Utah Cruiser Expedition 2010
- Thread starter Box Rocket
- Start date
stainless40/45
Observer
Great trip,just don't like that you had a deadline=speed. Probably missed a lot of cool stuff. But I'm sure doing it beats reading about it here.
Sincerly
Dreaming of travel..
Sincerly
Dreaming of travel..
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Our schedule did dictate a lot of speed but that was actually part of the fun rather then a detraction. Many in our group have explored these areas before in fact there were just a few segments that were uniquely new to me, however by combining them in the format we did made it truly an adventure. Each day a different vehicle team led the charge, this forced each participant to do their due diligence and study up on the proposed routes ahead of time. The reality is each segment we spend a day in, could easily occupy a week or more just to scratch the surface with the exception of NW Utah in which a week would likely driving you insane in the salt and mud flats
Speaking of speeding through the desert, many of the participants on this trip are actually part of an entirely new adventure for 2011. We'll be racing in the Baja 1000 as "Team Canguro", read more here: http://canguroracing.com/
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cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Kurt,
I am curious about one thing
Hmmm, tough question. 4 Corners area was by far my favorite, we ended up getting a permit to travel some very primitive routes and passed some neat century old housing ruins that really piqued my curiosity. Poison Springs (Maze) was wetter than I had ever seen it before, while it slowed us down a bit it was very cool not knowing if we would make it through the next water hole. While there isn't an area I would recommend skipping of felt cheated driving, the West Desert NW of Delta all the way up to the Pony Express Trail was kind've a let down. Now don't get me wrong I head out there on trips all the time and really enjoy the topography and history, but having spend the previous 3 days in the heart of redrock country and having crossed up and over the Henry's and Skyline Drive, it was hard to really take comfort in the barren desert. I suppose the West Desert had the least unknowns too. With all the other areas there was threat of impassible/flooded trail, deep water crossings early fall snow in the higher elevations but we knew the West Desert was our 'gimme', we could do 80+ mph all day long and cover as much ground in one day as we had in 3. With the exception of a tree ripping a RTT off the roof and a bunch of flat tires we made really good time that day, going from Skyline Drive above Ephraim to the Newfoundland Mtns north of I-80 in a day.
barlowrs
Explorer
Johnny Lange making his way out of Poison Springs
Is there a higher def version of this? I want this as big as I can get it..this is an amazing picture!
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Sure, but it could easily become a lot of work. We ended up having to strap vehicles through some places, add a trailer into the equation and it would have likely resulted in more strapping. I've towed my Trail-Trailer through many of these segments at other times so I feel comfortable saying that while its possible its not ideal. Fwiw, at least 4 of our participants own off-road trailers, AT's and custom units alike... in the end we all felt best leaving them behind.
Thanks for the thoughts! I have been in P.Springs before and it is crazy how deep some of the holes really are...I had a few "wakeup" calls when I visited there last. Well, it was at night too; which wasn't probably the smartest...
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
My first trip into Poison Springs was in the dark, in fact I left Hanksville ~8pm and made it to the Dollhouse before midnight, it was a fast moving trip and given it was dark I didn't know any better. At the time I was more worried about the actual Dirty Devil water crossing than Poison Springs, however after a handful of trips through there its the pot holes in the canyon that have me most worried in the wet season.
Viggen
Just here...
Revo sidewalls are very weak. Ive seen a tear on a sidewall that everyone else in BFGs just cruised through. That firmly removed them from the list of tires I was interested in. Seeing this has just reaffirmed it.
Seeing this has me reconsidering my trip choice to Newfoundland (just NF, not Labradour due to time constraints). Thanks for posting up the GPS track on it. Couple of questions:
- What type of spares would you carry?
- Is this all publically accessible land?
- Are there any trips like this, at any pace, planned for say, end of June/ Early July :sombrero:
Seeing this has me reconsidering my trip choice to Newfoundland (just NF, not Labradour due to time constraints). Thanks for posting up the GPS track on it. Couple of questions:
- What type of spares would you carry?
- Is this all publically accessible land?
- Are there any trips like this, at any pace, planned for say, end of June/ Early July :sombrero:
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Assuming your traveling just to the Newfoundland Mountain range? Just standard spares. Its accessible from the north (Hogup Mountains) from the East or West along the railroad (not open to the public, so this route shouldn't be considered an option) or from the south through the bombing range. So long as they are not bombing, they allow you to pass through up to Lakeside.
With the exception of the railroad from Lakeside east and from Newfies west, the routes are all good to go. Also the bottom 1/4 of the Newfoundland Mountain range is now part of the bottom range so while you used to be able to circumnavigate the range, you can now only drive down each side to border of the bombing range. If your referring to the UCEII route, yes it was all public land with the exception of the land we traversed on the indian reservation and we had a permit for that travel.
Nothing I know of this minute, groups from ExpeditionUtah.com head out that way regularly and I've done several CruiserOutfitters customer runs to the Newfies/NW Utah, oh and the Wasatch Cruisers did a run up that way last year too and might again this fall/winter. We'll be doing the 3rd annual 'Freeze Your Tail Off' overnighter at Lucin again too, a perfect hop-off time to head over to the Newfies.
If your wondering about a UCE style trip, its not really a trip that is viable for an 'open invite'. Given the amount of pre-planning that goes into a trip of this size as well as the need to make sure participants and their vehicles are going to jive. Best bet is to get some interested friends and plan your own trip, that way you establish commitment and start making some early assignments for crucial portions of the trip. There is a group from ExpeditionUtah planning a Utah Traverse trip in the fall, UT/NV border to the UT/CO border on dirt over 4-5 days. The route is very similar to the one used on the first Utah Cruiser Expedition (2005) and it was more widely discussed by EU/ExPo member Sinuhe's, in which he layed out the rough route. A group from ExpeditionUtah ran it end to end last year, you can see that trip report on EU forum.
Viggen
Just here...
No, I was thinking about taking two weeks or so to do Newfoundland, Canada but this seems like it would be a better trip as it can be done off road whereas I would be piecing together small off road loops on the island while driving the paved roads. This sort of trip, I think, would be far more entertaining.
Im a member of Expedition Utah but havent looked at it in a long time. I guess Ill see if there is anything going on. It doesnt have to be an "open invite" sort of thing, as long as I am on the list
Im a member of Expedition Utah but havent looked at it in a long time. I guess Ill see if there is anything going on. It doesnt have to be an "open invite" sort of thing, as long as I am on the list
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
...Im a member of Expedition Utah but havent looked at it in a long time. I guess Ill see if there is anything going on. It doesnt have to be an "open invite" sort of thing, as long as I am on the list
Don't get me wrong I don't want to sound exclusive. I think just about anyone could enjoy a trip like this and work well with the group, but they need to be involved in the trip from day one to really appreciate the experience. This group in particular does not do the 'spoonfed' trip experience, you can pay if your looking for that
Viggen
Just here...
Don't get me wrong I don't want to sound exclusive. I think just about anyone could enjoy a trip like this and work well with the group, but they need to be involved in the trip from day one to really appreciate the experience. This group in particular does not do the 'spoonfed' trip experience, you can pay if your looking for that
I understand. Helping in the planning stage would be tough though since I live in Virginia. I like the planning and prepping part as I would have a better idea of what issues would/ could arise. Im not really into the spoonfed experience either but having never been to Utah, I would need some help and jumping in with a group like this would be aces.