climbing in and out of Redroxx all day.

d. Could Rick possibly be thinking about tackling the Rock Pile again?

Well, if you guessed “d”, you guessed right although I think all of the above would work too! Anyway, Rick put on quite a show as you can see from the two videos.

In the long run, Rick decided to go around. The only one to conquer the Rock Pile today was Jeff and that was only after he aired down to negative pressure and suction-cupped up.

It was a great day on the trail and we were off and home by 2:00pm.

Thanks all and see ya on the trail.

Melissa

Trail Reports

Well Easter Jeep Safari is almost here! Many of us will be leading or gunning trails this year and are getting our pre-runs in to make sure the winter hasn’t changed anything.

Our Saturday choice was Cliffhanger.

Gary Lee thought that since this is a fairly easy trail, he would let Chaco drive. Chaco did a great job and really had focus but unfortunately, he’s too short to reach the clutch so he had to ride along.

The weather was a bit cool and windy but the sun was out!

Melanie was our trail leader today and she made quick work of the first obstacle after the creek crossing.

Lots of beautiful redrock along this trail.

If you didn’t know this was March, you would think it was mid-summer with the intense sunshine. Larry was out today too, taking advantage of the early season.

There were only 5 of us out in Jeeps but we saw plenty of hikers, runners, dogs, and bikes.

We had an early lunch at the overlook. On the way back, Melanie took on the Cliffhanger obstacle.

No troubles whatsoever. I do think this obstacle is getting bigger though.

Gary Lee also made it up as did everyone else.

Here’s Larry at the end of the trail.

As well as Jeff.

Here’s a video of Melanie climbing the final obstacle on Cliffhanger

The end of another great trail day, Melanie, Gary Lee, and Chaco all posing for the camera. Thanks all and we’ll see you on the trail.

Trail Reports