I'm with ya Jack. HITR, Arch Canyon, The Swell all sound great. It sounds like the week of 4/7-11 may not be the best for you. Can we do it the week of 4/21-25? If not I "could" get off 4/14-18 but sometimes they give us grief when we take off our Fridays to work. 9/80 is great but they expect us to be there on our Fridays. I can do it if necessary - I just don't like rocking the boat. I'll run whatever you think would be good - with one possible exception - the Moab trip schedule on BII.org hasn't moved much so we'll see what develops there. If the dates are close I might want to head over there for a day or two to meet the guys and run a couple trails. So plan what works best for you and I'll run it all except for a possible Moab diversion. Also a couple folks on a local NM board have shown some interest in HITR. Do you mind if I tell them about your/our plans?

 

Not a problem. You just tell me what you want to do and we'll work it all out. Right now I have some other guys over on the Gangs site who have said they wanted to go but no responce on dates yet. As I said before I can be out for 10 days or two weeks if needed. HITR just takes 2 days. Some built rigs go in and back out in one day. Others take three days and stop for side trips and hikes.

Larry is always a maybe. I just received my last issue of Off-Road Magazine and Phil Howell wrote about his move to 4WD & SUV mag for the Febuary issue that will be out in December. The last info I received was that Phil was going to run Larry's Outlaw trail series of articles starting with February issue and that should run through the summer. But there are months of lead time for a story so Larry may be ready to complete the Trail of the Ancient Ones that he start when we were last out that way in April this year.

Maybe we could even do two groups. A group for the more difficult stuff and folks who want to work a bit to get there rigs up and over stuff. And another group of folks who wanted to kick back.

 

Jack - How about we run HITR 4/21-22 or 4/22-23? Then we can do other stuff (Arch Canyon?) or whatever. Maybe I'll head over to Moab the end of the week and meet up with some of the BII.org guys. Looks like they'll be there then. I dropped the question to a few local friends about HITR but no answer yet. I should hear in a few days on that.

 

Works for me.

 

Awright! That sounds great! Stay in Halls Crossing the night B4? Any word from Boss or Joe about going on this? Starting to sound like a rerun! I do plan on rewriting one scene though!

 

Ahhhhh!!!! Baskin Robbins time again. Baskin Robbins made 31 flavors for a reason. To me it's not my kind of camping if the campsite has numbers on it. Not saying either is good or bad, just up to ones taste. As you know where everything is I'm gonna camp out on the trail somewhere. My flavor of icecream is all it is. When I go to Baskin Robbins and pay my money I get the flavor I like. Not everyone likes the same flavor so it don't bother me that folks stay in motels or Campgrounds.

N7 and you are down for this on this board. Boss has sent me an e-mail and wants to come out again. Just have to see how that works out with his truck. I think he wants to head on over to Moab also. Then Duane and Thomas are maybe's. I have Big Red and Rollie from the Gang site are going to try to make it.

Now Moab is not anywhere near my flavor from EJS (a week or two before Easter) till it's too hot to do anything. So I'll skip that part, but again if that's your flavor it don't bother me. I can work around that.

I talked with Larry last night and his family wants to do Arch Canyon and poke around the ruins in that area the last week of April or the first week of May. But Larry has a interview for a new job and as I said I most likely won't know if Larry will be out untill I check my phone messages while I'm out in Utah.

I talked with Bob (Sundance) last night also. He really wants to make the August Colorado trip as his good friend Doug (Dutchy) and Dougs girlfreind will be out for that. But he has a bit of cabin fever and the vacation book for next year and asked for the dates in April.

Folks are welcome to join me camping in the desert. Or stay in near by motels or campgrounds. Lots of stuff to do in Utah. Just let me know what your flavor is and we'll work it out.

 

Just like the original screening of this trip - I'll have to leave my tow rig in HC. It's a bit of a hassle dealing w/ it but no way can I drive the B2 400mi loaded down. Hills are a killer. It's a good rig off road but w/ 140hp and 5000+lb - it's no hiway star. If you plan to camp out on the HITR trail first night maybe I'll do that with ya - hopefully we can leave HC in time to set up camp in daylight. Keep our fingers crossed for drier weather in the spring!

I don't particularly look forward to dealing with the crowds in Moab but the BroncoII.org group will be there and at least one local guy here in Abq who is a member of NAXJA says they will be there too. So meeting them and wheeling wiith them would be fun but HITR and hopefully Arch Canyon and whatever else there is time for is priority for me. Like I said a month or two ago, if I have to choose, it's HITR.

 

Looks like there are no takers on the local board. The two guys I thought might go for sure won't make it. So are those dates good for you - sometime early the week of 4/21-25? I plan to leave NM Saturday 4/19 and be in UT till 4/27.

 

Looks like the weekend of 4/25,26,27 is not good for Moab. I looked into room rates and even motel 6 wants $130. The quiet condos I used to stay in for $50 are now $135. These ridiculous rates are due to a car show that weekend. I called almost every place w/ a toll free # and rates are the same for all, but most are sold out already anyway.

Don't know what the BII.org guys are gonna do now but if they move it up to the weekend of 4/19-20 I may do that first and go down to HITR on the 21st. Then hang with you Jack till 4/27.

 

Most rates go up starting with EHS. This year when we were out that way Jim, Boss's friend, did not make reservations. He had trouble getting a room in Blanding. And of course there were no rooms in Moab. And you remember the trouble we had in Bluff with the room rate quote we received early in the year and the higher rates that were in place when we arrived. Then the campground no hook up spots in Halls Crossing that were next to the trailers in the off season and then at the other new location accross the road when we arrived.

A guy I took out to Utah a few years ago went back with a friend of his this year and they even had trouble with stuff being booked up in Hanksville and Vernal.

Friends this is none to early to start planning this stuff. If you like campgrounds the one in Halls crossing and the one in Blanding are not bad. Blanding has a good range of Motels and the campground at Halls Crossing has three bed room trailers for rent. Those trailers are really affordable if you split it 3 ways. Even more so if you add a 4th person on the sofa. Hanksville and Green River have rooms and campgrounds also.

I'll visit those campgrounds to get a shower and the towns for gas and supplies. So it's not too much trouble to combine my camping out in the desert with others staying in town. And anyone who wants to camp with me is welcome.

We are going to have to start planning stuff for Colorado next year also. Things book up fast in the San Juans and Buena Vista area also.

 

Jack, The weekend of 4/25 is out for Moab. If I do the Moab thing w/ the B2.org guys on 4/19,20, and maybe 4/21 also, could we start HITR on 4/22?

 

Sounds good to me. I have April 18th through the 25th penciled in. I may stop by Moab and say howdy but most likely I do other stuff on those days. Poke around the test site up at Green River and maybe head down to Robbers Roost and Hanksville. Might even slip over and do Devils Race Track. Just have to see how stuff goes. Someone else might want to do somethin else also.

 

So who all do we have in on this? Delorme says it's 162 miles from Moab to Halls Crossing. Should take about 3 hours. Folks need to take it easy in that area just south of Moab if you pull a trailer. There can be heavy cross winds and passing will be difficult.

So the plan is to go in HITR on tuesday the 22nd and camp at the top of Cottonwood Hill tuesday night then drive back out on wednesday the 23rd? Thursday 24th we could move over to Blanding and do Arch Canyon on the way. Hotel Rock on friday the 25th. Elephant on saturday the 26th.

There is more of the HITR road from Clay Hills pass east to Bluff but that is difficult to do with trailered rigs.

 

Sounds like a good plan, Jack! Not sure how many from BII.org just yet. Probably 1 or 2 vehicles from the sounds of it.

 

Just checked and Heep Hamboree will be at Arch Canyon April 18-20. Cost is $450 a person and Mark Smith himself will be there. Most likely why the cost is over twice normal. They should be gone by the time we get there on the following thrusday. The trail will be easy to follow. Just follow the broken peices of Heep.

Most likely I'll be out in Utah before the 18th. Not sure what I'll do yet. May go over into the monument. Most likely will hit the old test site at Green River.