Spring Break 2017, March 25- 29, San Rafael Swell, part two (1 Viewer)

[black95]

Then went to tighten up the nut that holds the jack, and found that it was siezed - and promptly sheared the bolt

I hate to laugh, but that's actually pretty funny. Lord knows I've been there...

Got my driveshaft back in today. Driveline service balanced it, and since they balanced it previously, they did not charge me for the touch up. Stand up guys. Tires are rotated, I think I'm ready. Loading up tomorrow.

Red team leader- what time is departure Saturday morning? Where are we meeting?

 

[CO_Hunter]

Eric, I'm with Luke, been there as well. Just be thankful it is something that is relatively easy to get to!
Weather looks warmer but chance of showers a couple of days.

Driveline shop sounds great Luke!

Thanks for the heads up Tracey.

As for departure times, I am thinking of leaving my place about 8:30. Luke, we could meet you in WP. Eric, want to meet at my place or are you thinking of taking the northern route and meeting up in GJ? Let me know what you guys are thinking and if you want to go over any details just give me ring.

I also updated the first post with some repeater frequencies.

 

[EricG]

@EricG before you guys take off on Saturday, would you please pass "info" to @Spadone so he can update the CLC webpage? Access user name, password, etc. I have his phone number if you need it to call him, just text me.

I'm looking for the site admin info - I think I had it. But not finding it now.

 

[EricG]

Eric, I'm with Luke, been there as well. Just be thankful it is something that is relatively easy to get to!
Weather looks warmer but chance of showers a couple of days.

Driveline shop sounds great Luke!

Thanks for the heads up Tracey.

As for departure times, I am thinking of leaving my place about 8:30. Luke, we could meet you in WP. Eric, want to meet at my place or are you thinking of taking the northern route and meeting up in GJ? Let me know what you guys are thinking and if you want to go over any details just give me ring.

I also updated the first post with some repeater frequencies.

We'll meet at your place Saturday morning - it isn't that much difference.

 

[SAS]

For legitimate thread topic info: I hope you guys have a great, safe trip!

I'm looking for the site admin info - I think I had it. But not finding it now.

@CO_Hunter is there any way you may have the admin info? Long shot, I know, but had to ask for a wee chance.

@Springs505 for awareness; snowball's chance that you have the admin info?

 

[CO_Hunter]

Thanks Tracey.

As for the password. Get a hold of Ryan and ask him to submit a password reset request to Bluehost and have him forward you the link. I gave all my stuff to Eric and I don't have time right now to try and look for anything I might have remaining.

On another note, found this last night while checking air pressure. Cut goes down to the cords.

Discount tire gave me full credit on the bad tire, prorated the other 3 and gave me a good deal on the ST MAXX. I didn't go with the current tire I have as Discount doesn't sipe anymore because of lawyers.

Unplanned $700 purchase.

 

[SAS]

Unplanned $700 purchase.

Just seeing this today. Hope you guys had/having a great time! Looking forward to pictures next week after you unwind!

 

[CO_Hunter]

Day 1- It was me, Eric, and Luke plus families for a total of 11 people and Luke's pack of three marauding mini dogs. It was a rather uneventful drive out to the Swell. We camped at Three Fingers trailhead, getting there with just enough to light to cook. Everybody turned in a bit early after the long drive. Pretty windy at times that night as we were at the mouth of the canyon.

 

[CO_Hunter]

Day 2 -The next morning we all went for short hike up the canyon next to camp, which was pretty cool. We then started our drive crossing under I-70 and entering Black Dragon Canyon. The Canyon itself was not all that long but very cool indeed with some nice pictographs. We then made our way to Jackass Flats and up to the historic Swinging Bridge. Then it was on to the Buckhorn pictograph panel. We had to skip the MK tunnels due to time as I wasn't sure what the roads to the Wedge Overlook were like. Turns out they are all pretty fast so we got to camp with plenty of daylight, which was fine also. Had some great views and I was able to make an HF contact to the Big Island of Hawaii.

 

[CO_Hunter]

Day 3- Another leisurely morning had us pulling out of camp at around 10:30 or so. On the drive out on Saturday I was trying to do some last minute research on river flows and how much is safely passable. So, not finding anything definitive, we decided to press on to the Fuller Bottom crossing. It had started raining a bit, just to make it a bit more dramatic, with the mud on the opposite side of the crossing. Luke decided he would go first and, not being able to really see the bottom, we joined two 30 foot straps together in case the exit was as bad as it looked in terms of hitting a bumper before being able to climb out. Turns out it wasn't that bad after all. We continued down the trail stopping at cool things along the way such as the Drips. Luke and I were the only ones that risked drinking the water. We took south Coal Wash and Eva Conover trail. The rain was off and on until it turned on again with a bit of a vengeance.

We quickly ran into a snowy, grapple, rain mix that accumulated up to an inch of wet slop rather quickly. To add to the experience we had thunder snow with some really close lightning strikes, you know the flash-boom type. These were really interesting due to the different colors of pink and orange flashing that lit up the area. From then it was on/off light rain through Eagle Canyon, under the bridges. We came across some unexpectedly greasy spots that gave us some good shots of adrenaline. One spot where I was already going slow, I found myself starting to slide sideways towards the drop off brushing the back window with tree branches as my daughter let out a gasp. She had the best views of the drop out her window. Obviously we stopped sliding, but Luke described that spot the best as "spooky ".

The trip took us longer than expected but we managed to roll into a vacant Lone Warrior camp spot with just enough light to set up camp. It was nice having such a protected spot with the wind that was blowing along with the cold temps. We all turned in fairly soon after eating as it had been a long day.

Somewhere along they way "Rocky" commandeered the Jeep!

 

[CO_Hunter]

Day 4 Luke and family decided to abandon the group and go to Moab and run Kane Ck. Something about MUD again...haha. The rest of us kept our stuff set up at Lone Warrior and went off south to Crack Canyon to do some hiking and exploring. Things had dried out pretty nicely by the time we left camp. The canyon was a great one for a family hike. It was not too technical yet provided a great experience. We ended up spending several hours down there. Nate, Eric's son, was driving on the way back and somehow not only found one of the last remaining mud puddles, but managed to hit it just right so he covered both sides, the hood and roof of the LC. Quite impressive that he got that much coverage in one shot! We got back to camp with plenty of daylight and finally had the chance to build nice fire and relax.

Day 5 We awoke from the coldest night of all, but not terrible. We actually rolled out of camp before 9:30, which was good for us on this lazy trip. My MV50 compressor broke down airing up the last tire but Eric was there to help me out. Made a crazy bad noise, turns out the piston connecting rod bearing came apart. Getting a new compressor, look for a link to a great deal on a Viair 300P.

Got back home without any incident. Great trip with great people!


The "Lone Warrior"

 

[CO_Hunter]

Here is a short video of the Fuller Bottom Crossing. Listen to the teenage girl commentary at about 20 sec in.

In all fairness the video doesn't show the exit well and with the cloudy water we couldn't see bottom out there. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[MDarius]

Great trip! Good job keeping them safe and having a good time in spite of bad weather. It's good to know how to do that. Thanks for the pictures and report!

 

[PWCO70crusier]

Looks like a great time!

 

[black95]

Thanks again Leon for planning this and letting the family, me, and my pack of ankle biters tag along. We had a great time. It was definitely an adventure, with no shortage of scenery, good company, and hair raising moments. Sad we won't be doing it again.

 

[Stokes]

Looks like a great time guys! Luke those words "Sad we wont be doing it again" are pretty ominous. What do you mean?

 

[black95]

From original post:

This year will be number 6 and likely the last for us as our daughter is graduating high school this year.

 

[Stokes]

Ah ok I though someone was moving away or something!