The 2017 Great Texas Exodus!

[WJCO]

I love seeing all these pictures from Texas. I honestly always thought of Texas as flat and hot, have not ever had the chance to travel, but this is eye opening to me. This may be closer to get to that clear out west if I ever get away. Maybe when I retire I'll jump in the jeep and just drive


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Lol. If you aren't being sarcastic, this is not Texas in the photos.

 

[g_dubb]

Enjoy......
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Maybe he found some leftover corn in the toilet....


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[JKbrick]

Lol. If you aren't being sarcastic, this is not Texas in the photos.

Not being sarcastic, I wondered where Texas looked like this? Everyone left Texas for out west I assume?


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[WJCO]

Not being sarcastic, I wondered where Texas looked like this? Everyone left Texas for out west I assume?


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Yes. Colorado and Utah.

 

[JKbrick]

Yes. Colorado and Utah.

Should start reading at post 1 apparently [emoji848]


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[OhNoTheJiggies]

I hate you all.

Next time, I'm gonna go buy some of those XXXXXXL underwear and stretch them over the hood of the Jeep.

Sorry for ever making the male stripper associaton hahaha

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[Flat Top]

Trail Day Two - Rouge Group One - Poughkeepsie Gulch

Day two in Ouray. We were hoping to do Black Bear Pass but the weather and snow lead to the closure of the trail. The main group ran Ophir Pass but 5 of us split off to run Poughkeepsie Gulch (I happened to be in the right place at the right time).

The group consisted of:
moteaux
g_dubb
Kilroy
Mizippi
myself







The mail obstacle on the trail is The Wall. The group checking out two the the three paths.


Brad (Mizippi) was eager to flex his 40's.

Once he mapped the line it was pretty easy for the rest of us (mostly) .

G_Dubb taking advantage of a good breakover to perform a quick trail fix on his rear diff cover. Poser pic from my Old Man.


Working the trail past the Wall to see if we can find a shorter route back to Silverton.


Mizzipi wanted to show his trail fix skills on a tranny linkage problem. G_dubb providing cover.


With G-dubb leading the way we worked to see how far we could get up the trail. Hint, not much furthur..... The sign in the background provider an alternate route.


A mountain lake that we just HAD to stop and check out.


Backside of the trail. Stopping to check out the quickest route home.


After getting off the trail we decided to part take in pizza and beer. During lunch I was informed the Brad Pitt(Kilroy) was wheeling with us. I was impressed to say the least.

 

[Flat Top]

Maybe he found some leftover corn in the toilet....


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Underrated post.. :cheesy::cheesy:

Your avatar makes so much sense after meeting you....

 

[Flat Top]

Trail Day Three - Travel to Moab - Top Of the World

Monday 9-25-17

Time to make the 3 hour drive from Ouray to Moab. We left Colorado for the scenic drive to Moab. Moteaux, G_dubb, Romac and myself were in the slacker coffee group. I spent most to the journey chasing down Moteaux and then g-dubb. The change from green mountains to red rock was very cool for this Texas boy who stares at pine trees, concrete and pastures for most of his daily commute.

Waiting for the other slackers to get their coffee and gas.


Hole in the Rock on the way to Moab


Before we even got to Moab we could hear the main group state that we could not check in until at least 1:00 PM (UHF/VHF radios are the shizz)
We had planned to run Top of the World AFTER we checked in but we did not want to wait so the call was to head out prior to check in. :thumb:


The trail head is an hour out of town but were treated to one of the cooler drives along the Colorado river (UT-128).



Once at the trail head we aired down and took in the sight of an old suspension bridge.



A couple of stops along the way for minor obstacles, mostly tiered shelves but not very difficult.




We pushed on to The Ledge. It's was kinda weird. I've seen all these photos of Jeeps out on this ledge and had this picture in my head. You basically work your way up this unassuming slope and then the edge of the world just drops off. The view is absolutely amazing.



We took our turns with the obligatory poser pics.

Nick: Come on, you got like 10 feet!
Me: I don't believe you...


Google pics can sometime stitch together some really interesting shots.


Everyone crowded together after pics. What did Jiggies break NOW??


We then worked our way back off the trail loop to get back before nightfall.

Once again the drive back down 128 was gorgeous.





We stopped at the Atomic Grill for dinner before finally checking in at the KOA.


Edit - Basic Time Lapse of the entire day.

 

[Flat Top]

Day 1 Time Lapse:

Day 2 Time Lapse:

 

[Flat Top]

Trail Day Four - Hell's Revenge

Tuesday 9-26-17

Day 4 has Hell's Revenge on the schedule.
Randy(moteaux) had some issues with his power steering pump on the trail the day before so he, GraniteHead/Exodus Jeeps(Bubba), Jackal01(Charlie) and G_Dubb(GW) worked to get the spare that Randy had on hand swapped out before we hit the trail.

Latte's Matter!


The Tail-head is in a park and requires a $5 entry fee (well worth it!) and was only about 15 mins from the KOA. I did not get a pic but the iconic (but closed) Lions Back was in view as we made our way to the entrance.

The group airing down getting ready to hit the trail.


The tip of the day over-heard from a "Trail Guide" in the parking lot was "Stay passenger on Hell's Gate". (But you did not hear that from me...) :idontknow:

With Bubba(ExodusJeeps) leading the way we made our way through the park.

Hell's Gate is the main obstacle on the trail so we spent some time there working down the entrance:

The groups staged at the top of the entrance.


TexasNick working down with g-dubb spotting:

G_dubb:

Moteaux:

Jiggies(OhNoThe)

ExodusJeeps

KilRoy trying not to give haircuts with the drone:


Once we were all down, some of us (ME) realized that not only in there and entrance but and exit as well. What comes down must also go up? :idontknow:

 

[Flat Top]

Trail Day Four - Hell's Revenge - continued.

Once we were all down, some of us (ME) realized that not only in there and entrance but and exit as well. What comes down must also go up? :idontknow:

PROJKUR checking out the exit.


Heading out.

G_Dubb:

Jackal01:

GraniteHead giving Moteaux a quick pointer:

Jiggies:

Kilroy making his way out:

 

[Jackal01]

Awesome coverage, brother! Love it!

 

[Romac2223]

Great job Tom


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[DWiggles]

Yeah, looks like pretty epic trip for sure. :thumb:

 

[Flat Top]

Trail Day Four - Hell's Revenge - continued.

Last out of Hell's Gate was GraniteHead in WarPig (obigatory poser pic at the top);



After Hell's Gate we broke for lunch.







We continued on the trail and came across the Hot Tub area in the park. The main Black Hole was intimidating enough and had enough water and oil sheen (along with the familiar scent of gear oil) that we all decided to skip (although I'm sure that TexasNick and PROJKUR were seriously thinking about it...)



A few of us did decide to try one of the other tubs.



GraniteHead:

My perspective driving thru:



On the way out of the hot tub area TexasNick and PROJKUR doubled back as we passed a small but tricky looking hole called Mickey's Hot Tub. This thing looked just big enough for a side-by-side, I did not think a JKU would even fit. Both Nick and Patrick proved me wrong:

TexasNick

PROJKUR

It was getting late enough in the afternoon that the group was working to get off the trail to have a little daylight left over but Nick and Patrick noticed a sign to The Escalator and could not pass it up. They split off to give it a run and I tagged along.

Nick got a little sideways on the second step and well:






His tailpipe ended up underwater and he stalled so he decided to take the safe way out. I worked up around the exit and pulled him out just enough to get clear of the water.


After Nick got cleared we all headed back to the main trail and on to the exit. Nick apparently got quite a bit of oil past the rings and looked like he was spaying for mosquitoes most of the way back.



Another Fantastic day on the trails!

 

[Exodus 4x4]

Last out of Hell's Gate was GraniteHead in WarPig (obigatory poser pic at the top);

View attachment 279545

After Hell's Gate we broke for lunch.

View attachment 279546

View attachment 279547

View attachment 279548

We continued on the trail and came across the Hot Tub area in the park. The main Black Hole was intimidating enough and had enough water and oil sheen (along with the familiar scent of gear oil) that we all decided to skip (although I'm sure that TexasNick and PROJKUR were seriously thinking about it...)

View attachment 279549

A few of us did decide to try one of the other tubs.

View attachment 279550

GraniteHead:

My perspective driving thru:
View attachment 279553
View attachment 279554

On the way out of the hot tub area TexasNick and PROJKUR doubled back as we passed a small but tricky looking hole called Mickey's Hot Tub. This thing looked just big enough for a side-by-side, I did not think a JKU would even fit. Both Nick and Patrick proved me wrong:

TexasNick

PROJKUR

It was getting late enough in the afternoon that the group was working to get off the trail to have a little daylight left over but Nick and Patrick noticed a sign to The Escalator and could not pass it up. They split off to give it a run and I tagged along.

Nick got a little sideways on the second step and well:
View attachment 279556

View attachment 279557

View attachment 279558

His tailpipe ended up underwater and he stalled so he decided to take the safe way out. I worked up around the exit and pulled him out just enough to get clear of the water.
View attachment 279559

After Nick got cleared we all headed back to the main trail and on to the exit. Nick apparently got quite a bit of oil past the rings and looked like he was spaying for mosquitoes most of the way back.

View attachment 279560

Another Fantastic day on the trails!

Supposedly I 2 wheeled at some point on Hells Gate, but I’ve yet to see an actual picture.

Nice work Tom!


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[Flat Top]

Supposedly I 2 wheeled at some point on Hells Gate, but I’ve yet to see an actual picture.

Nice work Tom!

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I got proof of you coming down!

What really interesting in the video is g_dubb scooting down after you with Maverick.

 

[moteaux]

Find any scenic trails near there? Going in a few weeks.

It was just a sleep stop for me. I didn’t look around.


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[Flat Top]

Trail Day Five(Last) - Poison Spider Mesa/Gold Bar Rim/ Golden Spike/Rusty nail

Wednesday 9-27-17

The last day on the trail. Many of the group was pretty worn out from the pace of the trip while others wanted to do family trips around Moab. We had 5 rigs in the group:

GraniteHead(ExodusJeeps) with g_dubb riding shotgun
PROJKUR
Kilroy
Romac223
Me

Poison Spider Mesa was the trail for today. It's about 30 minutes run from the KOA and along the Colorado. The weather was overcast and drizzling so I was wondering how that would impact the trails.

The group running along the Colorado down UT-279.



The drizzle continued for the first 30 minutes on the trail. While is did make the trail muddy, traction on the "Slickrock" was still pretty good considering.

This was a VERY rough trail with lots of ledges and drops. While my dad was commenting on being "All Shook Up" for Top of the World he was now "Shaking, Rattling and Rolling". I heard alot of "OOMFS" from the passenger seat as well bumped down the trail.






We hit a couple of the more well know obstacles:

V-Notch:







Romac

Kilroy

Launch Pad:





V-Notch was pretty innocuous while the Launch Pad does looks intimidating and has a pretty decent pucker factor when you hit a secondary bump about 3/4 of the way up. You are already a a fairly steep angle and the slight increase make you clench a tad more.

We were already 3 or 4 hours into the trail and not quite to the halfway point so we started looking for an alternate route to get off the trail little sooner.

Gold Bar Rim provided some fantastic view of Moab below:





We also ran across the famous Golden Crack.

















To be continued: