Added 13 June 2000
THE DISCLAIMER: With the exception of stock ponds, and the occasional necessity of turning around, I *ALWAYS* drive on established roads and trails. Doing otherwise is not only bad karma, but it leads to ill-will towards four-wheelers/four-wheeling and makes people want to close vehicles out of the beautiful environs that we all enjoy. Please be respectful of private property (don't trespass!) and public lands, as other people want to enjoy them too. Also leave gates as you find them (closed if closed, and open if open.) If a road has a big mud hole in the middle of it, do NOT go around it, as it only makes the road wider, eventually making the mud hole wider. This cycle of foolishness can get out of control. If you can't make it through the puddle, you shouldn't be there. Turn around and find someplace else to explore. TREAD LIGHTLY! For more information on responsible wheeling, go HERE or HERE Ziggy at dirtroad.com says it best, "Use your 4-wheel drive to enjoy the environment, don't use the environment to enjoy your 4-wheel drive!"
On the second day, Tim and Angela decided to go do some sight-seeing, so it was just Steve & Anita, Dave, myself & Shannon. We went out to a BLM area East of town to hit some more difficult trails. The first trail we did was Fins and Things, rated 3 1/2. Fins and Things was definitely my favorite trail. Early on, we hit this rock face. There was a steep route, a shallower route, and a go-around. Steve was leading and investigated the go-around. When he got to the top, he got out his video camera because I decided to give the steep route a try. I entered the steep route, but my receiver hitch was dragging too much so I backed out and took the shallower route with no problems.
Dave followed up the shallower route in his built-up 4-Runner. Then Steve came back down to try his hand at the rock. He first tried the steep route.
After we got Steve's rig back in go mode, we convinced Dave to try the steep route. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of it. It was pretty damn impressive. He hopped his truck up the incline and made his way to the top.
Here are some more assorted pics from Fins and Things, including some pics of Dave's 4-Runner.
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After Fins and Things, we decided to try Porpupine Rim, rated at 3 1/2. The first quarter-mile of Porcupine Rim was a little nervy. The road is on a loose, narrow, sometimes off-camber shelf 1000 feet above the canyon bottom. When we got to a wide spot, Steve decided to turn around. Dave and I decided to continue on. Unfortunately, most of my pics on Porcupine Rim didn't come out. It is a great trail though, and eventually affords phenomenal views of the Moab Valley 1500 feet below and the La Sal mountains in the background.
Unfortunately, we had to get back to meet the rest of the group for dinner, and never did fully explore the trail. Yet another good reason to go back!
To go back to DAY 1, CLICK HERE
If you're in the Tucson area, drop me a line and we can go wheelin' sometime.
Speaking of which, if you own a Highrider/ZR2/BlaZeR2, or want to find out more about the best little 4X4's around, check out these great sites:
http://www.zr2.com and http://www.zr2hr.org
There is also a ZR2 discussion group, which is very fun for talking about our special trucks and in getting ideas, help, and useful information. I have learned a great deal from the list. You can join by sending an e-mail to mailto:zr2@zr2hr.org with the word "SUBSCRIBE" (without the quotes) in the subject line.
ENJOY!
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