moab trip - part 1, long

[Enlow, Kyle S]

O.K. I believe in the second amendment. I own guns. I hunt. My feelings on caring a firearm in Bear country while riding. You will probably never see a bear while riding a motorcycle. At least not very close to you, you might see one off in the distance. The noise is just to much for them. Also, even if a bear attacked you while you were riding you would probably end up shooting yourself. Try and picture pulling the trigger on a pistol with gloves on, with your left hand, while working the throttle with your right hand. Much practice is required for this to work. Alright, if you are camping I can see having a sidearm in the camp. But you better make sure it is a big one. 44mag as a minimum, 454 casuall is better, 300winmag is best. Also much practice is required. How many times have you shot at a charging bear with a handgun while you were shiting your pants. Enough about bears, what about crazy people. The deliverance factor. Well I can see having a handgun for this but not while riding. You should either out run them or stop and shoot at your attacker. Remember this KISS "keep it simple stupid" revolvers are simple, no safety, no magazines, no jamming, they always fire. If you have to have a semi auto a glock is probably the best, it really has no safety, I guess some people call that trigger tab a safety. What about Mexico? I would never carry a gun in another country unless we were at war. You have no freedoms in Mexico. Let's say you get pulled over by the Mexican police because they like your bike, you have a handgun, they find it, your ass is in a Mexican jail about to get several rectal exams. That is a risk I am not willing to take. Riding in Mexico or any other third world country is a risk I wouldn't make it worse by carrying a gun. MY 2 cents Kyle

[Tom Simpson]

"Enlow, Kyle S" wrote:

> > O.K. I believe in the second amendment. I own guns. I hunt. My feelings > on caring a firearm in Bear country while riding. You will probably never > see a bear while riding a motorcycle. At least not very close to you, you > might see one off in the distance. The noise is just to much for them. > Also, even if a bear attacked you while you were riding you would probably > end up shooting yourself. Try and picture pulling the trigger on a pistol > with gloves on, with your left hand, while working the throttle with your > right hand. Much practice is required for this to work. Alright, if you are > camping I can see having a sidearm in the camp. But you better make sure it > is a big one. 44mag as a minimum, 454 casuall is better, 300winmag is best. > Also much practice is required. How many times have you shot at a charging > bear with a handgun while you were shiting your pants. Enough about bears, > what about crazy people. The deliverance factor. Well I can see having a > handgun for this but not while riding. You should either out run them or > stop and shoot at your attacker. Remember this KISS "keep it simple stupid" > revolvers are simple, no safety, no magazines, no jamming, they always fire. > If you have to have a semi auto a glock is probably the best, it really has > no safety, I guess some people call that trigger tab a safety.

When I "pack" (as I typically do when on my sojourns to the mountains of NC and TN), I do so on the theory that bad things can and do happen to good people, sometimes. Camp security from predators both two and four legged is of concern. As to caliber selection, I don't own a revolver heavier than a .357. That will certainly suffice for the two legged variant, the four legged version is not so sure a thing. If Mr. Bear sticks his head in the tent with me I suppose I can say a small prayer and try a contact shot to an eye or the base of his skull. Then we'll see just how tough the jacket really is on a Speer Gold Dot. :I I really need to finish my "bike rifle" project, a Long Branch No4Mk3* in .303 that sports a folding stock and a "16 barrel. Gets pretty darned tiny, that one, and there is no question that .303 is up to the job on eastern bears. I can think of a long list of reasons to not go to Mexico, the inability to take firearms there not being the best of them. -Tom '96 KLR 650] '91 S&W M65 3" RB

[Karl Raupp]

Moab Trip October 1-5, 2000 KLR Adventure! I left London, Ontario Friday morning and was in Moab setting up my tent in the KOA Sat at 8:00pm! What a drive, that's 2,800 kms in just about 1 3/4 days. I was beat. Smartly I trailered. Woke up early and got to the Moab Diner for some breakfast. Yummy. Someone said they've paid ten times as much for less food that didn't taste as good, and I'll have to agree. Fast service too. Now, to the riding; Day 1 Hit highway 128 and came across Negro Bill Canyon and thought it'd make a good trail. I got maybe 20 meters in when the trail went down some steps and I figured I'd never get the KLR out if I went down. Got the bike turned around and back out to #128. Came across Onion Creek road. Wow - what a great dual sport road! Very picturesque and you cross Onion Creek about a million times. Got to the 'top' of Onion creek road and right after the gate it looked like there was a side road branching off to the left so I took it. It again branched left and right so I took the left route first. The road/trail looked like it ended at a bush so I turned around and took the other branch. I came across a washout that was filled with big rocks which immediately rose upward over the washout. Looked iffy if I'd make it so I turned back and headed back out to Onion Creek road. Followed it to the Kokopelli Trail. I followed it and found Rose Garden Hill. I actually thought I'd try climbing it and made it a good ways up, somewhere between 1/3 - 1/2 way up (probably closer to the 1/3 mark) before common sense took over and I called it quits. I don't know how I got the KLR turned around without damaging things but it worked out and I was able to coast back down. Back out to the trail and some more exploring I came across a closed gate that had the road immediately going down a steep hill that switched back on itself. Turns out this was a road up into the La Sal's and I had a great time here. Nice easy dual sport type road that threw some easy hills, some rock and some sand at me. I just followed the road for awhile and came across a sign that said Colorado one way and Moab another. Of coarse I headed back to Moab. I was hoping the road turned back to more of a trail but I came across a guy on a Harley on the gravel that was having a rest in the shade. He informed me that the gravel turns to asphalt very soon so I followed that out to Rock Castle Campsite. Time for lunch so back to the KOA for a pitstop. After lunch I went south and found Ken's Lake. Only saw the sign, no lake. I followed the road and crossed a strem up to a deadend with a 'room' in the rock wall that looks like the teens have a great time in and around Back over the stream and I thought Flat Pass (Steelbender) looked good so I dropped back down into the water, only this time my bashplate hit on the way DOWN into the water. I wasn't expecting that, could mean a slight technical climb back out if I have to come back this way. Well, after passing another gate, I came to a rock wall/hill that looked more than I was ready for, so I headed back out and luckily I found an easy way back through the water that bypassed the small ridge that I hit my 'plate on on the way in. Back out to the road again and took the La Sal Mountain Loop road which took me to Geyser Pass Road to Gold Basin back to Geyser Road and took a spur somewhere in the Blue Lake area that took me to a farm with another spur. I followed the route up some more and came across another gate. I didn't feel comfortable with crossing this gate (don't ask my why, just a gut feeling) and I turned back to Geyser Pass Road which took me to Upper Two Mile Road. I found FS #128 and took it. What a waste! Just rocks and rocks that had me bouncing around standing on the pegs drawling through in 2nd gear. Not my cup of tea. Came across a farmer in a pickup that was hitting his rear diff on almost every bounce. I waited at the end to see if he made it out and he did, and wasn't leaking any fluids that I could see That was enough off road riding for me for the day so I went through town again and thought I'd see Arches Park. Didn't get to see very much since it was getting dark so I rode a few of the roads to get a feel for the layout of the park and decided to leave pics and being a tourist for another day. Wow, what a great first day. Almost 400 kms ridden and you couldn't take the smile off my face if you tried. Day 2 A light breakfast at camp and I was off to the Porcupine Rim region. I regret not taking a pic when I climbed Baby Lions Back. Not a hard climb by any means but it would make a dramatic picture if I would have parked the bike and walked down to take the pic. Oh well, there's always next time. I rode through to the Porcupine Rim trail and thought it looked like a neat ride. Got stuck at the first technical rocky climb (this was before the Jeep road entrance to the trail itself) and had to make a ramp out of rocks to get up and over the ledges. Followed the trail in and was amazed at how easily the KLR climbed the slickrock ledges. Just stick it in first, stand on the pegs and let momentum do the rest. At the second [D] on the map as I was climbing the ledges, my front wheel got kicked out by a rock and I fell/wiped out. I didn't know it until I was taking a pic of Round Mountain but my jeans at my right knee had a few good tears in it - my knee guards just saved me from a hospital visit and I didn't feel any indication at the time it happened. Lesson if you want to learn it - get a pair of knee guards. I don't know why but when I got to Coffee Pot rock (doesn't look like a coffee pot to me) I decided to turn back and have a real meal back at my favorite Diner. Visited Fred and got a Moab West map and some spare master links. Call me silly, but I don't see why DID 520V O-ring master links should be a special order part locally. How uncommon of a chain could THAT be?!?! I decided to head east again and at the Dewey Bridge followed the gravel road. I *think* I was on the Pole Rim Trail and wandered around on it a bit. Lots of rocky climbs here. Nice if you like bouncing around in interesting scenery like I do. Got back out to Entrada Bluffs Road by accident and crossed it to an area that the ATV guys have carved out in a nice lush, green area. Played around down there and found Lake Bottom Road but decided not to cross the river out of common sense. Being by myself I didn't want to risk a watering out with no help nearby. Back out to #128 and took a few pics of the Fisher Towers. Back to the Rock Castle area to explore on some trails I saw spurring off of the main road. Nice riding area. Late in the afternoon with the bright sun turning everything red and bright brown. Very dramatic. Nice ending to the day, just easy dual sport roads, nothing challenging or technical. About 260 kms ridden today. Day 3 White Rim baby! Hit the road at 7:00am since I heard so much on how long/hard this ride is. The salt factory looked neat. I thought the water pools would be feet deep but then I saw a grader driving on them! They must only be inches deep, and when I think about it, that makes sense. Going up the Shafer Trail I came across 4 deer-type animals that hopped away like bunnies. One of em hopped up a ledge and I was able to get a picture of it. The other 3 bunny-hopped away around the corner never to be seen again. Musselman Arch was neat but I'm terrified of ledges/cliff's so I didn't get too close. Came to Lathrop Canyon Road and tried to ride it. Didn't get too far in until I was on the ground again. This puppy is rocky! I'd like to see a stock 4x4 get through THAT! Minutes after as I was on the White Rim Road my left leg was getting soaked and I thought crap, I poked a hole in my gas tank when I went down back on the Lathrop. Turns out one of my water bottles worked its way open. That was good but loosing 20% of my water and wrecking my lunch was no way to be part way into the ride. Had lunch at White Crack Camp as per Fred's advice and talked to a bunch of cool mountain bikers, they said it'd take them 4 days to do the ride. Soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I had to scoop the mush out of the baggy with my fingers, yummy! Murphy Hogback hills are much, much overrated. I thought Hardscrabble Hill was harder technically with a sandy turn halfway up it. And coming down Hardscrabble was a bitch for me since I'm scared of the cliffs. I was hugging the wall edge with a death grip on the handlebars. The hill coming out of the White Rim onto Mineral Bottom Road (Horsethief Trail) was a bitch becuase of the proximity to the cliff edges as well, and seeing a recently crashed truck just off the road didn't help my fears any either. I thought once out to #313 I'd take Pucker Pass back out to #191 but there was an official Utah No Tresspassing sign at the road edge. That ended that idea. Back to camp with 279 kms for the day. I was a bit disappointed in the challenge of the White Rim (easy, easy ride) but it IS a road afterall, not a trail. It's mainly a flat doubletrack road with a few good climbs on it. Having said that, the scenery was fantastic! Talk about sensory overload! I still had daylight left so I got cleaned up and drove the car out to Fisher Towers for a nice short hike. The sun was setting so I turned back at the stepladder on the hiking trail. Good idea since I had to turn the car headlights on driving back out to #128. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to navigate the hiking trail back out to the parking lot in the dark. Day 4 My ass, hands and knee's were sore so I took the day off riding and went for hikes instead. Hiked Negro Bill Canyon and saw the no mountain bikes, no motorcycle sign that I missed on Day 1. Saw Morning Glory bridge. Awesome in size once you get underneath it. Then got up close and personal with the dinosaur tracks off of #279. Then to Bowtie and Corona arches. Nice hike! Afterwards went back to Arches Park to finish what I started on Day 1. Spent the rest of the day there taking pics and hiking around. My high point came on the hike to Delicate Arch. Wow! I don't know what it was, but there was something calming about it. Just sat and stared for about an hour. Day 5 Tried to ride the Poison Spider Trail. Got up to the first technical part. A kinda ledgy slickrock climb, the second [D] on the map. Got up it easily enough but it quickly led to a short rocky path that ended at a smooth slickrock climb. I tried a couple of times to climb it but as soon as my rear tire hit, it would just spin. Being by myself I had to admit defeat and ride back out to the road. Came across a couple of early International monster trucks (the kind that look like earlier Bronco's) with massive wheels. They'd eat the trail up without breaking a sweat methinks. Back around on #313 and did the Gemini Bridges from west to east. Couldn't get a good pic of the Gemini's since I'm a fraidy-cat of being close to the ledge, so I decided to ride down into Bull Canyon and take a few pics looking up into the Gemini Bridges. Very nice! Rode around just exploring and saw Surprise Overlook. Thought I'd tackle the Gold Bar Jeep Trail. It was fun but I dumped my KLR right before I nasty slickrock drop. I had to make a decision and being by myself, conceeded defeat again. I could always built rock ramps but that's only fun the first few times Headed back out to the Gemini Bridges road bouncing around and up a few good sized ledges. Up to see the Determination Towers. Wipe Out Hill looked interesting on the map. Decided not to go down it since I'd surely wipe out. Getting tired so I rode Kane Creek Road and Hurrah pass. Was gonna go down the Jackson Hole Trail but the sun was in my eyes and being close to the cliff's again was freaking my out so I called it a day and rode back to the KOA. 280 kms for the day. Continued...