April 2002 - Moab - Day 1

Trail Rating - Varies

Trip Leader: Chris Villarreal

Photos submitted by Chris Villarreal

Moab - Day 2 - Moab Rim, Lower & Upper Helldorado

Moab - Day 3 - Hell's Revenge

Moab - Day 4 - Prichett Canyon, Behind the Rocks

Moab - Day 5 - Golden Spike

The alarm clock rang at 2:30am on April 16th, it was time to go to Moab.  I was still bolting stuff down and packing tools the night before but we were as ready as we were going to be.

About mid-morning just past Kayenta we hit some sort of construction traffic, hope they don't build all their roads like the one in the second picture....

(Click for larger images)

Monument Valley.

Welcome to Utah.

Mexican Hat.

We were within 50 miles of Moab and I was expecting to see giant red mesas and spires but the terrain looked totally flat.  There were a few rounded rock formations here and there but I was beginning to wonder.  It was not till later that we realized we were on top of the mesas, soon the road dipped down into the valleys and we knew we had found Moab. 

We arrived around noon and unpacked our stuff at the Slickrock campground.  Shortly after that, Tim and Alicia arrived (from Tennessee).   Erik and Becky were running late so we decided to go and try to find a trail to pass the afternoon.  Using the Moab trails book and a map Tim had gotten, we managed to stumble across the Hell's Revenge trail.  The very first obstacle is a narrow slickrock fin with a 50 foot drop on both sides at the top.  It was scary at first, but then you start realizing the rocks around Moab are like sandpaper and the traction is excellent, allowing you to climb some crazy obstacles.

We proceeded to following the trail which winds its way up and down the rounded slickrock hills.  It was pretty easy to find our way,  the trail is marked with little fireball symbols and there are lots of tire marks.  I took a picture of my tire after a little driving, the slickrock is so abrasive it looks like I have been driving on pavement.  Shortly after this we heard a loud tearing sound come from Tim's Zuk.  He stopped and couldn't find anything wrong.  Shortly after that he started hearing a popping sound when he loaded up the drivetrain.  I watched as he drove forward and could see the front driveshaft jumping in unison with the popping noises.  Our best guess was either the locker was slipping or a couple teeth might have been stripped from the ring or pinion gear.  We decided to head back to camp to check it out.

One of the many steep climbs on the Hells Revenge trail.  If you have a fear of heights, Moab is not the place for you.

The last picture shows the first slickrock fin we climbed along at the start of the trail.  After we got back to camp Tim played around with the Zuk and noticed the popping only occurred when going forward in 4wd.  The logical place to start was the front end so we started to disassemble it.  He had brought one jackstand and I brought one so the job was a little easier.  Once the third member was pulled we couldn't find and teeth missing from the gears.  Tim put the third member in a vice and started to check out the locker.  It looked like there was a lot of play in the locker.  Several other 4 wheelers gathered around (no doubt attracted by the smell of gear oil and associated trail carnage) and everyone seemed to agree the locker was the culprit.  Tim planned to get some new springs in the morning from Moab Offroad.

By this time Erik and Becky rolled in, but without their motorhome.  Seems it was having some cooling issues and they gave up around 2am Monday morning and returned home from Black Canyon City.  They got some rest and hooked up the Zuk & trailer to their truck in the morning.  Our plan for Wednesday was to hook up with some people from the Allied Signal 4x4 club.  We were going to run Moab Rim in the morning, check on Tim's progress at lunch and then run Lower and Upper Helldorado.

 Moab - Day 2