Alee891's Radiant Red Build & BS

Bruh what did you do to the dildo?!

 

So many pics to sort though!

 

Agreed. This writeup isn't happening for a bit.

 

I'm beginning to think it would be worth it to stop at the end of a trail and move all the pictures into a folder of just that trail lol. All the scenic pictures begin to blur together.

 

That's what I've been doing. They're all divided by camera (i.e. iPhone or Sony) then divided into sub folders by trail. Hopefully I'll have a write up tomorrow.

 

Damn you're fast! I feel like I should get the Trailsoffroad writeup done first and that is going to take more effort than a writeup on here would.

 

#1 is a familiar territory. Hope you can get it figured out man. I think I got all my shit figured out but still possibly have a leak from the extra cab windows.

Also for trip report:

 

Sorry for holding up Austin's trip report. My pictures are taking forever to upload. Hopefully I can get them up by the end of today.

 

No worries. This sounds like it'd be a good placeholder photo.

 

If you could find a photo of one sad and flaccid looking that would be accurate

 

So I'm looking for a picture of a factor 55 that looks like @Star-Lord when he couldn't figure out how a ball valve works. Mmmkay.

 

Close enough

 

Subbed for pic

 

Moab, UT April 28 - May 2.

*WARNING: Write-up consists of photos (a shit ton) from multiple cameras. I'm considering starting a new thread just for trip reports so it doesn't completely clog up the build thread.

After tossing around the idea of a desert trip for a couple weeks, @Reh5108 and I finally determined that we would set out for a Moab run at the end of April 2017. This was a preliminary trip to discover new trails as well as prep for the upcoming wheeling season and inevitably Rock Therapy 2017 in the fall. Our initial plan was to go April 21 - 25, but some family matters on my end pushed the trip out another week.

I started off the trip by departing from Golden on April 28th on my way to Tabernasty. Along the way I stopped at both Slee and Trail Jeeps in Golden to fill my 20lb CO2 tank... and failed at doing so. SO, this was going to be yet another trial run where Austin didn't have a CO2 tank to fill his big ass tires and had to rely on Ryan's compressor for both rigs. We said our prayers and hoped there was a shop that could fill it in Moab. Once I met up with Ryan at his place, we decided to take a different route than I-70 in order to avoid the passes due to snowfall. We headed northwest to Kremmling, then took Trough Road and skirted the Colorado River for a while as we eventually made our way back south to I-70, near Eagle. From there we put the hammer down and hoofed it to Utah. We rolled into Dewey around 10:30pm, found a shitload of RV's and fifthwheels camped in the free spots, and proceeded to drive down Top Of The World a bit, where we managed to find a large camp spot occupied by a lone Westfalia from Colorado.

Day 1 started off heading down TOTW and into Moab to gas up and make breakfast. Afterwards we made our way southwest to the Lockhart Basin trailhead. We ran Lockhart backwards in order to work our way inward through the trails Ryan planned out:
IMG_0973 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Obligatory tourist photo:
IMG_0977 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Once we met the entrance (or rather exit) to Lockhart, we aired down and began the ~40 mi trek. Shortly after hitting dirt we came across some beautiful scenery and desert relics:
DSC09233 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09234 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

The bearded bandit making his escape:
DSC09235 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Tinder (T-Dawg) posing for a photo:
DSC09239 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Yet another poser photo:
DSC09242 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

After traveling down Lockhart Basin trail for a bit we came to a fork which directed us to continue skirting the mesas and onward down Lockhart and eventually to Hurrah Pass, or toward the opposing direction which led us to Lockhart Canyon. We turned left and headed down Lockhart Canyon and eventually let the pups stretch their legs and made lunch. The trail itself was short, but provided a nice viewpoint of the Colorado River:
DSC09245 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09246 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Colorado River overlook:
DSC09250 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

After lunch we turned back and prepped ourselves for the long push to finish Lockhart Basin. The pups were tired of bouncing around and needed to run off some energy, and quite frankly Ryan and I needed some moose meat tacos and a beer or three at this point in the day. It was time to put the hammer down and push through the trail, and that we did:
IMG_0983 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_0992 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

This was my 6 mo pup Mica's first offroad trip and tent experience. She was a little worn out mid-day but saw things through and proved she is going to be a loyal pup. She likes to run when not on a leash, but a little training and coaxing will nip that in the butt soon enough:
IMG_0994 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Ryan skirting the mesa's/basin:
IMG_0995 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1003 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Big Red posing before a minor obstacle on Lockhart:
IMG_1009 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1012 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108
20170429_150112 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1026 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1032 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

@Reh5108 nearing the high point (elevation) of Lockhart Basin. It was at this point that we ran into a shit ton of side by sides, with one guy asking us where they were in relation to a paved road. I believe we were in the middle of fucking now/here, but "I'm not sure" was the response Ryan gave him:
IMG_1038 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108
IMG_1048 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108
20170429_163441 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1059 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Unfortunately neither of us were able to capture photos, but as we were dropping into the entrance (exit in our case) of Lockhart Basin, we came across a Jeep Cherokee that bit off more than it could chew and was forced to turn around mid trail. This held us up for a bit so we decided to get out of our rigs and chat with a group of individuals from Idaho. They were Moab first timers checking out the area in rented side by sides. Anyway, Ryan and I managed to capture a few photos dropping in, but not much more:
Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170429_174209 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
LRM_EXPORT_20170501_204042 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1071 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

After Lockhart Basin we traveled down Chicken Corners a bit en route to Catacomb Spur to our tentative camping spot. Well, we rolled in around 7:00pm and were welcomed with a cozy, grassed area tucked inside a sandstone formation straight out of a story book. We made camp, ate some moose meat tacos and drank a few cold ones as we hung out by the fire. Ryan messed with his camera and captured some night shots while I sat back and watched his dog violently hack up some cheatgrass that he insisted on eating.This is easily in my top three list of bitchin' camping locations. @Reh5108 can speak for himself.
IMG_1077 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1109 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1080 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1136 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1151 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

The following morning we woke up, ate breakfast, tore down camp and set forth to Jackson Hole. @Reh5108 signed on with Trails Offroad and needed to map in the trail, so we headed that way with anticipation of mapping it in and eventually heading towards Hurrah Pass:
IMG_1154 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1161 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_091623 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1168 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1172 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_095000 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1184 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1192 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_111244 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Homegurl was getting pretty burnt out of wheeling at this point. I guess laying your head on the sticks is as comfy as it gets:
IMG_1216 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Hurrah Pass in all its glory:
IMG_1231 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1234 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09253 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09260 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09265 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Once we made it down Hurrah Pass we stopped at the Kane Creek trail head for a bathroom break and pre-planning. It was about 1:00pm on the 30th and we were pretty stoked to finally turn wheels on a challenge. We came across more dirt bikes than I could count throughout the entirety of the trail and ran into a couple mishaps along the way.

@Reh5108 entering the first obstacle, "ditch":
DSC09270 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09273 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09280 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09284 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Big Red dropping in. This is the obstacle which made me determine I hate the Prolink for a couple reasons. First, it reduces my approach angle. The first (and often times only) item to hit when approaching a steep angle is in fact that yellow piece of shit. In this specific case I managed to drag the thing half a foot before rising out of the ditch. Secondly, the amount of force actually pulled my winch line out and ripped the rubber gasket off the back of the prolink. It's scratched to shit and may possibly be the culprit for my winch problems we encountered on Goldbar (to later be discussed). Anyway, I have a hook that came with the winch (@Squeaky Penguin ) that I may throw on there. I'm considering picking up the Flatlink (see @3378jakesr5 build), but can't justify the cost. I like the idea of the winch line being protected by the flatlink, and truthfully the Prolink performs well for winching (@Star-Lord). It's just an absolute pain in the ass having it run into, hang up on and scrape off of anything and everything on the trail. Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_135545 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Managed to snag the swingout a bit as well and had to tighten up the lock once we were over the hill. Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_135602 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_142148 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_142206 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09292 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09298 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_143951(1) by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Tight squeeze in this bog ol' wide bodied bitch. Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_144011(1) by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09303 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09308 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

The cool thing about Kane Creek is that you literally get to drive through Kane Creek for a large segment of the trail. This is also highly deceiving because after you get done splashing around like a little school girl in a rain puddle you have to get your bearing straight and sack up for the tough stuff. We began the ascend out of the canyon and I quickly bit off more than I could chew:
DSC09314 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09310 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

20170430_155815 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

20170430_155907 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

@Reh5108 tacoing the Coopers in true fashion on the same obstacle:
20170430_161300 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09323 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09317 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

The start of the ascend out of the canyon.
DSC09334 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_162945 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09331 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09332 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

At this point we came upon a few Jeeps that were having trouble making it up the hill. The Jeep holding up the rear was open/open and relied on his buddies to winch him up. Ryan and I waited on the hill for a bit and scoped out the upcoming obstacles. I got a little antsy and decided to make an attempt at a large ledge mid trail. Needless to say, I didn't make it - it's surprising I was even able to get the front end up. I bounced around for a bit, made a shit ton of forward/reverse attempts and inevitably got so stuck that Ryan had to winch me over as there was no backing out. A group of 10 or so side by sides came up and helped get me unstuck along the way - thankful everyone was there to help. No photos of the winching, but here's a couple of my predicament:

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_165406 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_164325 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

We pressed on through the rest of the trail and finally got the hell out of there. After we got off trail and started to air up, I noticed my elocker would not disengage. At about the same time I discovered my floorboard was a little wet. Ryan and I stopped in the City Market parking lot and took about the diff actuator and messed with the motor a bit. The motor appeared to be clean and in operating condition, which led us to believe that water in the cab may have fried the sending unit. Does anyone know of the exact location and/or part for the rear diff locker sending unit? I would like to pick one up and see if that is in fact the issue, otherwise I'm currently at a loss as to why I can no longer engage/disengage. Anyway, for the rest of the trip I was open/open and my confidence was cut down a bit. We left City Market and headed to Gemini Bridges to camp for the next two nights. We didn't arrive at camp until around 10:00pm, at which point Ryan and I were spent, setup camp, ate steak & potatoes and went to sleep:
Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170430_174517 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1236 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

IMG_1244 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09339 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09341 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09342 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Last day of the trip. We got a late start due to messing with the actuator/motor yet again, but finally set out towards Gold Bar Rim. We hit the trail about noon that day and quickly made work of the first section:
IMG_1247 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09347 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

As quickly as we made our way down the trail, the day was cut short on the "slick rock" obstacle. Ryan made an attempt to go down the left side and utilize stacked rocks as stairs. While coming down he slid passenger a bit and got his front drive bound up pretty well against a rock that clearly wasn't going anywhere. After a few attempts to back out, his CV/hub finally gave and we were forced to winch him back a bit and conduct a trail repair. During winching, we discovered that my winch was very rough during free spool and no longer lets out electronically. I'm wondering if this is due to the constant dragging/pulling of the Prolink? If anyone has any further info as to why my winch will no longer electronically let out please feel free to chime in:
Wonder boy in his super shorts watching Ryan get tied up:
DSC09350 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09353 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo credit @Reh5108:
20170501_123829 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Photo credit @Reh5108:
20170501_123853 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

20170501_125013 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

I dropped in after Ryan to provide moral support during his CV swap:
Photo cred @Reh5108:
20170501_131152 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09358 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09356 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09359 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

And the carnage that ensued:
DSC09362 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09363 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09364 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Once Ryan was able to repair his rig we turned around and went right back up the obstacle that caused trouble in the first place. Far easier going up than down. I made it up and proceeded to winch Ryan as a safeguard since he was now driving a damaged rig. We headed out of Gold Bar Rim and decided we hadn't quite had enough for the day and made our way to Bull Canyon for some fun in the sand and badass views:
DSC09369 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09371 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09381 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

34300671161_b5c06174c5_o by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09387 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09394 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09398 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

After Bull Canyon we said fuck it and returned to camp to make some dinner, drink some beers, discuss what we had learned and what we planned to change moving forward. We camped at the same location off Gemini Bridges, which made for a easy evening after a long day in the heat. Overall we covered roughly 150mi off road over easy-moderate trails, didn't shower for 4 days, consumed a shit ton of eggs, bacon, and Coors, and above all had a kickass time in the desert. I managed to finally mess around with night shots on my Sony during our last night in Utah - to which I learned I have no clue how to take night shots:
DSC09423 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09424 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09425 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09433 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

DSC09441 by Austin Lee, on Flickr

Oh yeah - the turtle race at Gemini Bridges trail head. Disregard the poor commentating because I don't give a shit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctadP7Eygvc&feature=youtu.be

 

Holy photo bomb batman, that took forever to load all those. Looks like you had fun though.

 

Awesome report!


Sorry your shiny yellow truck binky got scratched.