 |
Archived Newsletter |
 |
October 2004
|
MILLER JEEP TRAIL Old man Miller’s not what he used to be, but it is still a good jeep run. I remember on my first trip up Miller, when we sat down to eat lunch at Piru Creek, I looked up the trail to the top of Alamo Mountain and got a major case of the butterflies! Needless to say I don’t get butterflies on Miller’s anymore, but I still get excited. So, I’m easy, it’s still a good run. Our driver’s meeting was held at 9 am at the Flying J. Twelve Jeeps drove down the road about 10 miles to Lockwood Valley to air down and start up the trail. It hasn’t rained in a month so the trail was a bit, dusty. Well, at least that’s what those behind me said, I can get used to leading and not eating dust. It was nice for a change! At the half mile marker we came to the only obstacle where spotters were needed. Everyone who chose to attempt it managed to clear it. We arrived for lunch at 12 noon at Piru Creek where we met Jon and Dale Rice’s son Ron. He’s a volunteer ranger at Hungry Valley OHV. Last year he followed us up the trail. Ron is an intelligent man so this year he left in front of us. Up the trail we went after an hour break for lunch, lickety-split, blazing through the dust we arrived at the top of Alamo Mountain. Another break and then we split int to groups going down the mountain. The adventurist trail tested REAL Jeepers consisting of the Schaffers, Andersons, and Courseys who took Miller Trail back down while the STREET Jeepers included theTrice’s street Rubicon, Jimenezes, Kellys, Lobaughs, Tom Pastorie and friend Mark Miller, Todd Romy, Bob and Sally, and Mike and Allie Nieto. This group had enough fun and excitement for one day. They returned down the ROAD, beating us to Jon and Dale’s cabin for the potluck spaghetti dinner. I think Dave was worried about the beer getting warm. I would like to thank Jon and Dale for their gracious hospitality putting this trail’s end party together, especially since they sadly couldn’t make the run because of a driveshaft problem.
MOAB This is the first of 5 installments of the Rice’s and Anderson’s adventures in Moab. So what did I think of MOAB? I’ll let you decide. When the club decided not to go to the Easter Safari I called to tell our nephew. Devin lives in Colorado. He and friends had asked us to come early and join them for a little extra fun. He was disappointed and twisted my arm until I said we’d go. I believe that twisting lasted less than a second. Go figure. Jay, Laurie and Kevin Anderson had already made motel reservations. We decided to sign up together for the Safari. Three trails rated difficult were selected for the end of the week. Jon and I arrived early to spend some time with the Colorado gang. At the last minute our nephew was unable to come. He had been accepted into the fire fighters academy. You can guess when the classes started. The boys still let us tag along. We did a section of Hell’s Revenge. There are several obstacles to play on and/or watch others play. The escalator is a series of stair step notches. With recent rain the water filled troth added a whole new dimension. A little slip and your on your side and wedged in. Only a strap/winch will get you out. The first guy doesn’t stand a chance. Steve in his altered Bronco made that fatal slip. Being the first one up meant manually tugging on a strap to help him regain traction. Jay and wife Jamie driving a 2000 extra cab Ford Ranger also altered for the trail made it up with little effort. This was one time the longer wheelbase paid off. Next up, Tom in a custom CJ5. Gunnison winters are long and cold. The guys (Dale and Tom) spent it building Tom’s CJ5. MOAB was its maiden voyage. Remember the longer wheelbase? Even with an 18 inch frame stretch on the CJ5 Tom needed a little help. They hooked up the winch and made short order of that last notch. Water in those notches is not a good thing. The shorter wheelbase gets into the water on that last notch. On up the dinosaurs tail to play in Mickey’s hot tub. This is a bowl nature has carved out of the sandstone. Straight down about 10 feet, 20 feet across, 12 feet wide and 15 feet almost straight up. Steve decided to give it a try. Manually holding down the rear for safety sake he went on down. Coming up, a strap manually held, kept the front end down for traction. Now that was pretty exciting! Here comes a "slightly" built up Cherokee. Drove down drove across and drove back up. What’s up with this? It seems the longer wheelbase; lower center of gravity and softer compound of the all terrain tires sometimes pay off. Back down the dinosaurs tail, no room for error here. The steering box on Steve’s Bronco was starting to tear away from the frame so it was back to town for repairs. Gene a member of the Red Rock Wheelers and friend of the boys offered his garage and welder to do the repairs. Gene and Phyllis Day are great examples of fine trail leaders and members of the Red Rock 4 Wheelers. We were all invited back for a BBQ. Their patio offers a lovely view of the MOAB sunset. The Colorado gang decided to run Pritchett Canyon the following day. Pritchett is one of the top two runs for difficulty. We chose to see them that evening to hear about their day and say our goodbyes. A little sight seeing sounded like a good way to spend a day. To be continued……… next month.
Please check to make sure that you meet these minimum requirements. Click here. |
Copyright© 1999-2004 Fun In The Sun Fourwheelers. All Rights Reserved.
