Cruise Moab 2017! (20th Annual CM) (1 Viewer)

[evanz80]

Who's interested? I expect the registration should be opening up any day now (cruisemoab.com).

I am planning to attend this year. I have missed the last few years due to work, but I'm ready to get back out to Moab. I would love to do Elephant Hill on the first day. It's not technically difficult, but it has some some absolutely beautiful scenery and a couple of hikes/breaks along the way.

I will post up again once the registration is open, and will let you know what trails I am signing up for.

 

[evanz80]

Today is the day! They just opened up the registration, and I am all signed up. If you are interested in the overnight trails, jump on them quick, as they get filled up quickly. I have done the Kokopelli Trail before (2 nights on the trail) and it was a blast. Another overnight trail is the San Rafael swell (one-nighter).

Here are my trail choices:

Thursday: 1. Top of the World; 2. Hells Revenge; 3. Kane Creek Canyon
Friday: 1. Kane Creek Canyon; 2. Poison Spider Mesa; 3. Metal Masher
Saturday: 1. Elephant Hill; 2. Top of the World; 3. Metal Masher

All of these trails are rated 6 on a 10-point scale, except for E-Hill which is rated a 4. I have run all of these trails before, except for Top of the World, so that should be fun. There are also a few 7-rated trails offered this year, like Golden Spike and Moab Rim.

I hope to see some more of the High Desert Cruisers there!

 

[Poupon]

I'm signed up.

Ali/Matt, I'm interested in the overland you guys are doing before.

 

[slimbuddha]

Signed up:

Thursday Top of the World - Hells Revenge - Kane Creek Canyon
Friday Kane Creek Canyon - Wipe Out Hill - Porcupine Rim
Saturday Wipe Out Hill - Kane Creek Canyon - Fins & Things

 

[evanz80]

Great! Glad to hear that Larry and Ron will get over to Moab.

I haven't been to Cruise Moab in a few years - maybe there will be more 100's on the trails than anything else?

Larry - what trails are you signed up for?

Should be fun!

 

[Poupon]

Great! Glad to hear that Larry and Ron will get over to Moab.

I haven't been to Cruise Moab in a few years - maybe there will be more 100's on the trails than anything else?

Larry - what trails are you signed up for?

Should be fun!

My picks are:

• Wednesday - Hells Revenge AT NIGHT
• Thursday - Top of the World
  
• Friday - Moab Rim
• Saturday - Jax Trax

 

[alia176]

My picks are:

• Friday - Moab Rim "I want my mommy"

 

[evanz80]

Ash has a point there. I think everyone should do Moab Rim at least once, and I've done my run. It's a fun trail, but a little too much cliff exposure for my liking. But hey, Larry's doing Hell's Revenge AT NIGHT, so Moab Rim during the daylight will be a walk in the park!

 

[slimbuddha]

Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to leave with Friday to hit Lockhart Basin before Moab. Right now we are tentatively leaving for Moab Wednesday afternoon, however there is a slight possibility we leave Tuesday afternoon. I have a friend coming from out of state heading to Moab with me, so along the way we want to drive through the Valley of the Gods. We don't have a specific itinerary yet but here is a rough estimate.

Leave Wednesday, head to Valley of Gods, take our time, do some evening photography, then head to Slickrock in Moab
Thursday - Top of the World
Friday - Wipeout Hill (May skip and explore Arches NP)
Saturday - Kane Creek , Pack up and head to Canyonlands NP immediately after trail.
Sunday - Canyonlands, possibly Elephant Hill, long day then head back to ABQ

All are welcome to join us, and as soon as I have definite times on departure, I'll post up as well.

Slickrock Tent site 143

 

[evanz80]

Hey Ron -

Glad to hear that you will make it to Cruise Moab! My trails:

Thursday - Top of the World
Friday - Kane Creek
Saturday - Elephant Hill

I am planning to leave early Wednesday, probably about 6:00 AM, to get me there mid-day. I plan to get my truck through tech inspection at 1:00 (right after their lunch break from noon to 1:00), and then help the CM folks with tech inspection or registration on Wednesday afternoon. I will be at the Bowen Motel.

Look forward to seeing you up there!

 

[slimbuddha]

Here's a photo of Larry waiting his turn to go up a hill on Top-of The World. Sorry for my finger in the bottom corner, there was a group of elders in Razrs (like 6-8 razors, all had to be 65+), and they had not a care in the world what was in their way.

 

[alia176]

Hey Ron -

Glad to hear that you will make it to Cruise Moab! My trails:

Thursday - Top of the World
Friday - Kane Creek
Saturday - Elephant Hill

I am planning to leave early Wednesday, probably about 6:00 AM, to get me there mid-day. I plan to get my truck through tech inspection at 1:00 (right after their lunch break from noon to 1:00), and then help the CM folks with tech inspection or registration on Wednesday afternoon. I will be at the Bowen Motel.

Look forward to seeing you up there!

How was Kane creek?

 

[evanz80]

Kane Creek was the worst I had ever seen it. Top of the World (my Thursday trail) and Kane Creek (my Friday trail) were both rated "6", but Kane Creek was much more difficult. I have run it several times over the years, but this was by far the worst I had ever seen it. Luckily there were only seven trucks in or group on the trail, and we still got back to the dinner/raffle at 6:15, so it was a very long day. To make it even tougher, there was constant "competition" for the trail with motorcycles and ATV's (four wheel ATV's, side by sides, four seaters, etc.). As you know, us Cruisers don't move through obstacles real quickly, so there was almost always a line behind us, and as soon as we let some go ahead, the next group was piling up behind us. Some of those folks were extremely rude, with the motorcycles just blasting through the middle of our crowd on the trail at high speeds, and/or blasting through our lunch spot at high speeds.

I'm not sure how the trail gets that much worse in just a few years. The ledges were much higher and the obstacles in general were almost turning this into a buggy trail. Maybe the ATV's and motorcycles are just digging out the dirt and leaving the rocks behind. To make matters worse, I tore a sidewall in my BFG Mud Terrain KM2. Luckily it was near the end of the trail and on a relatively level spot. The folks behind me jumped in to help and we had it changed out with the spare in 15 minutes. However, that left me without a spare tire for the rest of the trip. I was scheduled to run Elephant Hill on Saturday, but that group left at 7:00 AM, an hour before the Moab tire stores open. I checked around for another tire, and could have bought another KM2 from a Moab tire shop for $370 (I declined). No one had a used tire of the same size that I could use for a spare (315/75R16). Evidently, 16 inch truck tires are hard to find these days, as most trucks are now using 17 or 18 inch wheels (or larger).

I headed home on Saturday without a spare, and made it home fine. I worked with Discount Tire, and they were able to cover me with a new tire with their replacement warranty, so that was much better than the $370 I would have spent in Moab. All in all, still a fun trip, but a bummer to miss E-Hill. I was really looking forward to that - it's one of my favorite Moab trails. The Rising Sun guys told me they used to be able to get permission to run E-Hill on two days (typically Thursday and Saturday) for a max of 20 trucks per day. Anymore the Canyonlands folks are limiting CM to only one day (Saturday) and a max of 10 trucks.

We had a good group for Top of the World on Thursday, with Ron and Larry on the trail. A lot of you know Ken Romer, and he was there (along with the "Daughters of Romer"). He was in his built 200-series (2014, I think), and the daughters each had their own trucks (a 100-series and an open diff 4Runner). So we had a lot of fun On Thursday. I helped with the morning shift of Tech Inspection on Thursday and Friday. I think most folks had no interest in getting up early enough to be there by 7:00 AM.

I've got a few pictures of Larry on an obstacle on Top of the World. I will see if I can get them posted up.

 

[marcfj60]

Thanks for the report. Sorry to hear about the tire and missing E-Hill. It's my favorite trail of all time. I would love to get out there and camp in Hell's Kitchen some day, not during a CM.

 

[slimbuddha]

After Evan's experience on Kane Creek, I decided to skip it on Saturday, and instead we made a trip into Canyonlands, then down to Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley.

I would like to hit up Elephant hill as well, maybe we can make an early fall trip to it?

 

[evanz80]

After Evan's experience on Kane Creek, I decided to skip it on Saturday, and instead we made a trip into Canyonlands, then down to Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley.

I would like to hit up Elephant hill as well, maybe we can make an early fall trip to it?

I think an Elephant Hill trip is a great idea, but it should get some research first. The Cruise Moab guys were saying that Canyonlands is limiting the number of people on the trail (even just normal tourists/drivers outside of Cruise Moab). I think they said they were limiting the size of a group to three vehicles per day, and I assume also limiting the total number of groups per day. I assume that they are trying to avoid overcrowding at Hell's Kitchen, but it sounds like the limits apply even if it's only a day trip with no camping.

 

[alia176]

I guess if we said "no, those other four landcruisers are definitely NOT with us". You think they'll bite?

 

[evanz80]

I guess if we said "no, those other four landcruisers are definitely NOT with us". You think they'll bite?

Good question!

I'm really not sure how it works - all of my info was hearsay, but figured I would pass it along just so folks aren't surprised. I would suggest some research ahead of time to find out more details...