4-Wheeling in Al's new Hummer H3

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JerArdra

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2/15/2007

All,

Today Al & Judy and Ardra & Jerry took Al's Hummer H3 on a trip to Lowell Canyon and on to Red Rock Canyon the back way.  The road was rough because of all the many rocks from this winters storms and the car did very well as expected.  On the last turn as we entered Lowell Canyon road the sign warned us of a washout so we knew we may have to return the same way we went in.  Also there still was snow on the road.  At one point we encountered a short steep down hill run that would have been a piece of cake if there wasn't so much snow.  I decided that if the washout was bad enough to make us turn around we probably could not make it back UP this snow covered slope.  So because of the snow and the fact that Judy did not bring blankets and SPAM for the next mornings breakfast we quit.  In other words we were stopped by snow!  We did start back and stopped for lunch at a turn out that didn't have much snow.  It was fun.  Al did a great job of driving.  The car ran well and we will try it again sometime after the snow clears.  See the photos.

JerryF
 

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Probably a good choice to turn around without a HRV nearby. ;D  Better to be safe and warm than to have to spend a night in the snow.
 
You're going to get a lot of kidding about being stopped by a couple inches of snow, but it's smart NOT to go into the back country alone and unprepared when conditions might make it difficult to get back out.
 
It wasn't the snow so much as the snow in combination with a really steep grade if we had to return through that wash.

Since we were quite a few miles from a real road, we decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

We'll try it again when it dries out.

For the rest of the trail, the snow was a non-issue.
 
Hi Al,

Naturally I was only kiddiing Jerry. Having done many off road tirps in the past few years I don't go anywhere without another vehicle tagging along! As many here know we have been on some great rides that would have been foolish to do alone. I sure miss not being out there to do them again.
 
Jim,

Hey...I know you're kidden'

You make me remember the time we were following you at Quartzsite and your NEW 4-wheeler couldn't get up the hill and as we quickly found out the 4-wheel drive was inoperatable so the next day it was off to Phoenix for warranty repairs.

JerryF
 
Jerry,

I remember it well and all of you followed me back even though I knew the way. :) Funny thing is that is the only problem I ever had with either Grand Vitara!! We'll be back out there someday though the Dakota sure won't go where the GV did. :( The bright side is I've always wanted to ride a motorcycle on some of Arizona's back roads. :)
 
Jim,

I have a friend who at one time had 6 MCs (both highway and off road).  He always said that he felt safer going off road because he would ride at reasonable rates of speed with no jumping and so forth as well as that there were non of the red light runners and bad drivers next to him when going off road.  I'll bet you could take your MC on the 4 wheel roads with us and it would be tons of fun. 

JerryF
 
Jerry,

I agree with your friend on caged drivers. One must ride as if everyone is out to hit them. But I've been doing that since I started driving so it's nothing new. :)

We met a couple somewhere in AZ who were traveling on dirt bikes and had come down from Las Vegas on trails. After having been on some of those trails with a car I was convinced it wasn't for me. :) One nasty fall on a bike and it's all over. I remember the story Ron told about finding a guy on the White Rim trail in Moab. I'll stick to a cage off road. ;D ;D I'm looking forward to roads less traveled with nice scenery and some twistys.
 
Not going offroading alone is good advice.

My friend called me around noon on Saturday and were requesting help.  I asked what's up.  They went up to their wood lot and the last 3/4 mile of the road was not plowed, but a groomed snowmobile trail (1 feet of very hard packed snow).  They started walking the trail (smart), but realized it was hard packed so they decided to take the Cherokee (not so smart).  They were able to ride on top of the trail to destination no problem.  However, when it came time to turn around, it was not so easy.  They got stuck because the side of the trail was soft.  They could still move forward and reverse, but could not climb back on the trail.

When I got there, I was able to pull them back on the trail easily.  They were just lacking this little bit of traction to get them back on track.  But once out, we were both still pointing in the right direction.  My friend backed out of the way on the trail and I tried to turn around.  We figured that we would get stuck turning around, but if we could get passed 90 deg, we could get pulled on the trail in the opposite direction.  That did not work.

So we drove in reverse for 3/4 of a mile.  Nice thing about SUVs, I opened the rear hatch and folded the seats down.  The visibility was great.  I can backup using mirrors, but the trail being narrow with little margin for errors, I preferred to see the trail from my own eyes.

Moral of the story, don't venture alone.
 
I do a lot of dirt biking, a main reason I bought my motorhome actually and I know how hard it can be to capture a steep grade on film. I would advise next time get the camera lower to the ground if you want to make the road look steep.  ;D

All kidding aside with gals along you did the right thing.
 
ArdraF said:
What do you mean "with gals along"???

ArdraF

Well it's just that all you have to do is wrap a rig around a tree once and they never let you forget it. At least that's been my experience.  ;D
 
pjriss said:
Well it's just that all you have to do is wrap a rig around a tree once and they never let you forget it. At least that's been my experience.  ;D

Well in my experience, it was the gal who wrapped the car around a tree (actually tire barriers), TWICE. The guy never mentioned it ;)

And that means that nobody here will mention it either :)
 

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