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There's a 9-ish mile 4x trail in Arches. It's got about a mile of rock shelves and the rest is mostly sandy or in a dry creek bed. Always be aware of flash flooding. Things looked good and the forcast was good so we went for it. It started sprinkling as we were going through the rocky section but the skies still looked pretty good so...
In the bottoms area was where we found the worst off camber spots. I still say Tomichi was worse though that spot was shorter, because of the crumbling edge and the looooonnnnggg way down. This was tippier, but falling over would be a lot more inconvenient than deadly. No pics of it, of course. It started raining harder as we finished up and the deluge began just as I got the last tire aired up. Whew! Glad it waited for us to get up out of the creek bed!
Over to Winter Park to camp and ride Tipperary the next day. On the tandem the first 5 miles are okay, the next 2 are way harsh and the 2 after that are a relief as the steepness chills out. Here's the top of the climb, mile 9..
Once you're here it's a super fun way too short down hill, then down Flume and a choice of Chainsaw or Creekside trails.
Camped in the Neversummer area. Next morning we passed 3 moose on our way to Rocky Mountain NP.
The hike to Gem Lake is pretty with a lot of up. Afterward we went to Old Flowers Road. We went in from the east looking for a place to sleep. Found a nice spot near the other end. It was in a burn area with tons of wildflowers- finding a clear of burned dead trees spot to set up the tent wasn't the easiest but it worked out good.
A trip to Fort Collins netted us a tour at New Belgium. I tasted, then handed mine off to the hubby. Worked out very well for both of us as I was driving and he was not.
Wilson State park in Kansas that night, home the next day. Whew.
Should I put up more of the mine and art panel stuff?
LOVED being able to air down (all 4 tires took 5 min from 45 lbs to 20 lbs) and up again (20 minutes to get all 4 tires from 20 lbs back up to 45 lbs). The new gadget rocks!!! Thank you, Santa Hubby!
Yes, love to see the mine and panel pics. The wetness gives everything such a different look from your prior years photos. Can't believe how much that boy-o of yours grows from year-to-year.
The moose are very cool too!
I live another CO/UT vacation through you guys, thanks!
No problem rw! Panels and mines when I get a chance.
The fuel question answered.....
3,844 miles
14.5 overall average mpgs
$782.63 spent on gas
Worst mileage was fighting a nasty headwind going east up and down hills (who put those there? I don't remember any hills in Kansas!) on 70 through Kansas- 9.1 mpg
Best mileage was 17.4 mpg on the highway from Moab to Winter Park. Must've had a nice tailwind!
Wheeling in low range took more fuel than highway driving.
I added about a 1/2 qt oil total. Both times after a heavy duty workout trying to get up mountains- high idle, 3rd gear, keeping it above 50mph.
I also had issues with the radiator overflow.....slightly overflowing a couple of times. Same situations as above. Never boiled, just appeared to be 'pushed' out. I have been suspecting a very slight head gasket leak for some time but have yet to prove it. Visual inspection shows no coolant in the oil, no oil in the coolant. It did not get overly hot according to the coolant temp gauge or the dummy gauge in the dash. I could easily be wrong.
Engine just purred along otherwise. Panhard bar creaked a lot, driveshaft rubbed the gas tank skid a couple times. Butt was saggin' and the rear shocks, which started out blown, stayed blown. Sway bar and link bushings held together just fine this time. Poly for the win there.
We spent $41 in 'lodging'. 3 nights camping at Sand Flats in Moab and 1 at Wilson S.P.
Everything else was leave no trace dispersed camping.
Some great pictures you got. I really enjoyed seeing the scenery. That part of the country is some of my favorite areas. Seems like it takes so long for vacation to get here and then it is over before you know it. Always like seeing you use your runner for your trips.
I know! Sure would be nice to be able to take multiple trips here and there. Beings I'm on the school schedule I daren't complain too much about lack of vacation. Lack of pay check, yes.
Paying the piper now, though. Spending a couple hours each morning getting chewed by mosquitoes and weeding the mess we call a garden. Can't believe it's almost August and the tomatoes have just started getting ripe. No zucchini so far, no cucumbers, peppers still tiny. Lots of green beans though.
Awesome pics, Hab! Thanks for posting them up. Someday I will get over to CO and UT.
I see you just did a oil change, but since you are suspecting slight HG leak maybe pull a oil sample at the next OC and send it off to Blackstone Laboratories. They will run a analysis on it and can tell you if the chemicals in the anti-freeze are making their way to the oil. It helped me to confirm my slight HG leak several years ago.
Last edited by rworegon; Jul 30, 2015 at 07:59 PM.
Awesome pics, Hab! Thanks for posting them up. Someday I will get over to CO and UT.
I see you just did a oil change, but since you are suspecting slight HG leak maybe pull a oil sample at the next OC and send it off to Blackstone Laboratories. They will run a analysis on it and can tell you if the chemicals in the anti-freeze are making their way to the oil. It help me to confirm my slight HG leak several years ago.
That's a great idea, will have to keep it in mind for the next one.
I'm really looking forward to it, I wasn't sure until very recently I would be able to go. I'm going with a group of guys from the land cruiser club I'm in, most of them have been to Moab at least once, we are going to be there 10 days so we should have a good amount of time to explore, that said I really don't know what the plan is for sure, I know there are some really built trucks that are going to hit the hardest stuff they can find, the rest of us I suppose will just be checking out the scenery. I know there is a lot of cool stuff to see any cant miss stuff in your opinion?
Jul 27, 2015 | 12:14 PM
