Hypoxic Chronology

Between this and Monte's thread, I'm really wanting to head to UT for some more exploration.

As per @NYCO 's recommendation, check out expeditionutah.com for some excellent trip reports.

 

so many possibilities over there...every trip i do unravels 10 more areas i want to explore

 

When you fill your tank and the handle trips, you can squeeze 3 or more gallons in there if you pull the nozzle almost all the way out and pump real slow.

People say you're not supposed to do this because you bugger a charcoal canister or something, but I've done it a lot and never had that problem

 

Awesome thanks for the info. the bikes rode past Rangers in canyon lands on elephant hill with permits and paid for the park pass on the bike. they are tagged here so I assume that's all that's needed....
I have browsed a bit we considered inquiring about leaving a trailer at the Ranger Station with gas and unloading bikes there. still a lot of research for us to do but figured I would begin to inquire about best sites to camp at as they open up soon for reservations. we are hoping for week of April 17

 

definitely wasn't all that was needed a few years ago.

Utah and CO got in a pissing match with offroad permits and even a licensed/plated CO bike had to have a Utah Offroad sticker. got stopped by Rangers to check.

 

Look as the white rhino sleeps in its natural habitat. You have to be vewy, vewy quiet.

 

stalker

 

I thought so too after Utah stared doing plates for side by sides. the guys on bikes had no issue last year but it's their responsibility to make sure it's ready for the trip

 

wtf Ray?

I'm calling the cops

 

The Maze has different rules from the rest of the Canyonlands.

From what I saw, it looked like any street legal bike would be acceptable. Now, if I showed up on my plated KTM 200 that's barely street legal in CO, I'm not sure what they would say.

 

The dark, grainy photo is the difference between a real stalker like @Ice Horse and a part-time one like @SilverGhost

 

Seems like they have some stuff to take care of.

 

How about this one. Found you at work

 

Creepy

 

Damn cops are too slow...
Creeper got away.

 

Had some fun snow bashing...
@aero3685 took some great pictures



also managed to snap the winch line trying to pull myself through too big of a drift at too severe of an angle.



I think @aero3685 has another line for me.... starting to think maybe I should wheel with him more often

oh yeah, @BDN was there too. we managed to help him through the tough stuff

https://goo.gl/photos/WFZT1FCfomPbrBku7

 

After breaking my winch line, I thought maybe I should learn to splice/repair synthetic rope so that in an emergency I wouldn't be screwed without a winch.

I got a new line from @aero3685 but it had what I considered to be an almost worthless metal loop on the end of it.


The loop is too small to pass a 3/4" shackle bolt through so you're pretty much limited to attaching a hook, or factor55 bling. I guess you could pass a soft shackle through it too.
Note that I was able to detach the loop this far without any tools or implements of destruction but because it's using a brummel lock, and the metal loop is preventing me from inverting the loop, I had to unspool the winch line to pass the long end through.

I really liked the thimble on my broken winch line so I decided to attach it to the new one.

This one was attached with just a deep bury and some stitching that I had to cut.

 

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and some youtube watching), I finally came up with a good system for splicing synthetic rope.

DONT WANT
Duct tape. It doesn't slide nice through the center of the rope
Any kind of pointed fid. It's too easy to "weave" a pointed fid through strands rather than staying nicely in the center of the rope.
A knife. It's a bitch to cut the rope and even the strands for a taper with a knife.

DO WANT
Electrical tape. Low bulk, nice and slippery
1/4" extension. Dull tip, nice and slippery.
Sharp scissors. Cuts the stuff much easier.



My splice kit


Now I just need to put this whole kit in a cordura pouch, then in a Pelican case with foam cutouts, and then bolt it to my swing out for maximum EAF cred.

I'm making winch line extensions out of the old rope that broke. I'm leaving loops of just the rope and just using a deep bury. They should hold fine and be easy to undo/modify if necessary in the field.

I did use a brummel lock when attaching the old thimble to the new line.