GTFO Tour 2013, the final Episode: MOAB, UT, November 2013

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OldGreen
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GTFO Tour 2013, the final Episode: MOAB, UT, November 2013

Postby OldGreen » Sun Dec 01, 2013 7:16 pm

Well friends. . .once again, there I was about 3 weeks ago. . .MMOGDB. . .

Toby gives me an IM: Hey, we should go to Moab for Spring Break. . .I argued that I didn't want to go during EJS (I'm over the big crowd thing), etc. Now, I'm not really sure what the conversation looked like, but at the end of that afternoon, we had reservations for a house and a plan of spending:

TURKEY ON THE ROCKS!

Families (minus critters) and a Home Depot bucket full of bird in tow, we headed South for the long trip to Utah on Sunday 11/24.

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The trip down was cruise control, satellite radio, sunshine and smooth sailing. We overnighted in Tremonton and got to the house on Monday 11/25. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mrs. Wilcox' sis/BIL/baby niece.

We munched on some noodles and made plans for the morning's assault on Hell's Revenge. The broad/overarching idea was to run some of the more famous obstacles/trails in Moab but still spend some quality time with the family and explore the local national parks. . .seemed like everything was coming along nicely.

First thing in the morning, Toby, Gavin, Will, and I mounted up in our trusty station wagons and made the VERY short trek to the Hell's Revenge trail head.

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Toby had shirts made for the GTFO 2013 Tour:

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Next we locked in 4 Low, aired down and found ourselves on the first obstacle. . .which starts in the damn parking lot. . . :lol: :lol:

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The slickrock up on top of the World here was like sandpaper or, more accurately, Grip Tape. O and GG2.0 were like SpiderJeeps crawling on this stuff. More pics:

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An unnamed obstacle:

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Here is the uphill side of Hell's Gate. It is an optional obstacle by an amazing view point:

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View Point:

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The Lads:

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Proud Papa:

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The Other Lads:

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O needed to take a dip in a hot tub:

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He made short work of the ascent. I was told that this was the kiddy pool, but I drive a station wagon. . .so. . .WIN:

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Toby did it the other way, but I was slow on the camera trigger. . .(he's got video)

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Somehow, I got short on photos for the last part, but Toby will have video and some of his own pics to add. Here are the Cliff Notes:

Toby made Escalator look easy. I made it look hard but made it anyway. . .at the expense of a broken tail light and a busted bumper (welded up by the Moab 4x4 Outpost). Actually, we both made it look MUCH EASIER than most every video on the web.

I gave "Tipover Challenge" a try, but the previous night's rain made it too slick to hook up...then we dodged some farrell border collies that were herding an old hippie to her doom, back to pavement, air, dropped O at the shop and back to the house in time for beer, grub, and lies. . .Good times.

Comments: Hell's Revenge could have been done in a stock rig if one was careful and didn't do any of the optional stuff. A Jeeper could easily be injurred or killed on either part of Hell's gate or on Escalator. Tipover challenge didn't appear to be as deadly, but there are a ton of ways to roll there. . .BUT, the biggest thing about this trail: It is BEAUTIFL. Holy Cow what a perfect experience. . .from a foggy morning to a bright, sunny afternoon with views of a kind of Martian landscape bisected by the Colorado River. . .so cool.

Day 2 would prove to be a totally different experience. While Hell's Revenge is rated at 6.5 out of 10, Pritchett has been called (the most difficult 5 miles in Moab) and is rated 10 out of 10.

Sadly, I didn't get a lot of photos, but hopefully there are videos and pictures from the Wilcox clan that will supplement my largely scenic selection. You see. . .I was WORKING the entire time and didn't have a lot of time to take photos. Also, I was solo. . .but the entire Wilcox clan was armed with electronic devices, so, you will get a nice idea. In the mean time, my description will have to be good enough.

Wait. . .before that. . .Here is what the Redrock Fourwheelers have to say:

Pritchett Canyon is becoming more difficult every year, and is now to the point where the average, well equiped trail rig may have great difficulty in completing the trail. Two locking differentials, a winch, and 33" tires are required, 35"+ tires are recommended, as well as excellent driving skills. Vehicles with large amounts of lift will find the trail especially harrowing, as the many off cambor spots will induce body roll and severly test a drivers nerve. Rollovers and broken parts are very common, and there are no easy bypasses. We have found that the majority of rigs will require a wince or strap on at least a couple of the obstacles.


Add that to the fact that it rained all night and the term "slickrock" finally earned its true colors. . .there was NO grip tape to be found on this Thanksgiving Eve. . .

Most of the obstacles are either rock faced multi-ledge contraptions that climb up one side or the other of the canyon from the wash in the bottom OR straight up waterfalls.

We made it up most of the unnamed obstacles unassisted, but:

Chewy Hill, Rocker Knocker, Axle Hill, and Yellow Hill all have built in winch points for a REASON. . .

I'm confident that we would have crawled 2 of the 4 had the rocks been dry, but they weren't, so we winched. We winched more times up steeper angles that I have on any one day in my life. Yep. . .I put that little 6000lb Harbor Freight winch to the TEST. I can honestly say that it was flawless. Considering that it pulled O absolutely vertically no less than 4 times and dislodged me from a VW sized high center, I would tell anyone that it was worth far more than the $200 I paid. I'll just test it before I go out each time and, if it doesn't work, return it for another one.

At any rate, the Yellow Hill waterfall was only slick at the very bottom from the transition from sand to rock so we were able to get started with the winches and then crawl to the top and start our trek back to the house. The first 14 miles of which was Jeep Trail interrupted by high speed dirt. . .so.. .well. . .FUN for me. . .5th gear pinned in the dark. Good thing Google maps was calling corners!!!

There is certainly more to this story, but I'll let Mr. W chime in before I give my version of the rest of the trip. It was nothing short of awesome and, well. . .may very well have been a "going away" party for Orville. He was nearly flawless and I really hate to see him go. . .but that is another story.

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OldGreen
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Postby OldGreen » Sun Dec 01, 2013 7:55 pm

Toby's GoPro edit from day 1 (he shot, I edited):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E-ZBngyBKE[/youtube]

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tobyw
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Postby tobyw » Mon Dec 02, 2013 7:15 pm

TOTR 2013

Turkey On The Rocks… A whimsical nod to the wheeling mecca of Moab, Utah that would be our home during the Thanksgiving holiday. The idea was conceived during some debate about the “bestâ€
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
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Danny
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Postby Danny » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:16 pm

Well, I've got to post up....Very well done gentleman. Definitely have to get there. Now, what were the daytime and nighttime temps, really!
Forget your age and live your life!

OldGreen
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Postby OldGreen » Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:46 pm

30s at night and 50s during the day.

OldGreen
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Postby OldGreen » Wed Dec 04, 2013 11:39 am

OK. . .more pics. AS you can see, this was a family trip/holiday with a little wheelin' thrown in:

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Sand Dune Arch. . .this one was my favorite I think.

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The Mrs. . .
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So. . .as Mr. W mentioned, TOTR V1.0 was a success by all accounts. Running Pritchett was a tiny bit aggressive on that particular day, but we came out relatively unscathed. The food was GREAT, lies were told, Shannon's BIL makes a MEAN burbon, pecan, chocolate pie that goes really well with a neat glass of said burbon. Grilling the turkey > all.

So. . .wrapping up the GTFO series for 2013:

I got nothing. . .other than it is going to be very difficult to TOP that experience. . .ever. . .but we're going to give it heck in 2014.

OldGreen
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Postby OldGreen » Fri Dec 06, 2013 8:23 am

Well. . .I guess I'll stop wheelin. . . :lol:

79chevy39.5's
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Postby 79chevy39.5's » Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:38 am

jim if you quit wheeling whos epic write ups will i live through?

OldGreen
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Postby OldGreen » Fri Dec 06, 2013 1:49 pm

I've reached the end of the internet. :lol:

Wrench
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Postby Wrench » Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:31 pm

OldGreen wrote:I've reached the end of the internet. :lol:


Do you not understand this will mean untold millions of deaths of the vicarious types??!!?? :shock:
Paul
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