Forth and Back-TOR '17

[ckcarr]

Hey, you skipped act II !

I guess the cast refused to show up and it got bad reviews this time....

[RBMann]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

Hey, you skipped act II !

....

I did? At my age please refresh my memory, I don't want to leave anything out.

[RBMann]

Day 10-Echo Park to Jordanelle Lake SP, UT 223 miles

Sunlight warms the tents. We found that the bugs aren't as bad in the morning until you get out of the tent-





Evidence of the bugs attacks-



By the time we hit the trail in the morning it is warm enough that stream crossings were fun-



It is a pretty drive in and out of camp-



Out of the mountains and onto the plains NE of Vernal, UT. Ralf has a WTF moment. The bubble over his head should read 'Dealing with one trouble is bad enough but three at a time'-

[RBMann]

Day 10 continued-

Revisiting the Unita Mountains in UT, the only east-west mountain range in the USA. I found Upper Stillwater Dam and Blindstream Rd. in 2014 due to a bad choice of settings in my GPS-





Blindstream Rd. is very striking as you ascend the north side of the pass along the rock cliffs. You then see aspens and meadows which quickly change to sagebrush and red dirt road-







Ralf catching up after losing his lunch do to intense back pain that had developed since we left Paonia. Hats off to him, I don't know how he kept riding each day but was still able to smile most of the time-

[signit98]

...How could I not smile? Out in the most beautiful countryside with a great friend, exploring... how much better can it get?

The pain?

Meh... it was a bit more than I am used to, but short of barfing a couple of times, it was mostly tolerable.

[signit98]

While we were at it...



Crop duster... seems to be a closed quarters affair...

[RBMann]

Day 11-Jordanelle to Maple Grove Hot Springs 254 miles

The day started out rainy and was overcast most of the afternoon. I don't seem to shoot as many pic when it is gray. Too bad as our first road was UT150 toward Evanston, WY and it is stunningly beautiful on a nice day-



We headed north from Evanston then west on UT39 to Huntsville. On Google Earth and my map UT165 to Logan looks just fine but it became dirt and was kind of rocky climbing over the small pass-



With back pain, it was not difficult to talk Ralf into camping at a hot springs-



We arrived at Maple Grove early enough to borrow a canoe and paddle around the northern tip of the reservoir. No pics as I am afraid of dropping my phone or camera. It was a very nice warm afternoon to be on the water. Afterwards we enjoyed soaking in the different temperature pools. Beautiful sunset over the swimming pool and reservoir-

[hellfishtat]

great photos. I really need to get out west soon. beautiful vistas

[smddanny]

Great thread.. miss the great west already

[ckcarr]

Out here in the desert we will have gnat hatches once every year or two that can be brutal. And when they swarm, they are incessant. In your eyes, ears, nose... And they don't drill in like mosquitos, they instead bite out a triangular piece of skin that can start pussing and scabbing... People end up in the hospital a lot because they are so allergic to the bite and the poison..

[RBMann]

Day 12-Maple Grove to Pass creek Pass, ID 273 miles

We planned to get up early and go canoeing again to get some sunrise photos. The clouds suggested that instead we should pack up before the rain and hit the road-



We pushed north trying to stay ahead of the storm. It caught us once as we finished lunch and again while waiting at a construction zone. After running for hours it finally dumped on us for 14 miles with standing water on the road just west of Alpine, WY-



Coming out the side of the rain it was warm and sunny as we stopped at the Paradise Valley viewpoint. Who makes the better style statement in a rain suit?-





Another beautiful spot especially after hours of dark clouds and rain-





A family vacationing from Belgium pulled in and the kids seemed to enjoy playing outside for a few minutes, including the oldest one-

[RBMann]

Day 12 continued-

Idaho Falls has a nice park overlooking the falls-





As we crossed the Idaho plains we decided to go to a reactor museum-





Arriving in Acro, ID we saw Numbers Hill and part of the USS Hawkbill-





We also found a little deli that served pizza and sandwiches that put Subway to shame. Big enough for dinner and breakfast-

[RBMann]

Day 12 continued-

As we worked our way up the pass checking campsites, none of them made Ralf smile-



We decided on one I had marked on GPS in '14. Lovely place with great views and no one else for 20 miles-



As we were setting up camp I felt a tiny bit odd and had itching. Had there been a high level of radiation at the reactor?-



We were sitting around enjoying the campfire, dinner and the sunset painting the clouds, guessing if we would have rain. It was all very scenic then suddenly a rainbow appeared. It was all hands on deck looking for cameras and phones-







It was an incredible wonderful evening that you cannot plan. My words and pictures don't really capture it either. Ralf and I agreed that it was the highlight of the trip and a good ending to a day that started in the rain.

[signit98]

My 2 cents (or few pictures...)

A major milestone happened along the way...



This is what we escaped... and subsequently ran into!



Maple Grove and the hotsprings were awesome... we could hear the traffic, yet, we were so far away from it...


Hotsprings night sky.


Ricky meditating by the camp fire.


Night sky at pass creek pass camp.


Under attack...


And my Ansel Adams impersonation...

[RBMann]

Nice ones Ralf, thanks for adding on. I hardly every think to do the Ansel Adams thing. I remember that night at the hot springs and the night sky shots. I spend half an hour trying to find the right settings on my camera to do a manual shutter or really long exposure. I know they are there but I finally gave up in frustration unable to figure it out.

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by RBMann

Day 12Who makes the better style statement in a rain suit?-

Black is so traditional... you can't go wrong. But wow, yellow with orange gloves... what a statement.

Originally Posted by RBMann

We decided on one I had marked on GPS in '14. Lovely place with great views and no one else for 20 miles-

Fantastic!!!

[signit98]

Meanwhile, I picked my bike for next year's trip...

[RBMann]

Now to see it with the side cases and top box.

[wswartzwel]

What is that vehicle? International Scout?

[signit98]

1968 Jeepster Commando, Bill...

And Rick, that will come eventually.For now, different agenda or, as my son remarked a little while ago:

"Oh Christ, it's already in pieces..."