MOAB!
By Mike Borum
Bighorn 4x4s
October 4-6, 2007

Every year the Bighorn 4x4s plan a trip to Moab, UT to ‘wheel some of the most fantastic, awe-inspiring scenery in the U.S.  And each trip promises something unexpected and exciting.

This time, there were 10 people and 7 Jeeps all gussied up and ready to go.  My wife Marilyn and I were in our yellow Rubicon; Paul Beaudean brought his black/burgundy flatfender; George Borelli steered his black/burgundy CJ5; Matt Dodds drove his red YJ; Donavin Durban and friend Kaley rode in his white TJ; Fred Haskell had his steel blue Rubicon JK; and Jim and Gil were in Jim’s dark blue TJ.

Thursday - The first trail was Fins n’ Things.  This is a moderate trail up and down the slickrock fins that are all over the east side of Moab.  For first-timers George and Jim, this trail got them used to the incredible traction of the sandstone, and there are plenty of steep climbs and steeper descents to prove it.  Paul hadn’t wheeled the area for many years so he was enjoying it as well.

Just before lunch, George’s CJ-5 started having some electrical problems.  But we jumped into the problem, found a workaround (a jumper wire and a screwdriver) and got him running again.

We finished the trail and decided to run Hells Revenge, which was just down the road near the Sand Flats Recreation Area entrance.  This trail is similar to Fins n’ Things, but with longer climbs, steeper descents, an outstanding overlook, and a few very challenging obstacles.  We pondered the best line into and out of the Hot Tub, but then nobody attempted it <save for Matt's hat>.  Soon we were at the overlook to the Colorado River and Hwy 128 Scenic Byway, which was stunning.

Later, Matt decided to attempt Escalator and promptly got some serious air.  Fred drove to the top via the bypass and we winched Matt up before he could roll his rig down that obstacle.  Tip Over Challenge was the last obstacle, and everyone who tried it negotiated it without a problem.

Friday – The morning was calm and warm.  The trail we decided to run was called Metal Masher and the obstacles are all ominous-sounding: Rock Chucker, Mirror Gulch, and Widowmaker.  Of course I quickly got us going the wrong direction, so it took a little backtracking to put us on the right trail.

At Rock Chucker, my LJ scampered up with just a strategic placement of a piece of driftwood.  Matt followed the same line and we were looking for the exit while Donavin’s luck ran out, as his rig couldn’t quite make the steep ledge.  Worse luck when Matt started winching him up; caught a tire in a crack and the tie-rod pretzeled.   Better luck with a jack handle and a lot of help made it all better.

Mirror Gulch was up next, and we figure it was named that because of all of the side mirrors that have obviously been ripped off by the rocks.  Careful tire placement and some good tires are needed to get through this narrow alley.  Just past Mirror Gulch Paul’s CJ2A developed a braking problem but it didn’t take long to correct it and off we went.

This was a week of overlooks, and the next one was scary.  Looking straight down onto Hwy 191 from 1100 feet high forces you to scoot up to the edge.  What an awesome sight!

Finally we reach Widowmaker.  This is a 7-foot ledge with no way around.  It stands you on end and then it dares you to hit the gas.  We hooked a tow strap on my front bumper with a guy holding the other end just in case it got too tipsy, and I made a few attempts before my tires got enough traction to pull my rig up.  Now that’s a rush!

Matt once again followed me over this awesome obstacle, and Donavin got on it just enough for a poser shot.  Fred gave us all a heart attack when his right front tire caught some air and two of us were pulling hard on the tow strap to keep his rig from turning turtle.  I hooked my winch cable to the strap and got him safely on top.  The rest of the group decided to backtrack to the nearest bypass road and they met us on the trail.

Our last stop of the day was at Gemini Bridges.  This unique pair of rock arch formations was the perfect spot to get a promo-style picture of our rigs, and to gaze at what took millions of years to make such a wonder.

Saturday – The last day of our adventure started with a trip to Flat Iron Mesa.  This is mostly a long trail with some tight turns and two interesting obstacles in Tilt-A-Whirl and Easter Egg Hill.  These are not particularly difficult but they both require you to work a slow downhill line. 

Our last trail of this trip was Moab Rim.  This trail always raises the pucker factor because of the proximity to the very edge of a precipice and the way the trail always seems to tilt your rig towards it.  As it was getting later in the afternoon, we decided to cut the trail short at the sand hill.  This hill is always a lot of fun.  The only way to make it to the top is with lockers and wheel speed.  If you can’t maintain both, you’re headed back down—backwards.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to this fabulous 4-wheelers playground.  See you next year, Moab!

Iron Chest
September 2, 2007
Leader: Paul Beaudean

It was nice to see The Bork Family on the trail again. Members attending were Paul B. with dave, Mac, Donovan, Mike, Jeremy, and Ray. The first part of this trail provided all the challenges and was it's usual self. However we all had no trouble except for a broken drag link. Jeremy had this fixed in no time. We then proceded to the city where we met folks from the local Toyota club. Some mombers climbed to the mountain top for the view, others explored the mine, others relaxed. The return trip saw Jeremy tip his Jeep onto a large rock causing some body damage. It was still early enough that most of us decided to try the Grizzly Lake trail. The trail was rocky as usual but was not difficult. Rain forced us to turn aroung at the lake and return. We returned to camp for a nice evening around the campfie. Home on Monday

Holy Cross Camping Trip
August 5-7, 2007
Leader: Paul Beaudean

The trip started on a cloudy and damp Friday morning. Trip leader Paul B., Dave, Rob, Fred, Sue and Glen, Mike, and guest Dan. The first half of the trail provided little problems with all vehicles making it to Frenchman Creek. There the fun started. Trip leader Paul B. had no problem because of the flatfender's narrow width. This obstacle has changed in a way which makes it very difficult for wider vehicles. Everyone else (except for Sue) had to be winched or relied on rock stacking. The root was dug out very badly and much rock stacking had to be done in order to cross it safely. Lunch was taken at the city at which time the rains came. The slick conditions made Cleveland Rock too dangerous to attempt. The weather cleared on the return trip and the day became much more pleasant. Saturday we took a short trip over McCallister Gulch to view The Mount of the Holy Cross but it was shrouded in clouds. Another night at the camp site and home on Sunday.

Eagle Rock and Saran Wrap
June 3, 2007
Leader: Matt Dodds

  The Group (Matt in the Red YJ, Fred and Dylan in the Blue (is it really blue?) JK, Dave and Ernie in the Brown YJ, Glen in the Toyota 4 Runner, Paul in the 1945 CJ, Mike, Zackary and Chuck in the Yellow LJ and John in the Black TJ) met at the Southgate plaza and headed for the trail just after 8 am. It was a beautiful morning. We aired down at the start of Old Stage road. At the turnoff to Eagle Rock trail the water was across the road. We headed up to the clearing and met up with Jeremy, Katie and Aliah in there newly acquired XJ and Mac and Levi in their Dodge Pickup. All 5 of them had camped on the trail over night. Jeremy wanted to run the trail but was not quite ready, so Glen left the 4 Runner and jumped in with me and the rest of us turned around and headed for Saran Wrap.

  Saran Wrap is always a fun little trail to run and we had a good time running it. The trail was wet and traction was not at its best. John (running the smallest tires in the group) had a little difficulty at the top of the last obstacle and required a little assistance from Mr. Warn to get past it. We finished the trail quickly and met back up with the campers. Mac and Levi headed home and the rest of us headed up Eagle Rock.

   Eagle Rock was wet and still had patches of snow and hail on the trail. We got to the first obstacle and everyone mad it through without incident. Heading up the next section there was a large rock in the middle of the trail that was giving people some trouble. After finding a better home for the rock, we continued up the trail. The amount of snow was steadily increasing and when we got to the section the cuts across the side hill it was impassable. The trail is already off camber and the snow drift was completely covering the road. Since we did not want to dig the trail out, so we turned around. On the way down we met up with 17 rigs coming up the trail from Colorado4x4.org. It was still early and we decided to head up to Deer Creek and try to get in the back way. The weather was turning bad and Paul was having some steering problems, so Paul and Dave headed back to town.

  Deer Creek started out with a nice snow drift across the trail right at the beginning. Mike made several attempts to get through the drift, then yielded to the trip leader. I was able to break through on my first try (according to Mike, he made the drift smaller). There was even more snow on this trail and eventually we ran in to enough to call it a day. We did not make it to the exit of Eagle Rock. The group turned around and headed home. It was a good day of wheeling even though we only completed Saran Wrap trail. Better luck next time.

This was John’s second trip with the club and someone needs to sponsor him for membership.

Chinaman Gulch
May 20, 2007
Leader: Mike Borum

  Okay, so it was only two rigs. But we sure had fun on Chinaman Gulch trail near Buena Vista, and the weather was fairly awesome. Fred was riding shotgun in Dan's hardcore Bronco II and Glen was the official trip photograher and passenger in my yellow LJ.

  We practically had the trail to ourselves. We saw a TJ with its fuel tank sitting in the dirt. We learned later on that he had lost a fuel pump and had to leave it on the trail overnight while he went to town to get parts. We passed a couple rigs parked off the trail, but never encountered anyone else.

  The first part of the trail was no problem for our well-built rigs and we quickly got to the Rock Pile. We crawled back and forth on that fun obstacle and even tried some different lines. On Whale Rock I did more posing than driving, and my rear bumper was like a plow. I finally gave up and took the middle line with ease. Dan just crawled right up the left side like it was no big deal! Those huge 39 inch IROKs helped. On the mini Double Whammy, I left a lot of rubber but couldn't get any traction. Dan bounced on it one too many times and snapped the t-case yoke and joint, which caused the rear driveshaft to drop in the dirt. But he finished the rest of the trail in front-wheel drive just fine. Just another fun day of wheelin'.

Mike

Eagle Rock
May 6, 2007
Leader: Mike Borum

It was a day for wheeling, weather-wise not so much. But that didn’t deter the ten rigs that showed up from seeking out some fun. In addition to Rob, Fred, Mike, Paul, Sue, Glen, and Jeremey, there were also four more Jeeps.

Deep snow just above the first obstacle prevented this big group from breaking the trail, but a trip through Saran Wrap made it a good day anyway.

Enjoy the pics!
Mike