Expedition Portal - Completed Expeditions http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/ Post completed expedition reports, details and images.Sponsored by Overland Journal en Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:49:47 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/images/misc/rss.png Expedition Portal - Completed Expeditions http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/ Finally! The DE-III trip report (multi-part) http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112555-Finally!-The-DE-III-trip-report-(multi-part)?goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:09:53 GMT Here's hoping it was worth the wait. :elkgrin:

OK, sorry for the delay, Liz and I have both been very busy working on our little teardrop trailer Bubbles to get ready for a long awaited Summer camping season (see the "bubbles" link in my signature) so my writing has suffered a little.

In any case, here is my trip report, hopefully some of the other people on the trip (Scott, Michael, Ace, Keith, Frenchie, and Gary) will chime in with their experiences/observations as well.

Day 0, Monday, May 20th:

I call this “day zero” because our trip wasn’t scheduled to “officially” begin until we jumped off from Cedar City, UT, on the morning of Tuesday, May 21st. However, like the rest of us, I had to leave home before that, so I departed Englewood on the morning of Monday the 20th.

My initial plan had been to stop in Basalt (about 20 miles southeast of Glenwood Springs) to have my new front bumper installed. However, the builder notified me by email that it would not be done until the late afternoon of the 20th at the earliest, and so I decided that rather than roll into Cedar City in the middle of the night, dead tired, I would just pick up the bumper on my way back home.

Well, Day 0 was pretty uneventful – I had spent Sunday washing my 4runner and packing up. Heading out it was cool, drizzly and overcast. Given our terrible fire season last year, I was glad to see the moisture. By the time I got onto I-70 Westbound, the rain was steady and kept with me off and on. At the Eisenhower Tunnel (elevation 11,000’ above sea level) and Vail Pass (10,600’) the rain turned into a slushy snow.





Once I was off Vail pass, I knew I’d be “downhill all the way” at least until I hit Green River, UT. The rain stayed with me, intermittently, which made for a pleasant drive.

Glenwood canyon was spectacular, as it always is.



I think this exit was named after Clint Eastwood’s character in “A Fistful of Dollars.”



:D

Normally I like to stop at the state line for gas just in case the price increases significantly in the next state over, but an app on my phone indicated that gas in Green River was as cheap or cheaper than in Grand Junction, so I decided to head on through. Grand Junction is about 275 miles from my home, and in my old (99) 4runner I’d have had to stop for gas here but since my newer 4runner (2007) carries 5 more gallons in the tank, I knew I could make it to Green River with ease.

Rolling into Green River the sky was still cloudy but the rain finally stopped. When I rolled into town I saw this amazing sight:





Unfortunately I didn’t have time to stop and talk to the truck driver but I have to say it was one of the most impressive collections of “old Iron” that I’ve seen on the road in a long time (and I’m a huge fan of “old iron,” especially old 4x4s from the 1960’s or earlier.)

For those not into old trucks, these are all 1955-59 Chevy pickups. Not terribly unusual except that they are all 4x4s. Those who are into “old iron” know that this was a time of transition – prior to about 1956-57 you generally couldn’t get a Ford, Chevy or International with factory 4x4 (and the only Dodge with factory 4x4 was the venerable Power Wagon.) What you did if you wanted a 4x4 was to buy the truck and then have it converted to 4wd by another company. The Chevy/GMC conversions were usually done by a company called NAPCO and Ford was normally done (I believe) by Marmon-Herrington. Not sure who did the IHC and Dodge conversions. Sometimes dealers would have trucks converted to 4x4 before selling them but they were still considered “conversions.” Starting in 1957, International, Chevy, and Dodge all offered factory 4wd (I believe Ford didn’t offer it until about 1959.)

So, I’m not sure if these trucks are NAPCO conversions or Factory 4x4s, but either way, they’re very rare. It’s rare enough to see one of these but to see three of them all together makes me think some collector out there acquired these.

After this, it was an uneventful trip on into Cedar City by way of I-70 and I-15. I rolled into the parking lot of the Wal Mart on the south side of town to do my grocery shopping (I didn’t shop in Denver, figuring that there was no reason to haul a load of groceries from Denver to Cedar City.) After dinner and checking my email via the free wi-fi at Applebees, I settled in to sleep in the Wal Mart parking lot with the windows cracked for ventilation and towels for shade from the parking lot lights.

TO BE CONTINUED…. ]]> Completed Expeditions Martinjmpr http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112555-Finally!-The-DE-III-trip-report-(multi-part) Capitol Reef NP and the Grand Staircase/Escalante NM, Utah http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112510-Capitol-Reef-NP-and-the-Grand-Staircase-Escalante-NM-Utah?goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:32:54 GMT On June 14 my wife and I and our D1 rover explored the western side of the Capitol Reef NP area south of the park HQ via the Pleasant Creek Road/Trail, Tantalus Flats Road, Lower Bowns Reservoir area, and up to Hy 12 on the east side of Boulder Mountain. We then proceeded to the Grand... On June 14 my wife and I and our D1 rover explored the western side of the Capitol Reef NP area south of the park HQ via the Pleasant Creek Road/Trail, Tantalus Flats Road, Lower Bowns Reservoir area, and up to Hy 12 on the east side of Boulder Mountain. We then proceeded to the Grand Staircase/Escalante NM area via scenic Hy 12 through Boulder to Escalante, Utah. On June 15 we headed SW down the 110 mile round trip Hole-in-the-Rock Road to the scenic "Hole" high above Lake Powell/the Colorado River which follows part of the Mormon pioneer route of 1880 towards present day Bluff, Utah. Visited scenic side roads/4x4 trails along the "Hole" Road including Egypt, Devil's Garden, Cave Point, Dance Hall Rock, Sooner Rocks, etc. Exquisite area bordered on the west by the 50 mile long towering Straight Cliffs and on the east by the hot desert/sandstone Escalante River canyons and flats. On June 16 we returned to Colorado backtracking along the way we came including Hy 12, Boulder Mountain, Lower Bowns Reservoir, Tantalus Flats Road, and the Pleasant Creek Road into Capitol Reef again. Here are some photos which don't come close to capturing the remote beauty we passed through.
Attached Images
]]> Completed Expeditions roverrocks http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112510-Capitol-Reef-NP-and-the-Grand-Staircase-Escalante-NM-Utah Death Valley: November 2012 (Better late than never!) http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112478-Death-Valley-November-2012-(Better-late-than-never!)?goto=newpost Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:17:42 GMT I love Death Valley. The desert just fascinates me. As a Florida native, there is just no place on the east coast that creates the sense of remoteness and calmness. Six years ago, I moved to California. And of course, my first desert experience was Death Valley. It holds a special place in my... I love Death Valley. The desert just fascinates me. As a Florida native, there is just no place on the east coast that creates the sense of remoteness and calmness.

Six years ago, I moved to California. And of course, my first desert experience was Death Valley. It holds a special place in my heart and I try to go back as often as possible.

My past three forays into Death Valley were solo adventures (solo = me + wife), staying in the valley proper and only driving the easier day trip trails like Racetrack Playa, Titus Canyon and Eureka Dunes, and camping at established campgrounds along the way. But this time would be different. This time, I wanted to get off the beaten path. Off the pavement that traverses the park. And onto the trails that always tempted my better judgment.

There had to be a way to link the more difficult Lippincott Road and Steele Pass with a few other trails to create an all dirt route from the South to the North. So I printed out a few 11x17 inch maps, took out a highlighter and started linking up trails in an attempt to stay away from pavement as much as geographically possible.

Several years and one baby later, and I hadn’t found the time or right people to do this big trip with. But thanks to IH8MUD, I developed the pretty good group of local friends that shared similar overlanding ambitions. We completed lots of short trips together to Big Bear, Antelope Valley, Mojave Road and some other local OHV areas and were ready for something a little more ambitious. The summer of 2012 rolled around and I found out that my wife is pregnant with baby number two. I now had the reason and the people to join me. The perfect opportunity for one last epic Pre-Baby #2, guys only Death Valley Trip.

My plan was to go with one other truck. Word spread and one turned into two, then three, then four, then 13 other trucks, all friends of friends. Typically I would post this kind of trip on the online forums but decided to keep this one limited to friends for a more intimate trip. An epic email thread started to coordinate the trip. Over 300 emails and a handful of scheduling conflicts later and 13 trucks whittled down to eight.

The Trip
My trips always have some kind of goal. Some trips are based around getting to that perfect location at the perfect time for that perfect picture. Other trips are about finding old mines, exploring historical areas or just seeing some natural scenery. The goal of this trip was to drive. I wanted plan a trip that would test my planning skills, driving endurance and vehicle capability. There would be no wimping out on this trip. If we had to drive all night to read the next destination, then that is what we would do. No getting tired and stopping short, until of course there was a safety risk.

When I go on an off-road, overland, backcountry camping or whatever you want to call it, I really enjoy moving forward. Base camping and doing day trips has its place but isn’t what excites me the most. With my trip planning goals of avoiding backtracking and pavement while seeking out a challenge, my route covered almost 300 miles of dirt over 4 days. This may seem easy to some, and it would be with 1-2 other trucks, 8 trucks adds another layer of complexity to the planning. I had to rethink communications, timing and camping locations. Could 8 big trucks even fit in these camp locations? Daylight is limited in November and not everyone would to want to get up at 5am to start driving. Eight times the potential for a break down on top of the driver fatigue that comes with technical terrain and mediocre road for 10 hours a day. But the point of the trip was to seek out a challenge.

The final itinerary for the trip was:

Thursday:
• Meet in Baker, CA between noon and 3pm
• Depart for Stripped Butte no later than 330-400pm
• Arrive at camp in the evening
• Trails: Harry Wade Road, Warm Springs Road
• Total Mileage from Baker: 88.5 miles
• Things to see: Barker Ranch (Charles Manson’s hideout)
Friday:
• Wake up early, eat breakfast, break down camp
• Depart for Racetrack Playa
• Refuel at Panamint springs
• Trails: Goler Wash, Mengel Pass, Cerro Gordo Mine, White Mountain Talc Road, Saline Valley Road South Pass, Lippincott Mine Road (up)
• Arrive at camp at Racetrack Playa
• Total Mileage: 142.1 miles
• Things to see: Ballarat Ghost town, Cerro Gordo Silver Mine

Saturday
• Wake up early, eat breakfast, break down camp
• Depart for Eureka Dunes
• Trails: Lippincott (down), Saline Valley Road North Pass, Steele Pass, Dedeckera Canyon, Eureka Dunes
• Total Mileage: 63 miles
• Things to see: Racing Rocks at Racetrack Playa, Saline Valley Dunes, Salt Lake, Upper and Lower Hot Springs
Sunday

• Wake up early, eat breakfast, break down camp
• Depart for Big Pine
• Trails: Big Pine Road, Death Valley Road
• Total Mileage: 48.9 miles
• Things to see: Eureka Dunes, Old sulfur mines

photo.jpg

I’m writing this a few months after the trip so my memory may be a little cloudy. I’ll let the photos do the talking with a bit of narration on things I remember.


Day 1:
The meet up point was Baker, CA. Some of us meet up on the freeway by chance and convoyed together to Baker. When Craig arrived in Baker there were no signs of our planned meet up point, Coco’s Bakery; just a nice big dirt lot along the main drag through town. Coco’s or not, it wasn’t too difficult to spot the half dozen Land Cruisers pulled off on the side of the road.

After lots of lollygagging around, eating lunch, fueling up and tech talk it came time find out who was who. You spend a lot of time chatting with people on the forums, so it’s always fun put a face and a real name to a screen name. Before hitting the road we had a powwow to discuss the plans for the day and the trip, talk rules, and to make sure everyone had all the gear they needed.

PG3_8535.jpg

When I was planning the trip I used Google earth a lot to chart our course. The satellite view of the road out of baker looked like it was a dirt road. To my dismay it turned out to be 30 miles of the smoothest pavement in California. On the upside it gave the group an opportunity to get into the driving together groove, test out all the various radio communications, and just have some low-pressure chitchat on the way to the start of the real driving. We turned onto our first dirt road, Harry Wade road, where we stopped to air down.

pavement ends.jpg

We hit the dirt. Instant white out conditions. The road had just been graded and made completely of dried out riverbed silt. I can only compare it to what the surface of the moon must be like. Just driving the truck at idle speeds kicked up a huge dust cloud. When I stepped out of my truck, I was instantly ankle deep in dust. Not the most fun driving conditions.

PG3_8562.jpg

PG3_8642.jpg

At points, the convoy stretched 8 miles long with everyone trying to keep at least a mile between trucks to avoid collisions. There was absolutely no wind at all, not even the slightest cross wind to blow the dust to the side. It just hung in the air forever making it almost impossible to see past the hood of the truck.

As the group slowed to a stop I heard the radio crackle “everyone stop! I got hit”. I was way ahead leading the group and my heart sank. This was the last thing I wanted to happen on the trip. My biggest concern as leader of the group was the safety of everyone. Thankfully the rear ending was at very low speeds and nothing more than some paint was hurt. We all got out of our trucks and regrouped to talk about the road conditions and keeping spacing to try to avoid another collision. The group pressed on.

After what seemed like only 30 seconds, I heard the radio crackle again “STOP! Got hit again”. I couldn’t believe it but really I could believe it. The conditions were even worse on the start of Warm Springs Road. The dust was so thick that even at a few miles per hour you could not see your own hood, let alone the truck in front of you until it was too late. I was way out ahead of the main pack of trucks so I turned around to drive back to see what happened. Unfortunately we were not so lucky the second time around.

PG3_8597.jpg

As I drove up, I said to my co-pilot, Don, “Is that the hood of his truck lifted up? That can’t be good.” One of the trucks with no steel front bumper rear ended a truck with a high clearance steel rear bumper, complete with gas can rack and tire swing out. You can guess who won. The collision occurred at under 10mph yet it managed to destroy the entire front end of Adam’s truck. The headlights were busted, the radiator support bent in, the hood crumpled, yet the bumper only scratched and cracked.

PG3_8598.jpg

PG3_8607.jpg

PG3_8634.jpg

Everyone got out to assess the damage. In a group of self-proclaimed mechanics there were a lot of opinions flying around of what to do. We debated the merits of continuing on and working on the truck at camp that night or having Adam drive back to Baker. The truck was still running fine but we decided that because we were only getting more and more remote that it would not be wise for Adam to continue on. He probably could have continued on because several months later his truck was in the same condition driving all over Santa Monica while he waited for insurance to work itself out. I was super bummed out that he had to bail after only a few hours on the road. I can’t imagine how furious Adam was. Through it all he really managed to keep his cool. It was quite impressive. We managed to pull the front of the truck out with a ratchet strap hooked to the car that got rear ended, flattened down the hood as much as possible and secured everything so Adam could get back to Baker to decide if he could drive home or have to call in a tow.

PG3_8609.jpg
Attached Images
]]> Completed Expeditions paulbgardner http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112478-Death-Valley-November-2012-(Better-late-than-never!) Skippers Canyon, Queenstown, NZ http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112427-Skippers-Canyon-Queenstown-NZ?goto=newpost Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:24:36 GMT This trip was completed two years ago I don't think much has changed since then.

Skippers Canyon is a gorge near Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. The area went through a gold rush in the late 1800s and in 1890 Skippers Road was completed. Since then not much has changed with the road. It is mostly one lane with very steep drop offs into the river below. Access is limited during winter and vehicle insurance is void at all times on this road.

The warning sign from the beginning of the road


My Hiace in the road


















The road is mostly passable in a 2WD however I was quite pleased to have low range just so I could keep my speed low in some of the slippery downhills, mainly due to my fear of cliffs :D ]]> Completed Expeditions Di0n http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112427-Skippers-Canyon-Queenstown-NZ A Week of Remote Byways and Backroads of the Nebraska Sandhills http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112221-A-Week-of-Remote-Byways-and-Backroads-of-the-Nebraska-Sandhills?goto=newpost Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:05:00 GMT Spent six days from May 31-June 5, 2013 exploring and photographing the beautiful ancient sand dune grasslands, lakes, streams, wetlands, livestock, wildlife, history, and ranches of the last and greatest remnant of the once vast midgrass/tallgrass American prairies. This remnant is the over... Spent six days from May 31-June 5, 2013 exploring and photographing the beautiful ancient sand dune grasslands, lakes, streams, wetlands, livestock, wildlife, history, and ranches of the last and greatest remnant of the once vast midgrass/tallgrass American prairies. This remnant is the over 19,000 sq. miles of the Nebraska Sandhills in the north central and NW areas of the state. Sees few visitors as these Sandhills are remote and far-off-the-beaten-track from the yawning doldrums of I-80 travel across the state. Being born and raised to the west of these Sandshills on the shortgrass high plains near Scottsbluff, Nebraska, the Nebraska Sandhills have an almost mythical attraction to me. I had not spent much time in these ancient grass covered dunes and intervening water-filled valleys except for an occasional sharp-tail grouse hunting trip in my youth. I decided to devote a week of putting a dent in the many hundreds and hundreds of miles of remote one lane paved, sand, gravel, or two-track byways that are open to the public plus some that dead-ended at alluring ranchsteads where my DeLorme Nebraska atlas and Gazeteer was wrong. Living in western Colorado took me a full day of travel going and coming to reach the western boundary of the Sandhills. I traveled many hundreds of miles of these scenic byways trying to stay off of major two lane highways as much as possible. Next year I hope to go back and explore many more miles of the region. Took nearly 800 photos and here are a few of this remarkable region. Here's an internet overview of these Sandhills first:http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...47534661,d.aWc
Attached Images
]]> Completed Expeditions roverrocks http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/112221-A-Week-of-Remote-Byways-and-Backroads-of-the-Nebraska-Sandhills Saudi Northern Expedition http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/111823-Saudi-Northern-Expedition?goto=newpost Sun, 02 Jun 2013 10:08:19 GMT Hello everyone, some of you may know me from different forums. But I would like to share with you our trip that we did here in Saudi last year.

All the routes have been plotted for future access. However, the I6 is not suitable for overland travel. yes it's an excellent motor and all but the fuel consumption is the ultimate draw back. I have been in a few areas where I was low on fuel. (that's the reserve fuel). luckily we didn't have any big issues.

anyways, here are some pics for you to enjoy.


Spider



Here is the loaner JK from Jeep



H3 Alpha



45 miles offroad, 80mi remaining. We are getting a little more technical.











That day didn't end very well. We got locked down by the border patrol. they asked us to turn around and head back. it seems that 30km away from the Saudi/Jordan boarder is not far enough. so we had to take another route that we had as back up (it's always good to have a backup plan for remote travel like this). It got late at night and me leading the team and navigating, there was no way for me to take pictures. we showed up in Haqel sometime around 8PM. refueled the rigs and brought our water and food storage back to level. Here are some shots from the city in the early morning. you will notice that we are doing a quick repair on the tire of the JK. nothing bad just a quick patch to fix the air leak.





Here is Spider posing with Egypt in the background



Here is a Greek Sunk ship from 50+ years ago. that's literally sitting on the West coast of Saudi.



Driving from there, we reach our next stop. Ta'yb essm. Mountains and sea. doesn't get any better.



driving in





Not really used to finding palm trees in mountains, why not.



our fleet still holding strong




On the drive back we had to stop and observe the view.



Hala Spider





Sunset on Egypt








TBC.... ]]> Completed Expeditions Lo2aY http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/111823-Saudi-Northern-Expedition DE-III Teaser photo thread.... http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/111637-DE-III-Teaser-photo-thread?goto=newpost Wed, 29 May 2013 16:56:24 GMT Still haven't unpacked the 4runner but I wanted to put out some "teaser" pics.

Full trip report should be out by next week, depending on how long the "honey-do" list is. :sombrero:






Can't have an "expedition" without a Wiffleball Bat!











]]> Completed Expeditions Martinjmpr http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/111637-DE-III-Teaser-photo-thread <![CDATA[10 Minute Video Through St. Anthony Sand Dunes in a 94' Cruiser]]> http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/111578-10-Minute-Video-Through-St-Anthony-Sand-Dunes-in-a-94-Cruiser?goto=newpost Tue, 28 May 2013 17:36:14 GMT Here is some video I took last weekend of our trip to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes. Don't watch if you get motion sickness... :ylsmoke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmo6Nk8lbVU ]]> Completed Expeditions krazytoy http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/111578-10-Minute-Video-Through-St-Anthony-Sand-Dunes-in-a-94-Cruiser