backwoods

And on we tour...


There's some arches!








And all the tourist parade by

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The parking lots are all full at the overlooks and the (stereotypical bad drivers) [trying not to be un PC!] are going the wrong way in the one way loops, etc.


And the Hardleys are rumbling around with their open pipes and idle issues, BRUB, BRUB, BRUB, and standing around blocking multiple parking spaces while they tell stories of how awesome their ride down the paved roads are and which way back to their covered trailers and motorhomes... :lol3






And another arch...

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But I'm ready to get off the paved road, where the fun happens, so I tell D#1 to take a turn off!!!




Still keeping an eye on those rain clouds!


Salt Valley Road... a little washboard, but D#1 soon learned that 33MPH is smoother than 10MPH on a slightly rough road... :norton


25 MPH is a bit rough. She didn't believe me at first but soon felt the difference!


In this middle of all of these red rocks is this beautiful valley


We soon take a turn and the road gets a bit narrower...


At this point, D#1 says, "Maybe we should switch and let you drive?" :lol3


Somewhere out here is Tower Arch...




Back on the good road, we passed one vehicle. A ranger in a Tahoe. Appears he patrolled this road to the end and back. So if his street tired Tahoe can make it... I'm pretty sure I can!


At the end of the road!

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Well, let's see if we can hike to the ARCH!


We see the arch in the distance, but you can't hike in a straight line out here. Notice the person at the bottom right of the arch for scale


You can go to the end of the paved road and hike a "difficult" 3-4 miles trail to see the Tower Arch, or take a Jeep around for several miles and only have to hike a short distance... but when you get in the bottom of a fin, you can't really see where you are going.


Soon the Jeep is out of sight one way and we are following Cairns to find the base of the Tower Arch




These hikers had come in on the trail from the paved side and I think we startled them when we popped out of nowhere from the other direction!


The Jeep is over that way, somewhere... Hope we can find it again!

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We soon find this sign. One way is the hikers route back to the paved section of the park and the other is back to where we left the Jeep in the 4x4 parking.


We zig zag and look for cairns and use the voices of the other hikers to help us find the base of the arch.


Finally up under the Tower Arch


The view from the arch back towards where we "think" we left the Jeep!


It's hot, we just hiked and climbed all over the place, so let's crawl up in the shade of the arch and rest...

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After a break, it was time to try to find the Jeep again...


We start following our tracks back, but never find the sign marking the Y in the trail. We search for ways to get up and down over the fins. We get separated going over the ridge, but stay in vocal range of each other. I find a familiar track and move forward. All of a sudden I lose my footing and down I go. I land on my right elbow wedged between a rock ledge on my back and a scraggly tree on my chest, scratching up elbow on the way down. I hit pretty good and am wedged. D#1 hears the "Oww" and then silence as I had the wind knocked out of me. I end up having to slide down the hill a ways to get out of the V and roll where I can sit up. Elbow got a minor cut and is sore, but otherwise i recover and get back up. I soon catch back up with D#1 and we are both tired, hot, and ready for some AC as we finally get back to the Jeep!

And we now have to crawl back over the rocks to get back to the road...


We missed a turn that would have taken us through several more miles of 4x4 roads, but decide that we are hungry and I am sore and we want to get back to town. We hit the smoother road and I open the Jeep up!


I get to the other end of the 4x4 road we missed, and decide to run up the other end to see the "Eye of the Whale Arch"


We didn't feel like hiking over to another one, so we just turned around and headed back towards pavement.








So the whole time we were on the trails, D#1 was reading through the local dining guide and found a deli that she thought she'd love. She read the menu, picked out a sandwich and had it on her mind the whole way back to town... and they were closed!

snw_brdr10

Looks like you're having a great time! I love Moab! Going back in October (I am lucky enough to live 3.5 hours from it). It is amazing how many times you can go and not ever do the same thing twice.

backwoods

So true. I had general stuck to WRT and easier stuff on previous trips, but as I've learned to trust my Rubicon more, I am now comfortable getting in some more difficult trails and new areas!

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So the weather reports show 50% chance of thundershowers in the afternoon. After the hailstorm on Elk Mountain on day 3, I'm paying attention. I am accustomed to the afternoon pop-up mountain showers in Colorado, but have NEVER seen any sign of rain on previous trips to MOAB.

So we start out with drivethru breakfast and head for close / easy trails while we watch weather. D#1 is driving and we head down Kane Creek rd.








We soon catch up to a big water truck ahead of us, going the same way.


We stop to watch him negotiate the switchbacks... takes a back or two


We keep heading south...






I'm loving being driven where I can check out scenery, morning sun, and take pics!




We soon get down to the split with Kane Creek Trail and Hurrah Pass and decide weather looks clear enough, so we start towards Hurrah Pass.