Seven Days in May

[datrupr]

Keep it up guys, this is a great report, and now I am starting to plan a trip there in my head as I read yout posts and look at the awesome pics. Thanks KC and Darren.

 

[bh4rnnr]

Thanks for the report. I thought I saw you Sunday as Daniel Markofsky and myself we heading out of town.

 

[Darren]

Yeah, Perry. I pretty much knew that was you who waved, so I returned it. Not too many rigs look like yours, so I figured it was a safe bet!

 

[Grouseman]

Damn

KC,

Your one lucky fellow to have traveled to such a beautiful place. The photos are great, keep them coming.

SS

 

[kcowyo]

"Resolve to be thyself and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery."
- Matthew Arnold

"I knew that thousands of miles driving a truck and camper over every kind of road would be hard work, but to me it represented the antidote for the poison of the professional sick man."
- John Steinbeck


We awoke to a slight drizzle on Tuesday, but it was only enough to keep the dust down. Waking to a day full of the unknown, it would take more than a little rain to dampen our spirits. Before I'm done stumbling around, shaking off the effects of waking up, we're rolling south down the trail. With a little luck on this day we would visit the Dollhouse and then back south, hopefully to Hite Marina.

From the Flint Trail, we navigate down a long decent before levelling out and then we pick up speed in the sandy two tracks. The area opens to an unexpected plain of grasslands before we reach the turnoff for the Dollhouse campground and Standing Rocks. We're cruising along in the soft sand and the canyon walls above us take on a different hues of green, red and purple. The soft sand and morning rain subside and the trail regresses to merely a way to navigate over and through the rocks.

We're now alongside Teapot Rock and find ourselves making short but steep climbs up, over and around several rock ledges. It's on this section of the trip that I first put into practice the habit of climbing a steep (to me) rocky ledge in 4WD, only to have to shift back into 2WD to make the tight turn at the top without the front end binding up. In an effort to conserve fuel in this section of the park, I would spend much of the day in 2WD. I soon found myself going over many obstacles in 2WD and marveled at how little the camper's weight seemed to affect the truck's handling in these situations. The Teapot Rock stretch was more technical than I'm used to in the T100, but it helped build my confidence in my outfit, for the unknown trails still to come that week.

The trail leveled back out and soon we were driving by the non-sensical Wall and Chimney Rock. The Wall defies wind, rain and time to stand tall over thousands, maybe millions of years while appearing to be paper thin. Chimney Rock is one of several red spires that seem to pop up from nowhere. The views motivate you to keep your camera ever at the ready. The nice thing about Canyonlands is the lack of creative names. It makes it so much easier to recognize landmarks. "Standing Rocks" is not a whole lot more creative than "Obscure Obelisks", but you get the point as the trail twists and turns among the original skyscrapers. Soon we reach the end of the trail and following a stop to download pics to the laptop, we're on our way back out, keeping a close watch on the gas needle.

So far in two days in the Maze, we've seen one park ranger and a handful of bicyclists on a tour with an outfitter. I love reading the faces of the people on their bikes. True, they are on the adventure of a lifetime in one of the most beautiful national parks. Many have probably been getting in shape for months and have saved and saved to be able to go with a qualified guide. No telling how much they have sacrificed or anticipated getting away from it all with their Trek or GT. But their faces only tell of the present moment. And presently, most of them looked miserable. Oh sure there was Johnny Stairmaster at the front of the pack and the wirey little gals who could probably go top 10 in the Tour de France. But the rest of the group's faces seemed to say, "It didn't look this hard in the brochure....?" as they walked along, pushing their bikes uphill, downhill, in the sand, over the rocks and always under the hot sun. It would take a more callous person than even I, to find humor in someone else's misery. I offered my sympathetic best, "You're doing great, keep going," to those who looked like they were struggling the most. Then I rolled up the windows, turned up the A/C and thanked the stars that for some reason I'm more into Toyotas than Treks.

At a much quicker pace than it took to get to Standing Rocks, we're back to the main trail and the road that led south to Hite Marina and petrol salvation. It's 35 miles to Hite and my gas light is already on. Darren is in the lead and I'm following, saying that quiet little prayer we all say when the gas needle is below "E." The Hite 35 seemed like an all out dash to get to the marina with the sun and gas needle fading fast. It would be the only available gas stop before we left the blacktop again, headed for Beef Basin and Dark Canyon. I find myself thinking for 35 miles about jerry cans and auxillary gas tanks when slowly the marina comes into focus not unlike the mirage of a desert oasis. Finally on the blacktop, with the marina in sight, we cross the Colorado River and roll up to the lonely gas pumps as the daylight and EFI give their very last.

With topped off tanks and aired up tires, we head east on 95, towards Natural Bridges National Monument. Just as Darren's red tailights are hypnotizing me to sleep, he spots another great campsite. We call it a day, tucked off the road just a few miles from Natural Bridges. After a quick set up, Darren takes a few night time exposures of the camper under a near full moon. With a day of challenging trails behind us, I am content and nod off, eager for the next days ride to the mysterious Dark Canyon Primitive Area and into the Needles section of the park.

If you're looking for more action shots, I've posted several of Darren's photo's in my camper thread -

 

[kcowyo]

...and a few pics more from a very full day of exploring -

 

[SinCity4r]

...and a few pics more from a very full day of exploring -

Awesome writeup and photos! :lurk:

Did you guys record any GPS tracks? :beer:

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

What a FUN TRIP guys!:shakin:

Thanks for sharing!

 

[kcowyo]

"A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes."
- Mark Twain

"I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it."
- Charles M. Schulz


With far more energy than I normally exhibit in the early morning hours, I'm pacing around camp the morning of day 4. Today we would promptly return to the dirt and proceed north towards the Dark Canyon Primitive Area and Beef Basin. The Dark Canyon area has been of particular interest to me since first seeing the ominous name on a map years ago. The remoteness of this region and sparse reports from its boundaries further piqued my interest.

With little more then my imagination to go on, I envision a day of navigating through previously unseen geological formations, ancient trees and foliage with wildlife that resembled creatures from a Dr. Suess book. Least Heat Moon warned of thoughts that come in the middle of the night and so I must also offer that early morning imaginings are not the most solid foundation to build your day on. The Dark Canyon area, that I had so eagerly anticipated seeing, was not like a scene from an episode of Land of the Lost. The trees looked like, well, trees. But I'm getting ahead of myself as Dark Canyon and Beef Basin held numerous surprises, just not the ones I (and I would guess Darren too) was expecting.

We make our way towards Natural Bridges National Monuement and turn north towards Elk Ridge. Quickly we're climbing up a shelf road overlooking the valley floor. It's a clear morning and I offer Darren a dollar if he can find a cloud in the sky. As if in a secret mountaintop valley, we crest the summit of the shelf road and the red dirt and pinon trees sucumbs to grass, ponds, pine and aspen trees. Like a doorway we passed through without noticing, suddenly everything looks less like the red rocks of Utah, and more like the Aspen covered trails of Colorado. The quakies are everywhere! Giant pines and dense aspen groves shadow the country lane that the trail has become and I'm almost wondering if we've taken a wrong turn and wound up in the San Juans of SW Colorado.

In my haste to see more trees, I make the poor call to pass on the first turn into Dark Canyon. My map shows there are two seperate trails that will take you into Dark Canyon, and I suggest for some unknown reason to me now, that we head further north to the next trail in. What seemed like a reasonable suggestion proved to be a mistake. We pushed further on through the shady lanes to Dark Canyon Plateau and somehow missed the turnoff for the second trail. Arriving at the plateau we see Dark Canyon below us and I'm perversely dissappointed that it's not that dark. There are no other worldy geological rock formations, no Sleestax, and no Dr. Suess trees. From above, it is a beautiful valley filled with green growth and white cliffs. As I expected, this area is worthy of its own trip to explore. Now darn it, I'll have to come back.

Descending off the plateau, we proceed north out onto Beef Basin, which will lead us to the southern entrance of the Needles Section of the park. More flat grasslands and soft sandy two tracks as the Needles come into view on the horizon. We pass signs warning of the dangers of travelling this section of the trail and my mind starts to race with thoughts of the unknown up ahead. We'll be joining the Elephant Hill Trail, rated a 3.5 trail, and I'm anxious to see how my outfit handles obstacles like Coors Hill, Turn Table and the Squeeze Play. Although this section of trail is new to both of us, I'm confident with Darren's time on the rocks, we'll be able to get through it. A gate and warning signs greet us at the southern entrance of the park and the Needles are spiraling to the sky in shapes that only wind, rain and time can sculpt. Finally something that looks like it was created by Dr. Suess' imagination!

With little more than a One Way sign to tell us our position, we officially begin the Elephant Hill Trail. This is a popular trail in the Moab Area and much has been written about it. Our first obstacle is the Silver Stairs which I watch Darren descend first with no problems. As I sit perched at the top, taking in a classic view of red rocks and the La Salles on the horizon, I hear a different voice on the radio breaking in.

first guy - "We're at the stairs. Oh wait, there's some guy, with a camper, getting ready to go down."

second guy - "Can we go another way?"

first guy - "No, we'll wait. Let him chicken out or get stuck and then find another way around."

Now I have no idea who is behind us. Other than at trailheads, we haven't seen another vehicle all morning. I believe in trail ettiquette and if my momentary pause at the top to take in the scenery was holding them up, it was time to get moving. With their uninformed opinions still lingering in the air, I turn off my radio, shift into 4-LO and walk down the stairs with Darren pointing out my line. Like a seasoned pro (with decent ground clearance) I made it to the bottom, no problem.

Imagine my surprise when I look back up the hill to see several tricked out FJ40's, Rubicons and a popular FJ55. I say popular because if you follow Iron Pigs at all or subscribe to the new 4WD Toyota Owner mag, you've seen this urban camoed FJ55 with a 4.7 ltr V8 conversion and leather seats. I take the opportunity to snap a few pics from the bottom and it's clear to me who was poo pooing my set up earlier. One of the 40 owners gave me a glare as if either I didn't belong on this trail or he resented my navigating the obstacle with IFS and a camper. I chalk his reaction up to the fact that he's a California resident. If I had to live in California, I'd be miserable too, even if I did own a sweet yellow 40.

Squeeze Play was interesting obstacle and I'm thankful I chose a camping solution that stays with the lines of the truck. Darren made last call on Coors Hill no problem. We're near the southern end of the trail at an obstacle called Turn Table, and Darren explains that we have to back up to the next switchback. OK............ So I put commom sense on the back burner and did it, just in time to see a tight squeeze and incline that the park has partially paved to fight erosion and wear and tear. The last mile or so of the trail is wrought with steep climbs, tight squeezes, stair steps and a drop off that you want no part of. That said, we experienced no problems getting through but it would be a real blast in a shorter wheelbase vehicle.

We called it early that day after making our way out of the Needles and turned north again towards Lockhart Canyon. Darren's super "camp~sense" kicked in and he found another beaut. We made camp along Indian Creek when he starts tormenting me with rumors of tight and off camber squeezes along the Lockhart Canyon trail. I can only hope he's yanking my chain as we settle into camp and toast a few cold ones to this days amazing trails and scenery. Man, I hope he's yanking my chain.....

 

[kcowyo]

....and a few more from another scenic day on the trail -

 

[Ursidae69]

That story about the yahoos mocking you on Elephant Hill was fuuny as heck! Nice job showing them that you and your rig were just fine on that trail.

You know, because it is a camper, it is misleading how trail capable the rig really is. In reality, that 4-wheel camper sits just about the same height and width as any truck shell would. I'll bet your COG is better than mine because I think my exo-rack weighs more than your camper and it sits higher.

Nice pics and I enjoyed the latest installment. :lurk: :bowdown:

I hope Darren can post some pics of your stealth rig coming down the silver stairs.

 

[OverlandZJ]

Bravo! Thanks again for the fantastic report.

I gotta get my butt out to Utah.

 

[blupaddler]

KC...

Thanks for the latest installment.






I, as a Californian, would like to offer an apology for the way you were treated. I am stoked to see you out on the trail, and to share the trail with you. But, if you ever want to hang out with some "miserable" Californians, you and your family are more than welcome at our home...anytime. :camping:

 

[kcowyo]

I shouldn't be hating on California, Robb. Between you, Vince, Al, Jack & others, I know there are some awesome folks in CA.

Everyone else in that group was smiling and waving as they went by. The guy in the V8 Pig, also from CA, was really cool. And for the record, I could live quite happily in Mendocino.

I was more offended by the snide look and comments than where he hangs his hat. I'm sure you, as a former T100 owner know what its like to deal with people who hold their own preconcieved opinions in higher regard than the actual facts. But it didn't ruin my day or even spoil getting to see a few cool 'Cruisers on the trail.

You certainly don't owe me an apology for your neighbor. The way I see it, you and Cat & Bella transcend statehood anyway - :beer:

 

[blupaddler]

There's no hard feelings here...Just a little jealousy over your trip.



FWiW, I would live in Mendocino if the water wasn't so #&*! cold.