Floridians do Utah (a traverse plus some other stuff)

[40TUDE]

Day 8 June 20, 2012

This was probably my favorite day of the trip. We woke to a gusty but beautiful morning in the aspen forest. After a quick breakfast we hit the road with fingers crossed, hoping there would be no more exhaust issues.

The first portion of the route was a nice drive through the aspens along Gooseberry Road. This was a beautiful area and looked to be prime elk country. We didn’t happen upon any elk but did see this muley in full velvet.

Next up was Beef Basin Road towards Canyonlands National Park. Throughout the years I have seem the names Beef Basin, Lockhart Basin, etc. talked about, and it was very cool to actually be driving them.

Beef Basin was a nice easy drive for the most part, it provided fantastic scenery, along with some evidence of earlier dwellers.

Beef Basin does get a bit more interesting at the end at a section called Bobby’s Hole, but it is much easier on the south to north route rather than the other way around (lucky us).

Not long after Bobby’s Hole is the entrance to Canyonlands. At this entrance there is nothing but a sign, no rangers, no buildings, no people. (I guess if you put in the effort to come in through this way, they aren’t too worried about who gets in or out.)

At this point we were coming into the Needles district of Canyonlands. Just driving into here was breathtaking. The needles look otherworldly, we had a long period of awe and wonder made all the better since we were the only ones around.

I had heard some things about a place called the joint trail, so this was the first on the list to check out. The only way to know where to go on this trail is to follow the stacked rocks, there are no other markings.

I cannot do this place justice with any descriptions, all I can say is do this hike it is something you will not regret.

Next up along the route was Elephant Hill, this is strictly a 4x4 trail and can be fairly technical. It is only a few miles long, but took every bit of a couple hours to complete. The Mrs. did all the spotting (which she is very new to). At the point we had both run out of nerves, so the going seemed easier. I should also remind you that at this point my compressor was broken, so I was driving a fully loaded/ fully armored 80 series with the tires at 40 psi.. The traction could have been improved, but we pushed through successfully. Also as usual, during the tougher 4wd sections we were not thinking about pictures, just safely getting through.

We had planned on going to the ranger station (at the real entrance) to get a camping permit for the night, but apparently they close at 5pm. We decided that with a little time to kill we should fuel up for the next leg at the Needles Outpost (right outside the entrance and the only fuel anywhere near) but they were also closed. Soooo...now to find camp.

We found a nice little area of the side of Lockhart Basin Road, with a view of Hamburger rock. There was time to kill, so I went around shooting things with my slingshot (most fun $5 can buy), while Mrs. 40tude played with the camera.

 

[40TUDE]

so Rocky, UFO?

 

[TRchieD]

BRAVO! What a great adventure.

 

[Gwagg]

Did you ever pass anyone on the trail?

 

[40TUDE]

Did you ever pass anyone on the trail?

Basically...no. On one or two of the dirt roads (that actually went somewhere people wanted to go) we saw a few drivers. Out of all the 4wd roads we took, we saw one guy in a Tacoma. That is really all I can remember. We really did have all of this to ourselves.

 

[40TUDE]

Day 9 June 21, 2012

We woke up to another beautiful Utah sunrise, and quickly headed back over to the Canyonlands visitor center to get some maps and paraphernalia. We talked with the ranger for a bit and discovered the the Needles Outpost (gas) did not exactly have set hours of operation (She said about 9ish or whenever they get up.), so with time to kill we drove around the park for a short while.

This was also a perfect time to fill our water cans back up. At the filling station we saw this FJ40, apparently they had driven here from Oregon to do some wheeling.

We soon made it back over to the Needles Outpost and were met with this lovely little sign.

OUCH! I knew that I needed a full tank for the trip up Lockhart Basin today, and did not want to use my 2 jerries in case I needed them in an emergency. So 16 gallons filled us up (and drained our wallets). The owner/cashier lady was pretty excited about the sale though. We talked with her about Lockhart Basin a little and she seemed like she had traveled it a few times, and said how much fun we would have. She then told me I would be fine, “Since I was driving a NAVIGATOR.” !!!!!?????(again OUCH)

From researching before the trip I knew that this a long, seldom used road with a couple technical/ dangerous sections towards the end. With slight apprehensions we pushed on towards Moab.

The beginning of Lockhart Basin (from north or south) itself could easily weed out any vehicles that should not be using this road. On the northbound route that we were on, the beginning starts with a steep hill of deep sand. It took us a couple tries just to get up this (the answer was more throttle).

I do not know how to describe this route very well, it is a rocky trail, followed by rocks and more rocks, I have never seen so many rocks. There is virtually no shade. There are no relaxing bits. There is nowhere you can go quick to make up time. It is a slow plod along navigating the boulder strewn trail.

All in all this trail took us 7 hrs of straight driving in low range. (If it had not been for our earlier trials and tribulations, this may have been stressful, but by now we were getting to be veterans of this whole thing.) Mrs. 40tude was carefree in the passenger seat.

The challenges came towards the end of the trail, but yet again the camera seems to get stowed when things get serious. There are some long boulder fields to navigate followed by a VERY precarious off camber section that really had my heart racing. As always the cruiser just ate it all up in impressive fashion.

Once we came off of Lockhart Basin we made a few wrong turns before ending up on the right trail to put us in Moab. Once we arrived, the first order of business was pizza (don’t remember the name of the place but it wasn’t any good.) Second order of business was to take care of business. I dropped off Mrs. 40tude at the laundry, while I tended to the vehicle.

At the local Carquest I was able to legitimately repair the exhaust, which took me about 1.5 hrs.

I did manage to put an exhaust hanger off of one of the crossmembers also. (This made me feel much better) I filled up the tank and headed back to the laundromat. The laundromat was right next to a very cool outdoors store called Gearheadz. The very cool thing is that they let you bring in your water containers (jerries, camelbaks, whatever) and fill them all with filtered water for free. We asked a bunch of people all around town if there were any good spots to camp for free (all the spots we passed on the way in were fee spots), we were told there were no free camping spots around Moab anymore. CRAZY!

Being stubborn, and not having payed to camp anywhere the entire trip we went on a mission. We drove north for a little while and passed a sign that said Gemini Bridges (having spent so many years on these forums, I recalled hearing that name before) and decided to give it a go. After driving this road for a few miles we found what I thought may have been the best campsite of the trip (and we didn’t have to pay for it.)

 

[40TUDE]

Day 10 June 22, 2012

It is certainly an amazing thing to wake up into such beautiful surroundings.

The first order of the day was to go visit Arches National Park. We wanted to get there and get in a good hike before it got too hot (HA!). We chose to do the hike to Delicate Arch. For those that don’t know me, I am not the most social character to begin with, and having been by ourselves for so long was so nice. Being around crowds, and especially crowds of rude people was very weird at this point (and more annoying than usual).

The park itself was beautiful, but at this point we were spoiled and wanted to be back by ourselves again.

We headed back into Moab and stopped by Gearheadz again, filled up with water and met this guy (Pablo Rey) who was filling water containers too.

He has been travelling the globe for 12 yrs. (jealous) and has had a few articles on Expedition Portal, Overland Journal, etc. (very cool). And definitely a rad little van too. http://www.4x4x4continentes.com/

After picking up a few souvenirs in Moab, we headed south for Monticello. In Monticello we stopped for lunch at a little country/cowboy/hokey looking restaurant called MD Ranch Cookhouse.

We both agreed that the food wasn’t going to be any good, but somehow we were very wrong. No one else was in the restaurant, but the food tasted great.

With stomachs satisfied we hopped onto Montezuma Canyon Road which is a nice scenic canyon drive. The cliff walls along the roadside are dotted with ancient Indian cliff dwellings (most of which are blocked off). The canyon was full of fertile land and small farms all the way along.

We made camp in the one pulloff we found along the way. It was a beautiful shady campsite, but we were inundated with flies. There was no water flowing, but any moisture in this area really brought the bugs. Not fun but hey, it was still pretty.

 

[indianporfavor]

im still pissed you didnt take me...these write ups would be WAY more entertaining if I was between yall

 

[40TUDE]

im still pissed you didnt take me...these write ups would be WAY more entertaining if I was between yall

I couldn't handle the constant bickering

 

[40TUDE]

Day 11 June 23, 2012

The day started with a short drive down the length of Montezuma Canyon. We spotted a few cliff dwellings (of which there are apparently many), but they do blend in really well. I wish I could have been riding shotgun, so I didn’t have to pay attention to the road so much.

Along the road there is a pulloff for “Three Kiva Pueblo”, there are 3 kivas (duh) 2 of which are left as they were found, while the third has been restored. There is a ladder allowing you to climb down inside, which was very cool.

The destination for that morning was Hovenweep National Monument (this was our Native American ruins day). This required driving through part of the Navajo Reservation (driving through reservations is always depressing...but I digress).

Upon arriving at Hovenweep, we took a hike around to look at the buildings. I did not really know what to expect, and was shocked to see how many buildings there were. It was certainly impressive, not to mention the fact that they have been around so long.

After Hovenweep we headed for the border, and Mesa Verde in Colorado. (Goodbye Utah...well maybe). On the way to Mesa Verde we could see a great deal of smoke in the direction we were going. It turned out that a fire had just started the day before, it was nearly on the border of the park.

I had been to Mesa Verde before but Mrs. 40tude had not, it was not any less impressive for me this time around. We did the Balcony House tour first, and then went and did the Cliff Palace tour right after. These places are very moving, and it is amazing to imagine what life may have been like for these people.

Our next plan was to head to Durango, but we had been hearing differing reports about whether the highway was open or closed. (Apparently both had been true.) During the few hours we had been in the park the fire had crested the hill towards Mesa Verde.

We decided to go for it. The flames were visible from the roadway, and we were close enough to be able to see the helicopters dropping water on the burning hillsides. The fire was burning peoples land, and many residents were rushing to pack what they could and get out.

...On a lighter note, I spotted this FJ55 along the roadside coming into Durango. I have a soft spot in my heart for these babies (I used to have one but it was stolen). But I used my better judgment and let it be.

The sun was sinking fast and we were worried about finding a camp spot around town.

We happened upon Lightner Creek Campground, and decided it would have to do. There were a lot of people, but for the most part everyone quieted down at bedtime, and a long HOT shower was a great way to end the day.

 

[FloridaFJ80]

Hey great trip, I will also be doing this trip next summer.! Would you happen to have any of your garmin tracks or a map or list of the sites to go see. while i am out there.

thanks in advance!!! PM me!

 

[boots4]

Fantastic trip report so far. Thanks for sharing you experience. You've got some wonderful pics.

 

[40TUDE]

Fantastic trip report so far. Thanks for sharing you experience. You've got some wonderful pics.

Thanks man I have really enjoyed reading your build thread too.

 

[40TUDE]

Day 12 June 24, 2012

I should start by mentioning that at this point in the trip we had no real plans, we had accomplished our goal of the Utah traverse and now we didn’t know what to do. Our plans for the day were to do a load of laundry and then go mess around in Durango for a bit and see what to do next.

Laundry was slightly more interesting than usual, somehow this guy survived being in the dryer with our load of clothes.

We walked around Durango a bit, bought some books and a game (Rivals of Catan), did some cruiser spotting, and ate some lunch a Himalayan place (never a good idea when hiking or camping, but we always seem to do it.

After lunch, I was encouraged to book a flyfishing trip. (I really need no encouragement at all but getting past the price tag).

Well now we had a bit of a plan for tomorrow, and we now knew that we needed to stay near Durango for the night.

We drove up the Junction Creek trail out of Durango into the San Juan National Forest, hoping to find a place for the night.

It was a nice drive with great scenery and still had some views of snow.

After looking around a while we pulled off on a side trail and were coming up what looked like a perfect campsite, then we saw a bra in the road and a tent. (OK lets turn around)

A few minutes later we found another campsite, yet again we were inundated by flying insects. Oh well, we survived.

 

[40TUDE]

Day 13 June 25, 2012

The day started with us rushing to get packed, and then hurrying down the mountain on Junction Creek Trail. We had an early appointment at Duranglers for our flyfishing date. After making it nearly on time, we got kitted out, and then jumped in the truck with our guide Tony Meyer.

We drove right up to ---- (ya right), got out and took a bit of hike. After Mrs. 40tude got a few casting lessons (she had never been), we went to work.

After getting some instruction on how to fish the mountain streams (I am a novice myself), the fish started coming in at a high frequency.

I managed over 30 of these beautiful high-mountain cutthroat in the ensuing hours.

There is nothing in this world so relaxing as flyfishing in the mountains.

During the past few days Mrs. 40tude had been hinting (hinting is a very nice way to put it) that she wanted to go back to Utah. I (being more practical) thought that driving westward, when we had to be back in FL in a few days was a silly plan. Apparently, flyfishing had put my in a fantastic mood (was this her plan all along?), and I decided that she had been awesome over the past 2 wks. and that since I didn’t have a better plan I would just go back to Utah.

We decided we would first drive back to Gemini Bridges, camp for the night, then drive Gemini Bridges to Islands in the Sky, and from there come up with a route back to Zion.

After arriving back in Durango we ate a Gaspacho’s (not impressed), we got in the cruiser and found ourselves a dead battery...weird. Luckily I had my dual battery system installed, and started it off the second one, we drove down the road a ways to a fuel station, filled up, and again no start. This time things weren’t so easy. For whatever reason my IBS system would not link, it would not show any power. (Perhaps this happens when there is absolutely nothing left in the main battery. After fussing around a bit, a nice tow truck driver in the parking lot jumped us with a jump box.

I thought what the heck, let’s just get to Moab, maybe it will charge on the way, if not we can deal with it there. Not to long after this the sun was setting, we turned on the lights, and as it turns out we had no dash lights. No gauges were lit up at all. We pulled over to the side of the road to diagnose. I pulled off the fuse cover, none of the labels said anything about dash or gauges. Due to our battery situation, I couldn’t shut the engine off, which meant I didn’t want to start pulling fuses to find the bad one. We drove on, while I searched through the manual. I was able to track it down to the tail light fuse (aha!). This fuse had blown many days before when the exhaust melted the license plate light wiring. I had cut the wires back, but as I recall, Mrs. 40tude had flipped them on just before I did this. Problem solved.

We pulled into Moab, stopped for gas again, and turned the key over hoping. Nothing. I was able to link to the second battery this time. After depressing thoughts, we decided we should just stay in a hotel for the night and work it out in the morning rather than end up stranded out in Gemini Bridges. I found a hotel right across from a parts store (so I could walk there in the morning if need be). The end to the day was not as relaxing as the beginning.

 

[40TUDE]

Day 14 June 26, 2012

Isn’t it weird when you wake up thinking that you wish you had been sleeping in the back of your dirty car?

Luckily the truck started up off the second battery again, I still don’t know why it didn’t the other time. I drove right across the street to O’Reilly Auto Parts. The guy there tested the battery, and confirmed that it was shot. They did not carry any AGM batteries in the right size. I was also not in a great mood about having to spend $200 plus on another battery. I decided to call Sears and see if I could get them to cover it under warranty (I was not the original purchaser, nor did I have the receipt). The guy on the phone said he could fully cover it and give me another for free. Here is the kicker though, the closest Sears was in Grand Junction, CO. (OUCH! I still haven’t looked to see if there had been one in Durango, just for the sake of my sanity.)

We (probably I) decided we should drive up to Grand Junction, rather than buying a battery in town. (In hindsight we both agreed as to the stupidity of this decision.)
A few hours later we ended up in Grand Junction.

In a ridiculous process that took several hours, I had a new battery and was charged $45 dollars for it (erroneous fees). This did afford me the time of tasting the delicacies of the Grand Junction mall. I ordered a chicken burrito (expecting the usual) but what I was served contained fried chicken, tater tots, and ranch dressing. (salt in the wounds)

After all of this I was in a fairly glum mood, and we decided to just finish out our trip in Colorado (yes, we should have just gone back to Utah, or bought a battery in Moab in the first place).

We first went to the Colorado National Monument, which is right outside of Durango.

Next up was Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

We went to the North Rim, which was very cool, and pretty remote compared to the South Rim. We stayed the night at the campsite inside the park. This was the first National Park we had actually stayed in.

It was a fairly nice campsite, but we both missed the seclusion we had gotten used to. We went to sleep hoping of better tommorrows (which were certainly ahead).

 

[40TUDE]

Day 15 June 27, 2012

The day started with a quick breakfast, and then a short hike (and/or skip) down the North Vista trail, in Black Canyon NP.

It was a very nice little hike and provided me with many tingling sensations when getting too close to the huge drop offs on the cliff ledges.(All while Mrs. 40tude is getting right on all the edges and dangling her feet off the side. Exclamation Point was an appropriate name.

After a quick lunch (we practice eating often) we went to the other lookouts along the road.

We had picked up a book in Durango with 4wd roads and trails, and after some flipping through I had made a little route. We would head over through Gunnison and then get onto the Summitville Ghost Town Trail, which would lead us fairly near to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

First though we needed fuel, and this was the last station for 80 miles. Someone, was in heaven, a Sinclair dinosaur, powdered donuts, and root beer.

Several hours later, we made it to the Summitville trail (yes we ate some more things along the way, as well as going through a small hail storm). As soon as the trail started there were signs everywhere warning of trucks on the road (wonderful). There was also this entertaining sign.

Upon arriving at the ghost town, it was apparent what all the warning signs were about. They were building a water treatment facility high up in the mountains, and right in the middle of the old town. It would have been really fun to poke around and check out the old buildings etc., but there were construction trailers and the crew blocking everything. Oh well, onward!

We were now chasing daylight again and looking for a campsite, which was harder than expected. We did chance upon some deer and elk along with gorgeous views in the meantime.

I also encountered my first elitist biker, this guy would not move to the side to let us pass for 2 miles. I would be too worried about getting shot to pull a stunt like this.

We did finally find a nice little campsite along a river, and took a cold shower in the dark, at this elevation it was a bit nippy. Nothing a wool blanket wouldn’t cure.

 

[40TUDE]

Day 16 June 28, 2012

Oh the comforts of home.

After the morning chores, we packed it up, and continued the rest of the way south on the Summitville Ghost Town Trail. We had the beautiful alpine views of Colorado all around us.

The last ¼ or so of the trail wound along the edge of the Conejos River, it was beautiful and judging from all the fisherman, it had quite a few trout.

Not too long after the end of the trail, we made it to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

We started off at the visitors center, where this sign was displayed.

I asked one of the rangers about the hikes, and also about the condition of the Medano Pass Primitive Road. He really wanted to scare me off of it. He said everyone gets stuck, and that it was essential to air down my tires. He told me that there was a compressor at this (south) end of the trail. (We were headed North, so this was not helpful.) He then inquired as to the make of my vehicle. I told him (with great pride) that it was a Land Cruiser, he seemed to think this would not cut it and told me that I would get stuck (fool!)

Before tackling the trail we decided to hike to the top of High Dune (the highest dune in the park).

I suggest dieting and/or wearing snowshoes. Mrs. 40tude did better than I, with every step forward up the dune I would sink/slide backwards 6 inches, the going was slow and a storm was blowing in.

After about an hour of hiking we were nearly at the summit, when the wind became too much. It felt like we were in mother natures sand blaster. We were being pelted in the face and eyes, and couldn’t keep it up. The storm was moving quickly. We had to abandon the summit and go back down (sounds like an Everest attempt, we may have needed a Sherpa).

Once we had dumped out our boot we headed down the formidable Medano Creek Primitive Road.

Admittedly, there was quite a bit of soft sand, and I can see how people could get stuck if they didn’t know what they were doing. At 40psi we were fine though. Along the trail, there are 9 times in which you cross the creek. Only one of the crossings had any depth or length to it. The water was just above the bottom of the doors (no biggie). I imagine depending on the time of year this could be much different.

There was certainly some wildlife in the area.

Upon finding a campsite, we set up quickly as the weather didn’t look so great.

After we had set up. I went scouting around. Hmmm...beavers

I decided to hike up the stream to see what I could find. I happened upon a dam, and apparently I had been quiet enough to come unnoticed. A beaver swam right across the water at eye level to me and not more than 5 ft away. (Pretty amazing) Eventually I was spotted, but I only took this as a challenge, and circled around the dam about a half mile, hiked down the river, and climbed up the roots on the opposite ledge. My stalking skills payed off and I was able to watch a family of three beavers going about their business for about 45 minutes.

It was a great end to the day (though I was cut and bleeding from the ordeal).

 

[jonharis]

Awesome looking trip guys. Lot's of familiar locations. Great route choices.

 

[40TUDE]

Day 17 June 29, 2012 Final Dayyyyyy.....

I hate to say it, but this was the last day of the trip. Here we are all packed up and ready to hit the road. You can see the sadness in my body language.

This morning was a great way to end the trip, we got to drive through the forest in low range for around an hour (there were even some minor obstacles) before hitting the highway. Just before striking pavement we had a perfect little endcap for the adventure. We startled this doe and her gorgeous little twins that couldn’t have been more than a few days old.

We filled up the tank, and put on cruise control for another 2000 miles with no stopping and no problems.

I know I can speak for both of us when I say we have nothing but fond memories of our little adventure. The hard work was worth it. Having never been to Utah and then immersing
ourselves in it was very very cool. Maybe I can get Mrs. 40tude to put down a few thoughts on the whole thing later as well.

Things I learned and recommendations:

The Benchmark Maps are WAY better than any others I have looked at. The DeLorme Maps paled in comparison.

This trip would be much better in the spring or fall, but that is not something we could do. It
was still amazing, just hot, and hard to slow down and take a break while the sun was out.

If you are looking for a mattress, this is it the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS, from Ikea. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60102086/ This was reccomended on a random thread somewhere, but it is perfect. In all honesty I have never slept better.

We carried 3 jerries of water and two for fuel. We never dipped into the second two water containers, but I would carry that much in case of emergency anyhow. We never actually needed a fuel can, but if I were to do it again I would carry at least one. With water and fuel we did fill up whenever it was available.

We want a roof top tent.

Finally, Utah was way cooler than we dared dream. Thanks for following along and making this interesting.

Now we need to figure out where to go next.