Well, It was that time of the year again...Moab beckoned...So Digger and I went! I had the 1942 Dodge WC-63/PW Dump Truck 6x6, and Digger had a borrowed 'souped-up' Jeep CJ-6! We met up with Russ and Denise from Evanston, WY., Mac and his Dad from Texas, and Devon Parsons and his wife from Utah. No one else showed up! So all I can say is they missed out on some fun! 12-01-05 I had to close the guestbook due to spammers, sorry!
Date(s): November 14, 2004. Album by John Eickhof. 1 - 117 of 117 Total. 6269 Visits.
1 The WC-63/PW at camp ready to roll!
2 First thing Friday morning... the old 6x6 was pressed into service helping to unload a WW2 WC-51 Dodge 3/4 ton truck from Russ' trailer onto Mac's trailer...
3 The trusty MU-2 winch provided the muscle to pull the WC onto Mac's trailer..for the ride south to Texas.
4 Here Russ is taking some BS from Digger... or is it the other way around???
5 And here is the crew...L-R Russ, Digger, Mac from Texas, and Mac's Dad...
6 Which front end looks better???
7 here's looking from the other side...
8 Of course, no trail is too challenging for Digger, especially when he has a new toy to test out! Here we see him taking this nicely modified Jeep CJ-6 with 350 chev, 4 speed trans, ARB lockers front & rear, up the infamous 'Lion's Back' rock!
9 Digger asked if anyone wanted to ride along...Mac and his Dad, Devon and his wife, and Russ and Denise all declined...so Bo the Dog was the only one brave enough to join him!
10 It is a very steep rock, the grade is better than 110 % or 48 degrees!and the climb is about 300 feet long!
11 Here's a side view from Russ...
12 the little bump on top of the rock is Digger's Jeep! He is about 200 feet abouve the desert floor on the left of the rock!
13 He's almost down...he made it look easy!
14 While Russ and Denise were escorting Mac and his Dad out of town, Digger had his next challenge...the very well known 'Potatoe Salad Hill' a very difficult obstacle that many a Jeep has rolled backwards end-over-end while trying to ascend it!!
15 I had the trusty PW at the ready on top for winch duty if Digger can't make the hill...
16 It is a series of tall rock ledges varying from 24 to 50 inches high!
17 This is as far as Digger cound make it...just about the top, but even with the lockers, he was unable to get there!
18 So, not wanting a Dodge to rescue him, he used my truck as a deadman and used his own 12000 lb winch to get him over the top!
19 He's on the top now! The old Dodge didn't even move!
20 Russ gets a shot of me in full retreat after the connecting driveline seperated on a steep dip on the Hell's Revenge Trail..
21 I slowly descend the steep grade..
22 you can see me ascending the other side...I had only the front axle and forward rear axle in use...plus tire pressure was at 35lbs!!
23 I later lowered the tires down to a more tractive 20 psi!
24 We then met up with Devon and Russ in Devon's Jeep to go on the 'Hell's Revenge' trail, I had a minor difficulty with the 6x6 after about the first mile or so when the newly made drivelinf between the pillow block on the forward rear axle and the rear axle differential seperated on a steep climb because it was about 2 inches too short! So I retreated with the 6x6 to flat ground and joined up with Digger in the Jeep. Here Digger is starting up 'Tip Over Challenge'
25 The 'Tip Over' is just what it is named for!!
26 He went right on up with no trouble at all!! You just have to love lockers and good suspension!!
27 Here old Digger tries another climb, but the rock proves too slippery for him...
28 I guess that's why they call it 'slickrock'
29 on the way out we took a shortcut...so we could go out to where we started and I could get the 6x6...
30 Digger takes a break..
31 Digger still on break!
32 Devon heads his jeep down a rock to attempt the 'Dump-Bump'...
33 Digger follows along..
34 Devon tries to get over the 'Dump Bump'...
35 they named it such as it has a tendancy to set you down on your tailgate!
36 Yes, Devon worked hard to try and scale it...
37 Digger decided to retreat!!
38 Devon still won't give up! Notice the person standing in the back ground! This rock is almost vertical!
39 He''s so close...yet so far! Devon decided it was time to stop and try again another day...
40 Yes, it looks like he just wants to park on the spare tire!!
41 we are finished with the Hell's Revenge trail, Russ catches me taking a beer break!
42 The next day, since the 6x6 was down (Sunday, no driveline shop open) I joined Digger again in the Jeep, and Devon, Russ and the ladies in Devon's Jeep. We went to the 'Rusty Nail Trail' that is at the end of the Golden Spike trail..
43 It is a beautiful trail...
44 This is at the beginning of the Rusty Nail! Devon gave it a real hard try...
45 Here Devon climbs out to look at his position on the rock..
46 He tried several more times.
47 Devon has 'rock crawling' down to a science!!
48 'patience' is one of the four keys to crawling on rock...
49 the other three are 'tractio' 'power' and 'suspension' plus the unpublished 'balls'!
50 Digger heads through the bypass..
51 Here is one of the more interesting obstacles! You must come from where Devon's wife is, drop down that 2 foot ledge, then make a hard right and drop down a 5-6 foot vertical face, then straddle large rocks and drop back down to earth while hugging the wall behind Russ and Denise!!
52 Here comes Devon...ready to drop off the 5-6 foot vertical!
53 Digger is assessing the challenge as Devon heads in...
54 He's down and now is straddling the rocks!
55 at this point just before dropping off the rocks Russ could stand undernieth the Jeep! It is at least 5 feet off the ground! Digger is looking at this up on the high rock!
56 not to be out done..Digger heads on down! Russ is guiding him!
57 Digger is doing fine except the fenders on his Jeep are wider than the wheels so extra care is needed to keep damage to a minimum!
58 and he's just about down!
59 He stops at another set of ledges for a ciggy break!
60 then down he goes!
61 onward... upward... this ledge proved to be fatal for Digger...
62 The transfer case rubber mounting decided to give up!! I wonder why? Here I am helping Digger chain the t-case down so we can continue...this beside the poor running carburetor on the Jeep were just the beginning of our hectic week...
63 We are on the trail again...
64 meanwhile, Devon is trying yet another difficult challenge!!
65 yes...he has been on these trails many times in the past years, so he is not afraid of most challenges!!
66 Meanwhile..Digger has now lost his ARB lockers...an apparent air line break...so he winched himself onto flat rock so repairs could be made...
67 While Devon was playing, I repaired the broken air line for Digger...that is the one weakness of air-operated lockers...
68 Devon was having fun anyway!!
69 This is the ledge Devon was climbing!
70 Digger is back in action, thanks to a hack-saw!
71 Monday, I got the driveline rebuilt to the proper dimension at a local shop in Moab, here I have the 6x6 on Fins and things trail for a test run.
72 here I am demonstrating the action of the 'walking beam' 6x6...
73 this is a steep drop on the Fins and Things trail..there are two more on this same rock, one you drive up!
74 It finally got warm enough for me to open the windshield!
75 Here is another test of the drive suspension!
76 the rear tires are off the ground!
77 The winch bumpers have a habit of grinding rock in many places at Moab! We are now on the Hell's Revenge Trail...
78 This is the reason I underestimated the drive shaft length required on the rear axle!
79 The pintle hitch swivels sideways! I would have made a greater impression in the rock if it didn't!
80 Digger finds another challenge! A set of rocky steps near the "tip over challenge'
81 with lockers engaged he heads on up...
82 very steep! very wet too!
83 the only problem was the Jeep would die right when he needed the power to climb!
84 quite an angle for a regular carburetor!
85 At the 'Tip over challenge' I found that even a rear bed clearance of better than 40" is no match to the steepness of the rocks, I found rock with the bed when I backed down the second half of the obstacle to get a better line..as it was I still had to winch myself over as the wet sand and rock limited the traction that day..
86 Digger too was unable to make the challenge without his winch...
87 The next day we joined up with Lonnie Farmer of Moab and went on the 'Cliffhanger' trail! Digger is approaching a large drop that is on the trail hanging on a cliff over 400 feet off the valley floor!
88 No sweat for the Jeep or Digger...
89 Here comes Lonnie...
90 not too bad...
91 he heads on down...
92 this is a view over the hill looking at where Digger and I camp along the Colorado River! It is only a mile or so as the crow flies, but it is a 3 hour drive on the trail!
93 Beer break at the turn around on Cliffhanger.
94 This is the Cliffhanger!! You can barely see the trail hugging the cliff!
95 Here the boys are ready to climb back up that drop off..the cliff is to the left and the drop is only about 400 feet straight down!
96 Digger makes it look simple!
97 the Tonka Toy did well this day!
98 So did Digger!
99 Lonnie tries it next...
100 No problem...
101 This sure doesn't look like minnesota!! I brought the 6x6 on this trail Sunday Morning by myself, I had no problems at all!
102 Thursday morning...Digger has to attempt the 'Pritchett Canyon' trail..perhaps the most difficult one in Moab! This trail has chewed up and spit out Digger twice in years before...he has never made it through...so he thinks the Jeep may be the way...well, it did not last long!
103 After leaving the Jeep and the Chevy pickup (at the other end of the winch line) the night before and hiking 5 miles back down the trail to camp, we returned Friday morning to attempt to get the rigs over the top. I did not bring the 6x6 on Thursday as I know already how tough and brutal this trail is!
104 What happened late thursday evening was this...We successfully made it all the way up the trail to the last obstacle...'The Rock Pile' where Digger suffered a flat tire, and had NO SPARE! plus the Air Tank was at camp mounted on my 6x6! Then our Friend Lonnie from Moab with his Chevy 4x4 has serious carburetor troubles resulting in several fires under the hood, so his carburetor finally melted down. Thus his truck was dead, well, combine that with pitch darkness, the flat tire, and none of us knowing actually where we were, we decided to retreat and tacke it on Friday morning..
105 So we hiked back to camp in the dark..Lonnie was going to scrounge a carburetor for his truck then the three of us would return from the upper end of the trail. (approx. 30 mile drive from Moab) with the Dodge and get them out!
106 The next morning..(Friday) We returned with the 6x6 and I drove it down to get the others free...
107 Here I had to use a handy ground anchor to winch the rear of Digger's Jeep away from the rock that was remodeling his fenders!The nice thing about Moab is the abundancy of local ground anchors!!
108 This is looking back to the summit and Digger's F-250 on top waiting.
109 After Digger got the Jeep out, (With only front axle drive and the winch) I used his F-250 and the Jeep as deadmen so I could winch the 6x6 out! This was after we were unable to get the Chevy running and it was late and dark..so we retreated again and Digger headed for Idaho...
110 Here is the Dodge at the top on Saturday Morning Digger was saved on Friday only to suffer a broken rear driveshaft, but he was out and had left Friday evening for Idaho, He was supposed to have the Jeep back on Friday afternoon!!
111 Anyway, this is looking downhill and way down there is the Chevy...Lonnie foud a used carburetor, only to find that the bolt pattern was 1/4 inch off! So, he took several parts carburetors and put his original back together!
112 I had the Dodge at the ready to winch him up the last major climb, it was raining very hard and the rock was very slick!
113 This is the start of the last climb..this is a ramp about 30 feet long and 45 degrees in slope! It is the 'bypass' to the actual obstacle!
114 This is the 'Rock Pile' the actual obstacle! you can see the nose of the Dodge at the top! The ledges are 4-5 feet high!
115 Looking down...
116 It is very rough! And very wet this day...hard rain all day!
117 You can see again how steep it really is! Lonnie was able to get his truck running and actually drove it all the way up without any help!! So we reatreated fast! It was very dark and around 6:30 PM! The trail from here out to the highway is about 20 miles! Lonnie amde it about 9 miles when he lost his steering...upon inspection, the steering box had completely severed off the frame and tore a large portion of the frame out! So we had to leave his truck there! I will find out soon what happened to Lonnie, I had to leave for home the next morning....I onlt broke my winch cable twice in the rescue process!!!
