Basinben
New member
This route was recently described in Overland Journal. However, this trip had been on my mind since my friend Chris and I drove the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route in 2013. We decided to stray from the motorcycle route and travel through Beef Basin to Elephant Hill and reconnect with the UTBDR on the Lockhart Basin road. After dealing with quicksand and detours we were eventually forced to turn back at Bobby's Hole because the road had been destroyed by heavy rains a few days prior. We backtracked to the Bridger Jack road and ended up seeing a huge black bear in Indian Creek. That trip was the first official 'Mancation'. Upon returning from that adventure my wife noticed such a positive change in me that she decided an annual Mancation was mandatory!
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Previously, the timing of these trips were extremely last minute. I was disappointed that I had not given my dad enough heads up to schedule time off from work for the last 2 trips. This Summer, I utilized knee surgery recovery time to schedule and plan the Fall adventure. The trip would include my great friend Chris in his FJ80, my dad in his FJ Cruiser and myself in a 97 Discovery. It had been a while since I had gone on a trip with my dad and I was very excited to show him this area. When I was little he had fueled my appetite for adventure by bringing me library photocopies of Unimog and Land Rover adventure articles. He later had me convinced that my first car had to be a 67' Land Rover series IIa 88". I would come home with 'close call' stories from solo adventures in the Monte Cristo mtns. near our home in Ogden, UT. His expression of genuine concern for my solo wanderings only fueled my young craving for adventure. Needless to say I was looking forward to a father/son offroad adventure while Chris and myself had a score to settle with Bobby's Hole.
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Chris and my Dad had packed and prepared in a timely fashion. I thought I had. At the last minute I had to deal with some shock absorber issues and the day before departure my front-driverside brake caliper decided to blow 2 seals. I owe a great deal of thanks to Bill at Great Basin Rovers for helping me acquire the necessary parts within literally hours notice.
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Day 1:
We still managed to depart on schedule and planned to meet Chris in Bluff, UT. in the evening. Chris had decided to leave a couple days early and was going to find a great spot in Valley of the Gods for our first night. My Land Rover handled the best it ever has with new matching shocks. I won't go into details but the expensive 12" remote reservoirs I was running in the rear were not a good match for the OME's in the front. I also managed a MPG best of 16 on the way to Moab! We recently found a local gas station that sells ethanol free 88 octane gasoline. After several fillups I've experienced a significant improvement in performance. The fuel combined with my 4.6 engine and 4.11 gears has actually resulted in better performance than when my Disco was stock and fully loaded! My Dad was already voicing his extreme satisfaction for his brand new Cooper STT Pro tires. He noticed hardly any increase in road noise but a noticeable improvement in handling and ride compared to his previous name brand all-terrains.
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We made a brief stop in Moab for fuel, a backcountry permit and green chili smothered lunches at the Moab Diner. Obtaining a backcountry permit for Canyonlands N.P. was very easy. However, I learned that booking 10 days in advance was not early enough (you can request permits up to 4 months in advance). There were plenty of sites available, I just didn't receive the permit before our scheduled departure. I was able to contact the Moab office on the way down and they were happy give me the permit at the main office in Moab. After a brief warning about flash flooding, quicksand and $1500 towing fees we set off. Just as we were leaving Moab, Chris called and informed me that Valley of the Gods was incredibly windy and new 'NO FIRES' signs were posted in all the campsites. Having looked forward to our first night in the desert around the fire we quickly agreed that we'd meet up with Chris on the Comb Wash road instead.
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Camp #1
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Day 2:
Everyone was up by 7:00 making coffee. Coffee was on Chris and I list after trying the previous 2 yrs. to compensate with tea. We had both opted for backpacker French presses but soon realized our mistake when it came time to clean said contraptions. My Dad was excited to show us his perfect solution. He explained that his years of searching for great, simple trail coffee had led him to the GSI Java Drip. Watching him simply throw paper filters away after breakfast every morning had us convinced. We hit the road and within several hours the heat had us looking forward to camping high in the Abajo Mtns. Fresh rain two days prior had left the Comb Wash road and empty canvas. There were many interesting tracks in the road and somewhere near Fish Creek we came across some bear tracks.
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Comb Wash
-
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Clearing a path!
After reading about the possible landslide on Comb Ridge, we had decided to try a trail that appeared on some of our maps to climb out the north end of Comb Wash. We searched for a while and had to backtrack from several dead ends. A road grader had repaired the main road recently and left a large windrow on both sides of the road. We soon realized the windrows were blocking the spur roads. After turning back we found the road we were looking for but it was overgrown and obviously rarely used. Experience reminded us not to waste too much fuel chasing 'possible' routes. We decided to drive back to Comb Ridge trail and see for ourselves if the reported Posey's Switchback landslide had been cleared. Seeing the grader work gave us hope that the road had been repaired however, immediately after beginning the climb out of Comb Wash the road condition deteriorated drastically. I had promised my Dad the trails we were going on were not going to be that difficult. This road was so washed out I was seriously worried that my Dad was not going to want to continue. About 10 minutes into the climb I reached the landslide. Dad and Chris arrived shortly after and Dad made it clear he was not looking forward to driving back down. The landslide was not too impressive so Chris and I immediately set off on foot up the road. We thought that possibly a larger slide was further ahead. After hiking up about 15min. we couldn't find any evidence of road damage above so we turned around. The road actually improved after the slide debris. After returning to the convoy and brief deliberation, we decided to try and move the boulders blocking the trail. Chris grabbed his 4' pry bar and my dad came back with a Come-a-long and a ratchet strap. We used the largest boulder as an anchor for the rig and simply began dragging the debris out of the way.The pry bar made short work of the smaller boulders. Within half an hour we had cleared a path. My dad was ecstatic. "We just opened this road!" he exclaimed. "Everyone else turned around but we didn't, this is awesome!". The true reward from that brief workout was not continuing on but witnessing my Dad's reaction to our adventure beginning to reveal itself.
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-
-
-
The rest of the climb was uneventful yet still technical enough to require attention in our vehicles. A brief lunch was enjoyed at the top and my dad was immediately sold on roofrack awnings. Shade in the desert is a luxury Chris and I are willing to haul around on our roofracks. Our goal for the afternoon was to find a camp in the Abajo's close to the Beef Basin turn off. We passed the Gooseberry Guard station around 6pm and began looking for a campsite. The elk hunt was under way and any sites large enough for 3 expedition prepped SUV's were already accompanied by large toy hauler RV's. We ran into the Guard Station host who was out for a walk and he pointed us in the direction of his favorite sites. Excitedly we searched out his recommendations only to find every single one occupied. After an hour searching we turned south and found an excellent site not far from the Guard Station. We quickly cleared large Ponderosa pine cones from suitable tent placements and dinner was a 'fend for yourself' affair. Temps dropped quickly after sunset and my Dad's nifty travel thermometer recorded a night low of 45F if I remember right.
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Camp #2
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Days 3 & 4 to come......
-
Previously, the timing of these trips were extremely last minute. I was disappointed that I had not given my dad enough heads up to schedule time off from work for the last 2 trips. This Summer, I utilized knee surgery recovery time to schedule and plan the Fall adventure. The trip would include my great friend Chris in his FJ80, my dad in his FJ Cruiser and myself in a 97 Discovery. It had been a while since I had gone on a trip with my dad and I was very excited to show him this area. When I was little he had fueled my appetite for adventure by bringing me library photocopies of Unimog and Land Rover adventure articles. He later had me convinced that my first car had to be a 67' Land Rover series IIa 88". I would come home with 'close call' stories from solo adventures in the Monte Cristo mtns. near our home in Ogden, UT. His expression of genuine concern for my solo wanderings only fueled my young craving for adventure. Needless to say I was looking forward to a father/son offroad adventure while Chris and myself had a score to settle with Bobby's Hole.
-
Chris and my Dad had packed and prepared in a timely fashion. I thought I had. At the last minute I had to deal with some shock absorber issues and the day before departure my front-driverside brake caliper decided to blow 2 seals. I owe a great deal of thanks to Bill at Great Basin Rovers for helping me acquire the necessary parts within literally hours notice.
-
Day 1:
We still managed to depart on schedule and planned to meet Chris in Bluff, UT. in the evening. Chris had decided to leave a couple days early and was going to find a great spot in Valley of the Gods for our first night. My Land Rover handled the best it ever has with new matching shocks. I won't go into details but the expensive 12" remote reservoirs I was running in the rear were not a good match for the OME's in the front. I also managed a MPG best of 16 on the way to Moab! We recently found a local gas station that sells ethanol free 88 octane gasoline. After several fillups I've experienced a significant improvement in performance. The fuel combined with my 4.6 engine and 4.11 gears has actually resulted in better performance than when my Disco was stock and fully loaded! My Dad was already voicing his extreme satisfaction for his brand new Cooper STT Pro tires. He noticed hardly any increase in road noise but a noticeable improvement in handling and ride compared to his previous name brand all-terrains.
-
We made a brief stop in Moab for fuel, a backcountry permit and green chili smothered lunches at the Moab Diner. Obtaining a backcountry permit for Canyonlands N.P. was very easy. However, I learned that booking 10 days in advance was not early enough (you can request permits up to 4 months in advance). There were plenty of sites available, I just didn't receive the permit before our scheduled departure. I was able to contact the Moab office on the way down and they were happy give me the permit at the main office in Moab. After a brief warning about flash flooding, quicksand and $1500 towing fees we set off. Just as we were leaving Moab, Chris called and informed me that Valley of the Gods was incredibly windy and new 'NO FIRES' signs were posted in all the campsites. Having looked forward to our first night in the desert around the fire we quickly agreed that we'd meet up with Chris on the Comb Wash road instead.
-
Camp #1
-
Day 2:
Everyone was up by 7:00 making coffee. Coffee was on Chris and I list after trying the previous 2 yrs. to compensate with tea. We had both opted for backpacker French presses but soon realized our mistake when it came time to clean said contraptions. My Dad was excited to show us his perfect solution. He explained that his years of searching for great, simple trail coffee had led him to the GSI Java Drip. Watching him simply throw paper filters away after breakfast every morning had us convinced. We hit the road and within several hours the heat had us looking forward to camping high in the Abajo Mtns. Fresh rain two days prior had left the Comb Wash road and empty canvas. There were many interesting tracks in the road and somewhere near Fish Creek we came across some bear tracks.
-
Comb Wash
-
-
Clearing a path!
After reading about the possible landslide on Comb Ridge, we had decided to try a trail that appeared on some of our maps to climb out the north end of Comb Wash. We searched for a while and had to backtrack from several dead ends. A road grader had repaired the main road recently and left a large windrow on both sides of the road. We soon realized the windrows were blocking the spur roads. After turning back we found the road we were looking for but it was overgrown and obviously rarely used. Experience reminded us not to waste too much fuel chasing 'possible' routes. We decided to drive back to Comb Ridge trail and see for ourselves if the reported Posey's Switchback landslide had been cleared. Seeing the grader work gave us hope that the road had been repaired however, immediately after beginning the climb out of Comb Wash the road condition deteriorated drastically. I had promised my Dad the trails we were going on were not going to be that difficult. This road was so washed out I was seriously worried that my Dad was not going to want to continue. About 10 minutes into the climb I reached the landslide. Dad and Chris arrived shortly after and Dad made it clear he was not looking forward to driving back down. The landslide was not too impressive so Chris and I immediately set off on foot up the road. We thought that possibly a larger slide was further ahead. After hiking up about 15min. we couldn't find any evidence of road damage above so we turned around. The road actually improved after the slide debris. After returning to the convoy and brief deliberation, we decided to try and move the boulders blocking the trail. Chris grabbed his 4' pry bar and my dad came back with a Come-a-long and a ratchet strap. We used the largest boulder as an anchor for the rig and simply began dragging the debris out of the way.The pry bar made short work of the smaller boulders. Within half an hour we had cleared a path. My dad was ecstatic. "We just opened this road!" he exclaimed. "Everyone else turned around but we didn't, this is awesome!". The true reward from that brief workout was not continuing on but witnessing my Dad's reaction to our adventure beginning to reveal itself.
-
-
-
-
The rest of the climb was uneventful yet still technical enough to require attention in our vehicles. A brief lunch was enjoyed at the top and my dad was immediately sold on roofrack awnings. Shade in the desert is a luxury Chris and I are willing to haul around on our roofracks. Our goal for the afternoon was to find a camp in the Abajo's close to the Beef Basin turn off. We passed the Gooseberry Guard station around 6pm and began looking for a campsite. The elk hunt was under way and any sites large enough for 3 expedition prepped SUV's were already accompanied by large toy hauler RV's. We ran into the Guard Station host who was out for a walk and he pointed us in the direction of his favorite sites. Excitedly we searched out his recommendations only to find every single one occupied. After an hour searching we turned south and found an excellent site not far from the Guard Station. We quickly cleared large Ponderosa pine cones from suitable tent placements and dinner was a 'fend for yourself' affair. Temps dropped quickly after sunset and my Dad's nifty travel thermometer recorded a night low of 45F if I remember right.
-
Camp #2
-
Days 3 & 4 to come......
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