News:

Come on, summer...

Main Menu

Moab and the local area April 18

Started by greatbuffalo, April 03, 2018, 05:28:00 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

greatbuffalo

Well people this has been an interesting trip so far. We left Mitchell Saturday morning at 430am. Bucking a very strong headwind we headed south toward Stickney and worked our way SE. Just outside of Lake Andes we blow a pretty new tire on the back of the truck. So in gale force winds and temps at 22 we changed the tire. If it was that easy.

The jack that was in the truck from the previous owner was incomplete. The crank handle and lug wrench was not there, so to jack up the truck and drop the spare we had to use an adjustable wrench. Awkward at best.

While doing this and fighting wicked winds the door got slammed and Nathaniel immediately realised the keys were inside and the door had locked..... $@*&%^)@(&

After the short discussion I had with the gods, we had to figure out how to break into out vehicle. Busting the window was our first thought but there ha to be a better way. I had a look at the rear vent type window and realized I might be able to drill out the rear latch. So I found the cordless drill and stood on the ice chest and started to drill away. Got better than half way through and the battery died, the only one we had. Then I thought, I had a corded drill, we have a battery in the trailer and an inverter.  So we pulled that out and finished the job. Window popped open and Nathaniel reached in with his skinny arms and unlocked the truck. All we had to do is finish with the tire.

We managed to get the spare from under to truck and on the truck, lowered the jack to see the tire was only about half full. We did not want stand out in the cold any longer so we jumped in the truck a bit hypothermic, cranked the heat and moved easy down the road to find a suitable place to air up the tire. We came to a gas station, not open and no air hose. We drove around the building out of the wind and pulled the air compressor out of the trailer, and the battery too and aired it up.

We were on our way but 2 hours behind. We managed to make it here to 3 Steps Hidaway at almost midnight after about 20 hours on the road.

Day 2
We leave here to go ride up to Moab and then out to long Canyon, a ride I had started but never finished.

We are on our way up and decide to play with newly acquired drone. So I have wanted to try the "active follow" feature and had Nathaniel ride ahead and I had it follow him and stayed behind to keep an eye on it. It was going great when I was just about to land it, it decided it going to go "home" to where it took off. I hit the button to stop this, it stopped for a couple seconds then continued its run home. The only problem was there was a lot it the way between where we were and "home".

Needless to say the drone crashed on the side of the cliff and the "Find My Drone" feature is quite ineffective, especially when no cell connection is to be had. So my drone is on the side of the cliff in Long Canyon. I am so glad I did not splurge on an expensive one.

We looked for a couple hours, got some exercise and called it a day and returned back to camp on our KLR's.

Day 3

We took off with a few guys from here to ride a loop and about 20 miles into it Nathaniel sprung a leak  on his BRAND NEW Clark fuel tank. We continued to ride until it got so bad that we decided to return via asphalt. About 15 miles into our return trip, my front end on the KLX began to wander and I almost lost it on a sharp curve. I knew I had a flat tire.

We stopped on the side of 141 in Colorado and ripped the front wheel off and changed the tube. Good to go.

About 10 miles later we made a turn and my rear end began to wander...........  Yup, you guessed it. My rear was flat. Luckly we were packing two tubes. Stopped and repaired the rear and finally made it back to camp.

Nathaniel and I headed into Moab to source some sort of repair stuff for his tank. We picked up a couple of things in hopes one would work. Back at camp he removed the tank and did the repair. Time will tell.

Had a great dinner made by the great folks here.



Day 4, today
Today we headed out with the same guys as yesterday. We had a great ride into the Delores River valley. It was mix of rock, sand, sugar sand, rocks, hard pack, rocks, sand, sugar sand and rocks. Some quite challenging sections for me with the little KLX but stayed upright. They these guys decided they were going to find a goat path that climbed quite high up a mesa. I did the first accent with not too much difficulty but looked at the second and wondered what was beyond. I am curious guy but the need to know what was beyond did not rival my sanity or confidence on this day. So Nathianiel and I turned back and had a great return ride.

Nathaniel's fuel tank did not leak and no flats. My bike took one nap but all was good.

We are sitting around being lay now waiting for dinner.

http://www.3stephideaway.com/
Did I ever tell you: " I HATE MUD!" ?

KLC63

Quote from: greatbuffalo on April 03, 2018, 05:28:00 PM
Well people this has been an interesting trip so far. We left Mitchell Saturday morning at 430am. Bucking a very strong headwind we headed south toward Stickney and worked our way SE. Just outside of Lake Andes we blow a pretty new tire on the back of the truck. So in gale force winds and temps at 22 we changed the tire. If it was that easy.

The jack that was in the truck from the previous owner was incomplete. The crank handle and lug wrench was not there, so to jack up the truck and drop the spare we had to use an adjustable wrench. Awkward at best.

While doing this and fighting wicked winds the door got slammed and Nathaniel immediately realised the keys were inside and the door had locked..... $@*&%^)@(&

After the short discussion I had with the gods, we had to figure out how to break into out vehicle. Busting the window was our first thought but there ha to be a better way. I had a look at the rear vent type window and realized I might be able to drill out the rear latch. So I found the cordless drill and stood on the ice chest and started to drill away. Got better than half way through and the battery died, the only one we had. Then I thought, I had a corded drill, we have a battery in the trailer and an inverter.  So we pulled that out and finished the job. Window popped open and Nathaniel reached in with his skinny arms and unlocked the truck. All we had to do is finish with the tire.

We managed to get the spare from under to truck and on the truck, lowered the jack to see the tire was only about half full. We did not want stand out in the cold any longer so we jumped in the truck a bit hypothermic, cranked the heat and moved easy down the road to find a suitable place to air up the tire. We came to a gas station, not open and no air hose. We drove around the building out of the wind and pulled the air compressor out of the trailer, and the battery too and aired it up.

We were on our way but 2 hours behind. We managed to make it here to 3 Steps Hidaway at almost midnight after about 20 hours on the road.

Day 2
We leave here to go ride up to Moab and then out to long Canyon, a ride I had started but never finished.

We are on our way up and decide to play with newly acquired drone. So I have wanted to try the "active follow" feature and had Nathaniel ride ahead and I had it follow him and stayed behind to keep an eye on it. It was going great when I was just about to land it, it decided it going to go "home" to where it took off. I hit the button to stop this, it stopped for a couple seconds then continued its run home. The only problem was there was a lot it the way between where we were and "home".

Needless to say the drone crashed on the side of the cliff and the "Find My Drone" feature is quite ineffective, especially when no cell connection is to be had. So my drone is on the side of the cliff in Long Canyon. I am so glad I did not splurge on an expensive one.

We looked for a couple hours, got some exercise and called it a day and returned back to camp on our KLR's.

Day 3

We took off with a few guys from here to ride a loop and about 20 miles into it Nathaniel sprung a leak  on his BRAND NEW Clark fuel tank. We continued to ride until it got so bad that we decided to return via asphalt. About 15 miles into our return trip, my front end on the KLX began to wander and I almost lost it on a sharp curve. I knew I had a flat tire.

We stopped on the side of 141 in Colorado and ripped the front wheel off and changed the tube. Good to go.

About 10 miles later we made a turn and my rear end began to wander...........  Yup, you guessed it. My rear was flat. Luckly we were packing two tubes. Stopped and repaired the rear and finally made it back to camp.

Nathaniel and I headed into Moab to source some sort of repair stuff for his tank. We picked up a couple of things in hopes one would work. Back at camp he removed the tank and did the repair. Time will tell.

Had a great dinner made by the great folks here.



Day 4, today
Today we headed out with the same guys as yesterday. We had a great ride into the Delores River valley. It was mix of rock, sand, sugar sand, rocks, hard pack, rocks, sand, sugar sand and rocks. Some quite challenging sections for me with the little KLX but stayed upright. They these guys decided they were going to find a goat path that climbed quite high up a mesa. I did the first accent with not too much difficulty but looked at the second and wondered what was beyond. I am curious guy but the need to know what was beyond did not rival my sanity or confidence on this day. So Nathianiel and I turned back and had a great return ride.

Nathaniel's fuel tank did not leak and no flats. My bike took one nap but all was good.

We are sitting around being lay now waiting for dinner.

http://www.3stephideaway.com/
Sounds like a great adventure.  What type of drone? Whoosh I could have gone, all of my big complicated jobs commonated @ work.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

THE OLDER I GET, THE FASTER I WAS.

greatbuffalo

It was a DJI Spark that I got used. So it didn't hurt that bad. Just cut the fun very short.  :(
Did I ever tell you: " I HATE MUD!" ?

grubbie

Sorry for your bad luck, but a great write up! Just remember when it gets bad, some of us are still here at work in the snow and mud. I hope the rest of your trip goes well.

Wacked

Dude, I'm crying one the couch!

Awesome adventure..... (glad I picked another date)

Wacked

Lonesome Dave

Great story!  You will tell this one for a long time to come.  And, the week's not over.  Good luck!
Older - Wiser - Faster !

Hank

Yes!  Great story.   Glad you're making a real adventure out of your adventure!

And it was -8 this morning in Watertown and we got another 5" of snow.

KLC63

Quote from: Hank on April 04, 2018, 12:18:14 PM
Yes!  Great story.   Glad you're making a real adventure out of your adventure!

And it was -8 this morning in Watertown and we got another 5" of snow.
Stop whining Hank. We had 14" @ my house Tuesday morning. Just kidding,  I know you never whine.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

THE OLDER I GET, THE FASTER I WAS.

Hank

Hey I'm not whining.    I love this shit.    I was just hoping to make GB feel better about his bad luck.

Abercrombie

Quote from: Hank on April 04, 2018, 01:36:38 PM
Hey I'm not whining.    I love this shit.    I was just hoping to make GB feel better about his bad luck.

Hank, he's in Moab riding motorcycle.  He should be trying to make us feel better. ;)

Hank

Quote from: Abercrombie on April 04, 2018, 02:05:55 PM

Hank, he's in Moab riding motorcycle.  He should be trying to make us feel better. ;)

Good point!   Maybe that's what he's doing by drawing attention to his bad luck, haha!

Had a flat tire and had to break into the truck!  Weather here is perfect, riding is awesome   
Also had a flat on the bike and a fuel tank leak!  Had some more great riding and won the lottery.  Weather still perfect   

KLC63

Quote from: Hank on April 04, 2018, 02:11:00 PM
Quote from: Abercrombie on April 04, 2018, 02:05:55 PM

Hank, he's in Moab riding motorcycle.  He should be trying to make us feel better. ;)

Good point!   Maybe that's what he's doing by drawing attention to his bad luck, haha!

Had a flat tire and had to break into the truck!  Weather here is perfect, riding is awesome   
Also had a flat on the bike and a fuel tank leak!  Had some more great riding and won the lottery.  Weather still perfect
Hank, if you don't like my sinassissum mabe you should meet me down south somewhere and bring your bike.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

THE OLDER I GET, THE FASTER I WAS.

Lonesome Dave

No more info today, hmmm, probably had a long day of riding, sitting in the hot tub now.  Can't take the time to let us all live vicariously!
Really, did you look at that place they're at, "3 Step Hideaway," it looks so boring!  Boy, I'm glad I'm at home working and shoveling snow.
Poor Dan and Nathanial.  :o



Older - Wiser - Faster !

locopny

Quote from: Lonesome Dave on April 04, 2018, 08:34:21 PM
Boy, I'm glad I'm at home working and shoveling snow.
Poor Dan and Nathanial.  :o

Word!  Saw a glimpse of riding weather here for about 2 hours a couple days ago.  Then I looked at the road with my eyes open and realized I was dreaming.
87 XL600R 89 CBR600R
'17 CRF1000L
When can I go riding again? Crashing sucks!

greatbuffalo

Day 5
We loaded the little bikes into the truck and headed out to Whitewash Sand Dunes.

We got out there in the afternoon. Set up tents right on the edge of the mesa over looking the wash. We went down and rode some sand for a couple hours. And quickly became tired. Riding deep sand with the a consistency between sugar and water. I found my arms getting pumped from hanging on so tightly. So we headed back up hill to camp and I pulled out the camera and shot some desert photos. Had some tuna burritos and chex mix for dinner. I have bought some other stuff to eat but left it at camp. :(

Day 6

Woke up in the morning to an amazing view as I unzipped the tent. Sat and took in the view and waited for Nathaniel to stir, so I had quite a bit of time to myself. When he woke up we had a breakfast of Tuna burrito washed down with an ice cold Mountain Dew. Breakfast of champions. I think there were a few Fruit Loops as well.

We geared up and headed into the wash. Played in the dunes and rock crawled along the ledge. It a fun place to ride but as I said earlier, Its extremely tiring. Stuffed the bikes a few times in the soft sand but falls are like landing on pillows.

We rode the wash to the very North end where it terminates in a big bowl where the desert rains pour over to fill the wash. I can imagine what a spectacle it is when that happens. The trail out to that point is a fun flowing sanding trail though some tight canyons. Will post some videos when I return home.

We stopped for a bit for lunch. I had bought a pork chop that I was going to dice up and mix with the rice that I left at camp. So I decided to cook that up. I pulled out my camp stove and my cook set and after I had cut up the meat and realized I had also left the lighter back at camp. So how do you light a camp stove with no matches. I tried a very thin piece of wire on a battery but only proved to become too hot to hold onto. So we cut 2 lengths of wire with bare ends and touched the to the leads of the truck battery and then truck the 2 loose ends together over the stove to create a spark and magic. Proceeded to cook the pork with a little salt and pepper left over from a BK pit stop on day one. This paired with Chex Mix was a good lunch.

We went back riding some of the other trails in the area.By this time the place was getting busy. Lots of side by sides quads and bikes. It was amazing the places people put their big toy haulers. They put them places I would never think about.

By the end of the day I was feeling very tired and fatigued but quite comfortable with riding in sand. You have to develop a loose grip and let the bike wander. Similar to what is required for loose gravel but a completely different sensation. I equated riding in the dunes with riding the old Kawasaki stand up jet skis.

We went back up to camp as I decided I was done. Changed into real clothes and rehydrated. We watched the light change over the desert and I looked a Nathaniel and said, I didn't take any photos of you in the sand like I said I was going to." He said well lets do it now. The sun was getting low in the sky and we did not have a lot of time. Against my better judgement I said, "Okay"

We went back into the wash for the last time as we were leaving in the morning. It was getting too crowded.

Went to an area and took photos of Nathaniel roosting and playing in the dunes. Then we headed up to the rocks as I knew the light would be amazing shortly. As we headed up there I was moving through the sand as you have to, winding the piss out of the old KLX spitting sand behind. I had on several occasions reminded Nathaniel to be careful when making the transition from sand to rock. When you tire is spinning at 40 mph but you are only moving at 5 mph. I am here to tell you that when that tire gets traction on the rock at the speed the bike is impossible to hold onto. The old KLX when down as did its rider. A bit more sore and a bit wiser. These are the things that happen when you go back out when you know you shouldn't. The hand guard on the left side pushed in a bit and some scrapes and a black strip on the rock. I left my mark on the desert.

Called it a day after getting some good photos and picked our way out of the dunes and back to our camp.

Day 7

Woke up and stood around taking in the scene wishing for a sunrise over the overcast skies. Was also thinking about packing up. It was not long before a few raindrops fell and I worried it was going to last. So I called for Nathaniel to wake up and get a move on. There was not much to eat so it was imperative to get a move on to fill my belly. It was not too long before we were packed up and moving back to Moab for some breakfast.

Ate breakfast and discussed what was ahead. Several times Nathaniel had mentioned that he wanted to ride Steel Bender with a more appropriate machine. Some of you remember the day a year ago he fought valiantly with a KLR on that trail.

To be continued............
Did I ever tell you: " I HATE MUD!" ?