Some Revenge and A Little Poison

Gopher Flats
Moab, UT
May 6, 2018

So it's been a little over a week since we last posted.  It's been busy around here.  

Last Wednesday, our sweet Sally had surgery to remove bladder stones.  She was very droopy the first three days, but seems to be feeling more like her old self.  She has always been a model patient and so appreciative.  

We have also been busy wheeling some of our favorite trails...ok, I know I say that about every trail we run, but we just love this place !  Hell's Revenge, Moab's iconic trail, is usually at the top of everyone's list when visiting Moab.  We have done it twice in the past week.  First we joined Rory, Dee, David and Erica, and Chris.  Rory entertained us by driving up Escalator, driving down Escalator, and for the grand finale he backed up Escalator.  Rory and his buggy are legendary !

David drives up Escalator as Rory follows backing up it.

David played going up and down and Rory spotted Chris on her first successful climb on Escalator.  Dee  hasn't been happy with her past several runs up but was quite pleased Blanche performed flawlessly on this day !  We took a pass and I don't mean the flirty kind... Joe trusted his inner voice that said today was not the day for our first attempt.    

Rory spots Chris up Escalator...a personal goal for her.  Chris has a well built 2-door Rubicon and never shies away from a challenge. 

 After Hells, we headed over to Potato Salad Hill...a first for us.  Rory spotted us all up this ledgy hill that is notorious for rollovers.  Thanks to Rory we all made successful climbs !

Dee makes Potato Salad Hill look easy as Rory stands at the top giving her a spot. 

David (on the right) drives up Potato Salad Hill while Rory backs down it. 

Next up was Poison Spider trail.  We joined Dee, Chris and Canadians Robert and Karen.  With just the four of us we made quick time enjoying the beautiful day and scenery.  

Trail Warriors

 

Chris begins her climb on The Waterfall.

Robert and Karen climb a ledgy section just past the chute.

 

Yucca lined the trail...

The Havasu 4 Wheelers were here for a week and we had the great pleasure to join them on Hells.
Glen led them through the trail. There were about 7 jeeps of all sizes in the Havasu group...all excited and eager and up for the challenge !  Every jeep in the group did Hell's Gate and Escalator.  And Chris' dad, Howard even tried Mickey's Hot Tub, it was so close, but in the end he needed a strap.  I am way excited to post that Joe drove Escalator and Mickey's Hot Tub for the first time with Glen's expert spotting !  We can now say we have driven everything Hells has to offer ! 

The drop into Hell's Gate is amazing.

Below Glen drives the line. 





 These obstacles force you to pay close attention to what you are doing no matter how many times you have done them before.  Below one of the Havasu wheelers gets a passenger wheel lift and on top of that he drives a manual and his jeep went dead.  He did an awesome job of managing the clutch, brake, and gas to drive himself out.  

Mickey's Hot Tub was up next.  After Glen and Joe drove it, Howard gave it a try.

Glen did a great job of describing The Escalator and telling everyone what to expect. 

What a great day with old and new friends !  Until next time...

  HAPPY TRAILS !

Up next...creek crossings, a pinch, ledge crawling acrobats, and nerves of steel ! 

James Drives Wile E

Gopher Flats
Moab, UT
July 5&6, 2017

Wednesday morning we were up and out the door early to meet Dee and Adrienne to run Hell's Revenge.  Hell's is a wild rollercoaster ride over slickrock domes or fins.  It's 6.5 miles of scary fun offers steep climbs and descents with some areas very narrow and close to the edge of high cliffs, several named difficult optional obstacles, and spectacular panoramic views.  Today, James was driving !

Dee led driving Blanche , followed by Adrienne driving Pibble, and James bringing up the rear in WileE.  

Dee gets a mirror shot of our small group.

A sweet picture at the dinosaur tracks. 


















I'm not sure who had the most fun...James or Joe and I.

Dee and James at the river overlook...

James rides along with Dee on Hells' Gate...

Another mirror shot...thanks Dee !

When we reached the top of the Dragon Tail, a very steep descent, I snapped the following picture.  The driver of the vehicle on its top misjudged the line in the dark.  Both driver and passenger spent the night and hiked out at daybreak. 

Thursdays trail of choice was Metal Masher.  Red Rock 4-Wheelers rates this trail a 7 out of 10.  This 11.7 mile loop follows around Arth's Rim and offers up some difficult named obstacles, and lots of fun.  Dee (with passenger Rob) led our trusty band of wheelers followed by James, Scott (with passenger Adrienne) from Texas,  Jim from Texas, and Glen bringing up the back.  
The first couple of obstacles are unnamed tall ledges.
Joe and James discuss options for tire placement...

James gets lined up...

and crawls right up !   

Dee's photo captures how tall Rock Chucker is.

   
A great warm up for what is coming next...Rock Chucker...a tall, gnarly, ledgy climb.








Glen spots...

Dee's photo as James gets lined up.

and James climbs.

A happy mom !

Thanks Dee !

Once Rock Chucker has been conquered, there is a loop that connects back to the main trail.  It's pretty hairy too.
Glen stands by to make sure all four wheels stay on the ground.  It's tippy...I like tippy !

A great photo Dee !

I just realized I failed to get pictures at Arth's Rim...a spectacular overlook about 5700 feet above Hwy 191.  MM is a favorite so I'm sure there will be a next time !

It was so much fun having James here.  Five days...five trails full of scary fun filled with lots of laughs, WOWS, spectacular views and wonderful memories !  

I want to send a huge thank you to Dee who organized trails and led us on Hell's Revenge and Metal Masher.

Another huge thank you to Glen who led Kane Creek Canyon and joined us on Cliffhanger and Metal Masher.  He always manages to be in the right place at the right time just in case.

 And lastly, a huge thank you to Jeff who works hard all week in his buggy fabrication business, Dirt Squirrel Motors, LLC and still came out to play on Sunday...and led us on Cliffhanger.

  

He also got up early on Monday to weld breaks in Wile E's front coil over mount enabling us to enjoy the rest of the week wheeling !    





Ahhh...the memories !

Until next time,

 Happy Trails ! 

A Little Revenge with MonaLiza and Steve

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
April 11, 2016

I have done many posts on the Hell's Revenge 4-Wheel Drive Trail, but today's adventure was made extra special by having MonaLiza and Steve (lowestravels.com) join us.  I will never forget the first time Joe and I drove Pearl there and all the adventures we have had  since on this awesome, iconic Moab trail.  We joined our friends Dee, Mike and Melina  and the Havasu 4-Wheelers.  Dee and Mike both had buggies while the rest of us had an assortment of jeeps.

Mike leads the way...

 Our first stop of the day was the River Overlook.  Of course the Colorado River and Hwy 128 are not all you can see.  The large vistas sweep full circle from the river to Arches NP to the La Sal Mountains to Moab Rim (the cliffs that overlook Moab).

Steve and MonaLiza take in the view.

   
The first obstacle of the day was Hell's Gate.  MonaLiza and Steve enjoyed a nice climb up the Gate with Dee.  Dee's buggy Wild Thing is at the back of the line.

about half way up...

Wahoo!

We all gathered around The Hot Tub for lunch with a view after that.

Before we left, the buggies took a dip in The Hot Tub.
Going in...

coming out.

Near the end of this 6.5 mile trail is Escalator.  Pictures don't quite show the difficulty of this two in one obstacle,

 but Steve's reaction does show the thrill of the ride!

What a great day we had.  A huge thank you to Dee and Mike.  

Until next time, happy days...

  happy trails !

When we got home, the sun was setting behind Poison Spider Mesa.  

I went inside to let the pups out.  Jack has to stay in a crate which we call his man cave. When he ran out I noticed he had his baby standing up in the back of the crate covered with his blankie.  Since that day, we have found it that way twice.  

 How sweet is that?