Transamerica and such

[Jupiter58]

I have done the TAT 1-3/4 times and in the process of doing it again in my jeep. I am currently in Moab a day early for my white rim trip so I will post a few things.
My days so far.
Day 1 Jupiter Florida to Adel? GA. 342 miles
Day 2 adel GA to outside Tupelo MS 763 miles
Day 3 Tupelo MI to Byrds Adventire center Oark? AR 448 miles
Day 4 Byrds to liberal KS 519 miles
Day 5 Liberal KS to Salida CO 484 miles
Day 6 Salida to Montrose CO via lake city 289 miles.
Day 7 rest day and jeep sort and clean
Day 8 Montrose to Moab via rimrocker. 205 miles. Left before sunrise and got to Moab Rim RV park after sunset
Many of these days were from before sunrise to after sunset. I do not recommend driving these trails in the dark especially in winter conditions. I was fortunate enough to be on some of the better graded sections of these trails in the dark.
I pushed hard to get to Moab for my reservations for white rim road.

Winching myself out of a 2 foot mud hole do to an unscheduled detour for logging activity

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[Jupiter58]

Well , it’s not letting me upload pics through tap a talk so we are on hold for now.
Just some info, the vehicle is a stock 2015 jeep rubicon. I have a bed, a fridge/freezer, 13 gallon water tank, drawer system, interior and exterior lights,an awning and other stuff. I am at about the 2800 mile mark now. Picked up the TAT in dalton ga as I have not done those sections before. Skipped some in TN and MS as they were just a lot of pavement to get to sections of farm road.
Only did about 100 miles of western OK because it’s OK! Did the old section over Marshall pass in 6-10” of snow to see if they have repaired it and yes, it is in excellent shape. The same for los pinas to lake city. Lots of snow! Skipped the high passes as I have done them before and it was a freezing rain.
Detoured to the rimrocker to Moab and again 6-12” of snow ice and mud.
Hopefully I will be able to post pics soon as I have some interesting ones.
Still can’t load them!!! Success by using edit!
My set up. A little messy but getting organized!

 

[Jupiter58]

Now can’t do it with edit!

 

[Jupiter58]

This was sunrise from my campsite on the Mulberry river in AR. I ran til two hours after dark to get there. Way too many deer in the roads.

Then it was more forest roads through the rest of AR and Eastern OK.
Beautiful and well graded. Skipped a lot of western OK and stayed in a hotel in liberal Kansas. Home of Dorothy. Well worth a stop at her house. I dipped into Texas to get it on my sticker map for the jeep. So far fl, GA, AL, TN,
MS, LA, AR, OK, TX, NM, CO, UT.
Leaving OK.

 

[Jupiter58]

Capulin volcano in NM is another of my favorite spots just a slight detour off the TAT. Freezing rain, flurries and my first snow of the trip.
They wouldn’t let me up it. Another do not miss.

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[Jupiter58]

I finished that day going up through Laveta and the trails skirting westcliffe, Cotopaxi, Poncha springs. Well maintained and beautiful forest service roads through the Sanger de Cristo range and could make good time. Ended up at A KOA on the Arkansas river in Salida well after dark. Windy as heck, 30-40 mile winds and got down to 20? First night in cold weather and had to use my UCO 3 candle lantern for heat. Kept the jeep above freezing and no frost on the windows!

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[Groverland]

I love hearing trip reports like this! Stay safe out there. How did the lantern do for heat? I've got the same one(in red) and use it for my general campsite lantern- I like the warm glow! Are you heating a tent or an insulated camper?

 

[Jupiter58]

I love hearing trip reports like this! Stay safe out there. How did the lantern do for heat? I've got the same one(in red) and use it for my general campsite lantern- I like the warm glow! Are you heating a tent or an insulated camper?

Thanks! I am heating my 4 door wrangler rubicon with a window slightly cracked. That night it was down to about 20 with 30-40 mph winds and it kept the jeep above freezing, maybe mid 30s? I think if I blocked off the front seats it would do much better.
I have the rear seats removed and a 9 “ sleeping platform with drawers and storage. When I lit it I placed it on a flat area about 16” x 16 square behind my fridge I cleared for it.
I am sure I will have an opportunity to test it again and I will report back with better data!


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[Jupiter58]

Day 6 Salida to Montrose 280 miles.
Left the cold KOA in the dark and started up Marshall pass on the old TAT route. It now uses Poncha Pass I believe.
Hit snow immediately on the shelf roads which was interesting 4-6”. Passed plenty of hunters on the way.
Tried to get to the top for sunrise but it was slow going in the snow and my first pass in 5 years. Not the best move for a 20 year Florida boy to go up in the dark in the snow.

Me on the bike in 2016 at the pass.

Snowy and wet on the descent to Tamichi Creek and freezing rain.
Followed 50 to the next tat section and got stuck by a few hundred head of cattle being herded down 50 by real cowboys. I have video which I can’t figure to post. I will take snaps from it later if I have to.
Las Pinas pass on the way to lake city they took the sign down and I had to turn around. I couldn’t find my pic of doing this on the dirt bike in warm weather.
Going down to hit 149? Into lake city the snow got deep! 10” of more in spots. Actually got stuck getting from the trail to the road. It was steep and a stop sign. I got too far right into over a foot of snow. And stopped at the stop sign like a fool. Had to use my traction boards, 4w lo and locked front and rear to get out. Another steep part of my learning curve. Did I mention I haven’t driven in snow in over 12 years. Still I should have known better from growing up in NH. No pics of this foible. It was too cold windy and freezing rain.
LasPinas Pass.

 

[Jupiter58]

Day 6 continued.
I half heartedly had hopes of doing a few easy passes from lake city which I had stopped at for lunch. The town is seriously rolled up for the winter. It was freezing rain so I skipped the passes (did many of them on the dirt bike TAT). The brewery doesn’t even open til 4. It was 1 or so and I headed to Montrose.
During my planning I knew a 3-4 mile section of 50 about 30 miles each way between Montrose and gunnison was under construction and they were letting escorted vehicles through. Apparently recently they had an ‘unexpected’ land slide which has closed 50 for the foreseeable future. I can say that residents of the two towns have nothing but hate an loathing for the AZ construction company working in CO mountains in snow weather.
The detour is 75 miles or maybe longer (seemed forever) to Montrose. But I did discover CO route 92. It starts crossing a barely two lane damn on the Arkansas? River with steep drop off on the west side and gets better from there. Better then 550. Narrower, curvier and again lacking guard rails. Not the best for a flat lander with a nearly manageable acrophobia case. I cursed it and loved and admit to stopping for a shot of Jamesons to get me through.
It was a long day and I checked into Montrose 2 nights for some breweries, good meals and jeep cleaning and sorting 2.0.
Gem of a lake on 92

Elkburger at horsefly brewery.

Pretzel at Silver basin brewery. Both great places. Horse flies was more of a dining experience. I liked the beer and atmosphere better at silver basin. Plus they have an excellent food truck. Breweries with large dining services are ok but to me when 3/4s of your staff is dedicated to the food service part it can take away from the brew. A good separate food truck is my preference.

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[BritKLR]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing!

Are you planning on camping along the RR. If so, there is a couple of fantastic pull out sections along Q13rd that have dispersed campsites on the edge of the ridge line over looking the valley. There is Buckeye campground (not sure if it's open this time of year) and then if you have time to deviate off the RR and upto LaSalle Pass there is countless dispersed camping areas in the high aspens aswell as around beaver lake. Of course check your weather since you could get snowed in up on LaSalle. When in Moab and if you like really good and plentiful Mexican food swing by Gilbertos across from the grocery store.

Enjoy and be safe!

 

[Jupiter58]

Double posts? I know I only made 1!!!


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[Jupiter58]

Day eight Montrose to Moab via rimrocker 167 miles. After two nights in Montrose I got to something I have wanted to do since they created it
Rimrocker is a 160 mile trail going up the mesas. It is made from a series of old mining and forest roads. It got its name from the uranium yellow cake and other metals being mined from the rock around the rim of the plateau. It is usually open by May and closes in December depending on the amount of snow. A sedan or any full size with a camper can do the section to Nucla easy in good conditions. It was developed as a tourist attraction so this side is easy and it drops into Nucla to support the town.
Left before sunrise, 0600 and had planned on camping in a dispersed area along the way.
Not much snow in the dark but at light it started to pick up. Met my first logging truck on a shelf road slightly after sunrise. Fun sharing a shelf road with a logging truck. What time do these folks start anyway?
Snow got a little deeper and by the time I passed the logging operation it was 6-10 and mud in the sun, ice in the shade.
There is some shelf road up to the plateau and then a lot of forest. Logging operations abound between Montrose and Nucla so be careful! Logging rucks are no joke and they travel fast even on the shelf roads. I believe it was 68 miles to the ace hardware and gas in Nucla.
I passed two small graders clearing snow for the loggers coming down into Nucla. One had a small blade on the right and of course I had to put my tires on the edge of the shelf to let that one by. A few minutes later one came up with the blade to clear the outside and now it was my turn to hug the mesa wall while this one was on the outside edge.
This is typical Colorado. Shelf road up, beautiful pine forests and aspen groves and a shelf road down.
After Nucla it is another series of climbs and descents and now it gets much rougher and narrower. It starts to look like Utah. High clearance and 4wd is best and still do able at a slow pace in a full size. It runs along highway 41 and there are supposed to be some challenging water crossings in wet conditions. Dry as a bone on this trip and rough. After a very short section of pavement it starts the climb up the la salles on a very narrow steep rough shelf road. (Moab trail). I used 4 low and crawled up it. I had aired down to 24 psi before this.
These sections are rough, narrow , curved and sometimes steep. I spent most of my time in 4 high and used 4 low for steep ascents and descents. Lots of sharp rocks so have good sidewalls. There are plenty of spots with narrow brush and I am glad I put my magnetic skins on the jeep before this. Lots of muddy sections and some have work arounds. No way I would have made it through with my 32” geolanders. Tall dedicated mud tires would have issues. As you close in on the Utah border you are once again in beautiful forest and the roads smooth out. When I got to the buck-eye reservoir campground it was only about 230 or so and I made another decision to get closer to Moab. I made it through most of the trails in daylight and it was easy going but still ended up at the Moab rim campground after dark. Great place, I have stayed here before doing the TAT on my dirt bike. Good people and very clean with a nice store.
The changes in conditions on this trail are amazing. Co rim roads and forest. High desert and redrock into Moab. Can’t get more pics on.

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[Jupiter58]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing!

Are you planning on camping along the RR. If so, there is a couple of fantastic pull out sections along Q13rd that have dispersed campsites on the edge of the ridge line over looking the valley. There is Buckeye campground (not sure if it's open this time of year) and then if you have time to deviate off the RR and upto LaSalle Pass there is countless dispersed camping areas in the high aspens aswell as around beaver lake. Of course check your weather since you could get snowed in up on LaSalle. When in Moab and if you like really good and plentiful Mexican food swing by Gilbertos across from the grocery store.

Enjoy and be safe!

Thanks for the info!!!!
Do you post on ADV also?


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[Dirt Rider]

Would be curious to know what you think comparing the TAT on a dirt bike as opposed to a jeep?