AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

really? How many times have you hit your bed sides?

 

I don't like the looks of low wrap arounds, don't really even like the look of the stock fenders after the wheel arch, if you don't hit them why wrap plate around them hmm? Don't need any of those parts and I have dents on both of mine on the sides and bottom.

 

I still really like this idea, minus the part where you tailor the bumper to it.

 

well you are on dinky tires and clapped out suspension..

I tags Igors, but I don't think Franks have ever been tagged.

 

I'm cutting them off, they're just dirt collectors if I wrap a bumper around them and they're completely unnecessary and keep me from making a stronger bumper side impact brace. I'll be on bigger tires really soon and suspension is 100% different now, still don't want those side panels.

BTW that picture of you is the best thing since sliced bread

 

Yes, I think it would look really good, you could reweld your rear bumper like 2 or 3 in higher and cut the lower tubes to match the angle and it would be cool and unique.

 

hell now. That would have ended badly..

 

Damn looks good! Making me want it more and more haha

 

The Maze, Canyonlands
March 15, 2018. Day 0.

As we pulled out of the parking lot in Idaho Falls, we were already late.

See, the plan had been to show up at @cbi offroad fab when they opened at 8:00am, and have the new bumper install done by 10:00am so we'd have our choice of routes down to Hanksville, UT where we were meeting Ben @m3bassman and Zane @Speedytech7 for a three-day adventure into The Maze District in Canyonlands National Park. My hope was that we'd choose the scenic route, down 191 through Wyoming to get to our meet-up and first nights camp spot.

But, the install had taken a little over four hours and it was noon when we pulled out. Wanting to arrive before dark, that meant that we'd need to take the more direct route - down I-15 through Salt Lake City - and even then, we'd just barely make it.

With only a quick stop for lunch, and another for fuel, we arrived at dusk, surprised to find that we were the first ones there. We knew Ben was behind us - we'd been tracking each other on APRS - but we though for sure that Zane would have beaten us to the site - after all, he'd left the earliest and had the shortest drive.

Turns out, even though we'd shared around a GPS track prior to the trip, Zane didn't have it with him and wasn't sure which road to head up to find camp. No biggie, since as soon as Ben was in range with the ham radio, he and I touched bases and he was able to find Zane on the main highway and caravan into camp. A hearty round of good-to-see-you-agains and intros of @mrs.turbodb followed - it was the first time I'd seen Ben, Kirsten and Zane since The De-Tour - and then Ben got the lantern fired up and declared that, "It feels great to sit down!" as if he hadn't been driving for the last eight hours.

We caught up a bit and generally just chatted for about an hour. But it wasn't long before there was a collective move to the tents - we were all pooped from driving, and the lantern - while it looked warm - threw off less heat than a cup of cocoa. So we all settled in for a night in the low 30's, and a promise of clear skies the next morning.

March 16, 2018. Day 1.

We'd made camp at the Eardly Canyon trailhead, just east of The San Rafael Swell - a spot well suited for sunrises. And, as has become a tradition, I was out of the tent just in time to catch the orange horizon before wandering around a bit to document the morning.

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As the sun rose, the red morning light shone on the mountains behind camp, lighting them a brilliant red. Ben was up by now too - really only a few minutes after me - soaking it all in. Everyone else...well, they were still cozy and enjoying the view out the tent window.

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Before long though, everyone was up, ate a bit of breakfast, and we were ready to go. Not in the trucks - no! We were to set off on foot, up the canyon - in search of petroglyphs! As we made our way up the canyon, they proved elusive - a good thing in my book - and we walked right past them (within 15 feet or so) without seeing them. This, it turned out was a good thing, because if we'd seen them, we'd probably have turned around, and we'd have missed the rest of the canyon and it's geology - which was breathtaking.

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Eventually though, we turned around and headed back - we knew we needed to actually get going in the trucks - but we kept an eye out and discovered what we'd missed on the way up. The petroplyphs were cool, and were surely different than others I've seen. Not only were there the "normal" animals, but there were also some "stranger beings" - grasshopper man, for instance.

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After finding what we'd come for, we high-tailed it back to camp so we could get on our way. We had quite a few miles to cover if we were to make it to our reserved camp spot that evening - Doll House 3. Back on the road, we made a quick stop in Hanksville for fuel, and then headed south to Poison Springs Canyon Road, where we aired down and took in our surroundings before starting towards The Maze.

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An astute reader will notice that this was the only part of the trip, I believe, where I wasn't at the back of the pack. See, we all have three pedals in the foot well, but Ben was never taught what the two on the left do, so he doesn't use them. And Zane's spent so much time dialing in his rear leaf pack that he can't really feel bumps anymore.

So it wasn't long before I moved into the tail gunner position. You know, to make sure we had long range comms (ham radios) in front and at the rear.

Even as we started into the canyon, the sights were amazing. It was @mrs.turbodb's first time in Utah (off-road), and she's a geology nut, so she was soaking it all in.

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Soon, we were heading down to the bottom of the canyon, where we eventually stopped for lunch at the Dirty Devil River crossing.

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We didn't pause long since we still had a long way to go, and while the water may have looked dirty, I'd say it was a great opportunity to clean off the trucks. Well, my truck anyway - Ben and Zane plodded a more reasonable pace across, pushing a bow wave - and I may have used a bit too much of the skinny pedal, and dunked the hood.

We all got a good laugh out of that one. And I got a clean hood.

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We continued on, two of us making good time through the canyon, and then there was me... I was taking pictures. We even caught a big horn sheep as it crossed the road and headed up one of the buttes.

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Eventually though we caught up, and I caught the wildest of all animals in my lens (and me in his) before we headed down into Glen Canyon and ultimately The Maze District, where we were warned that only the most capable of vehicles were allowed.

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It was here that the trail started to get really interesting. We'd later read that the trail to The Doll House is the most technical trail in the district, and that any type of recovery often costs well into the thousands of dollars. Of course, we weren't going to need that - we were all in first gen Tacoma's, Ben having left his third gen (or was it a Ridgeline?) "at home."

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The trail really was incredible. Perhaps unsurprisingly due it is proximity, parts of it reminded me of the Kokopelli Trail that I'd run a few months before - but other parts were new and exciting - thin ledges supporting the trucks, turns too tight to make without backing up a bit.

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We crawled through it all - Ben and Zane picking the hardest lines they could, me picking the easiest. Of course, usually those choices were the same, and we were - for the most part - travelling as a pack at this point.

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I say "for the most part" because I kept stopping to take pictures. I mean, how couldn't you when there's thousand-year-old desert crust all around? And views of pillars (Mother and Child, The Wall, and Standing Rock), signaling the entrance to Canyonlands National Park.

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Before long - and before dark - we reached our destination - The Doll House. The drive in to our camp site at Doll House 3 was spectacular. If the earlier pillars had been amazing, Doll House pillars were unbelievable - multi-colored, and all different shapes. Truly a special place in the park that not many people get to experience.

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Curious to take a closer look, we set out on foot towards the Doll House 1 and 2 camp sites and a couple of short trails that @mrs.turbodb had read about in one of her books. We found parts of each of the trails, but with so little traffic, they were easy to lose and we were hesitant to trample the desert crust in an attempt to regain the trail.

Instead, we took in the views, eventually getting a spectacular light display as the sun dipped under the clouds on the horizon, illuminating the pillars and casting staggering shadows on the far canyon walls.

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The show continued for a good 30 minutes or more, all around us - lighting not only the landscape, but the sky as well.

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And then, finally, the sun set. It was only then that we were able look down out of the clouds, put down our cameras, and set about making and eating our delicious dinners. For @mrs.turbodb and I it was beef tacos with fresh guac, meat and veggie stew for Ben and Kirsten, and for Zane...well, I have no idea what he had for dinner, but I'm sure it was both healthy and delicious. Or, at least one of the two.

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Fire restrictions in place, once dinner was over, we once again sat around the camp lantern as the temperatures dropped. We talked about the sights of the day and our anticipation of the next. There was of course a bit of truck talk - but not as much as normal, likely due to the unusually high ratio of better-halves on the excursion.

Eventually though, we were tired from another long day behind the wheel, and we said our good-nights, happy to cozy up under our covers in nature's Doll House.

 

Beautiful pictures Dan! I always like to see the difference between everyone's framining and after enhancements too. Then i can go stare at the uncanny valley that is my hastily taken pics haha.

 

It's not a real adventure until someone busts out a full-brim hat.

 

That's his "overlanding hat"

 

I'm headed out there over Easter weekend, any road damage of note? I've been on part of Poison Spring Road before but it had been graded soon before. I've heard it can be all day crawl after flood damage. The river crossing doesn't look bad, hopefully there' s good weather for the next couple weeks.

 

Beautiful photography Dan and I love the post edits. I miss that place.

 

Great report! I had to abort my planned Maze District visit this past summer after the eclipse because I was exhausted and had a nasty head cold. Definitely want to make it some time soon after seeing your photos!

 

Was definitely a special place. We didn't actually walk into 1 or 2 since they were reserved, but I imagine they are all great. A good reason to return!

Thanks guys, was a great time. Thanks for making it that.

No road damage that we ran into. Poison Spring Road was in great shape and I can't imagine it changing - I think it's pretty low traffic - unless there's a major rain storm. Doll House was "normal" I think - not something you'd do without high clearance 4WD, but well traveled over the years and so there are stacked rocks most places. The Flint Trail switchbacks are the only possibly sketchy place, only because they could be snowy or muddy if it stays cold or rains.

Thanks Mike. I'm ready to go back when you decide you can't take missing it any longer .

Wow, thanks. With your photography, that feels like quite the compliment!

 

Awesome pics and write up as usual!

 

Great photos Dan. Poison creek was one of my favorite roads into the maze.

Im a little disappointed you folks couldn't find the trails at the Dollhouse..wasn't that hard

Great place the Maze.

 

I know..i've been there...and hiked them. Well i didn't go down spanish bottom was late in the day and wasn't feeling the 1500' climb back up.