Trip Report--Four Corners 2020

[joetiger]

Hi Folks,

A couple of months back my buddy Dave (SoonerDave on Samba, now a Transit Sportsmobile owner) suggested we put a trip together to Sedona to do some mountain biking. We didn't know if we'd get the weather we needed, but it was good motivation to hurry up and get the Syncro ready for the road.

Thursday night, I left Denver and headed for Escalante Canyon. Unable to find where Dave had camped, I drove through the dark for awhile until I found an empty little campground. I don't like being lost at night, but I love waking up in the morning to see where I actually ended up--in this case on the edge of a cliff in a beautiful canyon.

It was 23 degrees overnight, and my recently-installed Chinese diesel heater refused to fire (after weeks of successful bench testing!)

We made our way north to Grand Junction for a quick ride. It was here that I learned the hard way that I am currently in NO condition to ride a mountain bike on a legitimate trail. Painful.

Heading back to the highway, I saw this sweet Syncro and had to stop for a pic.

Somewhere near Gateway, CO. Sunshine, scenery, 68 MPH @ 3600 RPM. Can't ask for much more than that.

Highway 141, Dolores River canyon.

We took 141 south through Paradox Valley and crossed into Utah by La Sal, bypassing Moab (we've been there plenty of times and have a trip planned soon.)

After first reading about the Moki Dugway nine years ago in this thread,

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=455924&highlight=moki++dugway

I finally got a chance to drive it.

It's not as all-out harrowing as Shaeffer Switchbacks or Mineral Bottom in Moab, but the views...My lord the views. You can see Ute Mountain in Colorado and Ship Rock in New Mexico from there. Unbelievable.

At the bottom of the Dugway is Canyon of the Gods. We pulled in on a dirt road looking for a place to camp, and we were not disappointed. There was not another soul for miles.

So otherworldy, in fact, that I forgot to see what was up with my furnace. It was 27 degrees that night, warmer than Escalante, but still a bit chilly! Thank goodness for thermal tights and extra blankets.

More to come.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[dobryan]

_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Syncro Jael]

Nice!

I was just down in the 4-Corners area a couple weeks ago.

Loved every dirty washboard mile!!

It's a long clip but what a great adventure. Here is my trip report.
See you at the Solstice joetiger.




Link

_________________
1987 Syncro Westfalia Hightop - NAHT
Subaru EJ25 Forged Frankenmotor, Triple Knob.
Jael = (Mountain Goat)

[Jeffrey Lee]

Awesome trip report, and great pix!

Have road tripped there 3 times and still haven't even begun to see it all ...

[joetiger]

*I just noticed that the map is incorrect--650 Road to Moki Dugway should be down Colorado 141, not I-70. We tried to avoid interstates as much as possible on this trip.

The next morning I awoke chilly but so, so happy to be on the road. The sun was blazing from the east so I opened up my windshield shades and quickly warmed up the interior. I'm happy to say that my new little sink cabinet was very much up to the task of providing running water, food storage, and a stable spot to make coffee.

What a fun dirt road to drive in a Vanagon, with lots of ups and downs and a few washouts.

Soapbox Moment: It's worth noting that until 2017, The Valley of the Gods was a part of the protected Bears Ears National Monument. The asshole in the White House changed all that, and now this area no longer has Monument designation and is conceivably open for mineral extraction.

We stopped in Mexican Hat (why not just name it Sombrero?) for gas then headed south into Monument Valley.

It's hard to put this place into words or even pictures if you've never been there. It's been featured in movies and ads for years and years so it might seem overdone or cliched to some. But on a sun-splashed morning with a tailwind and not another car in sight and nowhere in particular to be other than right there...The feeling is beyond description. And the feeling wouldn't be the same in any other vehicle.

...But then reality comes rushing back and the Universe reminds you who's in charge. About an hour south of Monument Valley, I began to lose power and hesitate on a long incline approaching the mountains before Flagstaff.

Dave provided entertainment (Rush-2112 as I recall) while I checked the motor.

Thankfully, part of my admittedly cobbled-together intake tube system had come loose. Nothing a gang of duct tape and zip-ties couldn't temporarily repair! It was an easy fix and we were back on the road in a few minutes.

We made our way to Flagstaff and saw a couple of Vanagons at a shop in town. We took Highway 89A instead of the interstate from Flagstaff south; what a great road! It twists and turns through a canyon going up then down the butte into Sedona.

I didn't like Sedona. It might have been a magical place at some point, but when you monetize something to death in order to attract convertible BMW's from the nearest metropolis, you've lost me. It was like a desert Breckenridge.

However, south of town on National Forest land (Canyon Rim, AZ) we rendezvous'd with dear old Vanagon pals Pam and Jeremy, now full-timing it in a Transit. Another couple joined us in their Transit as well and for the first time ever, I was the lone VW with a bunch of Transits. Strange, but the company was excellent regardless of vehicle choice. I thoroughly enjoyed their stories of life on the road and it's always heartwarming to hang out with friendly faces when you're out and about.

Part 3 coming.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[SCM]

[danfromsyr]

I've driven a bit of that route & area in 2015 & 2017 and it's everything you never knew or expected it to be.
makes me yearn for more travel to the 4 corners, so we're planning on a 2021 revisit. it's a long ways from NY.

thanks for the pics, travel log and re-inspiration.

[joetiger]

The following morning, I said goodbyes to Pam, Jeremy and their friends. They all headed off with Dave to do a ride from which I recused myself on the basis of being just slightly outclassed.

Instead, I hard-wired my fridge, freeing up the 12v socket mounted in my console for laptop charging.

All alone.

I also found the issue with my furnace. I thought that I'd run the furnace fuel line far enough from the exhaust to be okay, but engine bay heat had collapsed the line. No leaks, but also no flow. Lesson learned.

There's an Ace Hardware in Camp Verde, so I went there to get good, thick fuel line to splice in (I should have had fuel line with me--not sure how that got left out of my stash.)

On the way, I did a bit of light offroading and stopped by Montezuma's Castle National Monument.

After Camp Verde (and an encounter in a little Mexican restaurant in which the whole place stopped eating a looked at me like I was from Mars when I walked in) I drove around the area checking out scenery and bouncing on dirt roads.

I met Dave back at the campsite for furnace repair, bad guitar playing, camp dinner, and another incredible desert sunset.

Ironically, we had a relatively warm evening and there was no need for the furnace. That would change.

The next morning we packed up and headed out. There were a few washouts that needed attention. My van genuinely looks better dirty than clean. ("Pigpen" has a nice ring to it.)

We had a long day of driving the back roads across the Navajo Res towards Ship Rock, NM.

This road in particular, from Lukachukai across Roof Butte to Red Valley, was incredible. About 2000 feet of elevation gain in just a few miles of switchbacks. I was pulling 2nd gear going up, and this view was the payoff on the other side. You can see Ship Rock and snowy Colorado peaks in the distance.

We made Ship Rock at around 3:00. I didn't know at the time that you're not allowed to take this dirt road up to the rock, but nobody seemed to mind. We didn't get too close and only stayed for a few minutes.

We decided to go northwest towards Durango and find a campsite.

I don't have photos of what happened next because it was not the time to be clicking photos. Narrative will have to suffice.

After finding locked gates at two National Forest roads, we found a third that was open. We went up a tree-lined hill in mud and some snow and came upon a sloped clearing to the side of the road. It was mushy and a bit icy but it looked like a good spot to camp; the sun was setting and it was getting very cold.

Dave parked sideways to the hill, with mud/gravel on the up side and a sheet of ice to the down side. I tried to walk around the back of his van to the drivers side and found that it was so slick I almost slid down the hill on my feet to the road. Below/to the other side of the road was a wooded dropoff.

Dave needed to move his van off of that spot; he was painfully close to having that $100k machine going down the hill on its own. He tried to move and spun tires. He was stuck on the ice.

First we tried to get him traction with leveling blocks; no good. Next we tried to shovel the ice down to dirt, but with four inches of solid ice, that didn't work.

I had my recovery strap and a few D-hooks. I moved to point the Syncro up the hill and attached my hitch to his right rear two hook.

Then, we paused to look again, talk it through, and consider how freaking dangerous this was. If he couldn't get off the ice and lost traction, he might take me with him down the hill and off the other side. We decided that he would go in reverse, and me forward up the hill, to see if we could get him just a few feet up an onto gravel/mud.

I put it in G, he in reverse, and we hit it at the same time. Mud was flying everywhere and I could smell my clutch. It was just enough. My trusty Syncro pulled his 6000 lb. van about two feet up the hill and onto traction.

It was dark now, and the temp was dropping. We decided to get out before everything froze more and find another place to camp.

We decided on a big mexican dinner in Pagosa Springs where Dave had two shots of tequila in a feeble attempt to calm his nerves. After that, we pulled into a restaurant/truck stop that allows overnights and called it a day.

It was cold. Really cold. I primed my heater by sucking in a mouth full of kerosene, and it fired right up. And thank goodness it did, because did I mention it was cold?

The inside of my windshield the next morning.

The morning after a brisk night in Pagosa Springs.

One more post to wrap it up.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[joetiger]

[raoul mitgong]

Joe,

At your (our) age, you need a full suspension bike. The inefficiencies of a FS vs a hardtail become meaningless when you are able to sit down and let your legs recover while still rolling over some serious shit.

You are about 6' right? I'll send you some craiglist links.

-d
_________________
84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim))

[SCM]

[joetiger]

[raoul mitgong]

I actually leave in the morning for Phoenix in my 2WD. Bringing the 6" travel MTB. Probably just go through NM as I'm short on time. Work trip with a little play along the way.
-d
_________________
84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim))

[riceye]

Great trip report, Joe. I always enjoy reading the journals of your travels.

I'm so much jonesing for some western windshield time. The days are getting longer and summer is coming.

Thanks for sharing the vicarious voyage!
_________________
'87 Westy Weekender - daily driver on salt-free roads

There's gonna be some changes made.

“I find that things usually go well right up until the moment they don't.” - Ahwahnee

"Quality isn't method. It's the goal toward which the method is aimed." - Socrates, later quoted by R.M. Pirsig

[Abscate]

[jberger]

[shadetreemech]

Love that red dirt. Great report, nice pics & narrative.

I went through Sedona 40 years ago when 89A was my short cut through Four Corners over to I-25 and North into Denver. Sedona was just too cool for it's own good. For me, it's become Laguna Beach in the mountains. Pink Jeeps.

Spent time on Cedar Mesa last year, was at Chaco Canyon this time last year for Spring Equinox:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726184&start=0

Headin' out next week with Cindy to show her the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly & be at Chaco Canyon for Spring Equinox. From there, up to Mesa Verde, back into Monument Valley, through Page, then Zion and home.

Seeing your pics, I'm itching to get rolling.

Dan
_________________
'84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "MZDRTHY"

[Jake de Villiers]

Great trip report, Joe!

Terrific to see you and Pigpen going through Tony Hillerman/Louis L'Amour country!!
I haven't been down that way in a lot of years - but I was reading North to the Rails yesterday!
_________________
'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[erste]

[dhaavers]

Awesome report & pics, thanks!

I'm planning a return trip to this area after a tough year off. Thanks for the inspiration...



- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>