FAWKING MIND BOGGLING - HitR 2016
- Thread starter FJ60Cam
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This is Alex in the background of this cairn.
The last explored and named mountain range in the continental US: The Henry Mountains (named by JW Powell after the Secretary of the Interior at the time--Joseph Henry-- and a major source of funds for Powell's and other explorers' trips into the semi-arid lands west of the 100th Meridian). One of my favorite places.
Another view of the Henry's from the north within the San Rafael Reef (Factory Butte in the foreground):
MountNGoat
KK6WRY. Always Learning
I don't have much more to add from this portion of the trip. I can't express enough my profound gratitude to C-drew for setting this up and getting to meet such great people who are now friends for life. I mean, if Pablo actually flexed his awesome suspension enough to get stuck whilst attempting a solo crossing of the Darién Gap, we'd be there shortly to help out. After all, he'd have a spread of Charcuterie waiting, and some of that awesome beer. To do this with my two sons and broh-in-law Steve2 made it extra special. Definitely sad at this point knowing the group was about to split up, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
- Thread starter
- #524
We make it back to the air-down spot where this all started to air back up before heading back to Halls Crossing.
I notice that my ARB dual compressor is not as fast as it used to be. It seems like it is only running on one compressor. Beno airs up after me and the outer covering of my air hose blows wide open. Weird, but at least it happens after we are out.
After airing up, we head to Halls. The guard lets us in for free since we aren't staying, only filling up gas & water. He is pretty excited to hear we've run the Hole in the Rock trail.
I could have lasted another day on water, but my gas tank is down to the last drops, literally. I did have 10 gallons of fuel on my roof rack, but I wanted to see how accurate my "gallons to empty" mode on my scanguage was, so I did not use them. It showed I had less than a gallon left when I pulled up to the pump, and I put the entire tank capacity back in.
We ran right around 100 miles of mostly medium to slow technical trail driving. The main trail is 35 each direction, plus we added 2 side trails. Luckily Halls is just a few miles away.
Full of fuel and fresh water, we take advantage of the transgender showers and clean up. I take my protective long-sleeve shirt with the nipple vents in with me and give it a good scrubbing while I'm at it.
Fuel, check. Full water tanks, check. Shower, check.
I notice that my ARB dual compressor is not as fast as it used to be. It seems like it is only running on one compressor. Beno airs up after me and the outer covering of my air hose blows wide open. Weird, but at least it happens after we are out.
After airing up, we head to Halls. The guard lets us in for free since we aren't staying, only filling up gas & water. He is pretty excited to hear we've run the Hole in the Rock trail.
I could have lasted another day on water, but my gas tank is down to the last drops, literally. I did have 10 gallons of fuel on my roof rack, but I wanted to see how accurate my "gallons to empty" mode on my scanguage was, so I did not use them. It showed I had less than a gallon left when I pulled up to the pump, and I put the entire tank capacity back in.
We ran right around 100 miles of mostly medium to slow technical trail driving. The main trail is 35 each direction, plus we added 2 side trails. Luckily Halls is just a few miles away.
Full of fuel and fresh water, we take advantage of the transgender showers and clean up. I take my protective long-sleeve shirt with the nipple vents in with me and give it a good scrubbing while I'm at it.
Fuel, check. Full water tanks, check. Shower, check.
Thanks! After living in Europe nothing else will do... not that I'm a coffe snob or anything...
- Thread starter
- #526
We are actually a day ahead of schedule at this point. Andy allowed a day at the end to hike out to the water and back, but we opted not to.
It is now Thursday afternoon and I need to point my truck home on Saturday. We had discussed spending a day in Beef Basin if we had time after HitR.
Paul decides he needs to head home now. Alex & Jason want to hit Moab, where Alex will be trading his dad for his girlfriend at the airport, and beno is out of beer & smokes and is hurting big time. He also needs some time alone in the wilderness, be he can tell that story in a bit.
Onur needs a little more air, so I again offer the use of my on-board air, only this time my ARB compressor does not come on. Something is fried. It also means I won't have lockers in Beef Basin, but Andy assures me I won't need them.
We say our goodbyes and split out in our separate ways.
Andy, myself, Steve1, Steve2, Justin, & Johnny are going to hit Beef Basin tomorrow, which we'll access via the Bears Ears. So tonight, we are going to get high AF before camping. 8400' to be precise.
To get there, we've got an hour or so of pavement to cover.
Bears Ears, off in the distance...
It is now Thursday afternoon and I need to point my truck home on Saturday. We had discussed spending a day in Beef Basin if we had time after HitR.
Paul decides he needs to head home now. Alex & Jason want to hit Moab, where Alex will be trading his dad for his girlfriend at the airport, and beno is out of beer & smokes and is hurting big time. He also needs some time alone in the wilderness, be he can tell that story in a bit.
Onur needs a little more air, so I again offer the use of my on-board air, only this time my ARB compressor does not come on. Something is fried. It also means I won't have lockers in Beef Basin, but Andy assures me I won't need them.
We say our goodbyes and split out in our separate ways.
Andy, myself, Steve1, Steve2, Justin, & Johnny are going to hit Beef Basin tomorrow, which we'll access via the Bears Ears. So tonight, we are going to get high AF before camping. 8400' to be precise.
To get there, we've got an hour or so of pavement to cover.
Bears Ears, off in the distance...
One of the best sights in the world are the endless plateaus to the west and the Bears Ears on the horizon... Have never been able to get enough of that view.... coming north on 276 towards 95.
Of course, coming north on 276 you also get epic views of Monument Valley WAY off in the distance to the south in Northern Arizona.
Of course, coming north on 276 you also get epic views of Monument Valley WAY off in the distance to the south in Northern Arizona.
- Thread starter
- #528
Most of the easy campsites at the base are either taken or not epic enough for us, so we keep climbing to the top. Andy thinks he remembers a perfect hidden spot up there and leads us in.
And, he says, there will be plenty of firewood
We will need it because it is downright chilly up here! Up at the top, it looks nothing like the places we've been all week. There is actual dirt (not sand), complete with grass and even real trees. And there is a very crisp Sierra-esque breeze blowing through camp.
And, he says, there will be plenty of firewood
We will need it because it is downright chilly up here! Up at the top, it looks nothing like the places we've been all week. There is actual dirt (not sand), complete with grass and even real trees. And there is a very crisp Sierra-esque breeze blowing through camp.
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- Thread starter
- #529
I give the truck a once over - I had a rattle develop in the suspension that I can hear going over small bumps and rough roads, and this soft grass is the perfect place to check it out.
It turns out that the rattle is from my swaybars. Almost every single bar/frame mount connection is loose, and the bolts holding one side of the rear sway bar is missing entirely. We scrounge our extra nuts and bolts and Steve comes up with something that will work. From here on it will be smooth quiet sailing.
We, of course, do the traditional made-it-to-camp-in-one-piece beer toast and start setting up camp. Andy claims dinner duty tonight and wows us with chicken pesto pasta, the pesto being homemade with homegrown basil and locally grown garlic and pine nuts. Since the group has shrunk, we have plenty to eat and are welcome to spoon on as much pesto as we want.
The Pryor boys are going full-pyro tonight and are out in the woods, collecting every scrap of firewood they can find
It turns out that the rattle is from my swaybars. Almost every single bar/frame mount connection is loose, and the bolts holding one side of the rear sway bar is missing entirely. We scrounge our extra nuts and bolts and Steve comes up with something that will work. From here on it will be smooth quiet sailing.
We, of course, do the traditional made-it-to-camp-in-one-piece beer toast and start setting up camp. Andy claims dinner duty tonight and wows us with chicken pesto pasta, the pesto being homemade with homegrown basil and locally grown garlic and pine nuts. Since the group has shrunk, we have plenty to eat and are welcome to spoon on as much pesto as we want.
The Pryor boys are going full-pyro tonight and are out in the woods, collecting every scrap of firewood they can find
jfz80
Cruisin’
Ya darn right it was cold up there! We swung back through a week later and voted to keep driving and get down a few thousand feet before camp and trade dark for warmth.
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- #531
That cool breeze was a nice change (not that it was ever super-hot all week) and I slept like a baby.
Meanwhile, I was determined to eat enough pesto to make my Trashapoo smell like garlic!
Meanwhile, I was determined to eat enough pesto to make my Trashapoo smell like garlic!
The Bears Ears/Elk Ridge/Manti's are a great escape from the desert temps in the summer.
The La Sals are the same way (east of Moab).
That's the epic-o-city of this area of the country: You have PLENTY of options both to escape (or be with) people, escape different types of terrain/environment/weather to other different types, and to experience different types of terrain both easy or difficult.
One of the best experiences I had was going to Southern Utah in July of 2008 and went to Blue Notch Canyon where you have direct access to Northern Lake Powell near Hite Crossing. Heat and water.
Then travel 2hrs west and go up 7k feet and need long johns sleeping in the Henry's.
Epic.
Just damn epic in all regards and respects.
The La Sals are the same way (east of Moab).
That's the epic-o-city of this area of the country: You have PLENTY of options both to escape (or be with) people, escape different types of terrain/environment/weather to other different types, and to experience different types of terrain both easy or difficult.
One of the best experiences I had was going to Southern Utah in July of 2008 and went to Blue Notch Canyon where you have direct access to Northern Lake Powell near Hite Crossing. Heat and water.
Then travel 2hrs west and go up 7k feet and need long johns sleeping in the Henry's.
Epic.
Just damn epic in all regards and respects.
MountNGoat
KK6WRY. Always Learning
I learned so much on this trip, I actually started a "Notes" note on my iPhone called "Things I learned on HITR".
That's why people love California. Yesterday 100* in the valley then Venice it was 60*
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Great thread Cameron. I'm still reliving that sandstone adventure from 2 weeks ago. We did learn later that Onur did have pants on even though there was talk on the radio he was doing the Cruise Naked thing. Hopefully there's a few more pics of Chessler park and E-Hill!
- Thread starter
- #536
We have to have a fire pic of course!
We had enough wood to rival the fire on the beach, but we didn't want to start a forest fire, so we scaled it back. But only slightly. We traded no warmth on this night.
- Thread starter
- #537
Check out @concretejungle's video of the area @beno is talking about. We started at Hite to gas up (Hite is now a Lake Powell ghost town since the water has dropped), hit the Red Canyon, then the Blue Notch Canyon and then camped at an old uranium mine. But the trail followed a dry wash for a long stretch. Crazy.
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- #538
The next morning we have the best coffee of the trip:
End of story!!
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- #540
Almost