TR/3 : Threading the Needles (Canyonlands) part way

[cewillis]

This was an exploratory, but ambitious trip plan that encountered a few problems (nothing serious as it turned out). But it was still interesting.
As usual, the whole report with more and larger pictures is on my web site at Needles, 2018 .


Here was the plan: see if it was possible to drive down the 'infamous' Bobby's Hole road into the south end of the Needles District, and if so, try to drive out Devil's Lane to the Green River / Colorado River confluence overlook.
Then a relatively easy drive through the Maze District out to the Millard campground on the Green River.


In the Manti La Sal NF.


Not the Bear's Ears.


Good advice -- both parts, near the top of Bobby's Hole.


Here's what it looks like sometimes. Only negotiable in the 2nd picture.


1st step down -- of course I walked it first.


Couple more decent size ledges, but not too bad this time.


Can see the bottom.


Made it. Stay tuned to see if I made it back.


But only a few miles farther -- end of the road for me.


90 degree turn over a very large rock, to a steep drop, with major left roll, over some boulders that I can't straddle, to a pretty large ledge. What could go wrong?


Spectacular country - but just out of reach, for me.


View from near the bottom. Yes, that's my hand.
I 'think' could make it down -- but back up looks more unlikely. So I would have been committed to getting through SOB hill and going out over Elephant hill. (look them up).


Made it back up Bobby's Hole. But it wasn't easy. Had to make a ramp of rocks, hit it hard, and keep going to get up the biggest ledge. Might not have made it without lockers. Even light weight jeeps use lockers here. Also, very loose dirt -- easy to dig in.


Minor problem - bent one of my Torklift tiedowns. Notice the step bar used as a rock guard.


Straightened it with a submarine torpedo winch - when I got home.


The high Manti La Sal.


One of my few favorite places -- the rim of Dark Canyon.


Poor day for pictures though. Colors are not showing.


Poor day for walking near the rim too, with 40+ mph winds.

The next morning, 2 days after any rough driving. I got apparently transient transmission codes. See trans codes if interested.
And even though I was able to clear the problem, being 50+ miles from cell service, and having seen no other vehicles in 4 days, it was a little spooky. So I decided to come back another time.

[cewillis]

Modest addition:
I have slightly sturdier wheels: 16x7 steel (not aluminum - never a bend, crack or other problem) GM 3500 wheels for my slightly oversize 265/75R16 tires.
I also have a winch. Deliberately smaller, with synthetic cable, so that I can mount it front or rear in the field. Combined with an 18,000 lb snatch block, that's up to 16,000 lb pull on the truck.

[jefe_4x4]

I would like to add a few items that The Whaz; Alex, Cal, and jefe; the four-down XTC-ers have in common in regards to vehicle prep.
1. All single rear wheel; all pre-smog (no soot bag, urea canister or D.E.F. tank) turbo diesel Chevy's, Ford, or Dodge RAM that were not in the, "do not buy" era. The Whaz and jefe have much sturdier aftermarket wheels. Both found the stock wheels to be insufficient.
2. 2 with the lightest, least tall, least wide, full featured Lance hard side TC's to traverse those pesky narrow trails.
3. 2 with OUTFITTER! pop up campers on 8 foot beds for a lower profile and better obstacle clearance.
4. 2 with winches: Alex's 17.8K pounder, and my 15K pound Warn.
5. All with a variety of traction devices to help when you get the axles all twisted up; 3 of them with traction aids, front and rear. The only truck with an open front diff belongs to Alex.
6. 2 with a small lift: Whaz's 6 inch and jefe's 3 inch suspension lift.
7. All with upper overload springs and/or Stable Loads or equivalent.
8. All have a lot of experience in the rough, half of the group coming from the hard core jeeping tradition, and the other two ready to push the envelope of what and where you can go with a well prepped truck camper.
These TC-ers have walked the walk and have improved their rigs over time.
jefe

[Eugarps]

whazoo wrote:
What's THIS? NO WHAZOO'S?! Too late, Whazoo's been there but in a Jeep. Good one Cal, trying to keep the Whazoo out of Cheslers Park. Also, that is exactly why I don't use frame mount tie downs, I don't have a torpedo winch to fix them. Great trip there Cal, didn't you do more in Beef Basin though? Lots of ruins there. The problem I've run in to with GMCs and rocks is that our massive third unit, yes it is thank you, hangs down so far that unless you're running 37 inch tires the diff gets hung up a bit. Talk about an expensive tow out, you'd have to get a Sikorsky. And if you did make it down and all the way to Elephant Hill, the backside of the hill would be problematic. Awesome trip Cal, you did the right thing. Let Jefe deal with the carnage, he actually enjoys it. 🙂

Just so you know.... I see faces on the right (not) bear's ears.... It comes from good Wahzoo training! 😉

Best,

Bill

[cewillis]

jefe 4x4 wrote:
monumental monoliths of the trip reports of the Great Whazoo
jefe

Absolutely -- inspirational and intimidating at the same time.

[ticki2]

jefe 4x4 wrote:
tiki,
The time and exposure of the fearsome foursome on RV net is slowly diminishing. Whazoo, Cal, Alex, and jefe, all hard core TC-er's, are now the old men of XTC, (well, Alex is the 'kid' of the bunch) and I don't see anyone ready to take their place. They have all resisted the natural call of RV'er's to move up to more spacious and comfortable rolling domiciles, DRW's, a higher GVW, more space for cold ones, so they are as a group a fading anachronism. And, most importantly, who, who, is going to post a tinky little T.R. that stands up by comparison to the monumental monoliths of the trip reports of the Great Whazoo? Who?
That's the way I see it.
jefe

Jefe that pretty much sums it up . I , like many would have to travel thousands of miles to even begin such adventurers . I have tried a few times to share my humble ramblings and hopefully will again . There is a saying on my desk that I read every day . " If I cannot do great things , I can do small things in a great way ". If one looks at the post count compared to the read count it gives some indication of the true value of even small TR .Hopefully the next generation will step up to continue the great TR' s . Just a reminder to all of us that all TR' s have value and instead of being intimidated , be greatful for the great ones .

[mountainkowboy]

Nice trip.

[jefe_4x4]

I'm leaving my comments on Cal's wonderful T.R. because he is near the end of his TC career and will be selling his junk. I personally will miss his ascerbic humor and engineer like precision.
Now onto the latest plans. It's good to have plans. They keep you hoping for a fine trip.
After more minutes of perusal, and studying my Utah Gazetteer, here is a further refinement and revised prospective route near Canyonlands N.P. which includes a ruins tour in Beef Basin (el. 7K feet). Not many use this route to get to Canyonlands. The entry is now highway 191 south past Moab; turn right (west) on state route 211 toward the N.P. entrance. After about 16 miles, turn left on Bridger Jack Rd, (F.R. 088) following north Cottonwood Creek, continuing past Cathedral Butte about 25 miles; turn right on F.R.093, a dirt two track; turning into Beef Basin Rd. In 2 miles turn left onto an unnamed 2-track, the shortcut to the cliff dwellings and ruins area which we can spend days exploring. Depart Beef Basin to the north through Ruin Park trail about 4-5 miles and enter Bobby's Hole, a steep, sandy, rough, rocky, narrow, bad traction, downgrade off the 7000 foot mesa we've been on. After picking up all the pieces, motor north. After about 6 miles enter the Needles area of C.N.P. eventually entering Devils Lane, Silver stairs, and side trips to Butler Cyn. and Confluence Overlook. We then take the one way 'out' route over Elephant Hill that has no rock overhang or narrow slot (nominal el. 5K feet). The 'out' route on Elephant Hill avoids the squeeze and the 'overhang' that could be problematic for a rig that's 10 feet 4 inches tall. At 86 inches wide, it's still narrower than the honey dipper truck that services the porta potties in the park past Elephant Hill. I thought about doing Dark Canyon Overlook, but because of the possibility of deep snow; the elevation of over 8K feet is a no go for the 2nd week of April. That's the plan, so far. Alex and jefe on the White Rim Trail 2010: clearance rock in the foreground.

jefe

[jefe_4x4]

tiki,
The time and exposure of the fearsome foursome on RV net is slowly diminishing. Whazoo, Cal, Alex, and jefe, all hard core TC-er's, are now the old men of XTC, (well, Alex is the 'kid' of the bunch) and I don't see anyone ready to take their place. They have all resisted the natural call of RV'er's to move up to more spacious and comfortable rolling domiciles, DRW's, a higher GVW, more space for cold ones, so they are as a group a fading anachronism. And, most importantly, who, who, is going to post a tinky little T.R. that stands up by comparison to the monumental monoliths of the trip reports of the Great Whazoo? Who?
That's the way I see it.
jefe

[ticki2]

Thanks so much for the TR . There seems to be fewer and fewer as of late . BTW , I think it was a wise decision to stop when you did . " Know when to hold them and know when to fold them ".

[Eugarps]

Cal,

Once again you've out done yourself. Great trip report!

[cewillis]

Hey Jefe -- about time you followed up on your plan!
Your route is the same one I was planning, except I thought I would come back the same way as I went it.
Really looking forward to see how you manage at the point that stopped me. (although you're not planning to come back up that way -- which is what actually stopped me).
And there's another spot that most vehicles have to enter forward, then backup the rest of the way to get through. It's called SOB Hill.

Should be great fun, and an epic trip for TCs.

Cal

[jefe_4x4]

Well, 7 months and my new titanium shoulder have passed in review since Cal's tome was unveiled. So...Bro John and Krys, plus Jeanie and I are going to try a similar spring route through Canyonlands between April 8 and 18. We 'think' we have a route that an 86 inch wide camper will fit through (with bed tie downs sans camper jacks). The trick is to make it south to north through the Needles district as the trail splits toward Elephant Hill and the 'out' trail doesn't have the hangover or the squeeze that the 'in' trail has (Devil's Pocket). I'm not worried about rocks on the trail or washouts, but rock overhangs at narrow spots can stop the train cold. Some highlights (God willing) will include Beef Basin, Bobby's Hole, Devils Kitchen, Horse Hoof camp; plus a run through the Needles themselves and various overlooks.
With the partial Gov't shutdown, and after visiting the Canyonlands N.P website, it looks like the trails are open but no one is collecting money or dumping the trash. Maybe it will be over by then. We came down Elephant Hill in 1971. The 3-yr. old kid in the center is turning 50 next month. He may even go along on this trip in his own Jeep/RTT.

[whazoo]

I was thinking Cal, that you and I should go back there together and get er done before Jefe bags Bobbys Hole. I’ll stand ready with the strap while you go on ahead.

[whazoo]

Hah, lots and lots of places I’ve not seen Cal, you’ve been to a few yourself.