The Longest Mile

Hell yeah...what a day, though!

I was only able to clean that section with zero damage due to the literal JEDI spotting skills of @MR E30 and perfect synchrony. After seeing what @Sixthelement had to do when he went through, I was like "Well, fuck it, there's no turning back now...may have to get a new truck after this!"

We deserve medals...or at least letters of commendation...not sure we would have even attempted that trail if the reports weren't total bullshit.

 

I can definitely say the t-case skid earned it’s weight on that day. Just took off my skids to start going over the truck.

Have a nice dent and used it all the way up to it’s very edge.






And for those of you with possibly newer versions of RCI front skids, here’s what mine looks like with no reinforcement ribbing.

 

That's a pretty decent bend! Some hammer persuasion and a bit of paint, it'll be good as new...just imagine if it were aluminum.

 

@MR E30 sorry about the bad spotting on the last part.

 

Ain’t nothing my friend.

 

Yep, DS end link is FUBAR You can see where it contacted the backing plate at the top. Both inner wheel lips are rubbing on the sway bar at full lock, too. Oh well, known weak spot on these trucks…glad it didn’t break on the trail. HD adjustable ones are inbound. Just hope nothing else is bent!

 

Day 6 –The Longest Mile

Ah, what a splendid place to wake up. Sometimes these ‘pay to camp’ places are worth the cost of entry. This was one of those cases, the surrounding scenery quite pleasant to the eye. The morning was warm and the air was still, ideal conditions in my book.

We all had a pretty relaxing morning, the start of our next trail just a few short miles away. We all prepared our individual breakfasts (sausage and eggs for Will @Sixthelement and I) to bring over to the central campsite to eat while chatting with each other.

The groove of living out of pickup trucks was second nature now to all of us.

The sun fully rose, hikers began streaming in to begin the Fisher Towers Hike, and we were all excited about our trail for the day.

It was none other than the ever-popular Top of the World.

A name that is befitting of such a place, we would soon discover for ourselves.

Will had made it known that we may run into substantial traffic on our way up the trail, as it was incredibly popular, and we were in one of the ‘busy’ seasons of Moab.

So, muscle memory kicking in, it wasn’t long before we were pulling out of camp, a couple miles of dirt followed by a few miles of pavement, ending in a parking lot called the Dewey Bridge Recreational Site.

TLM - Day 6 - 1 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

There were 6 of us now, and I took up position in the rear, my now crippled Tacoma the lame one of the group.

TLM - Day 6 - 2 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A handful of minutes later, Will announced the left turn into the parking lot near the start of the trail. Time to air down.

Except for me. My now broken Tacoma would be sitting out this trail, unfortunately, my desire to not crawl underneath it to mess with the t-case or to mess anything up further, keeping it locked and parked at the bottom.

At least it would get to hang out near the Colorado River, a place we would definitely be visiting once the trail was finished, while we were all goofing around elsewhere.

TLM - Day 6 - 4 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Thankfully the rest of our trip would involve some out and back trails, so leaving my Tacoma in one spot for the day was not an issue. Plus, I would get to ride shotgun, help spot, and take loads of photos along the way.

We would also lose one other traveler at this point. It was time for Alan @TailHook to go his own way, friends near the Green River calling his name.

We were sad to see him go, but as the young kids say, sometimes it be like that.

_MG_2750 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

With goodbyes to Alan, aired down tires, and some rearranged gear, I jumped passenger in Will’s Tacoma, and we set off on our way at 9:22 in the morning.

A large group of SxS’s left the Dewey Bridge parking lot just before us, and we were worried that Wills predictions of a busy trail would soon be realized.

Happy to say that that was not the case at all. We never saw those SxS’s again, we passed one group of modified Jeeps on the way back down at a convenient place on the trail, and the lone Jeep near us ended up becoming our friends at the top of the trail. Very pleasant experience. Five out of five stars.

We were battle hardened warriors at this point in time. This trail, while certainly difficult, was nothing compared to the past couple of days.

We traveled it with ease. We all attempted the difficult lines, only taking bypasses when it was clear they needed to be taken for safety’s sake.

These machines look fantastic.

At the gatekeeper, basically a large set of ‘stairs’ that keep out the unprepared.

_MG_2753 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

There would be lots and lots of wheel lifts on this trail. Even with compression set to zero clicks.

TLM - Day 6 - 5 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Everyone picked their own line. This trail is fairly wide in most places, giving you the option of which specific path you take.

Brent @PcBuilder14

TLM - Day 6 - 6 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 7 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Danny @Sapnjack taking his own line. He is still getting used to all of his new mods (HC F&R, Icons, 33’s, skids, etc.), but by the end of this trip they would all be well broken in.

TLM - Day 6 - 8 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

_MG_2763 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Chris @chrslefty

TLM - Day 6 - 10 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

_MG_2770 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

The trail switches between rocky ledges/stairs, and sandy two track. It is primarily rocky and therefore slow going.

Numerous challenges presented themselves along the way. Lots of stopping and spotting for our group.

_MG_2775 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2777 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 12 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Built Tacomas always look awesome to me

TLM - Day 6 - 13 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 14 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 15 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This trail is a great place to stop and take it in the views. Most things are far away, but there is something pleasant about an unobstructed view. Most of us don’t get the opportunity to simply look very far in our day to day lives.

TLM - Day 6 - 16 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Typical sized ledge.

TLM - Day 6 - 18 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 19 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

After tackling the trail it’s easy to see how traffic can get backed up in a place like this. Best to stay flexible when planning this trail. It was the only thing on our to-do list today, so we enjoyed our time outdoors.

We would occasionally come across a section where we would all get out and take a look at what was up ahead. This section was one of those places.

TLM - Day 6 - 20 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Huge ledge in the lower left. Let’s see if 35’s can take it on

TLM - Day 6 - 21 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Step 1: ‘Gingerly’ smash your skid/bumper into the rock. Usually not a good sign when the thing you need to climb is more than half the height of your tire.

TLM - Day 6 - 22 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Step 2: Thorough use of the skinny pedal. No remorse for steel on rock.

Step 3: Realize it can’t be done and take the medium difficulty bypass.

TLM - Day 6 - 23 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 24 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 25 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Brent takes a path that is more passenger, his stock front bumper not up to the task of handling the contact with the rock ledge that a more drivers side path requires. I think he was dual locked for this one.

TLM - Day 6 - 27 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Making it look way too easy

TLM - Day 6 - 28 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 29 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

In typical Chris fashion, before I could even pan around to snap a picture he was already up and over.

TLM - Day 6 - 30 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I somehow missed Danny too, he must have been getting comfortable with his fairly indestructible Tacoma, speeding his way up this section.

TLM - Day 6 - 31 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Another tricky section. Will takes the slightly easier passenger side route

TLM - Day 6 - 35 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 36 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Brent follows suit

TLM - Day 6 - 38 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 39 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

As does Danny

TLM - Day 6 - 40 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 42 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Chris basically takes the same line

TLM - Day 6 - 44 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 45 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Getting higher and higher.

TLM - Day 6 - 47 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

I was pretty worn out at this point, basically running up the entire trail, so I hopped onto Chris’ sliders and rode the rest of the way up.

Waving Hello!

TLM - Day 6 - 48 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

No one else took this line, but Chris had yet to come across a line he could not take in his first gen.

It was even nastier in person

TLM - Day 6 - 49 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

There comes a first time for everything. That particular spot was just too hard to beat. Defeat. “Only those who risk going too far know how far one can go.”

Closer to the top

TLM - Day 6 - 50 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 51 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 52 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Hanging the front end over the edge, sliding on steel instead of rubber

TLM - Day 6 - 53 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 54 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 55 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

A typical rocky area. Sticking towards the outside seems like the easiest path one can take

TLM - Day 6 - 56 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Out of nowhere, we had arrived at the top. Brent and Will had beat Danny, Chris, and I, so when we arrived Will was already at the edge getting his photo taken.

_MG_2779 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

The trail isn’t the easiest. You need to be prepared, and stock vehicles will have a miserable time.

The views make every inch worth it. This place is fantastic.

IMG_0957 by chrslefty, on Flickr

I wanted to recreate that popular ‘Hanging over the edge’ photo that you see online. Will wasn’t quite close enough to the edge for my liking. Its hard to get a manual that close to the edge. Also, I wasn’t there to egg him on.

_MG_2786 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Brent wanted to be as close to the edge as possible. He and I worked together to make that happen, my spotting skills coming in handy once again.

You have to really trust the guy outside. You see nothing but sky when you are ~5 feet from the edge. Inch by inch he crawled out.

IMG_0961 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_0964 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_0965 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Nice and close! Just a few inches from the edge. The sloped and pointed piece of the rock tarnishes the perspective, but it was there.

_MG_2787 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2790 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 57 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 58 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Danny was up next, and even with some friendly prodding, we couldn’t get him within a football field of the edge. He simply wasn’t having it. All good, as it is his truck!

TLM - Day 6 - 59 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

_MG_2793 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 60 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

TLM - Day 6 - 61 by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Chris was also feeling adventurous, so even though he had three pedals to work with, I guided him all the way to the edge.

IMG_0974 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_0976 by chrslefty, on Flickr

_MG_2798 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

This worked for me, the closer the truck, the more I could hang over the edge!

_MG_2803 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

I’ll have to top this one day, crawling my truck down onto the sloped portion of the rock, allowing me to fully hang over the edge on my front bumper.

After watching all the fun we were having, the husband of the wife with the Jeep wanted to get nice and close to the edge.

I gave him a fist bump, introduced myself, and told him to do exactly what I said.

_MG_2816 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

He didn’t get that close, as his wife was giving him an earful, and being a wise husband, he knew when to call it quits. Haha

Vehicle shenanigans aside, this is a spectacular place to visit. There is just something about it. It’s worth coming to every time you are in Moab, put it that way.

My camera battery died here, and despite all of my careful planning, somehow my battery charger did not make its way into my camera bag. Damn.

Thankfully, we still had two guys clicking away, so I’ll use their photos for the remainder of this trip report.

Going down was the reverse of coming up. We did opt to take a few smooth bypasses, lunch calling our names, but there were still big drops that required a once over before driving down them.

_MG_2832 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2836 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

IMG_0982 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_0983 by chrslefty, on Flickr

We descended without fanfare. We had had the entire trail to ourselves basically the entire time, and we were glad of that. It was a beautiful day so far.

We returned to the Dewey Bridge Rec Site and pulled into a group camping spot to have lunch at some picnic tables in the shade.

We were done with trails for the day, so lunch was slow and peaceful. We all sat in the shade and ate, small talk here and there breaking the silence.

Lunch wrapped up, we all decided on heading to a nearby campsite at the Green River that our friend Mike @Atl-atl had given us, to spend the rest of the day relaxing. A much-needed respite after the mess that was Lockhart Basin Road the previous day.

But first, we were at the Colorado River. The Colorado River. It was right here. And we were all a bit hot from the high temperatures and blazing sun.

So, put two and two together and it wasn’t long before we were suited up and walking down the boat ramp towards the flowing river.

I waded in first, the water along the edge barely flowing, feeling the rather cold water climb up my legs. This was going to be chilly.

I asked myself, as I contemplated getting in, ‘How often are you in a place like this? Not very often, and never in the Colorado.”

With that, I sat down in the river, the initial shock of the cold wearing off quickly as the excitement of the moment grew.

Everyone else soon followed, tentatively getting down and into the water.

It really was an experience I won’t ever forget.

The river was flowing much stronger towards the center, so I and a couple others tried working our way out there to fight the current.

The rocks at the bottom too slippery and the current too strong, I resigned myself to simply floating on my back, letting the river carry me downstream a ways.

We all just took in the moment, as it really was one of those splendidly peaceful occasions that you stumble across every now and then.

Eventually, the river had cooled us to the point where it was time to get out, our bodies now longing for the air that would warm us up once again.

Cleaned up and refreshed, we left Dewey Bridge and headed towards our super-secret camp site that was a few miles away.

We arrived, a nice open area with walls almost all the way around, Will setting out across the water to scope out any additional campsites that could be used in the future.

IMG_0985 by chrslefty, on Flickr

He came up empty handed, but he did come across some private land back there. That would be a cool place to call home.

We all found places to park our trucks and got about the business of setting up camp. It was only ~3 in the afternoon at this point, but none of us cared. There was shade, water, rocks to climb on, and friends to pass the time. Picture perfect afternoon if you ask me.

Another excellent place that we called home

_MG_2860 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2871-Pano by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2877-Pano by Brent Prater, on Flickr

IMG_0988 by chrslefty, on Flickr

We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our day. Brent and I climbed some rock faces near camp, but they didn’t take us anywhere interesting.

I laid down in the water, but it was a bit too shallow to peacefully float on. And it too was cold. Just a bit too cold to enjoy laying in for a long period of time.

We cut up some firewood, plenty of dead and downed trees near our site, a battery powered Sawzall making quick work of any dead fall.

We ate dinner, started a healthy fire, and pulled our chairs up to its warmth. It was a little cooler this evening, our specific location in its own microclimate due to the vegetation and nearby flowing water.

More conversation, the group asking Chris a variety of questions about the work that he does. He had some interesting stories to share. Danny chimed in with his own tales, as the two of them work in the same industry.

At one point Danny’s front bumper light bar just turns on randomly, catching Will by surprise. It shuts off a minute or two later. Then it does it again. Hm, he’ll have to have that checked out at some point.

We continue talking into the night, relaxed, and refreshed. A bit cleaner from our river bath, and more rested due to the shorter day. If you’re putting together a trip of this magnitude, I’d sprinkle an afternoon or two like this into your plans. It wears on the group to travel extensively day after day after day. We’re out here to have fun, and taking a short break helps keep the whole experience fun.

Despite all that we had done up to this point, we still had one world-famous trail left to complete.

Also, we didn’t know it at the time, but the best experience of the entire trip was still to come.

But first, while most of us slept peacefully in our tents, one of us would struggle to make it through the night.

Maybe we won’t be coming back to this site ever again………

 

Awwww...<sniff>...missed you guys, too!!!

 

Til next time my friend.

 

Great trip report as usual Mike! Glad you guys liked the spot although Im scared to ask what your last comment is about!!!

 

Yeah, I'm curious, too...makes me wish I waited a day to go up to the Swell!

Don't keep us waiting too long, @MR E30!

 

Tomorrows episode should explain it.

 

Put it this way. I'm not going back to that campsite. Ever.

 

Im guessing spider/s

 

If only....................

 

Wendigos...I knew it!

 

Day 7 –The Longest Mile

For 4 of us, the night was without issue. We slept peacefully in our tents, completely unawares of the suffering one of our friends was experiencing.

To set the scene, it may help to visualize what our camp site was like:

Chris @chrslefty and Brent @PcBuilder14 were on one side of our camp, tucked near a steep dirt hill, with light vegetation covering the sloped surface. The front of Chris’ truck was pointed out towards the road, while Brent’s pointed off towards the sloped hillside, with the back of his truck towards the center of camp.

Danny @Sapnjack was parked on the opposite side of camp, the side of camp where Will @Sixthelement and I were parked. Danny was down in a small depression, ~6 feet or so lower than the rest of camp. The front of his truck was pointed directly at the side of Wills truck. Near Danny’s Tacoma was what appeared to be a game trail of some sort, but we never investigated it.

Will had pulled in and around camp, placing his front bumper very near a tree, with the front of his truck pointing basically towards the center of camp.

I had placed my truck in a way that my rear was towards Will’s truck, with the front of my truck pointing out towards the road, similar to Chris’.

Behind Will’s truck, and on the driver’s side of mine, was very thick vegetation, knocked over trees, and lots of loose debris on the ground. We were ~3 feet from the edge of this thick gathering of foliage. It was easily tall enough to conceal a grown man standing fully erect.

Remember when I said that Danny’s front bumper lights randomly came on a couple of times the previous evening? I forgot to mention that we also heard sounds around camp, loud enough and startling enough for us to actually get up and investigate with our flashlights, and Chris’ very bright LED work lamp.

We came across nothing and figured it was just a small critter scampering across the crunchy ground. We thought nothing of it as we all sat back down and continued on with our campfire chat.

*This is the recount from Will’s perspective, delivered in a story-like format.

Fast forward to the middle of the night, and out of nowhere Will hears what he knows to be footsteps in our camp near his truck. He initially thinks it is me using the restroom, as I am the only one parked close to him, a strategy we use as we share mealtime duties and food on our trips. However, I use the bottle approach in my tent, as I have no desire to climb down a ladder in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

So, it wasn’t me. I am no sleepwalker. It could have been one of the other three, but why would they come so close to Will’s truck when they were parked much too far away, plenty of bathroom spots just feet from their trucks.

He heard this many times.

As he is in and out of sleep he is suddenly awoken because Danny’s headlights are on, shining directly at the side of his CVT Mt. Hood, illuminating him.

Startled, he sits up, ‘What the heck Danny, it’s the middle of the night’.

But Danny wasn’t present. Nor is he the type of person to do such a thing. He’s a very nice guy.

Danny’s headlights suddenly turned off. It was his front bumper light that had troubles the previous evening, not his headlights. What is going on?

Right after Will notices Danny’s lights turning off, he can still tell that camp is lit up.

Turns out, his own high beams are on. The stalk had been pushed forward, and the dial rotated to turn his lights on.

Inside of his locked truck.

Now I was carrying a spare key to Will’s truck in my center console just in case he lost his or locked himself out. Nobody else we were with knew this, as the handoff occurred early Saturday morning before we had met up with the rest of the group.

But my truck was locked too, my lone key tucked into one of the pockets on the inside of my tent, a foot from my knees.

I have several pictures throughout the day, and we arrived at camp well before dark, hours before you would even think of turning your headlights on. He does what I do, and leaves the dial rotated to the DRL option, as you can see in every picture of the front end of his truck.

His headlights weren’t on when he parked, and even if they were, why were they on now? It would have been impossible to notice them being on earlier, as his truck was pointed basically towards the center of camp!

He unlocks his truck with his key, discovers the position of the headlight lever, and physically manipulates it to turn the lights off.

What in the world?

After this, Will was ready to simply hop in his truck, tent still wide open, and drive out of camp, to just get away from there.

He talked himself out of it, opting instead to climb back in his tent and wait out the night.

Poor, on and off sleep, followed.

He was the first one up, and he immediately told us about what happened. He didn’t even want breakfast, he just wanted to leave.

Thankfully we talked him out of it, as we all slept great, but it was easy to tell he was shook.

Now, Will could be making this up, but I doubt it. His response in the morning was much too realistic. Plus, this guy can sleep through an alarm blaring into his ear for 45 minutes (ask me how I know), so once he is out, he is out cold. He ain’t about waking up in the middle of the night just to scare himself.

I’ve camped with him A LOT in the recent past and have even had possession of his truck at one point, and neither one of us had ever noticed anything remotely like this at any point in time.

We have no explanation for how this could have occurred.

Nobody was harmed, but it was an eventful morning to say the least. This campsite officially crossed out on Gaia, never to house our trucks again.

With all of that in mind, we still had a pleasant morning, the sun and strength in numbers providing an air of security against this now spooky place.

Plus, our destination for the day was an exciting one. We were headed to Hell’s Revenge!

We packed up and left camp, taking the gorgeous Utah highway back towards Moab. Hell’s Revenge is in the Sand Canyon Recreational Area, which is located just east of Moab Proper.

The drive back towards town, along the Colorado River, is incredibly beautiful. I highly recommend it, despite it being nothing but pavement.

At 11:10 we pulled into Lions Park to refill water jugs and stretch our legs.

We continued on, all of us topping off our gas tanks at a local gas station, as the angles we would be facing could starve our pumps of fuel if the tanks were too low.

The Maverick we stopped at, like all gas stations in Moab, was as busy as can be. Finding places for five trucks to wait to leave is always tricky. Moab is not very spacious.

Chris had a conversation with a couple of Toyota guys while he was pumping gas. Moab is most certainly full of like-minded people, modified 4wd’s everywhere you look. Cool for a tourist like us, but probably incredibly annoying for the locals.

We left and then arrived at Sand Canyon at noon, each of us paying our $5 dollar entrance fee, and then meeting in the parking lot right by the entrance building, the entrance to Hell’s Revenge present behind us.

_MG_2878 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Time for 4 of us to air down, my Tacoma still resigned to sitting in this parking lot, unable to partake in the shenanigans on the trail.

That task completed, we set off. I was riding in Chris’ 1st gen this time, as I wanted to witness the magic firsthand, to see how this small machine works so effortlessly.

For those who haven’t been, Hell’s Revenge is a mixture of sandy sections, very steep rock slabs, off camber chunks of rock, and various steps/waterfalls/ledges that are sprinkled throughout.

It is also home to Hell’s Gate, a very popular chunk of this trail. The upward portion is the most filmed and talked about, but the descent to the bottom is also very tricky. Having a spotter you trust is paramount for this part. Thankfully, you do not have to complete Hell’s Gate if you don’t want to.

There are also other activities here, the Hot Tub and The Escalator, but those are much too difficult for anything other than buggies, or people who have no regard for their vehicles. We did not travel to any of these next level challenges.

However, the trail itself is full of challenging bits.

Such as this ridiculously steep chunk of rock, the sand at the bottom edge kicked away by SxS’s and those less capable.

If you approach this obstacle, you better be committed. Even Will’s incredibly high clearance rear bumper became a shovel as he ascended. Backing down would not be advisable with factory bumper caps.

He nailed it though, sand draining out of his backend for several hundred feet.

_MG_2881 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Not sure of the angle, but do not leave your Tacoma like this for anything longer than ~3 seconds. The climb screams ‘Oil Starvation!’

_MG_2882 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2883 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2884 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Brent and Danny skipped this part (to be fair, the ‘normal’ route is still very steep), but Chris locked both front and rear diffs and placed his t-case into 4lo and he sent it. It was ridiculously steep, the steepest ascent I’ve ever experienced. The grip from these rocks is astronomical. It’s what makes these climbs possible.

Arrows painted on the rock tell you where the trail goes, and the dual arrows means this section of trail is bi-directional, so pay attention to who is at the top before you go climbing up. It is obviously a one-lane road.

This type of climb is fairly common on Hell’s Revenge. Those with three pedals need to maintain a constant pace, and Chris and I had to ask Danny to speed up once to avoid issue.

_MG_2893 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

There are many blind corners, but thankfully you are guided in the correct direction by lines painted on the ground. You just have to have the confidence to follow them when all you can see is sky!

The large rock climbs are separated by rocky, more technical, sections. We encountered one of those next.

_MG_2908 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

_MG_2917 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Now that’s some ground clearance!

_MG_2923 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Aaaaand it’s gone

_MG_2926 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

We carried on across more sand before coming to an even larger set of steps to climb.

All four trucks took the hard line.

This was the only place we would encounter any SxS’s, which was nice, obviously.

Will knocked it out with ease

IMG_0991 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Doo do do do dooo

IMG_0992 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Brent worked his magic, and he too made it appear very easy.

IMG_0993 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_0996 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Danny watches from the background, not sure if he will try this path yet, as Brent has to bump up a ledge in the front before his rear has fully climbed the previous hump.

IMG_0997 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Piece of cake

IMG_0999 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Chris is next.

Can’t forget to take in the views. This place is nothing to shake a stick at.

IMG_1001 by chrslefty, on Flickr

I was getting jealous that my truck was simply sitting in the TH parking lot. Blah. Oh well, I guess this just means that I will have to come out again to do it myself.

_MG_2940 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

IMG_1005 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_1006 by chrslefty, on Flickr

IMG_1008 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Danny squaring up

IMG_1012 by chrslefty, on Flickr

Not sure how Brent managed this without a high clearance rear, but both of his bumper caps were still intact when he was done, so he did it somehow!

Will guiding Danny along, slowly, until Danny just stepped on it and bounced and smashed his way to the top. Not what we had in mind, but it worked!

IMG_1014 by chrslefty, on Flickr

_MG_2947 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

I was surprised when we had arrived at Hell’s Gate, as it felt like we had barely entered the trail, when in fact an hour and a half had already passed. Time most certainly flies when you are having fun.

We all parked and got out, only Will having been here before, and we wanted to scope out what Hell’s Gate actually was before attempting it ourselves.

In the end, none of us gave it a shot. Brent was the only one really considering it, and he knew his dual locked and geared Tacoma could do it with ease, but he wasn’t sure about his own skills.

None of us had any desire to influence his decision, so we simply sat on the edge and watched the show that was about to unfold. We had arrived at just the right time, 9 vehicles ready to take their chances on the Gate.

Thankfully for them, the gentlemen in the greyish shirt was a phenomenal spotter, a rival for me even (Hahahaha), that knew just which line to have each driver take. He even took into account whether or not the vehicle had two or three pedals, had two open diffs, only locked in the rear, or dual locked, as he told them how to make their way up.

It really was awesome to see.

_MG_2956 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Photos and videos do not do this justice. It is stupid steep. And tight. With just enough off-camber to make your stomach tighten.

Definitely check it out for yourselves.

Each of the 9 vehicles made it up without fanfare, the spotter and drivers working together very well.

Here is my interpretation of the correct way to tackle Hell’s Gate:

- Lowest gearing possible, lock all the things that you have.

- Tiny steering adjustments only. I’m talking 30 degrees off of center, maximum. When told to go passenger, the spotter wants you go to ever so slightly passenger.

- You HAVE to ride the wall in two places, with slight steering input to keep pushing you into the wall. Failing to do so is how the uneducated risk rolling over backwards or sliding off of the rock and smashing your passenger side into the rock, which according to a guide who was there when we were, happens at least once a week.

There are certainly terrible ascents of Hell’s Gate (Like the Rivian R1T that just went up it, or the Kia Sorento that did it a while ago) out there. Yeah, you made it to the top, but man was it ugly. And your trans probably boiled its fluid as you spun 3,500 rpms just to move .5 mph.

Thankfully, we didn’t witness any of that. Low range gear boxes and properly built machines were all that were present. It was awesome to witness really clean ascents by so many different trucks in succession.

With the Gate empty, it was time to clear out. We had to exit Hell’s Revenge and then find a place to camp.

So, we headed out. The same challenges once again came into view, this time from a new perspective.

It was at this time that Chris notified us that his power steering pump had no fluid in it. He didn’t want to risk damaging the pump, so we pulled over on some flat ground and he went about removing the belt that spun the pump. Thankfully that same belt didn’t spin anything else, so removing it wasn’t an issue.

Well, except for his forearms and shoulders that is.

While Chris was getting to work, three very old pickup trucks made their way past us.

Ancient

_MG_2979 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Serious kudos to those three drivers. Those machines were as old as dirt, had no suspension flex, and the one that stalled on an incline took ~45 seconds of cranking to get fired up again. I didn’t think it would start to be honest. But right as the battery was about to die, the engine sputtered to life.

I wonder if they took on Hell’s Gate.

Chris ‘fixed’, we once again set out.

I’ll say, turning deflated 33’s on the worlds grippiest rock, while taking off-camber turns while shifting manually, all without power steering, is not something I want to do.

I guess that’s why I drive a 3rd gen. And part of the reason I am moving on from the 2016 to my 2021. I like my things to simply work.

_MG_2988 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Don’t hit those brakes too hard

_MG_2991 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

And don’t let off the throttle!

_MG_2992 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

Before we knew it, we were back at the parking lot.

Tires were aired back up, and the talk of a destination for the evenings camp came to light.

We wanted to head a bit south, as that’s the direction where we all lived, so I texted Alan @TailHook, a guy with a ton of info, and he hooked us up with GPS coordinates to a site he knew of that he hadn’t yet verified for himself.

I took the lead, we left Moab behind, and we headed down (or rather up, wayyyyy up, all of our mpg’s just abysmal on this stretch of highway. Southern Utah is full of extreme elevation changes over short distances, fyi.) towards Monticello.

It was late afternoon when we pulled into our home for the evening, the open desert now behind us, and pine trees and the woods all around. This spot was only a few miles from pavement, so we didn’t have any difficult driving to do to get back here.

The site had a fire pit, decent views of a nearby canyon, plenty of firewood, and lots of space for all of our Tacomas. It was located just outside of the NF, on BLM land, so no fees or specific parking spots to adhere to here.

We all relaxed while setting up camp, something we were all accustomed to by this point in time.

Dinner was prepped, and promptly consumed.

It was a bit cooler at these elevations, so I pulled out my jacket and we all sat close to the fire as the night grew darker.

_MG_2995 by Brent Prater, on Flickr

We shared even more stories, laughs, and camaraderie. Another picture-perfect evening with great friends.

We all knew this mega-adventure was getting close to its close, our lives back at home reaching out for us with greater intensity with each passing day. We ignored all that, just enjoying the moment in our little corner of this pale blue dot.

Eventually, our beds were calling us, and it was time to drown the fire and go to sleep. I would definitely be sleeping inside my sleeping bag tonight.

Just like that, the seventh day of adventuring was done. Little did I know that the eighth day of adventure would hold the most awe-inducing moment of my entire life. I could not imagine that I would ever experience something like this.

 

Nope. Nope. NOPE!

 

The fact that you guys have extra keys for each others trucks is weirder than this story. If you had left that detail out I might believe that a stranger was messing with you. Sounds like a prank with an elaborate story!

 

Haha, you're just jealous because we don't share our keys with you!!

Sound theory, but I will attest that it wasn't me. If I don't get out of bed to take a piss I ain't getting out of bed to mess with my friends.