"Not What It Appears To Be" On Hell's Revenge

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 21, 2015

Dave and Lynn, their son Richie and cute little Yorkie, Daisy arrived at Portal on September 12th. Yep, that's how far behind I am on posting all the fun we have been having. We have had a great time wheelin' and visiting the past couple of weeks. 

It was a beautiful Monday morning. Skies were blue, jeeps were shiny, and I wish I could say the air was cool, but we haven't been that lucky this month...a perfect Hell's Revenge kind of day!


Larger vistas that sweep full circle from the LaSal Mountains through Arches NP, to the cliff rims that overlook Moab Valley make this my favorite trail. 

Hell's Revenge is 6.5 miles of pure scary fun! A roller coaster ride up and down, over and around sandstone domes and fins with a few rock ledges, and sandy washes thrown in just to give me a chance to put the camera down, gulp a few sips of water and catch my breath. 

We had traversed about half way when we encountered a dome we now know is named Cowboy Hill. Dave made one attempt, then another, and once more when all went awry. In the process of backing off the climb, his front locker, driver side G2 Axle and brake caliper were destroyed.

Joe and Dave contacted our friends Steve Nantz and Jim Horne. We sent the picture below to them. 

They advised us to remove the wheel, strap the caliper to the axle, and drive it out in 3-wheel drive. 

Dave then discovered he had no brakes because of the loss of fluids. The leak was stopped at the busted caliper and an attempt to restore brakes by bleeding the system failed. 

Richie did a great job covering the fluids with sand.








At that point, the boys strapped Pearl to the back of Rokelle and we proceeded out with Pearl serving as brakes for both jeeps. 

On the way out, we ran into Jim who was doing a jeep tour. He checked things out and gave the guys some transmission fluid to attempt to bleed the brakes again.  Thanks Jim!







We made it back to Moab 4X4 Outpost where Rokelle spent two nights and was repaired.  Dee was at the Outpost when we pulled in and commented how creative the guys were and that the picture was "not what it appears to be". Another true adventure in the memory bank with great friends! 

Next up, National Public Lands Day 2015. Until then, let the good times roll...

HAPPY TRAILS!

Levi Wells Road and Club Run to Rainbow Terrace

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 7, 11, and 12, 2015

In an effort to catch up on posting, I have to go all the way back to September 7. With nothing to do, we (Dee, Joe and I) decided to go check out Levi Wells Road...remember the flash flood (click here) that left us stranded? It was pretty cool to see how deep the wash was. We didn't linger though...we both have open jeeps this time of year and the bugs were horrible! 

Just imagine this wash full of running water.

A few days later, we went in search for an alternate route (in the same area that Dee was hoping would connect to Rainbow Terrace) called DS Road. Pearl had a new windshield installed that required a 12 hour wait before going on trail so Joe drove Dee's jeep, Roxanne. The lighting was beautiful. I do believe the late day into early evening runs are my favorite! We didn't find DS Road...a rutted trail used by Butch Cassidy back in the day when he traveled from Colorado to Utah, but it was fun exploring.

The very next morning, we had a club run. Dee had put Rainbow Terrace on the calendar. A great group of folks showed up...I think about 9 to 11 vehicles in all.

We all parked and hiked down a draw to explore. 

Aside from the wonderful company, there were two highlights for me. The first was a hike in a draw to explore an outcropping of manganese. 







The black/brown/purple color against the red sure had a pop.

Many of the tubes were hollow.



For my second highlight of the day, we enjoyed lunch at Secret Spire. We have ridden past the spire several times, but never stopped. It's a strange tower of Navajo Sandstone standing alone on a dome-like base. 

Dee led the way.

There is a parking lot and a short trail leading up to the dome. The spire provided us shade for a lunch break.

In a way, this post signifies the beginning of our new "normal" without our dear companion Wrecks.  With that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for all the kind and comforting comments we have received.  

Until next time, let the good times roll...

HAPPY TRAILS!