Sunday, November 27, 2016

Heading South

Gopher Flats
Moab, UT
November 2016

Tomorrow is travel day.   
Before we go, a quick recap for November.  


Joe celebrated his 70th birthday earlier in the month.  Dee joined us for a delicious dinner at Jeffrey's Steakhouse followed by champagne at her place.



















For years, Moab Friends For Wheeling jeep club has volunteered to help with Moab Trail Marathon.  It's a huge event with over 1500 runners at just one of the two aide stations we set up and worked.  Joe and I helped haul supplies on Friday as the first runners come through before 8 am.  

Glen loads a trailer and his jeep to haul supplies on Cliffhanger.
Larry loaded his Toyo buggy with water, coolers and table for Pritchett.
You wouldn't believe the boxes of bananas, granola bars, cookies and cases of gallon water jugs along with tables, water coolers for mixing electrolyte drinks, cups and more cups filled up several pick up trucks, a trailer, and several jeeps.  Some went to Pritchett and some went to Cliffhanger.

The mornings have been quite chilly recently, but the days warm up nicely.  55 degrees here sure doesn't feel like it did in Georgia.  We had a gorgeous, lazy run on Hells Revenge last week.  The sky and the LaSal Mountains were so dramatic and we enjoyed watching jeep shadows.





 Thanksgiving day, we joined Dee for a trail run on Kane Creek.  Kane Creek is turning into a favorite trail.  Not only is the scenery captivating, the terrain is so diverse.
The desert, 




the creek,

and the cliff, each with their own challenges, beauty and fun.



 Yesterday while Joe did some packing and rearranging, I went with Dee to see Pritchett Canyon.  There were two other well built vehicles in our little group.  Joe and I have heard about Pritchett Canyon for 4 years so I really wanted to see it and all it's challenges.  Locals say it's the hardest trail here and now I know why !  It's only 4.2 miles of trail, but Charles Wells Guide says to allow a full day for obstacles like Chewy, Rocker Knocker, Axel Hill and Yellow Hill.  My mouth dropped at the sight of boulders much taller than Blanche (Dee's jeep).  Some of the obstacles were in the shade, wet and slippery which added to the scary fun.  

We made the first tracks on Pritchett yesterday.


 It's an awesome canyon and Dee pointed our several hikes for this spring.


 We might even do some wheeling here too. The first big obstacle is Chewy.  Here Warren heads up after Dee.


 Nothing like a good flex and stretch on a chilly morning !

 And then Larry follows.




I only got one picture of Yellow Hill and this is the bypass !

 Just ahead of here, there was a nice sunny (and warm) spot to stop for lunch with a view.



 On the way out, we passed Pritchett Arch.  It's farther than the picture makes it look like is...I zoomed !



Up next, Tucson for a couple of nights to restock the pantry and then its on to So Cal to explore.

Until next time, let the good times roll !



 HAPPY TRAILS !

19 comments:

  1. As usual, as I'm reading I'm thinking, They're CRAZY! But I went on the Rubicon Trail out of Georgetown, CA a couple of times and parts of it were similar to this, and SO MUCH FUN! Glad you all made it safely and had such a good time. :)

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    1. Thanks Barbara...I agree it is alittle crazy to think crawling over humongous boulders would be fun. We love it though! The Rubicon is on our bucket list!

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  2. Happy Birthday to Joe!! Howard turned 70 in August. Have fun in SoCal!!!
    "Crazy Jeeping" WoW!!!

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    1. And happy late birthday to Howard. 70 is quite an accomplishment! I can't wait to explore the tide pools Sheila...it is sooooomuch fun!

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  3. Sure is fun following your off-road adventures!, another challenging run with some beautiful sights. Enjoy your time in SoCal!

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    1. Thanks Jeff. I am so excited to be heading your way!

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  4. Happy Birthday, Joe!!! What a wonderful way to celebrate:)

    I really wanted to hike to the Pritchett Arch but could never find out exactly how far it was. I read that this was a very tough Jeep trail. Guess they were right...crazy scary!! How cool to ride along with Dee:) Dee is really going to miss having you two around. Good to know you have a spot waiting for you whenever you want to return:) Safe travels to Tuscon. Enjoy your time in SoCal!!

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    1. When you and John are here in April we will make sure Pritchett Arch is on the list. We can hike as little or as much as we want to Pam...it is a beautiful area. There is a much easier way to get to Pritchett Arch than the way we went yesterday. The aide station area for the marathon would be a great place to park and hike.

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  5. Stunning pics of the trails. Looking forward to seeing where you're going in SoCal!

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  6. Happy Birthday Joe, travel safe and enjoy So Cal.

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  7. Well, Happy Birthday to Joe. The weather will warm up once you get to your next destination, I hope. At least you won't have to worry about too much snow or ice.

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    1. Thanks Jeri. We came through Flagstaff today. They got 6 inches of snow and the snow plows were out in full force. Yikes! Warm weather here we come!

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  8. A belated happy birthday to Joe! Looks like November was a fun, fabulous, & full month. Are you headed to Arizonia for the winter season?

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    1. Hey Gayle, we are going to stop in Tucson to have the cooling unit on our refrigerator replaced. We are hoping it's a quick fix...we have reservations for Borrego Springs, CA for Dec.

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    2. This will be your first time in Borrego Springs won't it? I look forward to reading your take on wintering there.

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    3. We had to cancel Gayle...a lug nut hit our MH windshield coming they Phoenix...it's not a quick fix! 😩

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    4. Geeze, I am sorry to hear that Gay. Hopefully you'll be back to new adventures soon.

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