With all the major elements of the build finally in place, and seemingly on the far side of a very chaotic and trying month, I was chomping at the bit to get out in the desert for some much needed alone time. White Rim permits can be tough to come by but my hunch that eclipse mania would have everyone heading north to the totality zone paid off and I was able to score White Crack, Murphy A and Taylor Canyon overnight permits on 10 days notice.
A small part of the stress of the past 6 weeks had to do with a trailer build gone awry. I won't publicly disparage anyone, but the end result was that the trailer was returned and refunded in full. The moment the funds hit my account I reached out to Dave at Turtleback to discuss a new option and we came to an arrangement that allowed me to use a local rig from their rental fleet until my new build is complete sometime in Dec. So, new build, new trailer, big solo trip in a very remote place = much last minute scrambling to kit out the trailer with a minimum of required trailer gear as well as a visit to Paul May at Equipt for a 60L Twin National Luna temporarily mounted in the back of the cruiser.
Having driven Shafer switchbacks numerous times, I opted to enter via Potash as it would be faster after a quick pit stop in Moab for fuel and what not.
Pretty much epic... (38.314831, -109.830750)
White Crack Campground is about as remote in Islands in the Sky as one can get. Just above the confluence, it offers epic views of the deepest reaches of the Needles and Maze Districts.
Day one was rather uneventful as I learned the nuances of the trailer and how it liked to be towed. Saw one NAVTEC tour in a 100 Series whose guide chatted me up about my rig for longer than the clients probably wanted and a massive herd of Desert Big Horn near Lathrop Canyon crossing the road pretty much on cue with the "Desert Bighorn Protected Calving Ground" signage. White Crack is perhaps the most beautiful spot in all of Canyonlands. If you ever get a chance to spend a night there don't pass it up, especially if there's an eclipse the following morning.
White Crack 38.252431,-109.863850
To be continued....
A small part of the stress of the past 6 weeks had to do with a trailer build gone awry. I won't publicly disparage anyone, but the end result was that the trailer was returned and refunded in full. The moment the funds hit my account I reached out to Dave at Turtleback to discuss a new option and we came to an arrangement that allowed me to use a local rig from their rental fleet until my new build is complete sometime in Dec. So, new build, new trailer, big solo trip in a very remote place = much last minute scrambling to kit out the trailer with a minimum of required trailer gear as well as a visit to Paul May at Equipt for a 60L Twin National Luna temporarily mounted in the back of the cruiser.
Having driven Shafer switchbacks numerous times, I opted to enter via Potash as it would be faster after a quick pit stop in Moab for fuel and what not.
Pretty much epic... (38.314831, -109.830750)
White Crack Campground is about as remote in Islands in the Sky as one can get. Just above the confluence, it offers epic views of the deepest reaches of the Needles and Maze Districts.
Day one was rather uneventful as I learned the nuances of the trailer and how it liked to be towed. Saw one NAVTEC tour in a 100 Series whose guide chatted me up about my rig for longer than the clients probably wanted and a massive herd of Desert Big Horn near Lathrop Canyon crossing the road pretty much on cue with the "Desert Bighorn Protected Calving Ground" signage. White Crack is perhaps the most beautiful spot in all of Canyonlands. If you ever get a chance to spend a night there don't pass it up, especially if there's an eclipse the following morning.
White Crack 38.252431,-109.863850
To be continued....
Last edited:
