I Hate Gates- The scouting trip from Hades.

[Mr. Leary]

I have hit my fare share of them scouting the UP Overland trips.

I'll bet, in the UP. Out of state hunting is big business up there!

It was, for me, like being kicked in the groin repeatedly.

"Hey... cool road... gate. Ok, lets try another one... gate. Ok, we'll have to try this other route to get across the river... gate. We will have to backtrack to a bridge to get across, then take a right on the first dirt road... cool... moving again... gate. We'll turn south, then west, then north again on that county road... county roads should at least be passable.... hmmm.... gate. We'll have to backtrack south to the main road, then head west... gate. Hmmm... where did Scott go? Lets try this again... gate...."

Disappointing to say the least.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

I'll bet, in the UP. Out of state hunting is big business up there!

It was, for me, like being kicked in the groin repeatedly.

"Hey... cool road... gate. Ok, lets try another one... gate. Ok, we'll have to try this other route to get across the river... gate. We will have to backtrack to a bridge to get across, then take a right on the first dirt road... cool... moving again... gate. We'll turn south, then west, then north again on that county road... county roads should at least be passable.... hmmm.... gate. We'll have to backtrack south to the main road, then head west... gate. Hmmm... where did Scott go? Lets try this again... gate...."

Disappointing to say the least.

A trip definitely suited for dual sport motorcycles.

 

[AmericaOverland]

I miss the Texas backroads... I haven't been down them in a long time! And I forgot about the mud tubes the ants build! They were strong enough that you could pick them up, but they would crumble if you pinch them. Ah, Texas... I finally got someone to lead the Scout build so I can have a truck to drive.

Stephanie

 

[Street Wolf]

I'll bet, in the UP. Out of state hunting is big business up there!

It was, for me, like being kicked in the groin repeatedly.

"Hey... cool road... gate. Ok, lets try another one... gate. Ok, we'll have to try this other route to get across the river... gate. We will have to backtrack to a bridge to get across, then take a right on the first dirt road... cool... moving again... gate. We'll turn south, then west, then north again on that county road... county roads should at least be passable.... hmmm.... gate. We'll have to backtrack south to the main road, then head west... gate. Hmmm... where did Scott go? Lets try this again... gate...."

Disappointing to say the least.

Lol, I still find it highly amusing how quickly Scott managed to disappear. :sombrero:

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Lol, I still find it highly amusing how quickly Scott managed to disappear. :sombrero:

Which time?:smiley_drive:

 

[Street Wolf]

Which time?:smiley_drive:

Does it matter?

 

[JEFFSGTP]

Especially the time we all ended up in the field going where is he, and knowing there was absolutely nowhere he could have turned off, then someone called him and he said he was nearly back at the turn off...wth...lolz

 

[1leglance]

Great trip report...
I grew up in Amarillo and spent alot of time in Palo Duro Canyon as a kid..
but I have never "overlanded" the area so I am enjoying the report..
would there be any use to trying to contact land owners about gate access?

 

[Mr. Leary]

Scott and I spent some time yesterday evening poking around with some maps. There is a route... but it will go around the areas in which we had so much trouble when we were scouting, and will include the roads scouted by Chris and Jeff. Scott and I may take a short scouting trip this weekend, starting in the Decatur grasslands, heading west. We will likely not make it all the way out to the Palo Duro area, but since the area has already been covered pretty well, I doubt that much more area needs to be scouted out there.

I learned a couple of lessons from last weekend's setbacks. I apologize... I had no idea that roads listed as county roads would be littered with gates. More scouting is needed, but I now have much more up to date information pertaining to gate locations and road closures, which will be applied toward the next trip, which may be the final scouting trip before this route is ready for overland travel (Should take 1 to 2 trips to finish up).

I appreciate the patience of all of y'all who suffered through the setbacks of the last scouting trip. This route WILL be completed, and should be an excellent mix of dirt roads and paved country roads.

 

[Mr. Leary]

would there be any use to trying to contact land owners about gate access?

Working on it!

 

[john101477]

Ok I have a question. what are the cables connected from bumper to roof rack for?

The 1st gen is really nice like the roof rack set up. any problems with it?

This Image is awesome.

 

[Wes Craiglow]

I learned a couple of lessons from last weekend's setbacks. I apologize... I had no idea that roads listed as county roads would be littered with gates.

Stupid question: did the gates have locks on them?

I read once something to the effect of:

Texas is a Free-Range state with regards to livestock. As a part of this, it is lawful for ranchers to place gates on county (Farm-to-Town) roads, as long as they don't willfully impede emergency traffic. (i.e. remain locked.) It is lawful for thru-traffic to pass through those gates as long as they close the gates behind them. After all, it's a public right-of-way.

My $.02, but I could be wrong. And I wasn't there, so I may be talking way out of turn right now, anyway.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

What are the cables for?

The 1st gen is really nice like the roof rack set up. any problems with it?

This Image is awesome.

Cables are "limb risers".

My Runner is getting there (the 1st gen). Roof rack was done last week. Found a cheapo on craigslist, fabbed up some mounts, positioned and drilled the holes through the fiberglass. Its not ideal, but it is solid. I only intend to place lightweight stuff up there. Soon enough I'll have a trailer.

Thanks, I like the macro setting on Mike's G11. I was going to go to school to become a pro photographer... but decided against that. I'm too lazy and cheap to buy a digital SLR, but that G11 impressed me.

 

[Mr. Leary]

Stupid question: did the gates have locks on them?

I read once something to the effect of:

Texas is a Free-Range state with regards to livestock. As a part of this, it is lawful for ranchers to place gates on county (Farm-to-Town) roads, as long as they don't willfully impede emergency traffic. (i.e. remain locked.) It is lawful for thru-traffic to pass through those gates as long as they close the gates behind them. After all, it's a public right-of-way.

My $.02, but I could be wrong. And I wasn't there, so I may be talking way out of turn right now, anyway.

All locked. We checked every one.

There was ONE road, however, where we saw posted signs where it is actually legal to pass. We were not sure it was legal at the time, and turned back.

The route will go around. Scott and I put together a pretty promising re-route and included some awesome roads that Wolf and Jeff scouted after the group split up.

Given the close proximity of this route and the proposed Oklahoma Overland route, I may route north of Oklahoma City, and use portions of the Trans America Trail. I can easily put together short connecting routes to each branch from Clayton, OK... as you can put together a short connector from NW AR.

BTW, thanks again for the GPS, bro! GPS navigation is so much less cumbersome than topos, I already have trouble believing how I ever did without it before. I still run with topos, but did not need them this trip.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Stupid question: did the gates have locks on them?

I read once something to the effect of:

Texas is a Free-Range state with regards to livestock. As a part of this, it is lawful for ranchers to place gates on county (Farm-to-Town) roads, as long as they don't willfully impede emergency traffic. (i.e. remain locked.) It is lawful for thru-traffic to pass through those gates as long as they close the gates behind them. After all, it's a public right-of-way.

My $.02, but I could be wrong. And I wasn't there, so I may be talking way out of turn right now, anyway.

It is similar in Louisiana.

But, all of the gates we stumbled upon were locked, sometimes with 4 different locks!

Mike and I studied the Roads of Texas atlas... and of course every road we took had a gate...and they were indicated on the map.