Great write up Matt. Looks like an amazing trip. Maybe we can get you to guide a Herd of Turtle run through that area sometime. Skipping the length restricted area (-:
Dzrtdave from Turtleback Trailers
Dzrtdave from Turtleback Trailers
Grand Canyon North Rim and the Parashant NM
- Thread starter Matt
- Start date
T McArthur
Adventurist
Been to the south rim twice. Now I just gotta go to the north rim! Thanx.
Matt
Adventurist
A little background and then some lessons learned.
No lift kit or lockers on our H3T, 255/85R16 BFG KM2's, no winch. Carried shovel, ax, maxtrax (2), and a high-lift jack. 25gal fuel tank on truck, 3 5gal Scepter MFC's in bed of truck and 2 4gal Rotopax on trailer. 1 5gal water can just for vehicle.
We felt pretty good on being self-supported.
The truck has a dual band HAM radio that I filled for the minimal local repeaters and simplex frequencies for EXPO, hailing and NPS and BLM. We also have an InReach Explorer that we use to let family know we were doing fine and to ask for assistance if we have a catastrophic mechanical failure. We use the InReach and Gaia on an Ipod Mini for navigation, with a paper map and compass as a back up.
We carry a spare serpentine belt, upper an lower radiator hose, and assorted little fixums and fluids to hopefully take care of issues. Two spares (one on truck, one on trailer (trailer tires and rims match truck)), tire repair kit (plugs and patches, sidewall stitching stuff, and spoons), ratchet strap, compressor (with enough CFM to reseat a tire bead), spare wheel bearing hub for trailer (it's the pivot for the spare tire rack on the trailer), spare torsion arm for trailer.
Medical stuff includes bumps, scrapes and bruises stuff, standard OTC meds for headache, fever and stomach issues, Benadryl and Epi pen for 11 month old (he's not allergic to anything but there are plenty of new things to come in contact with out there (we got his doctor to give us an RX for one), and standard trauma stuff including tourniquets.
Lessons learned.
The BLM map legend has two indications of roads and trails for vehicle travel, just because you traveled on one type and it was a defined road with good travel time doesn't mean that the same type of road will afford you the same type of travel somewhere else (travel took longer in certain areas than I anticipated (1-2 MPH) instead of 10MPH)
If we had another day it would have been better to camp near the Saw Mill area, it was a long day from Torroweep to Twin Point. On the same note, find a camp in the Hidden Valley area.
Everything takes longer with an 11 month old
Kelty Woobie was a great sleeping bag for our son! Kept him plenty warm between us when temps dropped into low 30's at night.
Everyone has their own opinion on weather, reports that the roads were wet were completely untrue, trust your interpretation of weather conditions.
Turtleback pulled like a charm and provided an awesome travel platform! We need to create a fabric cover or net over top drawer in kitchen to stop food from being flung when trailer travels over rough terrain. Container Store bins for clothing in trailer made access and organization easy.
We topped our fuel tank off at Pipe Springs when we headed south to Torroweep, I put 5 gal in at Torroweep and 10 gal at Twin Point, kept the Rotopax in reserve and had a half tank when we reached Mesquite.
That's it for now, I'll add more tidbits as I remember. It was a great trip!
Thanks for reading and hope it helps inspire and plan!
Matt
No lift kit or lockers on our H3T, 255/85R16 BFG KM2's, no winch. Carried shovel, ax, maxtrax (2), and a high-lift jack. 25gal fuel tank on truck, 3 5gal Scepter MFC's in bed of truck and 2 4gal Rotopax on trailer. 1 5gal water can just for vehicle.
We felt pretty good on being self-supported.
The truck has a dual band HAM radio that I filled for the minimal local repeaters and simplex frequencies for EXPO, hailing and NPS and BLM. We also have an InReach Explorer that we use to let family know we were doing fine and to ask for assistance if we have a catastrophic mechanical failure. We use the InReach and Gaia on an Ipod Mini for navigation, with a paper map and compass as a back up.
We carry a spare serpentine belt, upper an lower radiator hose, and assorted little fixums and fluids to hopefully take care of issues. Two spares (one on truck, one on trailer (trailer tires and rims match truck)), tire repair kit (plugs and patches, sidewall stitching stuff, and spoons), ratchet strap, compressor (with enough CFM to reseat a tire bead), spare wheel bearing hub for trailer (it's the pivot for the spare tire rack on the trailer), spare torsion arm for trailer.
Medical stuff includes bumps, scrapes and bruises stuff, standard OTC meds for headache, fever and stomach issues, Benadryl and Epi pen for 11 month old (he's not allergic to anything but there are plenty of new things to come in contact with out there (we got his doctor to give us an RX for one), and standard trauma stuff including tourniquets.
Lessons learned.
The BLM map legend has two indications of roads and trails for vehicle travel, just because you traveled on one type and it was a defined road with good travel time doesn't mean that the same type of road will afford you the same type of travel somewhere else (travel took longer in certain areas than I anticipated (1-2 MPH) instead of 10MPH)
If we had another day it would have been better to camp near the Saw Mill area, it was a long day from Torroweep to Twin Point. On the same note, find a camp in the Hidden Valley area.
Everything takes longer with an 11 month old
Kelty Woobie was a great sleeping bag for our son! Kept him plenty warm between us when temps dropped into low 30's at night.
Everyone has their own opinion on weather, reports that the roads were wet were completely untrue, trust your interpretation of weather conditions.
Turtleback pulled like a charm and provided an awesome travel platform! We need to create a fabric cover or net over top drawer in kitchen to stop food from being flung when trailer travels over rough terrain. Container Store bins for clothing in trailer made access and organization easy.
We topped our fuel tank off at Pipe Springs when we headed south to Torroweep, I put 5 gal in at Torroweep and 10 gal at Twin Point, kept the Rotopax in reserve and had a half tank when we reached Mesquite.
That's it for now, I'll add more tidbits as I remember. It was a great trip!
Thanks for reading and hope it helps inspire and plan!
Matt
Great day 3 report and I especially like your after action review and elaboration of your preparations for the trip. In a previous life you must have been a logistician. You set the bar high, sir, and anyone new, and a little old will benefit from this thread!
