Those who have been in this rolling circus exchange heartfelt hellos to longtime friends and were introduced to us Noobs and accepted us right into the fold. We take a few moments to check out each other’s rides while Bill and Larry sort out the route for the day. Somehow at this point Larry handed over trail boss/navigation to Bill. So from here we are to top off fuel and take off 30 miles west of Green River on I-70. Wind by now was brutal and we are driving the aerodynamic equivalent to a barn door and it’s pushing back on us. I know I had the 5.3 wound tight between the wind and the grade, but it was affecting the whole group. Even Larry said the 8.1 was not happy if it wasn’t in the right gear.
Westbound on I-70. Even the highways look cool in Utah.
Soon enough we bailed off of the interstate crossed under it and pulled up onto a lonely dirt road. It was finally time to air down. Like a well-oiled machine, we all took to the task of getting our tires down to trail pressure. Photos were taken by most as this is happening.
For the three first timers we just keep getting awestruck by the expansive scenery we are looking at. Excitement is building as we are heading off to an area nobody in the group has tackled before. The Swell is new to all of us. We shove off in a cadence to keep the blowing dust from choking out each of us. The trail starts out simple as a dirt road passing back under I-70 in a tiny underpass that looked like it might be tight for Ty and Larry’s rigs. They fit, but Ty’s was the closest with a little room to spare.
From the underpass we wound around in a northerly direction on some gentle two track for a little bit. I’ll add here, the intended target for the day’s ride was to make our way to the large Sinbad petrogliff and find a place to camp for the night. We didn’t notice or flat missed a sign for the turn needed for the ride to Sinbad. Not seeing it, we really didn’t get too concerned as the trail started to get interesting.
We did see this though. Could that be us later if we don't find our way??
Hey look it's an arch!
We got to the first obstacle, which was a fairly steep climb on loose rock. It was fairly straight with a turn at the top. Steep and loose enough to get the blood pumping. Bill was leading the way and made short work of it.
Ty
I follow and scramble up without much drama. Same goes for Larry, Ty and Don behind me. By now the trail is mostly rock with a nice white stripe every now and again to keep you on the path. Pressing on, we cover some more minor stuff and after coming down a section I can see Bill having to take a 3-point turn to get around a tight spot. Uh-oh. We’ve reached the edge of the mesa and have to make a sharp left to follow the trail over some more fun stuff. Bill stopped to let the group survey the section, as there was a large uneven spot with drop offs to both sides. It was much higher to the right than it was to the left, but too narrow to allow cheating to one side or the other. We had to straddle it. Ian took point to spot through. Bill’s long wheelbase took the section in stride and I lined up for my turn.
After seeing how it caused Bill’s truck to tilt I took a different line and didn’t quite follow Ian’s instructions to my own downfall. I managed to get the K5.3 on an amazing side tilt, which ramped up the pucker factor greatly. Not feeling right I wanted to back out. Ian calmed me down while Ty tried using his size to add weight to the right side and keep me from flopping. I gently backed up and followed Ian’s directions right through it. Larry followed with Ian’s spotting as did Ty and Don.
Shortly after that we come up to spot with a major climb up over 3 large shelves. Again we stop to let the group survey the section and formulate the plan of attack.
This was where I got volunteered to go first. This surprised me, as my rig was the most unproven of the bunch. But the idea was to get me up first in order to be a winch point if anybody else has a problem. Ian and I discussed the line and due to my short wheelbase we would pull more to the right on the approach and then line up to the second shelf by turning on the first shelf. From there the Blazer just walked over the second and third shelves based on Ian’s excellent directions. No pics of me, but I've got video of it. Bill followed next and hugged left to lessen the amount he would have to turn on the second shelf. The line of attack managed to get Bill crossed up and without traction devices managed to get hung up.
We spooled out Bill’s winch to my truck and I held the brakes to keep it from being pulled to him. It didn’t need much of a pull, but just enough to get his front wheels over the hump and it drove out. Larry followed Bills line to the left and went into a full blown Code14 as he hung the rear diff up on the ledge in such a way he had the left rear hanging and the diff was dug in stopping any backing up. He had to take the cable too. Again like Bill, it didn’t take much of a pull. Just enough to get the diff off of terra firma.