After awhile it was time to go, we still had to make Murphy's Hogback before the days end.
White Rim Trail snakes around finger like deep basins such as the one our troop would be skirting near the Monument Basin. While the trail skirts near the cliffs edge, unseen to many travelers is that the underside cut back maybe beyond the very trail they're on.
There would be several challenging areas for our group to conquer before we get to our lunch
at the White Crack turn off.
In the photo above, the Lavenders are navigating around one such obstacle as we all did.
Further down the WRT we came head on with another off roader and was getting more bad
news about Hardscrabble area.
The off roader that Kevin had talked to informed us that rigs our size most likely wouldn't get pasted a
section near Fort Nelson ruins, the trail was that torn up! We were only a few more miles from the
White Crack campsite turn off.
The iconic White Rim Trail is known for being one of the top bicycling trails in the United States if
not the world. We've seen several bicyclist during our WRT journey, this can be a chalice of a life
for those who tackle this trail this way.
The White Crack campsite was only a few more miles ahead as we passed by a hardie bicyclist, I
stopped monmentary, to ask him if he had enough water. Our group camp upon the White Crack turn off
quick enough.
We would have lunch here
At this stop, Kevin brought up about his fuel consumption on his rig, it was using more fuel than
expected. We as a group would have to make a decision about going beyond Murphy's hogback.
That answer to that question will be answered once at Murphy's Hogback. Meanwhile from
here there are several more climbs and switchbacks to tackle to reach the base of the Murphy's
Hogback climb.
My personal thanks to Bryan & Susan Lavender and Kevin & Linda MacAfee, John & Vickie for the permission to use some of their photos and their thoughts during our time on the WRT.
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
White Rim Trail
Part 2
Impressions
Airport Tower to Gooseberry
Day 2
November 29, 2021
The dawn of our second day, the chill in the air as I wander around snapping images of this morning. Movement was stirring among our group as they woke up to this beautiful day.
Bryan & Susan Lavender:
"The Park Service has a permit
system that limits the number of people on the trail on any given day and keeps
the competition for campsites from being an issue. You don’t have to worry
about finding a spot to camp at the end of the day because you know your
campsite is reserved and waiting for you. There aren’t may campsites along the
way, which combined with the limited number of daily permits, results in a
wilderness experience that features NO crowds. So all that vast expanse of
beautiful country and there is nobody jostling your elbow to take a selfie!
Perfect!"
Kevin
and Linda MacAfee:
"The
road was slow going given recent storms but we made great progress, stopping
often for photos. We ran into a few vehicles traveling the opposite
direction who advised that the road towards the end at Hardscrabble was in very
bad shape and probably not passable by full size trucks with campers."
Along the way the Lavender's photograph a small arch that even I had missed during the last 5 journeys on this magnificent trail and one shouldn't overlook the different forms of life in the surrounding area, even the small ones.
White Rim Trail holds many challenges for us truck campers especially hardside campers. With the weight of our rigs up high extra attention has to be done on the truck suspension to counter the sway of that weight moving around up high. A week before our WRT adventure another storm had rolled through the "Island in the Sky" region making the trail more interesting!
Entering Buck Canyon area one can see Washer Woman Arch and Monster Tower in the distance (above). WRT would take us very close to these natural wonders and a off camber section that I personally call "The Big Tilt" (video below)
After the "Big Tilt" Kevin took over as the lead vehicle, his rig is setup to travel this type of trail much better than the rest of us. We were well within the Monument Basin area
A few more rocky miles we crossed paths with a fellow off roader.
Our group stopped awhile to gather some more information about the Hardscrabble shelf road. It appears that the shelf road has several wash out on the road that our rigs may not be able to navigate.
After a few more miles our group arrived at Gooseberry campsite, it was time to stretch and get some of the road bumps out of our bodies.
After a bit of walking around, workin the some of the knots out it was time to get down the tail. We still had to make Murphy's campsite by day ends
My personal thanks to Bryan & Susan Lavender and Kevin & Linda MacAfee, John & Vickie for the permission to use some of their photos and their thoughts during our time on the WRT.
White Rim Trail lies within the boundaries
of Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky region in the State of Utah.
Canyonlands was designate as a National Park as of September 12, 1964.
The pandemic had cause a lot of delays in
planning this epic journey. Nonetheless plans were made months ago (August, 2021) for this TC challenge.
Our
group came from all over the country; Bryan and Susan Lavender from Arizona,
Kevin and Linda MacAfee from Minnesota, John and Vickie Jackson from Rhode Island, Alex and Julie Blasingame from California. Everyone met up at
Horsethief Campground by November 27, 2021 for the next day the long awaited
journey begins.
Horsethief Campground
November
28, 2021
Bryan & Susan Lavender:
“The first time we saw the White Rim Trail was years ago,
from the rim of Island in the Sky as we were taking the usual photograph
through Mesa Arch. Our first thought was, “That looks interesting!” But at that
time we had a much larger truck camper and after minimal investigation decided
we didn’t have the right combination of equipment to take it on. A few years
later, with a much smaller camper and some contact with the truck camper
community online, an invitation to join a group on this trail was a chance we
weren’t going to pass up!”
Photo by Kevin & Linda MacAfee, Shafer Trail Staging Area
Shafer Trail, MacAfee behind the Blasingame
Jackson and Lavender on Shafer Trail
We
couldn’t ask for a more glorious day of bright blue sky to start of this multi
truck camper journey. From our perch on the Shafer Road/Trail we could see the
far away La Sal Mountains, not much snow on them.
.
La Sal Mountains in the distance
The journey down the famous switchbacks went by quickly even if the road down did go to the rough side
Shafer Switchbacks, Blasingame and Jackson's
Shafer Switchbacks would in highsight be the easy part of the overall journey. Our first stop was where the vaulted toilet was at where the White Rim Trail begins.
Kevin
and Linda MacAfee:
"Just after Thanksgiving, my wife Linda and I joined three other
couples driving the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands. One of the groups had
driven the route before and served as our unofficial leader. I, Kevin,
had ridden a portion of it on a bicycle so was anxious to see the rest by
vehicle."
The beginning of the White Rim Trail
Looking back, somehow the Shafer Trail manage to disappear into the cliffs behind us from which we came (Lavender photo).
After awhile it was time to get our wagon train going for there would be several points of interest to ponder before the days end.
B & S Lavender:
"Not long after, we began to
encounter more and more rock surface instead of the graded dirt that we had
enjoyed coming down the Shafer switchbacks. The pace slowed! This became a
defining feature of the Trail. While not a technically difficult road, it is a
road you must pay attention to or your travels will become more exciting than
you bargained for! Deep ruts, steep drop-offs, overhanging rocks with white
paint from previous (inattentive) victims, hard-to-see little (and not so
little) drops in the road that could mess up your day… the White Rim Trail had
plenty to offer. "
Reaching the Gooseneck Overlook presented a magnificent view of the Colorado River. A easy to walk trail led to the cliff's edge and even induced some hand holding.
Bryan and Susan hand "n" hand
Reaching the Gooseneck Overlook presented a magnificent view of the Colorado River. A easy to walk trail led to the cliff's edge and even induced some hand holding.
Bryan, Susan, John, Vickie, Kevin and Linda
Our overlanding adventurers left to right: Bryan, Susan, John, Vickie, Kevin and Linda
Gooseneck Overlook
I've (Alex) been to this overlook six times and the tilting rock is still hanging in there. Across the vast canyon upon the plateau is Dead Horse Point State Park where several movies have been produced there and one that's come to mind is "Thelma and Louise" where the characters drove their car over the cliff to their doom!
Off to the Colorado Overlook just a short distance away that our crew travel to.Another eye opening sight of the very far below Colorado River can be viewed from, only you can drive your rig right to the edge of the abyss.
On across the rocky road to the edge of the abyss of the Colorado Overlook.
Several vehicle had made their way across the rough road to the edge.
John wandering off along the shelf's edge while Kevin snaps a few photos of the magnificent view below.
Musselman Arch was stone's throw away and our group was ready to get there!
Parking area/trailhead to Musselman Arch
John making the walk
Kevin posing for his wife, Linda
The gang had some fun at Musselman Arch, making a walk across it. We had to get moving again, still a many of miles to go and they would be some rough miles making our journey a slow one!
The week before we venture into the bowels of the White Rim Trail it had rained.
Washing a lot of the red soil from the slickrock thus turning our trail into one rock and roll drive.
With the trail so torn up our speed was between 3-5 mph for most of the time.
Bryant and Susan Lavender:
"On our previous visit to Canyonlands, we had only done our sightseeing
from up on Island in the Sky. To be sure, the views from up there are
spectacular. On the Trail, you are down in the Canyonlands and you’re seeing
everything from the middle level. The views are up and the views are down! And
they are simply awesome. And they are unending! It is a unique experience to
drive through"
Despite the trail be in a bad way we managed to stay in sight of each other.
After a easy climb, around a blind turn Airport Tower laid before us just a short distance away.
WRT would come very close to edge, there was a small washout that no doubt had
funneled rain water into the Lathrop Canyon to our left. This canyon would take you to the Colorado River about 5 miles away and from some report I received was nearly impassable at this time.
Airport Tower could be easily seen by now as we were very close to our end of the day campsite. Last week rain storms had left their marks upon the landscape. Leaving behind uncovered slick rock, gouges across the trail and still damp wash out river beds.
It was a long day and I for one was glad to be at our campsite as the others in our group. Setting camp up would be a easy task with our rigs.
After setting up camp a few of us wandered about, John taking his long walk, the Lavenders setting their cameras up and the MacAfee's wanting to have a evening meal. Our ever present overhead light would soon be making a quick retreat
behind the ever present Airport Tower bringing darkness to us and the night sky entertainment.
This is the end of Day One and the journey to Murphy's campsite, next day, would be a long one.
Some
thoughts about the trip by John and Vickie Jackson
"Traveling
on the White Rim Trail in our truck campers was decidedly unique and so
breathtaking it's hard to put into words. Ever so slowly making our
way over the rough and bumpy road gave me plenty of time to appreciate the awe
inducing scenery and to think about my place in the grand scheme of
things. I return with a renewed sense of humility and gratitude at the
miracle of being here now. How pleasant it was to share this experience
with a group of people who love to wander as we do. "
My personal thanks to Bryan & Susan Lavender and Kevin & Linda MacAfee, John & Vickie for the permission to use some of their photos and their thoughts during our time on the WRT.
Back in 2015, Julie and I made the journey up north taking in
the sights of Canada and Alaska. Here we are about three years later and ready
for another adventure up to the far north. Our starting route will be a lot
like it was on our first trip straight up the I-15 into Oregon, then over to Idaho. This first part is covering from Home to the Canadian border, so it's going to be long.
July 11, 2018, Day 1
Plans have been laid out for a early morning departure to get ahead of the Los Angles traffic, which indeed pay off. By about
5 am we were climbing the Gorman Pass on the I-5 in California. Start Mileage:
154064
Two
things that we are doing differently is that we’re taking our dog Maggie with
us and also pulling a small utility trailer this time. Reaching the Lebec rest
area on the I-5 we made a pit stop, Maggie was ready to get out and run around!
At
this rest stop was a very classic Airstream Motorhome
Moving on, traffic was flowing smoothly,
reaching Kettleman, Ca. was a fuel stop. This fuel up showed that our truck got
11.4 mpg so far. End of our day 1 was San Luis Reservoir staying at San Luis
Creek campground.
Maggie
was having fun running around, sticking her noise into everything.
From our site we have a beautiful view of the
lake.
July 12, 2018, Day 2
Last night was dead quiet very
restful. Our target end of the day is Redding, Ca. the morning was beautiful,
Julie made breakfast and Maggie was right there to catch anything that
"fell" off the counter top.
When leaving San Luis Reservoir we headed up further on the highway to
the overlook to take some photo from up there.
Down below we saw a herd of deer (?) make
their way across the shoreline.
Back on the I-5, heading north the traffic
was moving at a good clip. It wasn’t long before we were passing through Sacramento
area and viewing some of the buildings at interstate speed.
A few more miles a bridge stretching over
the lazy Sacramento River was before us, below were docks and boats of the
people living along the river that we could see as we motored over the river on
a concrete path.
July 13, 2018, Day 3 Friday
An overnight stay at Redding RV Park was
done; it was a pretty tight fit between each site. The morning comes with a
beautiful sunrise that brought warmth to one’s soul.
Julie made breakfast burritos out of
left over steak adding eggs, onions and peppers to it, they were great! One of
the things Julie and I agreed upon was Maggie had to be walked before hitting
the road again, today would be a long drive, over 680 miles today to Dayton
,Oregon.
From Redding, Shasta Lake wasn’t all
that far, we would made a little side trip down Turntable Bay Rd. after
crossing the bridge, placing us by Shasta Lake.
Following the dirt road, it wander a
little, brought us fairly close to the lake and an area where I could turn our
rig around. During the turn around the trailer impacted the hillside damaging
the tail lights.
Julie and I followed the lake road
further down on foot towards the Shasta Bridge we just came over.
Walking this road took us to a wonderful
view of the bridge and Shasta Lake.
Julie and Maggie enjoyed our little
walk.
Leaving our little side journey we
stopped a guy in a Union Pacific truck to see if he knew a place to buy some
new trailer lights, Mt. Shasta City is where we would have to go. He was here
to close and lock the gate just where we had turned around.
A few miles up the I-5 and we arrived at
Mt. Shasta City with a good view of Mt. Shasta.
A quick stop at the local Napa store and
new trailer light were installed.
It was back on the I-5 heading north
just taken in some of the road side sights and the burn area near Weeds, Ca.
We would be passing an overturned
semi-rig, this would put us just inside Oregon. We lucked out as to not being held
up by any freeway shut down as the tow trucks haven’t arrived yet.
Sometime later it was time to stretch
one’s legs and other things, pulling off the interstate into the “Valley of the
Rouge S.P.” and rest area.
One of our planed stops was cancelled
due to an emergency on the part of my Uncle and Aunt, so today would be a long
drive to Dayton, Oregon. Our departure from the I-5 was at Rt. 99 E/22.
Salem was just as crowed as I remembered
from our last trip (2015), working our way through town would be slow, tedious
while snaking our way through town.
It was late in the day before arriving
at my cousin’s place. They held dinner for us; we talked about our day’s
travels, then bedtime.
7/15/2018, Day 5
Rising early for some morning
photography and as usual Maggie has to get into the photos.
Ken and Gwen would be taking us to
Lincoln, Or. for a day at the beach, a dog friendly beach. Breakfast however
was first thing to be done and that meant a stop at Otis Restaurant where dogs
are welcome to sit in the patio area. The food here is very good, homemade.
It was a short drive from Otis to
Lincoln, Maggie’s first time at the beach.
Some light fog faded in and out,
creating the effect of people, animals and buildings being ghost like.
Time we all got back to Ken and Gwen
home it was dinner time, pizza from Papas Murphy was ordered. While we ate I put
Maggie in the cab of our truck, unleashed, this would prove to be a mistake.
While we ate pizza, Maggie ate the door jamb seals and the window seal.
7/16/18, Day 6
A trip to the local Ford dealer,
ordering new door and window seals set me back 302 dollars, Maggie would never
be unleashed inside the cab for the rest of the trip. The seals would arrive the
next day. Meanwhile, back at the farm it was blueberry picking time. My cousins grew
3 different kinds of blueberries, Julie and I couldn’t tell the difference
between them.
7/17/18, Day 7
The door seal came in as promised and
three hours later I did installed them. Today we would be just be lazy, Ken
would fire up the bar-be-que in the late afternoon to burn some chicken. This
is our last day at my cousin’s home.
7/18/18, Day 8 Wednesday
After breakfast we said our good bye’s,
Ken and Gwen told us to stop at the Multnomah Falls at Benson S.P. on our way
to Troy, ID.
Making our way back to the I-5 was a
small adventure in it’s self. Having to deal with traffic going through town.
Our route would take us south on the I-5
to I-205 heading somewhat northeast. Once reaching I-84 our heading was east
and Multnomah Falls were just short commute away.
Parking for the Multnomah Falls was a
bit unusual in the fact that the parking area is sandwiched between the east and
west lanes.
Access to the falls would be through a
under pass on the east bound of I-84. Sometimes while traveling one sees some
unusual vehicles.
Most of the side trails were closed due
to falling rocks because of all the rain. Our pathway leads Julie, Maggie and me along
a stream up to an open area where a lodge is at. Multnomah Falls could be easily
seen from here and the trail head upwards is nearby.
Our climb up to the falls was easy as it
being asphalted all the way up to the above bridge. Unfortunately the bridge was
as far as one could go; it is blocked by chain link fencing.
Our last look, Julie and I enjoyed our time at Multnomah Falls but it was time for our
departure Troy Idaho was calling calling our names.
Boardman’s Rest area would be our next
stop some 130 miles later. During our travel Julie took many good photos and
some in creditable ones as well. Julie took the following photo from our moving TC.
Super Scooper on the Columbia River
Boardman's Rest Area on the East I-84, Or.
We made Boardman’ rest area and good thing, Maggie was already letting us know she had to go. Free coffee was being offered at the rest area, a nice touch and one we have noted that many rest areas have done. Once again it's on the road again, sounds somehow familiar.
Before you could spit (not really) we
were crossing into Idaho, going through Moscow (how the heck did we get there,
damn wormholes). Entering Troy (Idaho, took another wormhole) not long after
leaving Moscow. My Aunt Loretta and Uncle Danny have lived there forever, Danny
was even the major of Troy one time!
Danny had us park in front of their
house, he really liked my trail (1956 Ford Fleet-side truck bed)
July 19 – 21, 2018
While at my Aunt and Uncle’s place, our
needed a oil change and as before we took it to….for the oil change.
It was weird seeing my truck up so high.
We would go with Danny & Loretta to
Lewiston to visit some of their kids and grand kids for the day then back home
to Troy.
Most of our time was hanging around the
house, visiting and watching the deer and some quail run through their back
yard. It was a quiet evening, peaceful.
July 21, 2018
Our last breakfast with Danny and my
Aunt Loretta was wonderful and she made sure we had plenty to eat, filling our
bellies to the busting point. About 09:30 am we said our good-byes, jumped into
the truck, drove off to the RV dump and fuel station.
My Aunt and Uncle were directly involved
in the creating of the RV dump. Since 2015 three pull through had been added,
all supported by donations.
This would for us be the last time Julie and I would being seeing my Uncle Danny, for he would pass away in 2019 from a vehicle accident, life is short enjoy your family while you can.
R.I.P Danny
A
quick fuel stop at the locale place, (starting mileage 155513)
About 10:15 am we finally are on way out
of Troy, Id. Our next leg stretching stop would be Mineral Mountain rest area (I-95).
Maggie was whining to be let out, so we stopped, yea it was only 38.5 miles.
We took advantage of this stop to use
the faculties and clean the windows. The guy riding the motorcycle came back to
his two wheel speed machine and of course I wander over to talk to him. He was
on his way to Alaska and on to Deadhorse; he having never been there I gave him
some information about the fuel stops up on the Haul road, (Dalton Road).
Day light is a burning and we wanted to
make the Canadian border today. The I-95
will shortly be running through the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. Here’s
some photo along that route.
The following photos are of what we saw
while traveling through Coeur d’Alene.
On to Sandpoint, crossing Lake Pend Oreille
on the Sandpoint Long Bridge, which in itself has a long history of the original
started back in May 26, 1908 (Bridge History) A few more photos as we passed through
Sandpoint, Id. click on YouTube icon for full screen
It wasn't much longer and we were in Bonners Ferry, Id. Also time to top the
diesel tanks they were getting low
The USA/Canada border was only 27 miles away. Along the way we made a stop at a pullout to gazes upon
the beautiful valley below, this is part of the "Wild Horse Trail Scenic Byway"
It was indeed a wonderful drive to the Canadian border,
We cleared Canadian Custom with no problems, didn't even want to see our dog Maggie's paper work.
Traveling a number of miles (Km) north of Eastport there was a pull out just waiting for us.
It was a long day and being able to make the Canadian border in one day was indeed fantastic. Tomorrow brings more adventures for our little family, till then safe travels everyone!
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