- Joined
- November 23, 1999
- Messages
- 3,904
- Reaction score
- 9
- City, State
- Mingo Junction, OH
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1994 Explorer Sport
Moab Colors Run
After several years of waiting, Peter's White Rim curse was broken. The trail itself more than made up for the long wait. I meant up with Peter Weber on Thursday to drive up to Moab, Utah. After a quick drive we checked into the campsite and went to find Gerald Jarrett. Then off to supper we went. After a meal at the Moab Diner it was off to bed knowing that the next day we were in for a long drive.
We spent the normal time airing down and tightening down all our equipment on Friday before hitting the Shafer Switchbacks. The switchbacks are an intimidating site, however wide compared to a few we ended up on towards the end of the trail. This was also where we found why this trail will take awhile. With all three of us taking pictures at various times we ended up stopping about once every mile. A trend that continued through much of the first part of the trail. The views however warranted the pace. After a few hours of driving we headed down towards Lathrop Canyon for lunch. This drive ended up adding another hour to our trip, but rewarded us with a spot along the river for lunch. Once we started to get closer to the river we also figured out that this could turn into the first Serious Explorations run to happen at the same time as the tree's were changing colors, thus the name "Moab Color's Run" was born.
Dead Link Removed
After returning to the main trail from Lathrop Canyon it was another few hours of stop and go pace before we hit our next playground. Off of the main trail there was a dried up waterfall that was calling our name to drive up it. Gerald went ahead and gave it a shot first and did it with very little problem. I wish I could say I had the same luck with this obstacle. Gerald had taken off his front and rear swaybars before the trail, where myself had decided that I'd leave the rear ones on. A move that added to the fun of the trail.
Dead Link Removed
It took a few minutes of me holding it there for pictures and showing off for the bikers that were passing before we drove it out of the pose. Turns out I never did do the waterfall. We then took turns leading for the next few miles to avoid eating the dust that we were starting to kick up from the trail. The pace of stopping every few miles for pictures though continued till we hit Murphy's hill at about the 40 mile mark.
The entire day we were trying to pace ourselves enough to get to our campsite before sunset, but it was obvious that this wasn't going to happen. We hit Murphy's hill with the sun starting to set in the background. Murphy's hill is one of the harder parts of the trail with it being a steep rocky climb up the mountain with not much on the side of you. Made for a great view though. After getting all three Explorers to the top we were rewarded to an amazing sunset with the mountains of Moab as the background. This was also where we figured out that we'll have to drive the last ten miles to camp with the stars of of the sky providing us with our light.
Dead Link Removed
Gerald started out leading us down the switchbacks then I took the lead. Just ask anybody who's been to Moab, this is not the best place for a night run without knowing the trail first. I'm sure we drove along a few dropoffs that I'm not sure that I'd want to know what's on the other side of. Let's just say that this part was done at a slow speed. As we drove for awhile we noticed that we were going to be greeted with a full moon once we hit camp. This also helped us in setting up camp.
After sitting around the "charcoal" campfire, and me eating my steak and rice in front of the other's it was time to hit the sack. Camping miles away from others was a new experience for myself. The first thing I noticed was how quite it was. The only sounds I could hear was those of the birds overhead and the squeaks from "Herk" where Gerald was sound asleep in. The next morning we woke up at about the same time with sunrise serving as our wake up call. Took us awhile to take down camp and hit the trail again, but once we did we quickly noticed that the night before we missed the fact that we were staying along the Green River. Time for a few more pictures.
The second day reward us with softer roads leading us through a various amount of trees. We the hit Hardscrabble Hill. This gave us another chance to test our switchback skills as well as through several canyons.
Dead Link Removed
These switchbacks at times did warrant driving close to the walls at times. Was very happy to only meet one person coming up. After deciding against the two hour hike to Fort Bottom we turned off the main trail again to go see the back of Zeus and Moses. This also turned out to be a great place to eat lunch before heading to the last set of switchbacks. Towards the end we spotted a few cars that ended up meeting their end on the trail. We spent awhile debating how they got there, but it was obvious that they weren't there by mistake. We then continued for a few more miles till we hit the main road leading us back to Moab.
After waiting a few minutes for cattle to cross the main road we hit Moab and sat back to think about the trail we just ran. I'd guess we were all ready to do it again. I'd like to thank Peter Weber and Gerald Jarrett for hitting the trail with me and I can't wait to see your pictures. During the next Moab trip this is one that if you got a few days to kill, I would HIGHLY recommend that you try. The entire trip took a good day in a half. This was allowing you to take your time to allow you catch in the amazing views that the White Rim offers.
After several years of waiting, Peter's White Rim curse was broken. The trail itself more than made up for the long wait. I meant up with Peter Weber on Thursday to drive up to Moab, Utah. After a quick drive we checked into the campsite and went to find Gerald Jarrett. Then off to supper we went. After a meal at the Moab Diner it was off to bed knowing that the next day we were in for a long drive.
We spent the normal time airing down and tightening down all our equipment on Friday before hitting the Shafer Switchbacks. The switchbacks are an intimidating site, however wide compared to a few we ended up on towards the end of the trail. This was also where we found why this trail will take awhile. With all three of us taking pictures at various times we ended up stopping about once every mile. A trend that continued through much of the first part of the trail. The views however warranted the pace. After a few hours of driving we headed down towards Lathrop Canyon for lunch. This drive ended up adding another hour to our trip, but rewarded us with a spot along the river for lunch. Once we started to get closer to the river we also figured out that this could turn into the first Serious Explorations run to happen at the same time as the tree's were changing colors, thus the name "Moab Color's Run" was born.
Dead Link Removed
After returning to the main trail from Lathrop Canyon it was another few hours of stop and go pace before we hit our next playground. Off of the main trail there was a dried up waterfall that was calling our name to drive up it. Gerald went ahead and gave it a shot first and did it with very little problem. I wish I could say I had the same luck with this obstacle. Gerald had taken off his front and rear swaybars before the trail, where myself had decided that I'd leave the rear ones on. A move that added to the fun of the trail.
Dead Link Removed
It took a few minutes of me holding it there for pictures and showing off for the bikers that were passing before we drove it out of the pose. Turns out I never did do the waterfall. We then took turns leading for the next few miles to avoid eating the dust that we were starting to kick up from the trail. The pace of stopping every few miles for pictures though continued till we hit Murphy's hill at about the 40 mile mark.
The entire day we were trying to pace ourselves enough to get to our campsite before sunset, but it was obvious that this wasn't going to happen. We hit Murphy's hill with the sun starting to set in the background. Murphy's hill is one of the harder parts of the trail with it being a steep rocky climb up the mountain with not much on the side of you. Made for a great view though. After getting all three Explorers to the top we were rewarded to an amazing sunset with the mountains of Moab as the background. This was also where we figured out that we'll have to drive the last ten miles to camp with the stars of of the sky providing us with our light.
Dead Link Removed
Gerald started out leading us down the switchbacks then I took the lead. Just ask anybody who's been to Moab, this is not the best place for a night run without knowing the trail first. I'm sure we drove along a few dropoffs that I'm not sure that I'd want to know what's on the other side of. Let's just say that this part was done at a slow speed. As we drove for awhile we noticed that we were going to be greeted with a full moon once we hit camp. This also helped us in setting up camp.
After sitting around the "charcoal" campfire, and me eating my steak and rice in front of the other's it was time to hit the sack. Camping miles away from others was a new experience for myself. The first thing I noticed was how quite it was. The only sounds I could hear was those of the birds overhead and the squeaks from "Herk" where Gerald was sound asleep in. The next morning we woke up at about the same time with sunrise serving as our wake up call. Took us awhile to take down camp and hit the trail again, but once we did we quickly noticed that the night before we missed the fact that we were staying along the Green River. Time for a few more pictures.
The second day reward us with softer roads leading us through a various amount of trees. We the hit Hardscrabble Hill. This gave us another chance to test our switchback skills as well as through several canyons.
Dead Link Removed
These switchbacks at times did warrant driving close to the walls at times. Was very happy to only meet one person coming up. After deciding against the two hour hike to Fort Bottom we turned off the main trail again to go see the back of Zeus and Moses. This also turned out to be a great place to eat lunch before heading to the last set of switchbacks. Towards the end we spotted a few cars that ended up meeting their end on the trail. We spent awhile debating how they got there, but it was obvious that they weren't there by mistake. We then continued for a few more miles till we hit the main road leading us back to Moab.
After waiting a few minutes for cattle to cross the main road we hit Moab and sat back to think about the trail we just ran. I'd guess we were all ready to do it again. I'd like to thank Peter Weber and Gerald Jarrett for hitting the trail with me and I can't wait to see your pictures. During the next Moab trip this is one that if you got a few days to kill, I would HIGHLY recommend that you try. The entire trip took a good day in a half. This was allowing you to take your time to allow you catch in the amazing views that the White Rim offers.
