ATTN Utahns....Providence Canyon Run---Nov 1st

[XJEEPER]

I'm gonna run up to Mt Logan one more time before the snow piles up (I hope we get some this year:( ) and the next free day I have is the day after Halloween......Sat, Nov 1st.........any takers?

For those of you that haven't run Providence Cyn before, it's a beautiful trail in Cache Valley (think Logan) that sports waterfalls, a quarry with fossils, and some fairly difficult sections .....some not being optional.

So here's the deal......not to exclude anyone interested, more to inform of the basic rig recommendations so under-prepared rigs don't wind up dented, broken down, or otherwise trail molested.

Vehicles should be in good operating condition, not spewing oil, anti-freeze or ATF, etc. on the environment. 4" of lift and 31" tires a mimimum, recommend at least one traction device. (If it rains/snows.....you'll need it) REAL tow points front and rear, t-case skids and sliders and HD bumpers front and rear recommended....don't forget the basics.....do people really wheel without a CB? :confused: (Remember the rig equipment requirements from the Moab NAXJA event? Might as well get used to them, they're basic common sense items for the resposible wheeler anyway)

I''ll rate sections of this trail......especially those with no bypass.....a solid 4 on the Moab scale. Add snow or moisture of any kind and it will be a 4+. I've run PC in every weather condition (except tornados.....not many on the Wasatch Range;) ) and it's a different trail every time.
Lots of fun, but please don't show up with a 2" budget boost and 235's and expect us to drag you to the top.... (lots of basketball or bigger rocks in some trail sections, off camber ledgy areas too)
Those that want to come and feel their rig may not be ready to tackle the whole trail could park at the quarry and ride shotgun with someone else, I don't want to exclude folks, I just like setting realistic expectations.

Oh yah, we'll meet in Macey's parking lot on the South end of Logan--stage at 9:00 AM, departure at 9:30 AM.

Send me a Private Message if you are interested so I can get a head count and I hope to see all of you there.......

[TRNDRVR]

I'm there Jeff. Providing I'm not at work or first out on the extra board.
Thanks for posting this.
Dan.

[mbryson]

What's wrong with "dented" or "trail-molested"?

[WayneXJ]

Where are the difficult parts of the trail? I've been up there a few times just not all the way to Logan peak.

[Gcb17]

i'm up for it. i just ran that yesterday. very scenic trail. i can see it getting pretty nasty with some ice or snow. it'd definately make it more interesting.

on another note- does anyone wanna have a wrenching day this weekend coming up? i've got a ton of crap to do to my jeep that i've been putting off for a while. (no garage to work in). a

-grant b

[XJEEPER]

Originally posted by WayneXJ
Where are the difficult parts of the trail? I've been up there a few times just not all the way to Logan peak.

Your rig is setup just fine for PC, (Mr. "I own Double Whammy" :) ) it's all relative though.
From the quarry on it becomes challenging, but again, this all depends on how your rig is set up.
I've been surprised with how many built rigs, both XJ and Full Size get skunked due to breakage on PC. Add a little moisture to this trail and the difficulty level jump up a notch for sure.

Just good clean fun............

[XJEEPER]

Originally posted by mbryson
What's wrong with "dented" or "trail-molested"?

Did I say there was anything wrong with your Jeep? :D

[mbryson]

Originally posted by XJEEPER
Did I say there was anything wrong with your Jeep? :D


OH, there's plenty 'wrong' with it..........more fixes coming up of the very low buck nature. It will maintain it's "molested" looking state for quite some time though.....

[ACE]

Darn, I've got a co-workers retirement party to go to. Somebody break something for me. :)

[XJEEPER]

Wow, I figured that I'd get more interest in this run......did I make the trail sound too scarey for everyone? ;)

[itzak]

I'm up for it if my little tiny XJ will make it . I've got a 2hr drive before I could go on the run. Looking forward to it .

itzak

[xjblue]

All the way to Logan by 9:00 am :rolleyes: a little better than all the way to Moab by 7:30 am :D I should be able to make it however it sounds like I'll be parking at the quarry :( and watching the rest of you try not to break things :)

[XJEEPER]

This could really be a fun run if we get snow on Halloween! I did this run about 3 years ago on the same weekend, with 6" of snow the night before......it was a blast!
Hope to see you all there......

[poomba]

Neither I nor the jeep are ready for this one yet..give me time..lord, give me time....

[bigjoe]

I'm out!
Some of us have to work saturdays.
Maybe some winter wheelin?

Later,
Joe

[XJEEPER]

We'll definately get some winter wheeling in, the West desert needs some exploring and there's always a winter run to Moab.......

[JEEPZZ]

I'm out too. Gotta work on Saturdays.
I haven't had a chance to repair my Moab trail damage yet anyways. :(
Broken LCA axle mount (http://community.webshots.com/album/96408703RcbNNJ/1)

[XJEEPER]

Where did you do that, Todd? Fine looking band-aid there.........too bad about the fender/flare. Good thing you'd already won the "Spiffiest Rig" award. :D
JR needs the work, he'll hook you up.

[JEEPZZ]

It broke on Hells Revenge in the middle of the last obstacle. It was on that small off camber narrow chute just above Tip Over Challenge on the way out.
I had Moab Off Road patch weld it back together for me but I really need it fixed the right way with a whole new BEEFIER mount.
Already been in touch with JR. :D Just waiting for the bank account to catch up with Jeep repairs.

BTW, I did this the weekend after NAXJA. I had so much fun that I went back for more; ...and got it.

[DeadEyeJ]

Jeff, I will have to work up the courage to call in sick on Saturday, but I think I'm in. I just put a lock right in the ol D35 and it needs to be tested before Moab the following weekend. Yeah yeah, I know, poor me. Tentatively count me in!

Jared

BTW - Is the 44 in yet?

[XJEEPER]

With my signature.....I can draft you a convincing doctors note. 44? What 44?

[DeadEyeJ]

Originally posted by XJEEPER
With my signature.....I can draft you a convincing doctors note. 44? What 44?

I thought that you got one from some guy in Chicago or something. The guy was kind of a jerk in his "For Sale" posts. Maybe I'm thinking of somebody else...

[XJEEPER]

It was for a friend.

[TRNDRVR]

It's getting questionable. :(

[DeadEyeJ]

Ok, so it looks like we need a head count!

XJEEPER - Yep
DeadEyeJ - Yep
TRNDRVR - Maybe
gcb17 - Yep
itzak - Yep
...

[XJEEPER]

This run is gonna be a fun one, especially if it keeps snowing.......hope more can make it. I just talked to Jerry from Logan and he's gonna try and make it too......waiting on parts is no fun.
Please post if you're planning on running on Saturday, we don't want to leave anyone out. If you have friends that are non-XJer with trail worthy rigs......invite them along.
:D

[Gcb17]

so far today we have about 6", and it's still snowing. maybe a little more saturday, but it's possible that it might all melt by saturday for the ride. either way, i think it'll be a blast.

[TRNDRVR]

Okay, looks like I'll be going to work about 2-3am tomorrow morning. Should put me back into town 3-5am Saturday morning. If I go, you guys better bring enough coffee to keep me going. :D
Where is it were meeting at again?
Thanks,
Dan.

[DeadEyeJ]

We are meeting at the Macey's parking lot at 9:00 AM for a 9:30 AM departure. Maceys is located right on Highway 89, the same highway that weaves thru Ogden, Brigham City, and up Sardine Canyon to Logan.
Macey's is right where 89 merges onto Main Street in Logan. It is on the right side of the road as you are heading into Logan from Brigham City. There is an Arctic Circle (?) in the same parking lot. Hwy 89 merges onto Main Street at an angle with a big stoplight. This is NOT the first light you come to after you leave Sardine Canyon. I believe it is the second.

I am perhaps the worst direction writer ever, so if anybody needs clarification, ask Jeff.

See you there Saturday mornin'! I'll be the tired guy with an outrageous mall cruiser roof-rack, bright yellow paint, and super noisy tires!

Jared

[XJEEPER]

Not too bad on the directions Jared..........simply drive North on I-15 to the Brigham City exit, then head East to Logan via Sardine Canyon on Hwy 89. You will travel up Sardine, over the pass and down into Cache Valley, traveling towards Logan. Upon entering Logan, you will see a Macey's grocery store on the right, turn in there and look for Jeeps on the East side of the parking lot.
See link for map.

Plan is to stage at 9am with a 9:30am departure. We will leave Macey parking lot and head South on 165 for a block or two, then turn East at the Maverik station on 100 N and drive approx. 1/4 mile to Providence, snaking through town towards the canyon noted on the MapQuest map as Spring Creek, which flows from Providence Cyn.

Weather is forcast to be wintery so drive safely and dress for snow, be prepared to wheel in snow, and we'll have a great time!
We will run the trail in a loop with the summit of Mt Logan being our halfway destination.
Dan, if you can make it, we'll be happy to slap you around to keep you alert.........no rails on this trail to follow.:)

Map to Logan from I-15 (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?countryid=250&addtohistory=&country=US&address=&city=Logan&state=ut&zipcode=&historyid=&submit=Get+Map)

[poomba]

Be sure and tell us how it turns out, guys. Popeye and I will be thinking of you..kay, not sure what we'll be thinking, since all we will be doing is Herculining my pig, but still...

[DeadEyeJ]

Does this mean that you've fixed the BIG hole in the floor pan?;)

[mikal]

We're in. If anyone wants to caravan from Ogden, we could meet at the Peter Skene Ogden sign around 8ish.

[itzak]

I'm sorry to say I'm out . My Boss ( the one I live with) has reminded me I have a prior commitment.

itzak

[DeadEyeJ]

Originally posted by mikal
We're in. If anyone wants to caravan from Ogden, we could meet at the Peter Skene Ogden sign around 8ish.

I'm there. Just so everybody else knows, the Peter Skene Ogden sign is located on HWY 89 about 200 yards south of Rocky Point, on the east side of the road, under a big ol' willow tree. Let's shoot for 8 AM sharpish, rather than 8ish.

It will be nice to have some other questionably legal rigs to travel with. That way, they might not notice my complete disregard for mudflaps and fenders...

Jared

[poomba]

Originally posted by DeadEyeJ
Does this mean that you've fixed the BIG hole in the floor pan?;)
Fixing that is on the list. Then again, the list gets longer every time I open something up to look at it. I should have it patched by the 18th, when we do the food run to the Utah Food Bank..otherwise..there's gonna be a trail of tuna cans and veggies from Dugway to Salt Lake, so I can find my way back... Stay warm on the trail it should be cool in more ways than one...Happy Halloweenie, too.

[XJEEPER]

Any Logan locals care to give a snowdepth total to today?

[Gcb17]

5-6"... still coming down. more tomorrow. i drove a couple miles up the canyon today. i didn't get anywhere near the quarry though. the road was clear, apparently tons of people have been on it in the past day or so. after tonite, i'm guessing the tracks should be covered up.

-grant

[XJEEPER]

Sounds like fun, see ya'll in the morning!

[TRNDRVR]

:speepin: :speepin: :speepin: :speepin:
Sorry guys that I missed it. Slept right through it.
When you roll into town and get to bed close to 7am, wheeling on 1 hour of sleep is not fun.
Let us know how it went.
Sorry and thanks,
Dan.

[DeadEyeJ]

Well, what can I say? That was some fun stuff, just sorry that I had to leave so early in the day. I forgot to call in "sick" to work before we went up the canyon, then nobody had cell phone service. How was the trail after it warmed up a bit? Did you guys make it much further up? Did anybody get any pics of that Pinzgauer?

Anywho, here are the whopping 3 PICS that I managed to shoot...

http://community.webshots.com/user/deadeyej

Too busy driving and watching everybody ELSE get stuck to shoot pictures.

Jared

[XJEEPER]

Here's the roll call and a brief summary of the run.
We had 5 rigs show, which was a smaller group than I'd hoped for, but many others wanted to come that just couldn't swing it.

In attendance were:

Rob Shelley-XJCrazed
Mike and Jani-Mikal
Grant and buddy-Gcb17
Jared-DeadEye XJ
me

Jerry Harrison showed up at the staging area to meet us but his Jeep was hanging in the shop awaiting some steering mods. We'll definitely rely on his experince for future runs in the Cache Valley and Idaho area.

We aired down and disco'd and headed to the trailhead which was snowpacked and slippery. We made good progress until the grade became steep, just below the quarry. We all had some kind of TAD with the exception of Grant, who found this section somewhat of a challenge, but through perserverance and searching for traction we all made it up the first leg to the quarry.

The next leg was more of a challenge and Jared and Mike were able to make it past the rock garden but I struggled with worn KO's and snow polished to ice on top of rocks. We decided it was close enough to lunch and with light snow falling we broke out the coolers and chairs. After lunch we make the short but steep hike to the waterfall that is feed by Spring Creek.

Jared then need to bail for work and Mike went along as well. Sorry you and Mike bailed early, we had some real fun after you left!

With 3 rigs left, we decided to give the upper trail another shot.
The snow conditions had changed after lunch, allowing for better traction so we pushed on up the canyon. Good tires and TAD's were a plus, you really needed both but Grant did quite well with open diffs, especially considering that this was the first real snow wheeling that this Georgia boy had done. ;)
This trail has been different everytime I've run it and this was no exception. Definitely more technical with scattered snowcovered rocks and mud as you make the winding, narrow ascent. This was the most challenging run I've made up PC to date and crawling was definitely out.......... gettin' it was the order of the day, with momentum being your friend.

We made it to about the Mathews Hollow fork, where the trail was completely snowpacked, when a slideoff required breaking out Rob's winch. After some strategic tugging and snatching off some helpful trees (no trees were harmed during this proceedure :) ) we were ready to press on to the upper valley. No doubt we could have made it to the summit of Mt Logan, as the more challenging sections of the trail were behind us but due to commitments later that evening, we decided to call it and head down.

We'll be running PC again in the early summer and exploring more of the trails in the Cache Valley area for those of you that couldn't make it.
I had a great time and got to meet and wheel with some new folks .........good additions to our soon to be formed Utah Chapter.

[ACE]

I'm jealous. :( Wish I could have been there. Thanks for the report Jeff.

[Gcb17]

i had fun, despite falling into a ditch and almost fallling down a little hill. good stuff. that reminded me of the wheeling back home, with plenty of the skinny pedal. the only thing missing were larger rock slabs and a bit more mud. glad i could meet some of the utah xj guys, hopefully we'll have that meeting soon and a lot more runs. --grant

[xjblue]

Sounds like you guys had a good time.
I decided not to show up due to my rig not being up to par for that trail.
I woke up that morning and wanted to play in the snow real bad. having never been wheelin in snow other than broadies in parking lots.
Decided to head up Corner Canyon, there was only a little snow and mud but there isn't much you can legally do up there so afterward I decided to head up Big Cottenwood to see if the gate was open to Guardsman Pass. Guardsman Pass road was unplowed and the gate was open! The snow was deep after the gate. I passed some trucks that were leaving and an Audi backing out, afterwhich the snow was deeper. I got slowed down a bit a few times but never lost momentum. At the Pass I got out and had one of those "only in a jeep" moments being at the top alone, then a few snowmobiles went by! Decided to follow the sleds down the other side. Had great fun causing plumes of fresh Utah pow to arc past my windows while driving down. Only other person I saw while driving down to Wasatch Mtn St. Park (besides the returing snowmobilers again) was a cross country skier. after Lunch in Heber I returned home via Provo Canyon/ I-15

[XJEEPER]

That would have been a blast! I haven't been over Guardsman Pass in years. Good thing you did it on Saturday because you'd not make it now! 16" new snow and a 32" base as of this morning at Brighton.......and it's still coming down.:)