Southern Utah trail to Montecello UT
|
Final southern Utah trail day - wake up at camp, pack, and start
moving. Weather, rain, will toss us a curve ball with water quickly
running over the trail - a new obstacle we weren't certain how to
handle. |
|
Black line, left to right. The group will end up in Monticello with
hotels. We'll join for dinner together before some split up in the
morning for home. |
| There was a fair bit of rain last night. It's
fun to see the low spots of the rock filled with water. |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Packed for silent running (no rattles) |
| Now for the waterfall and things are a bit wet
(typically slippery). |
| This is how the spare tire touches ground... |
| Typical trail tire pressure is 12psi (road pressure 30 to 32 psi). This trail, where fuel capacity is a concern, 15-20 psi (for less rolling resistance [but more bumpy]) is often used. When I come to this waterfall obstacle, which is near the end of the trail, the tires are dropped to 6psi. I have tried it at the higher trail pressure and slippage is too great. At 6 psi they have better grip to climb this surface. While it's a low pressure I have yet to pop a bead. JenB took the video (Thanks!). The reason it seems a bit cut-off - she wasn't ready for me. She thought I would drive to the base of the waterfall, stop and wait, then drive. I didn't do the stop-n-wait. From where I was parked I was lined-up and just kept rolling. |
| All are up and the group is moving |
| DARK cloud to our west. Will rain go north or
will it hit us? |
| Rain dropping to our north. |
| Leftover from the rain last night. |
| Dark, Dark |
| Folks
are watching radar weather. It looks like it'll head north of us. In
the end, we'll get wet - but not as bad as Moab UT. Moab was hit with a
large amount of water - making our water crossings look trivial. |
| Remnants of the waterfall. |
| Rain's close enough that we can see it falling
- water obscuring the land mass beyond. |
| No jeep top - improvise. |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Heavy rain - just over there... |
| and over there is where we're headed. |
| Something unexpected - water flowing across
the road. It was moving fairly quickly. The question - is the road washed out such that when we cross the jeep will fall into a hole and get stuck? With the thought - still water runs deep - the water was running at a uniform speed across the road. My thinking is that there is no dangerously deep hole - but I don't know. The plan - attach a 20' strap to my tail end with the other end of the strap to the front bumper of another jeep. I'll slowly drive across. If I get stuck, the other jeep, still on solid ground, could pull me back. The strap is long enough I should make it to the other side before the other jeep enters the water. |
| The water flow was diminishing fairly quickly
- but let's give the plan a workout. |
| With the first wash cleared, we came across a
second - with more water, moving a bit more quickly. Strap run #2. |
|
Neither water crossing was was a problem for us. Back to the trailhead. |
| Unexpected weather |
| Interesting clouds (fog?) |
| Cattle still around |
| Did the motor grader get used to clear a road? |
| White coating to the mountains. |
