Moab 2017 - Bucket List Trip - Cross Country Rock Therapy Adventure

Kokopelli Day 3 and Hell's Revenge

The previous night was a cold one, and a windy one at that. Had a good time tying and staking down the extra wind supports that I have previously not used for the tent at 2 AM. But it was the last day of the Kokopelli and we knew we would be in Moab that day. I was really excited to get to Moab and finally start wheeling some of the harder stuff.

I came to Moab with a list of trails and an order of importance to hit them. I am happy to say I was able to knock out a large part of that list.

The List:
The Kokopelli with the TOTW spur, and of course Rose Garden Hill
Hell's Revenge
Cliffhanger
The Trifecta (Poison Spider Mesa, Golden Spike and Gold Bar Rim)
Moab Rim
Behind the rocks
Metal Masher
Kane Creek

When we woke up we got to take a look at the area we had camped in during the day and it was a cool change of scenery. Up until this point we have been camping at the top of plateaus so to be camping at the bottom of one with a sheer rock face behind us was definitely cool. I also was up early enough to watch the sun fill the valley with light.

IMG_0139 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0141 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0142 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0143 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0145 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0146 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We all packed up and rolled out running relatively low on gas. Both Jason and I were essentially on E when we left camp but Brett assured us that we should be okay. Between all of us we had about 21 gallons of spare fuel, so we could have figured something out if shit got desperate. We started heading up into the La Sal mountains and saw a transition from desert to forest. We stopped at Fischer Valley Overlook where there were actual dinosaur tracks (but apparently you aren't supposed to tell anyone?). I've never seen anything like this before so I thought it was really awesome.

IMG_0147 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0148 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0149 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And the view from this spot wasn't bad either.

IMG_0150 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

From here we continued on to the La Sal Loop Rd. but were quickly stopped because of road closures. Unfortunately our trip on the Kokopelli had to stop here, and we took 128 into Moab. We all stopped at a gas station to fuel up and get some food. It was actually at this point when the epic group of first gen's split up and went our separate ways. Ryan and Brett went to meet up with James to run some trails and I heard that @Sub-Zero and @HolyHandGrenade were planning on running Hell's Revenge so I went up to meet up with them. Jason went to do some solo exploring and later found out he ended up bending an axle shaft on the trip out, so unfortunately couldn't stay the rest of the time for Rock Therapy.

Luckily Jake wanted to come run Hell's too which was great for me because he knows his way around Moab already. So I followed Jake to the meeting spot at the beginning of Hell's and rolled in just in time for Ryan, Karen and Tim cooking up some lunch. Not long after we got there @rctoy (Konsta) and @IDtrucks (Mark) roll in as well. So we had a pretty solid group for Hell's and I was excited and ready to start knocking some of the trails (and obstacles) off my list. Hell's was an awesome intro trail to Moab for me. The grip on the slick rock was incredible and let you climb some impressive angles.

IMG_8090 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_0154 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0158 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0160 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0162 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The views out on Hell's were unreal. Just rolling hill after hill of slick rock as far as you can see. It was great having Mark and Konsta leading as well since they knew the trail really well and knew where all the fun obstacles were.

IMG_0165 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0166 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0167 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0168 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0169 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Mid way through the trail we stopped at this great view of the Colorado river.

IMG_0172 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0173 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0175 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The first big obstacle was Hell's Gate. I was a little hesitant but I knew when I did Hell's I had the Gate, Escalator and Mickey's all on my list and I would be pissed at myself if I didn't try them.

Honestly the drop into Hell's Gate was a little more nerve racking than the climb out. I don't have any photos but might have a gopro later of the drop in. Here's some shot's of Tim coming into it:

IMG_0178 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0179 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

At this point as we all were climbing out there was a small crowd of dirt bike riders watching. It seems silly but some of the wheeling in NJ actually prepared me for obstacles like this. In the Pine Barrens there can be climbs where you literally are driving in the middle of a tiny valley big enough to swallow a truck. The terrain always changes and there can be turns mid way up the climbs. This basically felt similar just WAY longer and WAY more traction. That traction is what gets most people in trouble from what I've seen in videos because they end up getting one tire too high on one side and climb and climb till they flop. It's almost impossible to do that in NJ because of the lack of traction. The way it did help prep me though was knowing I need to have both tires planted on each side of the wall at all times. You get a tire in the center and you are asking for trouble. You basically just want to keep the rig feeling level.

The truck performed great and climbed right up the gate with no issues thanks to some awesome spotting by Mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D6H8dIpO5c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzaVZzvYcIo

IMG_0180 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0181 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0182 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0184 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0186 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The next big obstacle was a pretty short but steep climb up a rock face. I didn't get it on my first try but was able to get it on my second rip with some serious squealing. I did get a little hoppy on it but was so happy to get up with no damage. Karen went up next and had a very scary moment when the super charger caused the truck to stall and had no power while rolling backwards near a cliff edge.

Next up were the hot tubs. I believe the first one we came across was the Devil's Highway Hot Tub. Konsta was the only one to try this one and boy it was a rough one. It had at least 2 feet of water in the bottom and it was a solid mix of oil and water. He tried to smoke his tires up front to dry them off and get some extra grip. It was awesome to watch to say the least but unfortunately he wasn't able to make it up. With all the oily water, it was hard to see anyone make it up in those kinds of conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpKT66KHndY

IMG_8101 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_8100 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_8102 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_8103 by Michael Halat, on Flickr


The two that followed were the car wash and Mickey's Hot tub. We all went through the car wash with no issues, it's a great hot tub to try being nice and wide. Next up was Mickey's and luckily it was dry. First Konsta went through, then Mark, then me, and finally Tim. It was so awesome to get another big obstacle I always wanted to try under my belt and I was feeling pretty good. It was a very crazy feeling being in that one, you have inches on each side of your truck and you are completely surrounded by rock walls. The truck made really loud creaking and cracking noises as you start the climb and really have almost no ability to turn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar1WlVLjpcI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO5gchIvGII

IMG_0190 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The last two obstacles were the Escalator and Tip Over Challenge. The escalator was like doing Hell's Gate while going in mini hot tubs on the way up. It was a very very fun obstacle and the truck did great on it. Tip over Challenge was a little sketchy but none of us had any issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnFO3ogn8TY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctxtMAuRGZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAqvJgQ_MJs

The route out was actually kind of fun as well because there were a bunch of ledges coming back down to the main road. From there Jake, Brittany and I went into town for some delicious hot food at the Mexican place across from the food store. We camped at Ken's Lake that night across from the Jersey crew and spent the night drinking around the camp fire. I had a great first day in Moab and was excited for what was in store for me next.

 

Nicely executed on that last obstacle!

 

How did the SC cause Karen to stall?

 

@HolyHandGrenade

 

Just a lot of fuel flowing under power and then let off abruptly. It loaded up. That’s all.

Here it is. She made it up on the second attempt, but I didn’t record it.
https://youtu.be/A9Xf8Qx3lO0

 

Sub'd.
Great stuff Mike.
Read the first page and I am in awe.
Looking forward to going through the entire report.
Might get my juices flowing for a possible near future trip!

 

I bet that was a butt clencher. Do 2nd gens have clutch start cancel? Looks like a perfect spot to use it.

 

I have no idea. Mine’s an auto lol

 

I was waiting for this, work got crazy last month.

 

TW > work thing

 

Well vacation's over, work's slow, and I have no excuse to not continue writing.

Day 4: Cliffhanger

That night I drank a bit heavier than I have the entire trip so I was slow to get up. There was brief discussion pre-RT and the night before about getting a group to run Cliffhanger. This trail was at the tippy top of my list to hit in Moab because of the views and the challenges I read about. The idea of being at the edge of a 1000' drop while trying to figure out a line to take got my heart racing thinking about it.

So barely awake I got a text from Brett saying they are hitting it and to come to Mc Donalds to run it with them. I panicked, threw all my shit in the truck and started it to try to get to them before they left for it. Well the entire time on the Kokopelli I was having an intermittent squeal on my PS belt. Usually I would start it, it would squeal, I would give it gas and it would stop. Well it wasn't stopping. So I shot them a text all defeated saying to go on without me, and that I was having belt issues. I ripped the tools out and got to work, and got a text back saying they would wait for me. I hurriedly tightened the belt with Tim's help, and punched it towards Mc Donalds. I got there and met up with @Squeaky Penguin @Reh5108 and @Wishbone Runner and we set off for the trail head.

I gotta say at this point I was super stoked because I knew this was going to be one of the more difficult trails and knew there was likely no one else who was going to run it for Rock Therapy this year. We got to the entrance and made it down a relatively rocky hill. I knew this was an out and back trail so it was not going to be the last I would see of this hill.

IMG_0193 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0194 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We crossed the relatively dry creek bed and came up to the first obstacle. This one was an interesting one that kept us for a good hour at least.It kind of set the tone for the trail, and each obstacle was about finding the right line. Once we found the line it became less difficult for those who followed. Thankfully, I was last so I could watch everyones lines before I gave it a shot. The other difficulty was that James' 4runner was at a different wheelbase than ours so what worked for him, would not necessarily work for us.

IMG_0195 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

This obstacle had two lines you could try, the left side where you could essentially wedge yourself between a boulder and the ledge on the left to try to get yourself some grip and hope the rest of the truck follows/doesn't get caught on other shit. Brett tried the right line just for the fuck of it, but it got sketchy and he would need to get up and cut hard driver if he wanted to keep going on that line even if he got the front up.

IMG_8119 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_8121 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Also now is the time to express how nice it was to have a front locker on this trail. It was seriously key in getting us all up with no winching (and one tiny tug). It was kind of impressive actually considering how tough this trail is. Another thing to note about this trail is that it fought us tooth and nail. It's obstacle after obstacle with no bypasses and barely even space enough to let a group pass if you encounter trail traffic. Thankfully I believe it's difficulty kept the trail traffic to a minimum, we passed maybe two small groups of jeeps the entire run.

But by God it's a gorgeous one.

IMG_0197 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Some of the obstacles were climbs or descents that were off camber:

IMG_0198 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Eventually we made it to the actual "cliffhanger" obstacle:




And personally it wasn't as scary as everyone makes it out to be. Like yeah you are at the edge so when you look out your window it looks like you are close but honestly it looks worse in the cab on the way back since you really can't see the edge at all. When you go down it you become like a giant sled and slide down, but that one big rock on the right keeps you safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrsl2BMmnMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3NmMVBoCyE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA3LJdUEeig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWVK65t6JgU

The only tough part about it is knowing we will eventually be coming back up again. As you can see from the video, the views on the obstacle do not disappoint. From there turn after turn lead to more great views.

IMG_8134 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0213 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0217 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0209 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0212 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

One of the last memorable obstacles before we hit the top was this super sketchy off camber section. It was essentially an angled rock shelf that if you fucked up you would roll down a little hill below into what looked like a creek bed or wash out. Brett hit it first and found the sweet spot on the line and I followed.

IMG_8140 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Here you can see James coming through it:

IMG_8141 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

It doesn't look that sketchy but it definitely felt it. Ryan came down through the wash out and came up from the right.

It wasn't long before we hit the top of the plateau and had amazing views in front of and behind us.

IMG_0202 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0208 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Of course this is the best place to enjoy some lunch.

IMG_8146 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

This spot was definitely one of my favorite views, and the only thing that killed it was the mine that was across the river.

IMG_0218 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0232 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0234 by Michael Halat, on Flickr



After we finished lunch and taking photo's we heading back the way we came.

For the most part a ton of the obstacles we already came up, so it was just a matter of heading back down.

We decided to opt for heading the way Ryan came up this instead of going down the way we originally came.

IMG_8149 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_8150 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_8151 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I thought this shot was neat showing how tight the trails were in some sections:

IMG_8152 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Needless to say there are some sketchy spots.

Finally it was time to head back up cliffhanger:

IMG_0236 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_0241 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_0243 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

IMG_8156 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Surprisingly the first gen wheelbase was pretty good for this obstacle. It took some spotting but Ryan, Brett and I made it up with relatively not many issues.

James on the other hand was limited by his wheelbase and ended up getting hung up on his gas tank skid and diff a ton. I think we ended up giving him a tiny tug just to get the rest of the way up, but he definitely almost had it a bunch.

From there it was a matter of heading back down the mountain. This spot felt sketchy I think for Brett because of the line he took:

IMG_0247 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

We all hugged the left way more. It's the same ledge James was lifting a tire on the way up on.

IMG_0248 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0249 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0250 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

From there it was all relatively easy until we hit that entrance hill again. For the most part we all had no issues but Ryan's truck kept stalling trying to get up it. By the time he was in the middle of it, we started gathering a crowd from the parking lot and road. When het got it all the way up everyone started cheering, it was pretty awesome.

I got to really take a look at the sign on the way out:

IMG_0253 by Michael Halat, on Flickr
IMG_0258 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I had no idea this trail was rated as high as it was difficulty wise. I was really proud of myself, my truck and our group for accomplishing the trail with no damage and a super minute recovery.

I got back to camp in time to catch an awesome sunset and I think my first shower in like 4 days. That felt amazing.

IMG_8164 by Michael Halat, on Flickr

That night I talked with Ryan and Tim about hitting Moab Rim the next day. We set a plan in place, ate some dinner and had some drinks. I was feeling amazing knowing I checked Cliffhanger off my list, and now have my sights on Pritchett if I ever come back.

 

Hell yeah!

 

I did receive some door damage... Hoping to attempt to pop that back out this week.

 

You did?! On which obstacle?

 

The same one I did and popped my panel off (but going the opposite direction), towards the top of the trail. Heading out it was a steep drop to the left, shortly after this section.

 

I think it was the first obstacle right after lunch. Like James said, the same one he did just going the other way.

 

sub'd

 

I feel like I can't remember this one at all