I Hate Gates- The scouting trip from Hades.

[LaOutbackTrail]

My last post for the trip report was our first descent into the Palo Duro Canyon.

At the canyon floor is the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. An interest of mine would be to do a hardcore route that travels through the Red River terminating in the Palo Duro Canyon hopefully as close to the state park as possible... Hwy 207 doesnt have access to the river at this crossing. Climbing out of the canyon proved to be a challenge for the 22RE and confirmed my desire to install a 7MGE Supra motor into the truck.

I'm not going to discuss the following events in this thread, you can find the info here.

We had not made reservations for PDCSP and when we called to confirm their gate closing time and if they had campsites, of course they did not. They were packed. No campsites. We stopped at a gas station to figure out what to do. We talked to a couple locals and even a state trooper. Nothing else was in the area. We didnt feel like driving around aimlessly trying to find a bush camp. The Trooper said we could camp at the picnic area south of Canyon, but after inspecting it we decided the hotel next door would be better....

Up the next morning to the Canyon.

 

[Wes Craiglow]

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.

No prob! Glad it's working out for you... the thing has been around the world several times, shot at, blown up, and rescued from a burning RG-31. That damn Garmin has some stories to tell. I already miss it.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Of to the Lighthouse we go.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Final approach to the Lighthouse.

Good Mr. Leary.

Up some more...

Hike back. Lunch. We split with Mr. Leary and The Mrs.
Head for Caprock Canyons.

 

[Mr. Leary]

Hmmm.... never knew I had that many tattoos.... usually don't wear tank tops! :ylsmoke:

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Hmmm.... never knew I had that many tattoos.... usually don't wear tank tops! :ylsmoke:

Tattood son of a.......... trailer park.... pot...... no good........ pain in the.....

 

[Mr. Leary]

I thought my name was d@^^^!t... I'm confused! :coffeedrink:

 

[JEFFSGTP]

^^^hahaha

The Lighthouse would have been fun, I wish I could have made the hike. The pictures are incredible, so I can only imagine what the actual view from up their must have been like....would have been an amazing experience. ......stupid recovery issues with broken foot @$)%*&@$)&*.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

stupid recovery issues with broken foot @$)%*&@$)&*.

The place isnt going anywhere...

 

[deadbeat son]

Great photos, looks like a fun trip! FWIW, I grew up about 2 1/2 - 3 hrs from Palo Duro Canyon and used to MTB there almost every weekend. All motorized travel in the park is relegated to paved roads. Furthermore, all of the actual canyon outside of the park is privately owned by various ranchers. There was a TX LR club that used to get permission from the land owners and do an annual offroad trip in the canyon proper (outside of the park, of course), but from what I heard/read, the land owners weren't too keen to let anyone else in for recreation. I'm not sure if the annual run is still on or not.

Great shots from Lighthouse Trail! I forgot how fun that was to bike until looking at your photos. Oh the nostalgia. (I haven't been there in almost 15 years...)

 

[KaiserDTM]

Dang! Next time I want to go with y'all. I've actually met Streetwolf (don't know if he remembers or not but I met him at Sheppard and we discussed his Disco), looks like yall had a grand time.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Dang! Next time I want to go with y'all. I've actually met Streetwolf (don't know if he remembers or not but I met him at Sheppard and we discussed his Disco), looks like yall had a grand time.

Join. Toyotas are welcome!

 

[Mr. Leary]

:coffeedrink:


Any make / model is welcome... just expect a little playful prodding if you drive anything other than a yota... we gotta have our fun, you know!

Unfortunately, I think the trips will slow down for a little while, although there will be some more scouting trips. I would like to get the Palo Duro route finalized this summer... for travel in the winter before deer season.

I will probably drag LaOutback along on some more scouting trips into Oklahoma as well, as he's just really good at it! If you can stand the heat, you are welcome to come along.

There will also be periodic checks of the Red River, since we have determined it legal to travel. I doubt that the river will be passable for months / years... but if the opportunity arises, there will be a trip.

There was also some talk a while back about 6string leading another Arkansas Overland Trip (which was FANTASTIC, btw) in late September or early October, when the leaves are in full color.... (I can't wait for that one... it's gonna be awesome! )

The_Mrs. would like to go back to northern NM again sometime soon... we had such a great time last summer... but she has no vacation time to burn... so the trip will likely not happen.

The_Mrs. has also been bugging me to put together a trip to Big Bend... I'm thinking January is the best time... but we shall see!

Even a short trip is better then a weekend cooped up in the house... lots of trips coming up... this next year is gonna be a memorable one!

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

I'm down for Oklahoma.
I'm down for Arkansas.
I'm down for BB in January.

 

[jsmarine]

X2!