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UCE3 - Utah Cruiser Expedition 3

Discussion in 'Off-Roading & Trails' started by Box Rocket, Sep 16, 2013.

  1. Sep 18, 2013 at 12:58 PM
    #21
    ARB1977

    ARB1977 It’s a beaut Clark

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    Breath taking photos. Keep them coming.
     
  2. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:05 PM
    #22
    tacomazach

    tacomazach Well-Known Member

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  3. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:20 PM
    #23
    tacoma16

    tacoma16 Well-Known Member

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    pass it over here:D

    :popcorn:
     
  4. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:21 PM
    #24
    la0d0g

    la0d0g Its 4 o’clock somewhere

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    running for the hills
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    Awesome report! Can't wait for more...
     
  5. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:25 PM
    #25
    BuzzardsGottaEat

    BuzzardsGottaEat Well-Known Member

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    Great country out there in Utah, and beautifully built rigs.

    Might I add, beautiful photography as well. Often the overlooked talent in an expedition, yet so essential to the story.
     
  6. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:45 PM
    #26
    NYCO

    NYCO go explore...

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    loving the report so far adam...that mud section was great! got my heart racing and got me laughing reading your description of it! that dam is pretty cool too, nice find! and what amazing country you guys were exploring!

    turning out to be quite the amazing trip so far!
     
  7. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:55 PM
    #27
    jds0912

    jds0912 Well-Known Member

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    Some shit I got on craigslist
    Have to get back to reading this tomorrow. Thanks for posting this BR. Awesome stuff so far.
     
  8. Sep 18, 2013 at 1:56 PM
    #28
    Whitecloud

    Whitecloud Cloudy-fabricator of things

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    ICON Extended travel Coilovers, Custom leaf pack, custom sliders and F&R bumpers, 295 75 17 Toyo Open Country MT's, On-Board air with F+R connectors, On-Board water with quick disconnect shower.Trimmed fenders and body mount chop. LOTS of wiring, dual battery setup, Solar charging system, with some random lights spread around here and there.
    SUBBED!!!!! Man Adam that looks amazing.
     
  9. Sep 18, 2013 at 2:12 PM
    #29
    Fernando

    Fernando Hammerdown

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    just plain awesomeness!!!
     
  10. Sep 18, 2013 at 2:32 PM
    #30
    Box Rocket

    Box Rocket [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Once we got out of the mud is was pretty smooth sailing again. We were finally close to Millford, Utah which was where we were supposed to switch to the afternoon trail leader. By the time we pulled into Millford to gas up it was after 7pm. We were a good 5-6 hours behind schedule. We were already tired and not looking forward to hours and hours on the trail to pull into camp after midnight. The plan had been to camp in the mountains near Signal Peak, just south of I-70 very near where the highest point of our route would take us. But there was no way we'd make it that far tonight. So plans were made to camp somewhere close to Millford, have a good meal and a good night's rest and try to make up the time the next day.

    We looked at the map and found a camping area about 15 min away called Rock Corral. It turned out to be an awesome place with huge limestone rocks jutting up out of the landscape all around us. We set up camp and I grabbed some photos so I could show my wife since I'll definitely be bringing her back to Rock Corral to camp sometime in the future.

    We had finally made it to the end of Day 1.

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    06_zps9a8157c3_06127935080335ffbc5a7599496a2fd93718895c.jpg
     
  11. Sep 18, 2013 at 2:38 PM
    #31
    nat

    nat Well-Known Member

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    Awesome report! Looking forward to more. I love Utah, got to go for my first time back in April.
     
  12. Sep 18, 2013 at 3:14 PM
    #32
    Mainmoe02

    Mainmoe02 Well-Known Member

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    3" lift EIBACH coils w/ 5100's front, OME/ Dakar leaf springs w/ toytec adjustable shackles at 1.5" and 5125's out back. 33x10.5x15 KM2's Relentless DIY steel bumper.
    Great writeup Adam. Its almost like im reading a story with high quality photography.
     
  13. Sep 18, 2013 at 3:50 PM
    #33
    Box Rocket

    Box Rocket [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Syracuse, Utah
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    3xLocked, lifted, well used
    Day 2 - Millford to Bryce

    Day 2 began with a couple changes to the route. We needed to make up some time so the route was tweaked slightly for our morning section. Turned out that this next portion of the trip was mine to lead. I was slightly handicapped because every other truck in the group with leading duties had a seasoned co-driver/navigator. I had my two boys with me who had been given a crash course in map reading before the trip but in reality I was on my own with the map and I wasn't using a GPS. I was hoping not to lose any time we were trying to gain with the new route by getting the group lost.

    A few in the group wanted to make the short drive back into Millford to get actual fountain drinks with ice to start the day (it's the small luxuries on a trip like this that you sometimes need to make happen). So we headed back into Millford and stopped at the gas station where we had filled up the night before. As we pulled up I noticed a a large puddle forming quickly underneath Ja's LX450. Anyone familiar with 80 Series Land Cruisers/LX450's knows about the PHH, or pesky heater hose. It's a short section of hose in the cooling system where coolant is routed for the heater. It is in a very inconvenient place on the back of the motor and hard to get to. Of course this hose like other hoses can dry and crack over time. It just happened that today was the day the PHH on Ja's truck decided to give up. He was losing coolant and losing it fast. We weren't going anywhere until we got this fixed. So much for making up lost time.

    The group went into repair mode and out came the tools and a hilift. It was about now that we were reminded how awesome it is to have a close friend and member of the group that is a Toyota Master Technician that isn't just a master of Camry's or Corrollas. He's a Cruiser guy and knows this stuff in and out. Ja did not have a spare hose so a quick parts run was made. While a hose was sourced, we got the truck jacked up and the wheel pulled as the quickest way to get to the hose is through the fenderwell. It takes a double jointed arm to get to the hose which of course the Master Tech had. :) Don't forget that the wheel well is filled with dried mud from the day before. Fun!

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    A job that can easily take a few hours was masterfully completed and we were on our way in exactly 40 min. Truly impressive. We headed back up the canyon where we had camped and through the mountain pass of the Mineral Mountains and then north toward Sulfurdale where we would shortcut a few miles of dirt to now make up even more lost time by conceding to drive a short section of I-70.

    We encountered free-range cattle numerous times on the trip and the Mineral Mountains were no exception.
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    The drive to Sulfurdale was uneventful and I only missed one turn as the leader. But concentrating on where we were going meant I wasn't able to take any photos. Once we hit the junction with I-70 we stopped briefly to relieve ourselves of the fountain drinks we got that morning and I snapped a quick photo just before we began a short stretch of highway that we begrudgingly agreed was now necessary.
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  14. Sep 18, 2013 at 4:01 PM
    #34
    Box Rocket

    Box Rocket [OP] Well-Known Member

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    3xLocked, lifted, well used
    We exited I-70 near the entrance to the Freemont Indian State Park and backtracked west on the frontage road toward Kimberly. This road would pass underneath I-70 and climb rapidly toward Signal peak and what would be the highest point on our route. Along the way we would pass Kimberly Mine an active mining operation and stop at the Silver King Mine for lunch. Silver King Mine is a retired silver mine that is being restored as a historical site. The old cabins are being restored and there is a trail and markers showing different key parts to the mine and descriptions of its history. It was quite fascinating.

    Stopped at the Silver King Mine for lunch. There are primitive facilities at the site and we chatted with some ATV riders who were also there.
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    Inside the cabin
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    One of the mine entrances
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    Old tracks for the ore cars
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    Remnants of one of the Cabins referred to as the "honeymoon" suite where children were born to the couple working the mine.
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    After lunch we continued our climb past Signal peak and above the tree line. We were at an elevation above 10,000' at this point. The view was spectacular.
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  15. Sep 18, 2013 at 4:12 PM
    #35
    Box Rocket

    Box Rocket [OP] Well-Known Member

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    3xLocked, lifted, well used
    Not far past Signal Peak we would pass mount Baldy and reach Big John Flats where the road would reach the goal of our trip...the highest driveable point in the state of Utah. We gathered the truck is the point at an elevation of 11,500' and snapped the obligatory photos.

    Kurt and Paul climbing up to the highest point
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    My truck at the top
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    And Dave Connors 100 Series
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    We made it!
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    After some photos it was time to head down. Even though we had completed our goal, our trip was far from over. We still had many miles to cover over 2 more days. We loaded up and looked down into Big John Flats for the decent from the top. My leg of leading the journey was complete and Kurt and Ryan took over.

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    Kurt ready to lead
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    the road down Big John's Flat past Mud Lake
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    The goal now was to get to Powell Point and camp for the night but the weather would have a different idea.
     
  16. Sep 18, 2013 at 4:23 PM
    #36
    ckeene9

    ckeene9 Well-Known Member

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  17. Sep 18, 2013 at 4:32 PM
    #37
    nammer

    nammer Well-Known Member

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  18. Sep 18, 2013 at 4:58 PM
    #38
    skidooman

    skidooman I'm your huckleberry

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    Oh man. This is like a good book. I want to turn the page to read more!
     
  19. Sep 18, 2013 at 4:59 PM
    #39
    ChamYota

    ChamYota Crash Bandicoot Or Groot AKA Cham "Scottalot" Yota

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    Threads like this make modding my truck worthwhile, fantastic storytelling and photographs.
     
  20. Sep 18, 2013 at 6:45 PM
    #40
    99yodataco

    99yodataco Little Taco that could

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