Arizona Strip - 64 gallons later

[Explorer 1]

Day 3, Part 2 - Kelly Point

Day 3, Part 2

When we finally arrived at Kelly Point the sun was beginning to set so first came the pictures and enjoying the views, then came camp setting followed by dinner in the dark.

And what better time to frame out a picture of old Explorer 1?

We enjoyed a dinner around the fire but as earlier said, all the tree trimming made for an early bedtime.

If today wasn't enough fun we get to do it all over again tomorrow (only without the tree trimming!) :wings:

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[taggart_lumpy]

looks like a great trip

 

[FireGuy]

I love Kelly Point, but it is not for the faint of heart . You WILL scratch your vehicle getting there, maybe all the way down to the metal. The trail is very overgrown and rough. Plan for downed trees, mud, lots of rocks, and some horrific biting bugs depending on the time if year you go. Last June, at Kelly Point, we couldn't even get out of the car until the wind kicked up in the evening, the bugs were so damn bad.

I would recommend at least two vehicles, three being better.

Here are a couple pics from last year.

 

[Explorer 1]

Bugs and bushes

You WILL scratch your vehicle getting there, maybe all the way down to the metal.

We lucked out, other than a spider and scorpian, there were no bugs of any kind.

The trees and bushes did serve us some service by helping scratch off some of the mud placed there earlier! :sombrero:

Thanks for sharing.

Fred
Explorer 1

 

[Explorer 1]

DAy 2, Part 1 - Road to Poverty

Day 4, Part 1

Morning brought a fresh view of the Grand Canyon, one could sit for hours viewing the different canyons and cliffs, but as John Wayne used to say "Were burning daylight" and we had a long ways to go so after a good breakfast we broke came and re-traced our 32 miles back out to the Oak Grove area.

In the morning I found this guy on my chair, aside from the tarantulas I've seen this guy was the biggest.

Jim found a scorpion in his 4-runner where he sleeps. Part of his leg was numb that day, but it cleared up that evening.

This was Murrie's first time out since we put a 3" lift on his Cherokee and added the quick disconnect sway bar. I took these so he could see the improved articulation.

At Kelly Point we took a group picture, we were still smiling and fairly clean at this point.

One last movie view of the point:



On the way in and out we crossed this seasonal stream that still had some water in it. From the looks of it there was a time recently that it flowed like a mad torrent flash flood. Dead and downed trees were all around torn from their former home, Large rocks had also been displaced.

Here is a short movie with the view the other direction:




Once again we were in a wooded area this time "on the road to Poverty" One of the guys in the group said he had been on that road before but didn't recognize any of the surroundings!?

Shortly the road and area opened up and we were able to pick up some speed on the open plateau. It was fun to run 45 mph after so many hours of 3-5 mph.



Eventually we came to what I called "Separation Intersection" Jason who had so faithfully pull the PW both directions through the mud had to head for home, and the PW which had it's third flat on our way out from Kelly Point had to call it quits as he was now running on only two tires on the rear axle. His son Matt who had already left behind his Cherokee the first few hours of the trip now transferred all his gear over to Cody and continued on.

Here is out last group photo all together as we continued to head toward Whitmore Rapids and they out to St. George.

With the PW gone and down two vehicles it was easier to stay closer together and our progress continued as we pressed on to Whitmore Rapids for the night.

Day 4, Part 2 later.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[Explorer 1]

Day 4, Part 2 Whitmore Rapids overlook

Day 4, Part 2 Whitmore Rapids

After departing from our 2 friends at Poverty we proceeded to take the path less traveled instead of the smoother road around the mountains.

Before I get too far or as Pecos Bill used to say "We're putting our socks on over our boots or sliding down the hill without knowing where the cactus are" I should update you with a map of our planned route:

From The map you can see our route to Poverty, a easy 30- 45 mph road. Then when we turned off the main road and it became a bet rougher and slower, 10- 25 mph. We crossed over passing up the Whitmore Point trail and and than over a rather steep trail down to where we met the main road coming in from the north heading down to Bar 10 Ranch and Whitmore Rapids Overlook.

This "shortcut" was steep enough that I had the transmission locked up in compound low, 1st gear much of the time. I was too busy driving to take any pictures but perhaps one of the others may provide me with a picture later.

Once we joined the main road we were shortly at the Bar 10 ranch where we found to our joy that they did sell gasoline (which we will purchase tomorrrow on our return trip) and to our disappointment they no longer sell ice cream, the trail again descends steeply and it isn't long before the Colorado River comes into view.

As far as I know, Whitmore Rapids overlook is the closest you can drive to the Colorado south of the North Rim Park. It's a half hour walk down the 700' cliff from our campsite. We arrive just in time for two of the younger members of our group to make the hike and a quick swim in the rather brisk water. They arrive back in camp after dark.

We made our camp in the open flat spot overlooking the river. There was a warm breeze coming down from the west and I was glad it was early spring and not mid-summer.

As the sunset, we all enjoyed an evening around the fire enjoying the stars and each others good company.

That night one could have almost slept on top of their sleeping bag as it never really got all that cold.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

:lurk:

 

[xpdishn]

Fred, great report so far. :smiley_drive: :lurk:

Is the Bar 10 going to sell gas on a permenent basis? That would be a big plus for those doing this trip.

 

[Explorer 1]

GAs at Bar 10

Fred, great report so far. :smiley_drive: :lurk:

Is the Bar 10 going to sell gas on a permenent basis? That would be a big plus for those doing this trip.

I didn't ask if this was going to be a long term plan but they were most happy to stop what they were doing and sell us all total over 60 gallons at $7.00 per.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[xpdishn]

I didn't ask if this was going to be a long term plan but they were most happy to stop what they were doing and sell us all total over 60 gallons at $7.00 per.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

yea, I would stop everything to sell gas at $7.00 per.

 

[Explorer 1]

Day 5 - Toroweap and SB Point

Day 5 - Toroweap & SB Point.

In the morning, Murrie tried a new way of preparing eggs.

and we learned more about the large flow of lava that once dammed the might Colorado. It says it was a temporary dam of about 200,000 year.........some temporary!

That morning I couldn't help take a few pictures of three happy cars:

Had to include this movie of the Rapids and canyon:



We climbed back up the steep hill to the Bar 10 Ranch where they were so kind to sell use the much needed fuel we needed to have if we weren't going to cut our trip short. I bought and additional 17 gallons. Without their help we wouldn't have been able to visit the following three destinations.

While filling up there was something that the horses liked on his hood and they started licking it clean. It was quite a site, one of the other guys has a photo of this I'll have to get.

About 2 miles north of the ranch we departed from the maim road and steeply climbed along Hells Hollow canyon taking a break near the top as engines and trans were getting a bit hot.

Approaching Mt Logan pine trees again filled our view. It was about this time my transmission started acting up. Seemed it couldn't figure out what gear it best liked and would shift all over the map. I eventually turned off the trans computer and went to a manual mode for the rest of the trip.

Driving through the thick forest one could forget hey were on the edge of a desert and mighty canyon.

We had heard the route we wanted to take had a closed gate so we had pieced together a number of trails going around which took us by the Mt Logan overlook and Hells Hole. We stopped for lunch at the Mt Logan overlook and later found that while the map showed a trail out to the Hells Hole, no one had driven that trail in years and years so we continued our "go around" down to Potato valley and then south through some high open plains toward Toroweap.

It was a long and fast dusty road into Toroweap. Once we got to the point and campground we found more people then we had seen the entire trip. Most of the campsites were taken so it became obvious that our group of 6 vehicles would have to fine someplace else to camp. We spent some time enjoying the views and steep cliffs dropping thousands of feet to the river.

Look close at this photo to get some idea of scale, there are two people in it!

It's a long ways down to the first bump!

Here is a movie giving a bit more perspective:



Here is a movie of Lava Falls, according to the raft Guide I spoke with at Lees Ferry, there are some 10' waves in there!



After we spent some time exploring we were off retracing our path to where we departed the main Toroweap road for SB Point.

Our plan was to find some place on BLM land we could camp for the night and then get an early start for SB arriving early for once for a leisurely afternoon and evening.

When making the route we planned on following I used Google Earth. I decided to try and avoid the main route to SB and Kanab which ran way north of our position. I knew we were in trouble when the route on my Lowrance came to a barb wire fence, no gate, and with no other option around.

Fortunately, Neil had two other GPS systems in his car and was able to call out to me the directions we could take to work around all the many obstacles we met that afternoon. It took a great deal of patience to work our way up one trail then another to finally blend back into our planned route. In the process we kept looking for some place to camp for the night without success.

When we finally got back on track the consensus of the group was to go for SB point, even in the dark.

Traveling in a remote area with faint trails is only more challenging with the coming of night. Off came two of my HID covers from the roof rack. Two of the lights are pointed about 15' out and are floods. This work great for slow trail finding.

I arrived at the trails end which I had to assume was SB point well into the night. No moon had come up yet and only had radio contact with the group. I lit up my center spot light and pointed it in there direction, hoping to encourage them where the end of the trail was. Next I started a camp fire as I knew we still needed to prepare dinner. We were all a bit tired and stressed out from all the driving in the dark and after dinner we hit the sack.

We had no idea of what kind of views were in store for us next morning at SB Point:

Here is shot of what we found in the morning! :Wow1:

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[PolarXJ]

Awesome trip...Thanks for sharing it.

 

[evileric]

This trip looked awesome! How much planning before hand was done? This is something I definitely need to do!

 

[Explorer 1]

Thanks!

This trip looked awesome! How much planning before hand was done? This is something I definitely need to do!

It gives me a certain amount of Joy to know others are getting some enjoyment out of past adventures.

I started planning this trip out last summer after seeing xpdishn's trip they had done posted on this same forum.

I wouldn't necessarly recommend doing all that we did in one trip as it can be taxing on some as you'll read in my Day 6 below.

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1

 

[Explorer 1]

Day 6, Part 1 - Kanab Point and the Mutiny!

Day 6 - SB Point & Kanab Point

The morning found us with our mouths hanging open in awe of this fantastic point rarely visited by man.

The first movie is from our campsite, the second is after I hiked the short distance out to the point.






Truly a real wonder! One can only feel small with so vast an expanse before their mortal eyes!

That morning at breakfast I told the group to start savoring this part of the trip as in just a short time it would only be a memory. We broke camp and started the journey out knowing that we would have to do some trail hopping to get ourselves out and back on route to our last destination, Kanab Point.

I was right in that we had to do trail hopping, we kept on following trails one after another slowing working ourselves in a north easterly direction, always trying to get back on my Lowrance route previously planned out. It took about 2/3 of the time to finally get us back on route only about 5 miles from Kanab.

I know it's been said that each point got better and better but I don't know what to say but they were exactly right. When we arrive at Kanab point where Kanab creek canyon comes in from the north and meets the Grand Canyon east/west it is too much for the human eye to all capture, much less the camera.

When you arrive there is a small parking area and then a short road to the north and south providing a better view of the Kanab Creek canyon and then the Grand Canyon.

First here is where the road stops:

Then the north trail, Kanab Canyon:

And the south trail of the Grand Canyon:

The movies although taken in HD had to be converted for photobucket so they aren't as sharp as I wish they were for you:






We arrived just about lunch time so we enjoyed a view from our out door restaurant that no eatery in any city could match, and it was free too!

As can happen in any expedition or adventure that lasts more than a few days, rebellion and unrest had been brooding among the troops. Too many long days and short nights, days of sun, dust, wind and mud had worn the men down. Their hearts were thinking of clean sheets and meals prepared by another. All those things we associate with city life like hot showers and flushing toilets. Some men were married with children and they longed for the warm embrace of their woman and the soft touch of their child's kiss.

Arriving so early at Kanab I asked the men what was in their mind and they unanimously stated they longed for home and would leave immediately with or without their leader. No wanting the men to leave with rebellion in their hearts, I blessed them and their decision then saw them off into the unknown.

(Well, it really didn't happen exactly that way but I like this version better!)



Left alone to my thought and desires, I was once more free to roam and choose to my own liking. While enjoying the view down the canyon I spied a small dot in the river which looked like it was moving, first the binoculars and the excellent zoom in my camera confirmed it was rafters, perhaps the first this season taking on the trip from Lee's Ferry down 100+ miles to below Lava Falls.

Their riding in rafts like these I found getting ready at Lees Ferry:

You can get an idea of the size of the river when you see how small this kind of raft appears in the canyon.



After about three hours alone at Kanab point I realized I was wasting valuable time I could spend exploring so with a final view of this area I planted my foot on the skinny right peddle and drove on out probably at speeds higher than a reasonable person would. :bike_rider: :smiley_drive:



Once I hit pavement my low fuel light came on and I turned right away from home heading for Fredonia, a fill up and more adventure!

Where to go next in Day 6, Part 2

Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1