TW200 Forum banner
  • Hey Everyone! Vote for the Site Favourite BOTM winner for the year of 2022 HERE!

Moab 2017-Admiral's Views

11K views 98 replies 23 participants last post by  PlacerLode 
#1 ·
A couple interesting views to start my Moab thread. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this riding position as the landing is not as smooth as one would expect!:D

Just for TW-Brian I did a cameo of a certain riding position...as brief as it was:p


Taking an artistic approach at viewing your fellow riders...as brief as it was:p
 
See less See more
2
#76 · (Edited)
Moab 17 - Dellenbaugh Tunnel/Secret Spire

The second part of the day we spent riding bits and pieces of the Secret Spire trail which took us to Dellenbaugh Tunnel, Secret Spire and a lot of cool places in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, my camera stopped (batteries, full disk? I dunno) but still the riding was easy and fun.


On the way from camp to the Secret Spire area is a long of nothingness and then all of a sudden out jumps some fantastic views.


On the "one" of the maps, this is called Tombstone Rock. I get it.


Pretty awesome looking up on the backside of Tombstone


Kinda bumpy road down to Dellenbaugh but well worth it.


They now have a parking area for Dellenbaugh tunnel. ejfranz tells me last year you could ride all around the area which is now hiking only. We hiked.


Outta the tunnel and walking towards the canyon on the other side of the tunnel.


Stig uncovered (without helmet ha ha). I think Dellenbaugh Tunnel and Secret Spire on the other side are the beginning part of Spring Canyon which is part of the Hey Joe Canyon Jeep Safari Trail. You can see Tombstone Rock in the background.


Me & Stig out on the shelf. I think I crawled the last few feet. Yup, me scared of heights I am.


Found a geocache on the way back to the tunnel. It's in bad shape, but I signed it. I do geocache but usually not in Moab as I don't have time while riding and too tired after riding. :)


Canyon end of the tunnel entrance/exit


We then rode around the block (canyon) to Secret Spire. I'd give you directions how to get there but...you guessed it, it's a secret!


Little bigger than I though up close


We hiked around the area as there is plenty of other cool looking places to see


Looking down Spring Canyon towards Green River from Secret Spire


Lots of hideout areas for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. I made that up as I don't think they hid out here :)


Stig in the what I named "Eye of the Gorilla Arch"


Looked like a gorilla face to me. Eye, then nose on a big mouth area at the bottom. Could also be "The Gorilla Sphinx Arch". Even the nose has an arch.


Found color near Secret Spire



To be continued
 
#77 ·
Moab 17 D4 Continued

After Dellenbaugh Tunnel & Secret Spire we rode the easy parts of Rainbow Terrace Trail which is part of the Jeep Safari Crystal Geyser Jeep Trail.


Another easy spot


Then headed back towards Tombstone Rock


Lotta cool trail riding in the area but we gotta head back to camp.

Instead of taking pavement all the way back to camp, we decided to take a shortcut and turned off on Wipeout Hill trail. Here we are waiting our turn to ride up Wipeout Hill


Not. We ain't crazy but ejfranz did take a look a potential way up. We rode the lower motorcycle bypass and took 7-Mile Rim Trail back to camp


And that's it for day 4. To be continued on day 5.
 
#78 ·
Moab 17 Day 5 - Hidden Canyon, Bartlett Flat, Hey Joe Canyon & Mine, Spring Canyon Bottoms Switchback and Courthouse Pasture (between Monitor & Merrimac Buttes and Courthouse Rock (& Camp).


The day started out with some awesome sand riding in Hidden Canyon. Not only was the riding fun but it was scenic as well. Too bad my video camera sucked donkey dung. Missed out on some great riding footage.


Hidden Canyon. ejranz is way down there on the trail.


Awesome scenery in Hidden Canyon. If you don't mind riding in the sand this is a trail not to skip. You can incorporate this trail with many other trails in the area and spend all day here.


It was hard to find some of the next trails we rode but once found we were on our way. We rode some designated singletrack, sand 2-track, and even some slickrock up near the bluffs. I was oh so disappointed when I got back to find the camera didn't record a thing.


On top of that, I didn't take any pictures (thinking my camera was working) so only have this one picture I got from Stig at our lunch parking spot below the cliff on Big Mesa.


Hey Joe Canyon. As I was here last year, I didn't take many pictures and only some video on the way out. But the video captures the feel.


Stig did some 'splorin in the Hey Joe Mine


Some jeepers flying a drone in the area offered to take our photo.


Hey Joe was a Uranium Mine. Behind the dozer was some framework they used to load for shipment on the river. Green river is on the other side of the bushes. Wonder if they caught me taking a piss on the other side of the dozer with the drone. Hey, I had to go.


Famous picture at the mine area


The mine Stig crawled around in is to the right of the truck. The jeeper drone people told us about it so it's their fault we (Stig) had to investigate.


I think this was a compressor of some sort at the mine. Diesel engine I get but the 4 cylinder engine type thing on the left confused us as to what it was. Part of it looked like an air compressor and another side of it looked like a regular diesel. It couldn't have been but like I said, wee's confused.


On a little rise above Green River on the way out. Hey Joe Canyon ride is an in & out adventure but well worth it.


Green River is flowing a little higher and faster than last year


After several miles of riding along the river, we ride the switchback up Spring Canyon Bottoms. Nearish the top in the photo


It was very late in the afternoon but we met another rider heading on down at the gate at the top of the switchbacks


Watch your step as there is a little drop off here. If you fall it will leave a mark.


We then bombed our way to Hwy 313 on Spring Canyon Bottoms road. Not wanting to ride pavement back to camp from 313, we detoured off on Wipeout Hill trail, whizzed through Monitor & Merrimac Buttes (again) and took the shortcut across Courthouse Pasture instead of riding 7 Mile Rim trail (again).


Finally across the pasture and to the pastures namesake, Courthouse Rock.


From here it was 10-15 minutes on Cotter Mine Road back to our camp on Willow Springs road.



To be continued on Day 6, Day Canyon, Bull Canyon, and Little Canyon trails.
 
#79 ·
Those uranium mines benefited from good ventilation to flush out the cancer causing alpha particle emitting radon gas, thus the high volume air compressor seen at Hey Joe. High pressure air however is used for the drills typically used to make the holes for explosives.
 
#82 ·
A moment to say thank you to Admiral for all of the wonderful stories, pictures and video's. Anybody who has pieced together a video of a long ride and condensed it down to an entertaining few minutes know's just how much time it takes. As someone who briefly envisioned himself as the next Admiral or Fred I had great intentions of sharing dozens of quality ride video's with this forum. The reality however is very different. It takes hours and hours of time to download, edit and then upload videos in order to share them and I just rarely have that kind of time. So another heartfelt thank you to all of you who do take the time to share your experiences with us. :icon_salut:



Tom
 
#85 ·
A moment to say thank you to Admiral for all of the wonderful stories, pictures and video's. Anybody who has pieced together a video of a long ride and condensed it down to an entertaining few minutes know's just how much time it takes. As someone who briefly envisioned himself as the next Admiral or Fred I had great intentions of sharing dozens of quality ride video's with this forum. The reality however is very different. It takes hours and hours of time to download, edit and then upload videos in order to share them and I just rarely have that kind of time. So another heartfelt thank you to all of you who do take the time to share your experiences with us. :icon_salut:

Tom
Thanks, Tom. I've learned that in order to keep a viewers attention the videos, in general, shouldn't be much longer than 5 minutes. Funny thing with youtube though is a person can speed it up by x2 and watch it twice as fast if they don't have the time or patience. Myself, I don't mind a longer video but short ones are good too. I'll have to figure out how much raw video I take for a 3-5 minute youtube video.

Anyway, I sure appreciate the comments.

I hope a bunch of you get some good video and pictures of the Dual-Sport ride back there Top Pred has you all going on. It sounds pretty doggone fun!

Take care.
 
#83 ·
Right you are Tom! I think the Admiral has created the most entertaing posts that one could ever imagine. Still, there are other great story tellers out there. Personally I am waiting for the snow to melt in British Columbia so as to hear more of the further adventures of WrenchPuller and Denise, as well as our other Canadian contributors.
 
#84 ·
You are so right Fred about all the great storytellers in photo, video, and written. There were so many cameras, video & still, going at Moab but we've only seen a small snippet of them. Come on folks, if you went to Moab post your photo's and videos. Please!
 
#87 ·
I continue only 2 days of rides to post.

Day 6 - Dry Fork Bull Canyon, Bull Canyon, and Little Canyon. Well, that's the plan anyway.

Today I'm going to make it an "Easy Trail Day" (or so I thought) and ride with Eric.



Before we leave for the ride, I spend some time advising, ok I just watched, these Mad Scientists try to extract some DNA from a TW front fork to see which TW it came from.


First time riding the Dry Fork Bull Canyon trail not far from Gemini Bridges. This is an in & out trail. The beginning of the trail is real close to the Bull Canyon Trail which is marked but this one is not and is a little hard to spot. You'll ride in some sand which wasn't too deep the day I rode it and it gets a little rockier the further you ride. Nice and green in the spring. Enjoy.



Not knowing the exact location of the entrance to the DFBC we rode past but still got some good views of what I think is Day Canyon down below


Pretty cool views once inside the canyon


Ever had that feeling your being watched


Don't walk back in there I think I saw Butch Cassidy and his gang holed up back there. They might shoot you.


Another scary tree. It would feel spooky riding here in the dark on Halloween night


Eric and his TW stopping for a brief "Union Break".


As I mentioned, it got a little rougher the further back in we went


On to Bull Canyon. I've ridden in Bull Canyon a few times but never off the main trail. Today I decided to explore the mine across the canyon. Getting there and riding around the mine is a bit dangerous so be careful!!

I didn't take many pictures here and the video will show it the best.



Even though I'm not excited to go into the mineshafts, they are cool to find.


After a narrow washed out trail coming down from the mine, I was pretty happy to see Eric waiting for me and off the roughest stuff. Remember, this is supposed to be an easier riding day...right!


Little Canyon. A DNF (did not finish). My riding eyes were a little bigger than my riding stomach eyes. I thought this would be a quick jaunt from Bull Canyon to Gold Bar Rim Canyon via this part of the trail Little Canyon. Unfortunately, I had to be back at camp earlier than normal so I could celebrate Randall's (plumbstraight) Birthday. We probably made it most of the way before turning around but we found the trail a bit harder and slower than we wanted.



Only after doing some research did I find this trail. Just like Dry Fork Bull Canyon, prior to this year I didn't even know this trail was here passing by the entrance many times without noticing it.


Got a bit more technical than we wanted and we turned around not too long after this little beauty of a step. We were kind of worried on the return at some of these places but for some reason riding up them was no problem at all.


To be continued
 
#88 ·
Day 6 continued.

Made it back to camp with enough time to make it to Plumbstraights Birthday at the Blue Pig Bar & Grill in Moab.

I didn't hear the words Plumb whispered into the hostess's ear but she day "that's disgusting". I think she made a special effort to make sure Randall got the full Blue Pig Birthday treatment. We all got a laugh including Randall. Pretty sure the hostess got him back! :p



Happy Birthday, Randall. I'm glad my birthday is in December that's for sure!
 
#90 ·
A: 16:1 is more dangerous because of the sidehill exposure.

B: Gold Bar Rim/Golden Spike/Poison Spider is a little harder.

With a group of 4-6 I pick B.


I think one of the things I struggled with on Gold Bar Rim/Golden Spike/Poison Spider is I was fatigued by some hard long riding days prior too. I would still have had trouble in a couple of the spots (Waterfall, Silver Crack) but my muscles were already hurting and these obstacles made it feel much worse than what it was. I did have a ton of fun on the Poison Spider Loop you and Don Skipped. This loop was actually the easiest part of the ride. Now, descending down P.S. to the trailhead...the pain to my muskules returned!
 
#91 ·
Moab 17 White Rim Trail Part I - Mineral to Hogback.

Hopefully, I've saved the second best part for last. In this part we ride from Mineral Switchback to Hogback CG where the groups gathered up for lunch. On the record, we then slowly took off in small groups keeping our distance IAW the rules and regulations set forth for the motorized users of the WRT. Off the record, RRRIIIIGGGHHHTTT.



With our permits in hand (Fred) or mobil phone (the rest of us) it was time to take off.


After a quick brisk ride from camp to the top of Mineral Switchback we take one last look at our equipment before taking off on the trail.


Well, Fred did anyway. Almost a show stopper for him. Believe some ATV Gasket Maker was used as a last minute substitute for the usually used valve cover o-rings.


Mineral Bottoms from above


Mineral Switchback. You can see my shadow of me hanging from an overhang so I could get this picture. :p


After a short distance of riding the bottoms, we come to the Canyonland N.P. "Border Fence". We slithered on by.


I don't know if it's a named arch, or even if it is an arch, but on the left side of the rim you can see a little blue opening. I'll call it the "Little Blue Opening Arch" for the purposes of this ride report.


Green River near what I believe this is Upheaval Bottom as seen from Hardscrabble.


View of the Fort Bottom area


Not knowing exactly where I took these pictures, they are generally taken between Potato Bottom Basin and Hogback.

I get thirsty just looking at this picture


We start to see our first signs of the "White Rim"


Super scary to walk near the edge if you're ascared of heights like me.


I'm pretty sure I saw some dust in the distance from Wiley E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner. Beep Beep


Some of the many pillar type features one can see in many places along the WRT.


ejfranz and am not quite sure if this is before or after we had lunch at Hogback. I say before but am making a 50-50 call on the deal.


To be continued
 
#92 ·
Moab 17 WRT Continued - Hoback to Shafer Switchback. (Note: on this section we rode a side trip out and back on Lathrop Canyon. I am going to skip it in this part and save it for the end).

This is the second half of our 100 mile plus ride. We rode counter-clockwise starting at Mineral Switchback and ending riding up Shafer Switchback. In this part, we ride from Hogback CG up Shafer.



This is the final section of the climb up Hogback from the north.


Our lunch stop is in the blue markers near the campground on Hogback. Lots of traffic both motorized and mostly bicycle.



The TW Hogback Picnic


After lunch, we took off in small groups again to keep our spacing so "the Man" don't get all twisted with us riding too close. I wonder if the bicyclists would rather have one hoard of motorcycles ride past all at once or in our 2-3 motorcycle groups spaced out for an hour or so. Dust'em once or dust'em 3-4 times. Same amount of dust near as I can figure.

Descent down the south side of Hogback


Some miscellaneous photos from Hogback to Shafer Switchback which are kinda cool












and then we headed up Shafer Switchback. Most, or should I say some of us had to switch our gas tanks to reserve anywhere from here on back to camp. I rode most of the way with ejfranz and he went on reserve with his stock tank at 103 miles. I went on reserve on Hwy 313 on the way back to camp at 134 with my 2.3 gallon XT225 gas tank. I have it on good authority no one died on this ride...from any of our groups anyway.


to be continued - Lathrop Canyon
 
#94 ·
Moab 17 WRT 3rd Half Lathrop Canyon.

Except for a bonus video of the entire Moab 2017 experience, this is it. Done, finished, the end.

On day 7 we rode the White Rim Trail and take this nice side trip down and back in Lathrop Canyon. This was the most enjoyable part of the WRT for me. Don't miss this if you ride the WRT!




First part of the Canyon trial has a couple steep switchbacks for your enjoyment


The views down are pretty cool even when you're eating dust


End of the first third the canyon is still a little narrow


After that you start riding in and out of the wash with some pretty cool look Bobsled turns eroded into the canyon wall.


You can't live in a TW down by the river like you can in a van, but you surely can ride down by the river a lot easier on a TW than you can a van


Colorado River


Saw these fisherman down by the end of the boat ramp. They do look familiar though so I'm not entirely sure they were fishing.


View up canyon from the boat ramp


It's pretty riding in the canyon wash


I wish I would have stopped and took a picture with the camera here instead of capturing an image off a moving video but you can see it's pretty cool geo features


I borrowed this photo from Tweaker, but here is the WRT Crew as we got ready to go
Left to Right: ejfranz, admiral, Fred, Vanillagorilla, Brycen (or something like that, hey I'm close), Jeff, Sidekick Kevin, Sidekick Chad, Wa Larry (aka lrppcer)


That's it for Moab 17



Except for the upcoming bonus video
 
#95 · (Edited)
I too really enjoyed Lathrop Canyon.
Perhaps after the immensity of the White Rim Basin and the confluence of two mighty rivers the intimacy of the more confining Lathrop Canyon sand wash made me feel less insignificant in the cosmic scene of things and more in tune with the immediate landscape... like the need to set up for the next right hand turn so I apex before that big ol’ rock I see looming up. out of the sand.;)

Echard and I stopped to enjoy and photo that nice shaded outcrop Admiral mentioned. Kris’s photo shot on the move is as good as my composed picture. Maybe efranz’s photo came out better although his camera wasn’t much bigger than a pack of gum.

Great videos Admiral! The White Rim Trail is not technically difficult, just unrelenting for over a hundred miles. Well worth the effort as it is one of the safer, more managed long off-road rides around. No way to get lost, and should anything untoward happen lots of folks will be along soon and there are well experienced rescue squads serving the park and Moab region.
 
#96 · (Edited)
"ejfranz and am not quite sure if this is before or after we had lunch at Hogback. I say before but am making a 50-50 call on the deal."
Kris if you look at the top of the rotopac, I have Fred's "Acetone" water bottle strapped to the top which I picked up on the trail after lunch as Fred forgot to close his pack and was depositing goodies along the trail.
Fred here is a pic of the over hang coming up from the river.
Formation Geology Canyon Rock Geological phenomenon

and the one you took of me
View attachment 1
And one of Kris taking a picture.
Wadi Badlands Geology Wilderness Fault

Kris, Thanks for the videos. I think sometimes we are so intent on riding certain sections that we miss the great views.
Your video allows one to see the great scenery without concentrating on keeping the TW up right.
 

Attachments

#97 ·
Oops, I have an alibi.

Somehow I skipped the last part of Day 1. Probably because of too many photos and videos to go through.

Moab 17 Day 1 Lower M&M Trail
Down to just the two of us for these past couple videos, we finish our day of riding on the Lower M&M down Mill Canyon, over to Courthouse Wash and returned to base via the start of the 7 Mile Rim Trail. We put in a lot of hours and miles on the day. No rest to be had though as tomorrow we tackle Hell's Revenge, Slickrock, and then the north section of Fins & Things.



We did a lot of riding across this rough slickrock.



We took our last break of the day near Courthouse Rock.


Stig did some climbing around the rocks. I wasn't as full of energy as he was so I stayed in one place and took the pictures.


Safe to say he's in better shape than I am ha ha



End of Day 1.
 
#98 ·
Oops again, I have another alibi.

Somehow I skipped Hell's Revenge on Day 2. I must have been going through Moab withdrawals.


Fred hurt his foot not more than a couple minutes into the ride. After I talked him into continuing, which at the time I didn't think I was but re-watching the video one good theorize I was TW shaming him into continuing, we rode on.

Then I had my little TW Stunt Ride.


I promised Scoob I would never go over backards again. (A promise I'm sure I can't keep)!
:p


"TW Taillight Blood" on Hell's Revenge Slickrock!




 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top