kcowyo
ExPo Original
"Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will - whatever we may think."
- Lawrence Durrell
"Our plan was simple. Slither and pound our way through the beauty of the Colorado Plateau and remain as remote and self sufficient as possible."
- Dave Connors (UCE)
When the opportunity came up to return to Canyonlands National Park, outside of Moab, Utah, how could I not go? Unlike my previous solo trip, I would have the pleasure of tagging along with one of my favorite photographers, Darren Kilgore of Colorado, and his overland prepped '02 4Runner. Darren and I have done a quick weekend trip together before and I find him to be the most agreeable traveler.
An invitation was also extended to our mutual friend, Chuck Hathcock of New Mexico. In addition to his flawless GPS skills, Chuck has a great Tacoma that he's put a lot of time, effort and thought into plus he's really into photography as well. He would wind up joining us later in the week for the White Rim Trail. With a photographer and off road demon of Darren's caliber and a wildlife biologist with nav skills like Chuck on board, I was sure to learn a lot on this trip!
The only thing that could make a trip to Moab better is being able to go with someone who knows a few secret spots but also has a desire to see something new. We all had varying reasons for taking this trip but we agreed that visiting the more remote parts of the park was a must. We pinpointed a few highlights that we were hoping to see and I began to plot a route that would allow us to see as much of the remote areas around the park as possible.
I met up with Darren in Moab, Sunday morning May 7th. It was the last official day of Cruise Moab '06, and as I made my way south off the interstate to Moab on 191, I was fortunate enough to see many attendees heading out of town. I'm a big mark for 'Cruisers so seeing the myriad of 80's, 40's, new FJ's, 60's and a few 55's that had come to town the week before was a real thrill. We would be fortunate enough to see a few Cruisers that stayed after CM '06, on the trails that week too.
After an ice and gas stop, Darren led me up to Arches NP, for my first official visit of the park. It was real treat as I've driven by the park several times, but I've never had time for a formal visit. The numerous parking lots to view the Arches were typically crowded but Darren had a plan. From the northern end of the park, he turned back south but on a 4wd trail that paralleled the main park road before turning west back towards 191, north of Moab. We aired down and made our way along the trail that had a few easy off camber sections and several stair step obstacles. The scenery was excellent but merely foreshadowed what we'd see all week.
We made our way north on 191, back to Interstate 70. The next two days we would be in the most remote section of the park, the Maze. We stopped for gas in Green River, UT and I was surprised to see an old Lake City, CO neighbor and employer at the gas station. They were returning from Lake Powell, and heading to Lake City. It was one of those weird random road moments because I had not seen them since leaving Lake City almost 5 years ago and here we were bumping into each other at some gas station in the middle of a state that neither of us live in.
On the move again, we make our way south through the San Rafael Valley to the western side of the park. The Glen Canyon Recreation Area would be our first stop as we took several shots of the sunset that evening. Later we made camp near the entrance of the Maze and tried to figure out how it takes 8 hours to drive 20 miles as the signs had said. It wouldn't be a mystery for long.
**** With 7 days on remote trails and over 700 photos of my own, not including Darren & Chuck's pics, this will be one of my annoying multi part reports. Not trying to be dramatic or suspenseful, it's just easier for me to do it in small increments.****