Winter Traverse

[sinuhexavier]

It was December 3, 2009, I was due to meet Dave Harriton, Dave Yegge from AEV and Scott Brady in a week to guide them through a few sections of the Utah Traverse over 6 days for an episode of Speed Channel's "Dangerous Drives". It was obvious the weather had different ideas.

The snow came in a furious storm with a bitter cold snap blanketing Southern Utah with as much snow as they had seen in 39 years. I was holed up in Boulder, Utah with my good friend Ace Kvale waiting the storm out for 3 days. On the 4th day I headed east across the Burr Trail which had 12-16" of snow blown across it. It was eerily desolate and quiet.

The first vehicle I saw on my way to Moab was UDOT plow at the junction of 24 and I-70, Hanksville was completely snowed in. The driver of the UDOT plow looked bewildered as I passed, when I reached Green River I learned I-70 had been closed between Green River and Salina, Utah over the San Rafael Swell.

After a night in the ghost town that was Moab, I went out to get a feel for what the conditions were like out there. The temperature hovered around +25ºF during the day, dropping to +5º at night. Our original plan had been to circumnavigate Canyonlands National Park, but the storm had closed the Shafer Trail. The rest of the crew was not due to arrive for two days so I spent much of my time seeing what was doable, speaking with various agencies from BLM and the NPS. The situation looked grim, not so much because of the snow as the wind had all but blown it aside, but rather because of the NPS imposed road closures.

 

[mph]

Great pics...it would have been a killer time to make some turns in the Boulders or Henry's. There are some lines up there that look like an awesome ski!!!

 

[AxeAngel]

Very nice! Can't wait to do this sometime in the near future.

-Sam

 

[sinuhexavier]

The first day, December 12, was slow going, the temperature when we left Red Cliffs Lodge was a crisp +9ºF and while we were all excited to get on the road no one was moving fast. The route was changed with respect to the road closures with hopes that the western portions, such as the Flint Trail would open later in the week. As we climbed Hurrah pass it was clear we the temp was rising due to a warm western wind.

As we dropped down towards Lockhart Basin route finding was extremely difficult. The road had been snowed over and the wind had drifted across most sections. By the time we reached the crux of the trail at 17:00 the sun was already dipping behind the high wingate bluffs of the western horizon.

We drove into the night reaching camp at 20:00 as the temperature continued to rise.

The film crew were a great group of guys. They hit Gearheads in Moab the day before we left and stocked up on all the latest gear. Taylor Gentry was the director of photography and had never been to Southern Utah, at every turn he was just in awe at the scenery.

As the temps rose the ice quickly turned to mud and the falling snow to rain. I grew concerned about the Indian Creek Crossing that lay some 50 miles ahead. If Indian creek were to flood there would be no getting across it until the waters went down. As beautiful as it was watching these powerful thunderstorms cross over the canyon walls, we made haste south without shooting much.

 

[shortbus4x4]

I watched that show on TV a while ago. Looked like fun and cold. You took some beautiful pictures.

 

[KSJeep]

Excellent Shots!!!

 

[sinuhexavier]

As quickly as the thunderstorms rolled in they were gone. By 14:00 most of the snow had melted away in Lockhart Basin. The rain and melted snow left us with what seemed even more slippery conditions than the ice and snow. Lockhart Basin was for the most part a flat rolling track for the remainder of the day.

Camp that night was cold and clear, in the morning we checked with the NPS about Elephant Hill only to be told that it would remain closed for the next several days. Our route was changing again...

 

[sinuhexavier]

Weston Middleton (real name, no joke) who is on his own epic riding a motorcycle from Buenos Aires to Lima as we speak was adding a little shine to Scott for his formal interview. Andy Seestadt asks teh questions while Taylor Gentry mans the camera. We had come around the Abajo Mountains only to find more snow and colder temps.

Coming off of Comb Ridge the old fashioned way we headed into a side canyon as the sun dropped behind Cedar Mesa, realizing that our original plan was in no way doable with the current snow situation.

The previous night we dined on steaks and drank bourbon into the night.The morning was crisp and quiet 8 miles into the canyon. As we drove out the sky opened up bright and clear as the deepest cobalt. The cold morning didn't let us get out of there until mid afternoon and we still had a long way to go over Elk Ridge back north towards Canyonlands.

 

[sinuhexavier]

Leaving the lowlands and climbing up to Elk Ridge seemed like a good idea at the time. The snow was easily packed down low and we were making good time, but that only lasted so long. By 17:00 the Land Rover had dropped to the back, too heavy to get any float on the sugary snow we had found at the higher elevations. By 24:00 we had only made it 8 more miles, by 03:00 and another 2 miles the Brute driven by Scott was stuck and out of gas. The middle of the road was as good a place to bivy as any, we were quite sure no one would be coming by. I pulled a Davison and slept in my passenger seat until 07:30.

The Brute with it's 5.7L Hemi did all the trail breaking work for 10 hours straight burning through fuel like it was a BP deep sea rig. The next morning it wouldn't run quite right, it sputtered and spat but wouldn't move two feet. After some quick trouble shooting, Dave figured out that snow had melted around the 02 sensors forming a chunk of ice that connected to the drive shaft, pulling a wire shorting one of the sensors as soon as it made any forward motion. Easily fixed we were quickly on our way. The Brute charging ahead.

Once we reached the ridge it was smooth sailing and we were, for the first time in over 24 hours, able to open it up a bit. With gravity on our side mileage was clicking by as we charged north to our final camp.

 

[sinuhexavier]

As we spent our last night, the light seemed to be as nice as it had been the entire time, almost taking on a life of its own. Maybe it was our location at the far south boundary of Canyonlands NP, the crimson wingate sandstone reflecting all that warm light back at us.

As we headed back to Moab all feeling very proud of ourselves I managed to get stuck in a snow drift and not 100yds down the road we ran into a couple of hunters in this ancient Willy's. We were still 45 miles from pavement and these two old timers from Blanding, UT were just out on a leisurely hunt a good 100 miles from the nearest gas station. I hope they found their elk that day...

 

[sinuhexavier]

Rookie, you are supposed to sleep in the passenger seat.

What part of "I pulled a Davison and slept in my passenger seat until 07:30." implies I did otherwise?

Best nights sleep I had the entire trip, I always knew you were onto something.

 

[Mamontof]

wow :elkgrin:

That some professional pictures !!!!

Thank you to share photos , post more !!

 

[Saline]

Incredible photos of the area!

 

[ttora4runner]

Very cool, thanks for the sharing. It's surpising what a little bit of snow can do to the screnery. :victory:

 

[beast1210]

great photos, kinda of makes me antsy for winter.