SONICMASD's 98 Montero LS Build & Adventure Thread: Black Betty

['round n' back again]

window screens.

clever. one note: i can buy the magnets in strips cut to length and slip it in the edge pocket.

 

[jaccox23]

I'm not good with the picture on forum thing but your crank and cam sensors connectors are directly to the left of your coil packs. They are a square and triangle shaped connectors that will likely share a tab. Now as to which is which I'm fuzzy on that whether it's the triangle or the square that is the crank sensor

 

[SONICMASD]

window screens.

clever. one note: i can buy the magnets in strips cut to length and slip it in the edge pocket.

They will need to be rectangular ceramic magnets, if you use a roll of plastic magnet it won't work because they aren't strong enough to attract through the barrier of screen. When I bought the screen at Home Depot, I went down to the magnet aisle and tested out the plastic strip option but they wouldn't bond at all to the metal pallet shelves there.

 

[SONICMASD]

11/03/16: My wife and I decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and head up to southern Utah for 4 days.

Loaded Up:


First Stop: Horseshoe Bend. I've driven by this lookout several times and never took the time to stop. Finally glad I did.



After about 30 mins at Horseshoe Bend we got back on the road and drove up to Zion Natl Park and set up camp for the night.





Dinner: Carb City (Beans, Potatoes, and Beer)

 

[SONICMASD]

11/4/16: The next day we woke up early and headed for Angles Landing. This hike takes about 5 hours and over the course of 2.5 miles you gain 1500 feet of elevation as you climb hand over hand for the last 45 minutes along the spine of a narrow ridge to reach the top. Definitely the coolest hike I've ever done.

 

[SONICMASD]

11/4/16 Contd. After we got down from Angel's Landing we were pretty tired but we wanted to go see some other sights outside of Zion the next day so we pushed on and headed up river to the Narrows to check that hike out as well.

You have to cross the river and walk from bank to bank as you walk up the Narrows and the water was very very cold so we only walked in a few hundred yards because our feet were freezing. Good times though.

 

[SONICMASD]

11/5/16: Up early again and off to Bryce Canyon Natl. Park. I didn't plan to spend much time here but instead wanted to treat it like the Grand Canyon and just pop in for a quick lookout view. We got there just as a ranger was starting off a geology talk so we listened to that, which was very interesting, and then drove to each of the lookout points along the canyon to take in the view. We had lunch at the southern most viewpoint and decided that we really need to come back and spend some more time at Bryce Canyon. I had no idea you could hike down inside the canyon in between the towering hoodoos. We'll definitely be back.

 

[Toasty]

Nice!

 

[SONICMASD]

11/5/16 Contd.: Back on the road around noon, heading east towards Escalante. I first heard about Escalante Natl. Monument about 6 months prior by a JK Expo Forum trip report. Escalante is a giant area of land managed by the BLM and since it's not a NP there are a lot less rules and in turn, less services, and less people .

It has some amazing hiking including at least 5 slot canyons, and some awesome deep river canyons. Mormon pioneers in the late 1800s made the place famous by cross the Colorado River here at a place called Hole in The Rock which is an insane sight to see.

Just turned off the highway, 60 miles of dirt road ahead of me - time to air down.


First stop - Peekaboo Slot Canyon.

The desert here is so sandy and red, looks more like the Kalahari Desert than Utah.



The initial climb to get into the slot:


The view as soon as you enter:


It's pretty awesome, there are spots inside the slot where you have to do some interesting climbing in and out of small holes. At times it gets so narrow that you can't go sideways with a backpack on.




This is the hole to get out (in, if you come from the top side):


It gains elevation slowly over about 100 yards and then spits you out in a wash, on top of the ridge overlooking the river valley:

 

[SONICMASD]

11/5/16 Contd.: After we got done with the slot canyon hike it was getting pretty close to sunset. The road was good and Betty had no problem doing 30-50 mph down it (though you have to be watching for the big rut out of nowhere) so we made good time as we headed south in search of a camp spot. 20 miles later at a big outcropping called Sooner Rocks we set up camp. 40 miles from the nearest pavement.




My wife was convinced mountain lions just waiting to eat us lived in this cave. This is why we have to sleep inside the Montero instead of a more comfortable tent.

 

[SONICMASD]

11/6/16: November 5th was an action packed day! Today, the 6th was also pretty packed but with less action and a lot more driving.

So we wake up and being only 20 miles away from the end of the road and Hole In The Rock, I just have to finish. The road is is in worse shape for the last 20 miles south of Sooner Rocks. I never had to put it in 4wd because Betty is such a beast but we were going more like 10 mph rather than 30-50mph.



That break in the rocks up ahead is Hole In The Rock:


I have no idea how the pioneers lowered 80 something wagons over the course of the year this trail was in use down this insanely steep ravine to the Colorado River (which was much futher down before Lake Powell existed). Truly unbelievable to see.


So glad I completed the 60 mile road and saw this unique spot.

 

[SONICMASD]

11/6/16 Contd.:

On the way back to Escalante we stopped at Dance Hall Rock, where the pioneers hung out for many weeks while the wooden road was being constructed 24 miles south at Hole in the Rock to cross the river. The rock is a natural amphitheater and a perfect concert venue.

We hiked on top of the rock because there are a bunch of pot holes where the rock has been totally hollowed out and the holes go all the way down to the dirt floor.


Going to Escalante from Bryce Canyon added like an extra 200-300 miles to the trip and like 10 hours of driving but it was totally worth it to get a little taste of this awesome area. We jammed back to Phoenix from Dance Hall Rock and it took about 9-10 hours to get home.

The Montero gave me zero problems. The CEL that came on a week prior with the Crank Position Sensor code didn't come back on. I think the sensor just got wet when I hit that mudhole in Flagstaff and that there isn't anything dire going on (but I do plan to do my timing belt service in about 7k from now which will be at 50k since it's last change (10k early).

The only complaints I have is that there is a lot of wind/road noise inside the cab at highway speeds. I think the weatherstripping is showing it's age and needs to be replaced. Secondly, I would have liked to be in AWD on the dirt road in Escalante for added safety but the Detroit locker is too annoying to fight with at speed so I just left it in 2wd. I'm gonna have it taken out soon and will report back on how I feel without it.

I averaged around 16-18mpg which was awesome and the 4.90 gears really help a lot. I've found that clicking overdrive off before a hill makes all the difference and that even with the 4.90s cruise control can't cut it unless you're on flat ground.

More takeaways - The Trasharoo is my new favorite piece of gear. I don't know how I ever lived without it. So handy to be able to keep all of the firewood, trash, propane bottles, and wet shoes back there! I'll never camp without one on my rig again. Also, I bought $20 water sandals the night before the trip at Walmart. They say "swisstech" on them and were much more comfortable than some much more expensive ones I tried on at Bass Pro and Big 5. They did good during our two water hikes (The Narrows and Peekaboo Slot), so check them out if you're looking for cheap water hiking shoes.

 

['round n' back again]

wives.....

 

[PA_JERO]

Excellent write up and great pictures.

 

[SONICMASD]

I always have troubles with adding lots of photos on this site, looks like some of the pics weren't working so i just added them as thumbnails and hopefully it's good to go now.