Berkley, the "conspiracy theory" by government and big oil & gas companies was one of the common comments that turned off many posters at the other site. It apparently is a common agrument used by the writer, L. Lapointe.
Superdawg, I was hoping you would try it in your new Cherokee, and then report whether it works or not! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />
In Moab, we did poison spider, golden spike, and gold bar rim on Saturday, and then some of us did fins and things on sunday, while the main group did Pritchet Canyon. From what I heard, Pritchet has some changes/by-passes at the rock pile, rockerknocker, and yellow hill obstacles. I have attempted Prichet 4 or 5 times --- not high on my list these days. I opted for something new on Sunday. F-N-T's turned out to be scary and a lot of fun. Glad I opted for the new trail. The guys that were staying for the week did upper hellarado on Monday --- now, that is a trail I would like to try!
It was a good shakedown run for the season; the Jeep performed flawlessly at everything. I think you and I need to talk a little more about putting the Blisten's on the YJ, however. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> It took some time getting back into the mindset of what I can do with the YJ on Moab's slickrock. The guys spotting at the crack had everyone going over at the wrong angle! Didn't really matter for me with my 37" SSR's, but some of the guys with 33" received some additional rock rash. Of all the obstacles on Saturday's ride, the last ledge out of Gold Bar Rim has always got my attention. With a good spot from a friend, I crawled right up and over it without any real problems this time! That certainly made my day! We had one CJ-5 that was having difficulty keeping the engine running. He had just installed a new filter and regulatory, and thought that the regulatory was the problem. My suggestion to check out the filter prooved correct, the fuel filter was plugged with rust. The driver thought that he got bad gas, but I suspect from our discussion about bad gas at gas stations that the guy's tank is rusted. We had to tow his CJ over all the ledges on Gold Bar Rim, and then, all the way back to slickrock campground. This made for an interesting afternoon. Good idea to carry an extra fuel filter in the boonie box.
Sunday's trail was new to me and the others that were with us. I didn't suspect much, just an easy trail, so I didn't even air-down before starting the trail. Boy, was I surprised. Technically, it is not difficult, and stock Jeeps can do this trail. It's just that there are many steep rock climbs, some near vertical --- near 90 degrees! The trail get's your attention on the northside of the main highway that crosses the trail's loop. It is amazing how grippy this slickrock sandstone truly is! Only in Moab --- if I attempted climbs like I did Sunday in Moab back here in Colorado, I probably would not do more than put my front wheels Up on the rock wall!
All in all, we had a great time even though Jim and I only stayed for two days of four wheeling. Okay, I'm ready for South Dakota! August 10 is a Wednesday, I'll probably drive up August 12, Friday and meet you there at the trailhead/campsite. Probably return Monday morning. How will that work for you?
