4x4, Off-Road

La Sal Pass

La Sal Pass is a trail of moderate difficulty on the western portion and easy difficulty on the eastern side of the plateau. To pass through the western side of the pass you’ll need a 4×4 truck with good tires and ground clearance while the eastern slope is minivan friendly under dry conditions. There is no single hard obstacle, just lots of small shelf sections, a talus rock slope, boulders strewn about, and a few fallen trees that may get in your way. Be ready to deal with oncoming traffic on narrow sections of the trail and possibly back up in an undesirable location. Don’t go on this trail if you’re scared of heights.

The base of the trail starts at about 4,000 feet and climbs to ~10,400 feet at the highest point and will require several hours to traverse. The nearest paved road on the western edge is Pack Creek Road and for the eastern face is UT-46. My only regret on this trail is not starting it a few hours earlier in the day. You’ll find lots of trail information and photos below and the rest of the amazing photos may be found on the full page. Enjoy!

U.S. Forest Service Manti-La Sal Forest – Maps and Publications

U.S. Forest Service Manti-La Sal Forest – Road/Trail/Campground Conditions, Moab Monticello District

 

4x4, Off-Road, On-Road

Miscellaneous Truck updates

It’s been a while since I’ve posted some progress updates on the truck build so here it goes. The following is a short list of components I’ve changed out and a few maintenance items performed:

I had approximately four quarts of automatic transmission fluid changed out and did an oil change with fine lab results.

I replaced one Blue Sea Systems fuse block with the higher capacity Safety Hub 150. The Safety Hub 150 is rated for up to 280A and allows the use of higher current/interrupt rated MIDI®/AMI® fuses in addition to smaller ATO/ATC fuses. I also finally got around to covering up the exposed “hot” points on the isolation breaker, upgraded a few ground wires and replaced the Odyssey Group 34R battery with a NorthStar 27F battery.

After giving the exhaust a few love taps on a trail recently I had a new pipe welded onto the end of the muffler. There’s so much more clearance this way…

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I replaced the Rigid LED flood lights with a Vision X Light Cannon. This light is simply amazing!

After putting enough dents into the rear bumper is was time to get a new-to-me bumper off of craigslist for $80 and replace the disgusting chrome with some satin black spray paint.

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Those are all of the updates for now, what’s your favorite truck mod?

4x4, Off-Road

Hell’s Revenge

Hell’s Revenge is a difficult trail in the Sand Flats Recreation Area near Moab, UT. A truck that passes through this trail should have 33″ tires, one locker, some skid plates, and good suspension articulation. Some of the hardest obstacles have bypasses or may be avoided but you should be prepared for a hardcore trail (especially if it has just rained).  I opted not to drive my truck on this trail and went for a long hike. It’s a nice perspective and I wanted to walk a little of my 4,000 mile road trip. Enjoy the photos and find the rest of them on the dedicated page!

Trail Location:

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4x4, Off-Road

Fins & Things

Fins and Things is a difficult trail in the beautiful area around Moab, UT that everyone should pass through once in their life. This area is very visually amazing and stunning! My dash camera decided to stop properly working shortly before arriving in the area so I only drove through the western portions of the trail. After that I just took some photos and videos of other drivers surmounting some of the obstacles. A truck with 4×4, good ground clearance, and decent tires should be able to make it through this trail. Be ready to scrape your trailer hitch and get used to having a fun time seeing over the hood of your truck if you drive a full-size. A day-trip pass for the Sand Flats Recreation Area is $5. Enjoy the photos and be sure to look for the rest of them on the dedicated trail page!

Trail Location:

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4x4, Off-Road

Culp Valley Road

Culp Valley Road is an easy trail with no significant obstacles to note that any truck with some ground clearance should be able to pass through. The western end of this trail starts in Ranchita at Old Wilson Valley Road and heads east where it ends at S-22. This road passes through the transition zone between the mountains (~4000 ft) and desert floor near Borrego Springs. According to Google Maps this road doesn’t exist but if you’re going out to this area you should really have some good maps (if you’re frugal like me) or a SD card loaded up with some trail data for your Lowrance GPS unit (if you’re a big spender). The eastern edge of this trail passes through the Paroli Homestead (of which not much remains), a long abandoned ranch that a family was able to eek out a survival on for a few years. Enjoy the photos and videos and look for the rest of them here on the dedicated page!

Western starting location

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Culp Valley Cultural Preserve (PDF)

A Cahuilla Village in the Boulders of an Upland Valley

 

2020 election, Democratic Party, Uncategorized

Ruth Bader Ginsburg explains…

I just noticed this story about an interview of Justice Ruth Ginsborg Ginsburg did with NPR’s Nina Totenberg where she explained why she stayed on the Supreme Court for as long as she has. Justice Ginsburg’s answer to Nina Totenburg is just exceptional:

“It has been suggested by more than one commentator, including some law professors, that I should’ve stepped down during President Obama’s second term. When that suggestion is made I ask the question: Who do you think the president could nominate that could get through the Republican Senate that you would prefer to have on the court than me?”

So, it was nothing but politics and she probably thought that President Trump never had a chance of winning. Justices Sotamayor and Kagan got a few Republican (nine and five respectively) Senators to support their confirmation so I believe that she could have easily retired a few years before the 2016 election. Perhaps she thought that she was “on the right side of history” and didn’t have to expect to cling on to the bench until at least 2020 (or the likelihood of 2024 after slow Joe Biden gaffes up the next election).

In another gem from this interview Justice Ginsburg states that the Supreme Court being in session helps her physical troubles go away:

“This latest has been my fourth cancer bout,” she said. “And I found each time that when I’m active, I’m much better than if I’m just lying about and feeling sorry for myself. It’s necessary — a necessity — to get up and go. It’s stimulating. And somehow, in all of these appearances I’ve had since the end of August, whatever my temporary disability is, it stops, and I’m OK for the time of the event.”

The Democrats and the media routinely mock President Trump’s fitness for office and faculties but I’m fairly certain that a man who can campaign and be as active as he is probably has a lot fewer health ailments than Justice Ginsburg. He also hasn’t had four bouts of cancer…

Jewish Telegraphic Agency – Ruth Bader Ginsburg on why she did not retire during Obama’s term

CNBC – Ruth Bader Ginsburg fires back against critics who say she should have retired under Obama: ‘Who would you prefer on the court?’

The Hill – Ginsburg again leaves Supreme Court with an uncertain future

A few of the more interesting comments from The Hill article:

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Wow, people are seriously offering up their organs and years of life just so the bad orange man can’t nominate someone else:

I guess that there aren’t enough aborted fetuses to sustain Justice Ginsburg…

4x4, Off-Road

Cedar Creek Road

Cedar Creek Road is a trail of easy difficulty that a 2WD truck with some ground clearance should easily pass through in dry conditions. There are no hard obstacles on this trail, just wonderful views of the canyon and an easy-going drive that is close to San Diego with little risk of vehicle damage. There are also numerous hiking trails in the area for when you just need a nice, long walk outside. This trail is very picture heavy so be sure to enjoy all of the photos here on the dedicated page!

This is where the southern end of the trail starts, even though it does not show up on Google Maps. Cedar Creek Road heads north from the junction at Three Sisters Falls trailhead.

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crime, culture

A Vegan LoLsuit…

A funny and depressing story that has been making it’s way around the world concerns a vegan woman, Cilla Carden, in Australia who felt the need to sue her neighbors for cooking meat and having some kids that play basketball. Where is there to go with this story? Where to even start? How does this woman deal with life? What does she do when passing some crows eating roadkill? On the upside at least the Supreme Court of Western Australia threw out her room temperature IQ lawsuit. To quote Ms. Carden: “It’s been devastating, it’s been turmoil, it’s been unrest, I haven’t been able to sleep,” Well, it looks as though she’ll just have to deal with it.

It seems that some people that still have their sense of humor intact came up with a Fakebook group called “Community BBQ for Cilla Carden” with the following mission statement: “Cilla Carden has a problem with her neighbors cooking meat on their BBQ, because she’s a vegan. Recently taking them to the Supreme Court!” and “Don’t let Cilla destroy a good old Aussie tradition, join us for a community BBQ in protest of her actions, and help Cilla Carden GET SOME PORK ON HER FORK.” I tried searching for the Fakebook group page but was unable to access it though it is still the top search result. Thousands of people responded to the nascent plan and since Ms. Carden couldn’t take being the butt of a joke pulled out the lawyer card again. In the words of Mr. Hammond (who I’m certain is ecstatic about his litigious client): “Any person who seeks to attend Ms Carden’s property on Saturday October 19, 2019 or at any other time in relation to this event or matter will be referred to the WA Police on the ground of trespass,”

I actually didn’t realize how many exceptional stories there are about the exceptional behaviors of these “animal rights activists” types and I may have to type up a few more blog posts about this later. For now I’ll leave you some story links and a few of the more interesting comments.

BBC News – Australian woman sues neighbours over barbecue use

Fox News – BBQ protest near home of vegan who complained about neighbors grilling fish canned over legal threats

News Corp. Australia – Perth vegan’s lawyer hits out at ‘nasty’ comments as plans for community BBQ protest scrapped

9 News Perth – Perth vegan demands neighbour stop cooking barbecues

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4x4, Off-Road

White Mountain

White Mountain is a trail of moderate difficulty that a 4×4 truck with decent tires should be able to navigate. No obstacle is terribly difficult but there are lots of tough rocks of which a few demand careful tire placement. For much of the trail the brush is very tight or there is a steep cliff to one (or both sides) which may make it very fun to deal with opposing traffic. It would be wise to stop your vehicle at an open spot when you get a chance and take a quick look to see if any other trucks are heading your way. For this trip I was a passenger (for once) and just got to enjoy the scenery a little more than I usually do. I also had a great chance to take more photos than normal, enjoy the rest of the photos and videos here on the complete page!

White Mountain location:

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4x4, Off-Road

Espinosa Trail

The Espinosa Trail is a path of moderate difficulty that will be hard on your truck’s paint job and is harder yet on full-size trucks. No single obstacle really stands out, just lots of moderately sized rocks and hinderances that are more difficult in wide and long vehicles. The Espinosa Trail is located in the Corral Canyon OHV area approximately 50 miles east of San Diego and is conveniently located just south of I-8. For those who are more adventurous and have capable rigs there are the two difficult trails known as Bronco Peak and Sidewinder for your enjoyment. Enough of my written description of this wonderful trail though, enjoy the photos and videos and find all of them here on the full page!

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