Don & Karen, Steve and Debbie's Excellent Adventure

[MountainDon]

Utah!! 4 Wheeling!!  

(I just noticed that if you type "4 wheeling" with the shift key held down it comes out "$ WHEELING"  I guess that's accurate as well.)

Anyhow we spent a few days of our spring break in and around Moab UT. We had the run of a friends house there which was very nice and generous.  Karen's brother and SigOther came from Boulder. We didn't do anything too strenuous. We did stick the nose of the Cherokee up SteelBender but UT has had more snow than anyone remebers and it was too snowy, wet, muddy and slick to go very far. Ditto on Behind the Rocks.

So we went for the easier but still much fun and very scenic.

Here's 3/4 of the motley crew



...and the other 1/4...



That is on the summit of Hurrah Pass, not much challenge but a scenic overlook.



.... more in next post....

[MountainDon]

One of my favorite trails to use to introduce folks to the wonders of the UT backcountry is known as Spring Canyon / Hey Joe canyon. The approach across flat sagebrush covered mesa top is uneventful. However at the edge to Spring Canyon...



...one is treated to a spectacular view of an 800 foot deep canyon.  



800 vertical feet and about 1.4 miles later Spring Canyon meets the Green River where it runs through Labyrinth Canyon.



That's looking north on the east bank of the Green. From Spring Canyon the trail winds along the bank, sometimes "right there".



The trail along the Green is mostly smooth, although muddy in places. In places it is "tunneled" through the Tamarisk. Tamarisk is an invasive species. In the years before the river was dammed the spring runoffs would wash the banks clear of such trash. Now the Red Rock 4 Wheelers do an annual pre Easter Jeep Safari clean up so as to keep paint scratches to a minimum. I had guessed correctly that they would have cleaned it out already this year.



The trail eventually dead ends at Hey Joe canyon where there are remnants of uranium mining.  On the route back to Spring Canyon Steve took a few shots of the few rock obstacles along the Green River. No big deal, but he thought it was way cool. I do too.  







I must admit I never tire of this sort of fun.  

One last shot as we climb up and out on the last ledge of Spring Canyon.




.... more....

[MountainDon]

Another day's adventure was to take a trip part way around the White Rim trail. Part way as it is an 85 mile loop and requires camping out, which we were not prepared for this time. We have tentative fall plans for this though.

A small part of the White Rim was made famous in the movie Thelma and Louise.  This is the place on the edge where their car goes over. This is the Colorado River.



Here's another section of the White Rim. You can see why it is named so...



Two shots taken on the route out. Unfortunately for us the heavier than usual snowfalls and melts caused damage to our planned exit so we had to do an extact retrace, rather than the Shaffer trail switchbacks that are supreme fun.





For the curious the next post will have location maps.

[MountainDon]

Spring Canyon - Hey Joe

[MountainDon]

Section of White Rim Trail

[MountainDon]

As the 4 wheeling folks in Moab are apt to say, "A bad day in Moab is better than a good day anywhere else."   

[Pox Eclipse]

Awesome pictures, Don.  I half-expected to see Wile E. Coyote plummeting off one of those cliffs.

[Redoverfarm]

Nice pictures Don.  That country is different than I normally see.  Very interesting.  I like the guardrail in the first picture of Reply # 1 post.     I guess you are trying to get in the last Hoorah before your operation.  Enjoy as I would imagine it may cramp your style somewhat afterwords.  Be sure to let us know how it went.

Our idea is a little different on 4-wheeling than yours. 

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=8651.msg112193#msg112193

But it looks as if both are enjoying their adventure. 

[MountainDon]

John, there actually was a farm gate there too. I had opened it up before the picture was taken. There's free range cattle on the mesa top. I don't know how they manage to keep track of them on top; sure wouldn't want them wandering down into the canyon.

There are a good number of ATV's running around the canyons out there too, but not as much mud as your son found. We had several low spots that were water filled and muddy along the river, but not even worth taking a picture. Dirt bikes galore as well. Add a mess of mountain bikers and sometimes it gets to feeling crowded. A dirt bike is the fastest way to travel through the canyons and all.

In the 40 years we've 4-wheeled things sure have changed a lot. Some things, like having GPS available is for the good. That makes navigating across the barrens simpler, especially with the GPS hooked up to a computer in the Cherokee. Other things, like the proliferation of commercial shops selling everything from t-shirts to you-name-it, have taken away some of the uniqueness. Plus it gets too crowded and the motels cost much more than when Moab was a sleepy town struggling to stay on the map.

[MountainDon]

If anyone comes this way let me know in advance. Not only would I love to show off the cabin on our property it's good to have an excuse to take off for UT.   

[Redoverfarm]

John, there actually was a farm gate there too. I had opened it up before the picture was taken. There's free range cattle on the mesa top. I don't know how they manage to keep track of them on top; sure wouldn't want them wandering down into the canyon.

There are a good number of ATV's running around the canyons out there too, but not as much mud as your son found. We had several low spots that were water filled and muddy along the river, but not even worth taking a picture. Dirt bikes galore as well. Add a mess of mountain bikers and sometimes it gets to feeling crowded. A dirt bike is the fastest way to travel through the canyons and all.

In the 40 years we've 4-wheeled things sure have changed a lot. Some things, like having GPS available is for the good. That makes navigating across the barrens simpler, especially with the GPS hooked up to a computer in the Cherokee. Other things, like the proliferation of commercial shops selling everything from t-shirts to you-name-it, have taken away some of the uniqueness. Plus it gets too crowded and the motels cost much more than when Moab was a sleepy town struggling to stay on the map.

What in the world do they graze on.

[MountainDon]

There are grasses. Unlike what you and your cows are used to though, they grow in clumps, a little here, a little there. The cattle move around constantly in order to find enough to eat. The cow per acre density is rather low. The ranchers also have to haul water for them. We saw a dozen, may a dozen and a half, all with new calves.

[kenhill]

I went ot Moab last June and had several nat bites that have left permanent pigment changes to my skin.  Beautiful mt biking thou...

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Beautiful scenery, MtDon.  I wanna come visit sometime!

[MountainDon]

It's simply a matter of coordinating the time along with everything else that we need and want to do. 

[MountainDon]

   I guess you are trying to get in the last Hoorah before your operation.  Enjoy as I would imagine it may cramp your style somewhat afterwards. 

Well, John, I'm hoping that the surgery doesn't keep me from doing what I want to do for too long. It's been moved a couple weeks up the calendar to 04/14.

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like that was a blast, Don.  I like places like that.  Sassy and I found some hot springs down on the Green somewhere I think -

[MountainDon]

There's a lot of history along the Green too.

Opposite Hey Joe, on the west side of the river, are old uranium mines. They used to cable barge the ore to the east side and then truck it up the trail we came down. There's also an old mine in Hey Joe canyon.

Further north on the west side is an old homestead dating from the 30's. We've 4-wheeled down to the site known as June's Bottom (as in river bottom land). Back then they grew corn and made moonshine as a source of cash money.

[glenn kangiser]

One of my favorite things is learning the local history of the places I travel.  I was not so much a history buff in school but really love the" hands on" type of history.