From Rock Crawling to Mountain Climbing

We always have so much fun in Moab, Utah. This year is no exception. If you'll look at my post from October 3, 2010 you'll learn about our death-defying, rock-crawling adventure with Dan Mick in his Hemi-powered Jeep.

Every year I'm absolutely fascinated with my mountains... the La Sal Mountains that majestically overlook the Moab valley. I've always wanted to go and see them up close & personal... to explore them and marvel at their beauty. It's the second highest mountain range in Utah with six peaks over 12,000 feet. And the entire range is only 15 miles long by 6 miles wide. It is indeed small but mighty!

We knew we'd be taking another trip with Dan Mick again this year so when we got to town we called him and asked if he did Jeep tours of the La Sals? He did. Oh boy--were we in luck!

All aboard! Vicky getting into Dan's Jeep.

Bob next to Dan's Jeep.

We set a time for one week later and prayed the weather would hold. You see, Moab has been very wet this year. I couldn't believe all the green vegetation springing out of the slick rock and red rock surfaces when we arrived. This normally arid, high desert (about 4,000+ ft elevation) area was suddenly lush and actually had some humidity (not to rival Texas though).

Three days before our trip the La Sals were completely socked in with ominous clouds. I couldn't tell if it was snowing or just raining but it was dark up there. I just knew we were going to get soaked on our Jeep tour. Or worse yet, the trip would be cancelled. :-(

Mountain Man Dan Mick overlooking Castle Valley--it's about a 1000 ft drop--be careful Dan!!!

Our day came and the sun came out like a great big smile. It was a perfect day for our adventure! When we got underway, Dan said we'd take Scenic Route 128 to Onion Creek Road. As soon as we turned off 128 I knew this was no trip for our Saturn Vue :-)

The "Finger" spire.

The red rock scenery along Onion Creek.

With all the rain over the last three days, the washes we were driving through were wet enough that the tires kept kicking up red mud. Since I was sitting in the back seat with no cover behind my seat I was the depository for said mud. But, with the view we were getting it was a small price to pay!

The red rock formations along Onion Creek Road.

Bob & Dan chatting with a man & his boys as they fish in Hidden Lake. One of the many pristine lakes tucked up in the La Sals.

We were next to Castle Rock and the Priest & Nuns. We saw Round Mountain, which is about 6075 feet and is loaded with nickel. The scenery is so unique at every turn. Red rock canyons, slick rock, sandstone arches, mesas, spires, and then the Aspen forests. We went on this trip with Dan on September 12th. The Aspens were still pretty green.

Did you know that the Aspens are not individual trees at all? An aspen grove starts as suckers shoot off the roots of a mother tree. No wonder they are so close together! They are long and straight as they all fight for their share of sunshine.

Just past the trees is Paradox Valley, Colorado. Very faintly you can see Telluride in the background. It's pretty hazy though.

There are no guardrails on these back country trails. Heck, sometimes I had a hard time seeing the road when I looked down from my perch in the back of the Jeep. As we climbed on barely distinguished trails, the view became even more breathtaking. We got an awesome view of the Paradox Valley in Colorado since we could see for miles.

We could even see Telluride in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado!

As we made our way up to the mountains, we drove (or should I say slid sideways) through a road called Taylor Flats. This road is always a wet pit and with this year and the last three days in particular, it was extremely bad. When we got through I had mud all over me, my camera bag, seat, you name it! But it was worth it. Only one problem, there are cattle up there too and some of that mud was mixed with... well you get the idea. YUCK!

Finally, we got to Geyser Pass so we could cross the mountains (the saddle between Haystack Mountain & Mt. Mellenthin). Remember when I told you that three days before our adventure the mountains were socked in with a weather system? Well...

As we were entering Geyser pass, at 10,528 elevation, Dan did a double take. He saw snow! It was several weeks too early for snow. So we all piled out of the Jeep to take a closer look. To our surprise, it was pea-sized hail! Hail yes!!! (Sorry, got carried away.)

Bob & Dan playing in the hail. They formed snowballs and through them at me & hit me!

Bob holding a handful of the hail. We don't see this often in Texas!

Just as we got over Geyser Pass, we took another road, can't begin to tell you what it was, and BELIEVE IT OR NOT we met some people we knew. What were the odds since we only come once a year for a few weeks!

We stayed at the Moab KOA first (of our three parks). One of the workampers was named Brad and for the life of me I cannot remember his lovely wife's name. But they were great people. Anyway, we were going along the road and noticed a couple having a wiener roast about 100 yards away. How nice... they were waving at us. Then they were jumping up and down and waving us to come over???

Brad's wife is wrapped in a blanket because it's cool and when she opened the mustard it sprayed all over her at this elevation. Dan & Bob are cooking hot dogs.

We were all on the lookout for bears. They can smell this food for miles!

It was Brad and his wife having a wiener roast complete with marshmallows. It just so happens we were all just remarking how good a wiener roast sounded and voila... here it was. They had plenty of food left so we all got our loaded forks in the fire and feasted on roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. We shared our Rice Krispie treats we had in our backpack.

In our travels, we are often struck by how small the world can be. This was one of those moments. Who knew we'd meet people we knew way up here on these remote trails. Yes, Brad and his wife drive a Jeep too... that's why they could be up there. Moab is Jeep haven!

On the way back we took Sand Flats Road and stopped by a great lookout place. It was where Curly (Jack Palance) and Billy Crystal camped out one night in the movie City Slickers II. Speaking of camping out, remember on my last post about the burned cans on the trail and that they are considered artifacts from the old wagon train & cattle drive days... we saw some of those artifacts on the mountain trip also.

In the weeks remaining in our trip, we took two more trips into the La Sals on our own. We had to stay pretty close to the La Sal Mountain Loop Road because our Saturn Vue does not have the clearance or the kahunas a tripped out Jeep has.

I'll tell you more about these trips in my next post!

Till next time...

Happy Trails!

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!