DaveB
Long Jeep Fan
- Location
- Holladay, Utah
We went down over the weekend to stay in my inlaw's summer home in Boulder and to do some trail rides. On Friday afternoon we drove down the Burr trail to the Wolverine Loop and drove out to the petrified forest. The road is supposed to be a very mellow gravel road but due to the many rainstorms they have had the road had lots of washouts and mud holes which made it more fun. We came upon some French tourists in their rental SUV that went through a wash to avoid a mud hole but got high centered when they tried to get out of the wash. They didn't have a shovel just the tiny jack for changing tires. They had been digging out with their hands and were hopelessly stuck. I winched them out in a couple of minutes. I'm not sure how long they were stuck there but we were the only people to come their way all day. The petrified forest was cool and I couldn't believe how these rocks looked like stacked firewood. You could see the bark, knot holes, and the rings. After the hike to the forest we stopped at a spot that has a bunch of small short slot canyons that are fun to hike in. We stayed away from any large slots since it was raining some of the time.
Saturday morning we jumped in the jeeps and headed out to the Hole in The Rock trail out of Escalante. We were curious to see if it had any washouts. We aired down after a bit since the washboard was nasty. We soon found out that this trail had seen a bunch of rain also and there were lots of mud holes, water holes, and washouts. We had to go through the washouts to test the jeeps and they did well until the last big washout which was next to a ravine. About 2/3 of the road was washed out and there was a dangerous drop off down the ravine. There was room around the washout and we were able to get around it (at least after winching my son in law out of the quicksand he got in to). The rest of the trail was fun, especially the last 6 miles or so on the slick rock. The Hole in the Rock slot was amazing. I can't imagine driving a wagon down that narrow steep crack in the rock. We hiked down the slot most of the way but it started to rain so we hiked back up to make sure we didn't have to cross any rivers on the way out. The rain wasn't that bad so we hit several of the sights along the way. We stopped at Devil's Garden for dinner then drove out to the highway. While airing back up I decided to start my jeep to avoid draining the battery too low and after a few minutes the jeep died. The in tank fuel pump wasn't working and after some voltmeter checks it was obvious the the pump was dead. I usually have a spare in the jeep but had used it for another jeep and hadn't replaced my spare. My son in law ran to Escalante to get gas and look for a parts store but all of the parts stores anywhere near by were closed till Monday. We ended up having to tow strap the jeep back to Boulder. My wife was very nervous about the steep hills that we had to go up and down, especially the narrow 14% grade at Calf Creek. We made it back rather late but without any mis-haps. On Sunday the only pump we could find was in Richfield so we drove up and picked it up. The jeep started right up after putting it all back together and ran great all the way home till 123 South where it died again. So my son in law had to drag it the rest of the way home. Quite an adventure but a very scenic and fun trip.
Saturday morning we jumped in the jeeps and headed out to the Hole in The Rock trail out of Escalante. We were curious to see if it had any washouts. We aired down after a bit since the washboard was nasty. We soon found out that this trail had seen a bunch of rain also and there were lots of mud holes, water holes, and washouts. We had to go through the washouts to test the jeeps and they did well until the last big washout which was next to a ravine. About 2/3 of the road was washed out and there was a dangerous drop off down the ravine. There was room around the washout and we were able to get around it (at least after winching my son in law out of the quicksand he got in to). The rest of the trail was fun, especially the last 6 miles or so on the slick rock. The Hole in the Rock slot was amazing. I can't imagine driving a wagon down that narrow steep crack in the rock. We hiked down the slot most of the way but it started to rain so we hiked back up to make sure we didn't have to cross any rivers on the way out. The rain wasn't that bad so we hit several of the sights along the way. We stopped at Devil's Garden for dinner then drove out to the highway. While airing back up I decided to start my jeep to avoid draining the battery too low and after a few minutes the jeep died. The in tank fuel pump wasn't working and after some voltmeter checks it was obvious the the pump was dead. I usually have a spare in the jeep but had used it for another jeep and hadn't replaced my spare. My son in law ran to Escalante to get gas and look for a parts store but all of the parts stores anywhere near by were closed till Monday. We ended up having to tow strap the jeep back to Boulder. My wife was very nervous about the steep hills that we had to go up and down, especially the narrow 14% grade at Calf Creek. We made it back rather late but without any mis-haps. On Sunday the only pump we could find was in Richfield so we drove up and picked it up. The jeep started right up after putting it all back together and ran great all the way home till 123 South where it died again. So my son in law had to drag it the rest of the way home. Quite an adventure but a very scenic and fun trip.
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