Unplanned Trip

So, my son (my 4 wheel drive buddy) had several days off coming planned (Saturday through the following Wednesday this week), and we were planning a 4wd outing with our two Jeeps. The plan was to leave the house in Roseville, CA Saturday morning (packed for tent camping), do the Fordyce Creek trail near Truckee, CA, then continue up highway 89 north towards Sierraville and Grayeagle and do some trails in the Gold Lakes area, and return on Wednesday afternoon.

We got almost to our exit on Eagle Lakes Road Saturday morning, and the weather was awful. There was a light misty rain falling through a fog bank. As I thought about having to set up a tent in the rain and the trail conditions we would encounter, I realized that I didn't like any part of this. After talking to my son on the CB, he mentioned that we should just keep driving.  We did..!

About 12 or 13 hours later, I called my wife to tell her we missed our turn in CA we had wound up in Moab, UT...!!! First time either of us have been there, and we were able to get in four trails over the next few days. The weather was generally great with just a couple of short thunderstorms, but the rest really nice.

We did, Poison Spider on Sunday, Hell's Revenge, and Moab Rim on Monday, and Steel Bender on Tuesday. What a great place and a great trip. Each trail had different and unique obstacles and conditions, and the scenery is spectacular. Here's a few pictures.

As a side note, this is completely out of character for me. I'm generally a planner and don't normally do things "on the spur of the moment", so my wife was completely blown away when I called to tell her we were two states away... ;D

One more

Looks like you had a great father son trip. Can't beat Moab.

Nice side trip Dennis.

This trip was really special to both of us since the dw and I are planning a move to Texas this year, so we won't be able to offroad together as often. We enjoyed this trip so much that we are planning a big family trip back to Moab in the late spring/early summer next year when we can take the MH and stay for a while.

Moab is a very special place for wheeling, glad you finally made it there!  We've run all of those trails (some several times) except Moab Rim.

John Canfield said:

Moab is a very special place for wheeling, glad you finally made it there!  We've run all of those trails (some several times) except Moab Rim.

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You should try out Moab Rim when you go back, John. It's a fairly short trail, but has some interesting and technical off camber places, tight turns, good climbs, and drops, and a fantastic view overlooking the town of Moab from the top. Probably more obstacles in a short distance than any of the other trails we did. But we loved it all...!!

There is nothing like a Father/Son trip to make a lifetime memory. Good stuff! Several years ago my youngest son and I took off on a 3,000 mile Harley trip. Nothing can ever replace those 8-days of memories.

Oscar Mike said:

There is nothing like a Father/Son trip to make a lifetime memory. Good stuff! Several years ago my youngest son and I took off on a 3,000 mile Harley trip. Nothing can ever replace those 8-days of memories.

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Exactly.... ;D

ve been trying to get my son to wheel with me for years. And just last ear I took him to a Ultra 4 race and now he is hooked. I can't wait to have a trip like you Dennis with my son.

And by the way, June 15-19 I will be running the Rubicon and Fordyce trails back to back. Hope for better weather?

hes4all said:

ve been trying to get my son to wheel with me for years. And just last ear I took him to a Ultra 4 race and now he is hooked. I can't wait to have a trip like you Dennis with my son.

And by the way, June 15-19 I will be running the Rubicon and Fordyce trails back to back. Hope for better weather?

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Hopefully you will have great weather. One caution, which may or may not apply this year because of no snow pack, would be to check the water flows at Fordyce Creek. PG&E normally releases water down Fordyce Creek and does so without notice which can trap wheelers between stream crossings. Anything over about 50cfs in considered uncrossable. You can check it here: http://www.dreamflows.com/flows.php?page=real&zone=canv&form=norm&mark=All
Right now it's at 48 which we have crossed with no issue.

I don't know what your plans are, but I would plan on spending a night on each trail. They can each be done in a day, but it would have to be a long day with no mechanical issues, and not a lot of stopping. Fordyce is shorter, but a lot more technical. We did the Rubicon a few weeks ago, and it's really pretty good this year. It changes a little every year.