Grand Junction

 Grand Junction worked out well. I'm all restocked and the plan for CO all worked out. I'm well fed, all groomed and well rested too. I'm staying here one more day than I planned though. Yesterday I was struggling, I couldn't get anything done. All I could was lay around and vegetate. It was as if CFS was coming back. But I bounced back today and I'm ready to hit the trails again.

GJ is a good sized city. It seems a lot bigger than the population of 60,000 suggests, with not one, but two Walmart superstores. Downtown looks just like Lodi or Davis. In fact, not only those two cities have similar looking downtown, they have about the same population as well. But GJ seems a lot bigger. Maybe it only seems bigger because GJ is all by itself while Davis or Lodi is close to much bigger Sacramento.

So I spent today finishing up restocking at WIalmart and spent time meandering through Main Street in downtown. I was going to Grand Mesa and then I realized that it is on the way to Montrose; I only need to take Route 65 instead of US50. (Yes, it's same US-50 from Sacramento right next to my house). So I'll do Grand Mesa tomorrow instead, and then Rim Drive of Black Canyon. 

Fresh produce cost more than twice here. A bag of a few tiny discolored romaine costs $3. No whole heads of red/green leaf lettuce. a bulb of garlic $1. But roasted chicken is cheaper at $4. It's not a good place to be a vegetarian.

It's been smogy here. They are blaming it on California fire, but I suspect it's usually smoggy. It's been smoggy in the Canyonlands too and they are usually smoggy no matter what. The valley is surrounded by mountains with winds blowing in from all directions and depositing pollutants there. GJ is not that far from the Canyonlands valley and it is in the arm extending from the valley into the Rockies.

The Colorado Plan

 Blue Mountain has been my home for the past 7 days. It's been so pleasant I could stay here forever. Today has been particularly breezy and pleasant. I've been alternating between sitting under the shade and writing up blogs, and taking naps. When the shade moved over the car, I fixed up my 12V line once and for all, for the last time I hope. I think it is now solid enough not to give me any more trouble. Cross the fingers.

But it's time to move on. I'll have to go to either Grand Junction or Denver to restock and fix up the car. If I can find Korean grocery in GJ, Denver can wait; I can duct-tape the unhinged window and hold up the lift gate with hiking pole. The lift gate no longer holds up when opened. The hydraulic cylinder is caked with the red clay powder of Escalante and the powder must've clogged up the hydraulic mechanism.

I'll pack up tomorrow morning and then sleep in the car by Colorado River tomorrow night after hiking Arches National. It's hot down there. Mary, the gal I met on Park Avenue trail yesterday, said so. But it's only for one night and I can sleep with AC on. The morning after I'll drive to GJ and stay in hotel for 2 nights. There are Walmart and Asian grocery store there, so I could restock and plan out the rest of the trip. If no Korean grocery, I'll drive to Denver, have the car fixed and restock there instead.

I'm getting a bit wistful about leaving here. I hope the cows will remember me.

Island in the Sky, Moab

 There are no cows here. No doe crossing the street with fawns in the tow. After weeks of desolation and solitude, not counting the stops at Blanding for a moment, Moab may as well be the New York City. It's a bustling tourist town lined with motels and restaurants and other conveniences of civilization. 

The first stop was at the Best Western hotel. It's better to use a clean hotel toilet rather than the one at a national park visitor's center. It was an excellent decision; Canyonlands visitor center had rows of compost toilets.  And I can have the car charged while taking care of the morning business. 

Islands in the Sky district of Canyonlands is another 20 miles from Moab, or a mile from Dead Horse Point State Park. I'm skipping Dead Horse; being so close together, it's probably just an outgrowth of Canyonlands rather than something different. There is a nice long hike down to the rim from there, but it's not going to provide a view any different than from White Rim Overlook or Grand View Point. Having to pay $20 for it is not that palatable either. And kkipping it for now will give an execuse to come back for it in the future.

Island in the Sky is a smaller version of Grand Canyon. You drive through the road on the mesa, which is why it is named the "Island in the Sky", stop at various view points, hike short hikes, take photos, and move on to the next view points. The difference is that the drive, being on a mesa, provides views on both sides of the road. One is the canyons of Colorado River and the other of Green River. This two rivers join at Confluence Point in the Needles District and flow down to Arizona to form Grand Canyon. In the "Neck" section, you can view both sides at the same time while driving.

The Grand View Point is at the end of the mesa. It forms promontory akin to Angel's Landing in Zion NP providing 270 degree view of the plateau below and the canyons carved out from it. Toward the West, you can see Maze district beyond Green River. I won't be able to make to Maze district in this trip; you need high clearance four wheel drive to go there. They won't let me go on the White Rim road below Island in the Sky. I told them I did the Hole in the Rock road and the ranger said White Rim road is a lot rougher. I could rent an ATV or Jeep and do the Chicken Corner, White Rim and Maze. But doing that is not too cost efficient. I'll just come back for them, and Dead Horse Point, when I have a high clearance AWD, possibly Ford F150 Lightning EV.

The total hike for the day probably is no more than 5 miles. I could go back to White Rim viewpoint which I missed and add another 2. Or go to Unheaval Dome and add 1.5. I started going back and it occured to me I could do Arches National. It is by Moab on the way back and I could do the rest of it in one day if I take care of the one or two trails near the entrance. I turned back and headed to Arches.

Arches entrance is somewhat unique. The visitor center is located by the highway. All you have to do is make a left turn into it from US 109. Then it climbs from the visitor center immediately winding up in Park Avenue high above the visitor center. 

And, just like that, Arches National stuns you right off the bat. You walk into Park Avenue colossal walls lining the wide gulch will greet you as victorious Roman generals may have been greeted in the monument-lined Capitol. I walked down into the gulch for 2 mile hike to/from the Courthouse Rock. The temperature gauge of my car said it was 105F outside and inside Park Avenue wasn't any cooler. It was 5PM though, and the walls started casting shadow in some sections. The trail seems to go on, but I turned around at the Courthouse Rock and came back.

I went back to Moab where I started this morning, plugged car in, and went for the dinner at a near-by Thai/Pho place; it was getting late and I'll have enough time and energy to take a bath. to cook when I get back at the camp. At $20, it was the most expensive pho noodle I've ever had. But the salty soup hit the spot just right after getting deccicated all day in the sun. Back at camp temperature was at 73F and dropping. I took a quick 1 gal path and the day was over.

Fridge Problem Solved, Finally

It wasn't the fridge. It was the T terminal of the splicer clamp that was loose and was causing all kinds of havoc. I wiggle it, and the voltage fluctuates between 0 and 14. When it is stable, the voltage sometimes drops to 2 as soon as the fridge is turned on, probably because the loose contact created impedance. 

The remaining question is why the fuse blew. It's possible that I blew it while testing it with multimeter. I may have set the dial for amperage while testing the voltage. That would short the circuit and blow the fuse. The fluctuating voltage and the blown fuse made me suspect there was a shortage in the fridge and had ICECO send me a new one. That must cost ICECO about $700. I owe them apology. The only winner in this fiasco is Canyons of Escalante who got a perfectly functioning ICECO fridge for nothing. I left the old one there since ICECO didn't want them back and I didn't have room in my car.

I really have to get a 10 pin connector that hooks right into the Tesla's female. I should've done that at the first place, except that I couldn't find the connector. There is none on Amazon and there was only one online vendor who sells females. And I need a male. I'll check with NAPA automotive store in Monticello if they have one. I doubt it though. If they don't have it, I'll have to rework with the T terminal of splicer somehow, so that it'll be more secure. perhaps I can crimp the receiver to hold the insert more secure. Or bend the tip of the insert so that it'll stay locked in place when plugged in. Then I'll check with Tesla when I get to Denver if they have the 10 pin connector. I have to take the car in to repair the unhinged rear window anyway when I get there.

Monticello

 It's good to be back in civilization, if only for briefly. Blanding is a decent sized town complete with a full size grocery store, auto parts store and a diner that seems like a good place for local teens to hang out on weekends. It's the biggest town since St George 2 weeks ago. 

I got to Blanding around 12:30. Still plenty of time, I figured. I plugged in the car and crossed the street to the diner and the philly cheese stake sandwich for lunch. The crisp fries and generously portioned philly stake sandwich was enough to bring me back to life. I must've drank 3 refills of 32 ounce drink as well. Nice little retro-looking diner. You should try it if you ever have chance to pass by Blanding.

Then it was back to fridge business. I try to fix the 12v line before I left Santhrax campsite to no avail. The voltage was flaky and then went completely to zero and didn't come back. I figure the fuse finally gave up; I had to get to Blanding, access the Internet to research Tesla fuse and buy a replacement. 

It was a struggle, but I finally managed to get to the fuse box under the glove compartment and replace the fuse. I still don't know why 30A fuse blew. The fridge only draws about 4A. Unless there was a short somewhere, it's just not possible for 50W fridge to blow 30A fuse. Just in case the cigarette lighter adaptor is the culprit, I replaced it as well. Let's cross fingers and there will no no more fridge trouble in the remainder of the trip.

So now my fridge all restocked and I'm all freshened up after a bath here in Blue Mountains by Monticello. The temperature is in the 50s this evening; I had to dig up long pants and fleece jacket. A large deer the size of donkey is grazing just outside my tent. This will be my home for the next 10 days or so. I'll tackle Needles district of Canyonlands and Monument Valley from here. Then I'll commute to Moab for Islands in the Sky district, Arches National and Dead Horse State. Tesla superchargers are conveniently located both in Blanding and Moab, so I can fill up on the way back from either directions.

Capitol Reef

 I'm sitting here surrounded by sandstone hills at Santhrax site off UT-95 with coffee and laptop at 7AM typing away, still fresh after hiking Escalante and Capitol Reef. I can peak at Henry Mountains to the West in the direction where UT-95 will take you back to Capitol Reef and Escalante. This is turning into a trip of lifetime.

You think of Utah, you think of desertscape. Or flat salt lake. At best, the bare-looking Wasatch Mountains around Provo is what you think of. But parts of Utah is incredibly lush. Colob Terrace north of Zion on the way to Cedar City was like that. Boulder Mountain is even more so.

But you have to pass through some incredible desertscape to get there. Follow UT-12 from Escalante to Torrey and you will know why UT-12 is famous. Before you get to Hog Back Ridge which everybody should drive on at least once in their life, you can look West past the vast sandstone field toward Boulder Mountain and Henry Mountains.

By the time you reach the town of Boulder, the white and orange sandstones give way to greenery. It's a beautiful ranch town surrounded by red rocks and forested hills. Imagine smaller Sedona with more greens. And it's greener because the lush Boulder Mountain starts from there. 

From there, you climb up following UT-12. By the time you get to the peak, the temperature drops into the 50s. A hailstorm must've passed through when I was there. The ground was covered was thick blanket of hails making the drivng treacherous. 15 mph was all I could muster without risking sliding off the side of the mountain. As I descended, the temperature dropped further into low 50s, perhaps because of the weather: I was following the storm.

Just when I got off the mountain and thought I was out of the hails, a incredible storm hit. My wiper ran at full speed and I still couldn't see through the windshield. This time my speed went down to 10 mph. It went on like that for about 20 minutes till I finally got to the town of Torrey.

Torrey must be bigger than Escalante -- it has Subway Sandwich just as you enter the town at the end of UT-12. I wasn't going to cook for dinner since I was sleeping in the car, so I grabbed a foot long sub and went up UT-24 looking for the camping site. There was no Bea's Lewis Road at the GPS coordinate. But there was a short dirt road leading to a wash. I went into it, parked and spent the night there.

My plan has changed since I spent extra 2 nights in Escalante tending the fridge business. Instead of camping 3 nights in Torrey, I'm sleeping in the car for one night and moving on toward Monticello. I'm doing Capitol Reef on the way. That way, I don't have to come back to Torrey and therefore save the EV juice. It's 180 miles to the next Supercharger in Blanding and I need to conserve every electrons as I can.

It's an ambitious plan. I've done Calf Creek Falls the day before and it was a bit more than I planned. It wasn't strenuous, but it was 5.7 miles long. And I did it almost without stopping other than 1 hour break at the fall itself. Doing Grand Wash meant that I'd be doing two 5+ mile hikes in 2 days in a row. But I'll be mostly driving the next day and I'll have a full day of rest once I get to Blue Mountain in Monticello.

Where should I begin? Let me just say that Grand Wash was spectacular as any canyon I've seen so far. It's a part Yosemite and a part Zion Canyon. Imagine Zion Narrows, make it a little wider in the middle and opening up at the either ends in an hourglass shape. As you enter and exit the narrow, the view of towering cliffs is reminiscent of Yosemite except that they are made of sandstone rather than granite. Inside the narrows, it is Zion except that you are wading in mud and gravel rather than water. 

It's a greatest hike you've never heard of. Why, I've never even heard of Capitol Reef till I started researching for this trip. It is a totally underated and you should do it at least once in your life. It is about as long and strenuous as Calf Creek Falls. The sun was also as hot as you enter and exit the narrows. But it was cool in shade inside the narrows.

I was done before 3PM. I had less than 100 miles to go this day, so I had plenty of time. The first order of business was to stop at Hanksville, have early dinner, plug in the car in their RV site and fix the fridge problem.

Coyote Gulch

 If you relish desolation and get high on solitude, Escalante National Monument is your heaven. I car-camped at the mile 26 of Hole in the Rock road by the dried creek and a tree on Sunday night. Not a sole went by all night long. I viewed the sunset and then walked up on the creek bed in the dark all by myself. The next day I still didn't see a soul while hiking Coyote Gulch, marveled at the vastness that is Escalante all by myself, and struggled to make it back to my car all by myself.

Hole in the Rock could well be the one of the most, if not the most, scenic dirt road in America. All 42 miles of it. Soon after you turn off UT-12, the Grand Staircase plateau spreads out, seemingly endlessly. It is not unlike Eastern Sierra, but only with flat topped, horizontally stripped cliffs -- hence the name staircase -- instead of jagged granite peaks. On the opposite side of the staircase where Coyote Gulch is located is a mix of powdery red sand, igneous rocks, and sandstones, which spread out over thousands square miles.

Soon after I turned to the Hole in the Rock road, the car's front left suspension started making the most horrible creaking noise every time I hit a bump and the car gets twisted. I thought the suspension finally gave up after so many miles on the dirt road. I couldn't do more than 8 mph without triggering the noise. 42 miles at 8mph, you do the math. I called Tesla roadside assistance, and all they could offer was to tow the vehicle. The closest Tesla service station is either in Salt Lake City or in Colorado, hundreds miles away. That would cost me a fortune in towing. If I turn back now, I might gimp my way to Colorado for the service. It seemed hopeless. But then, I came all the way out here for Coyote Gulch and the prospect of giving up, yet again, wasn't palatable. It was going to be Coyote Gulch or bust. I drove 8 mph for a while and then relaxed a bit when noticed Escalante Staircase unfolding to my right. Soon, the creaking sound disappeared and I could do 15 mph! I have no idea what happened. Maybe a pebble got stuck in the suspension and then eventually dropped out from all that shaking. It still took me more than 2 hours to get to the tree at the mile 26 by the dry creek. It would be another hour to get to Moki Stairs where the Coyote Gulch hike is supposed to start.

I was so aroused by the desolate scenery, I had difficulty falling asleep. Next morning I got up well after 6AM. After the coffee and oatmeal, and some more picture taking, it was well after 7PM. I got to Moki Stairs at 9AM. No problem, I'll still have plenty of daylight to complete either 6 or 8 mile hike. I set out for the butte, the first milestone marker toward Hamlin-Jacob Arch. I waded through the powdery sand, then walked over the rocky terrain that looked like cauliflower head sprouting from the ground, and then skirted the butte. The next milestone was supposed to be the black igneous rock and it was nowhere to be found. It may have eroded and disappeared. The YouTube instruction was either wrong or was too  old. No matter, I set out to the general direction of the Hamlin-Jacob and soon found cairns showing the direction. More staircase rocks, and soon I could see the Hamlin-Jacob Arch. You can't miss it, just look for a white bat and black flying fishbone carved on the cliff. 

So the first portion of the hike was completed with relative ease. Now the fun part of roping down to the gulch, and that was done with relative ease too. 

When I got to the bottom, I went left and meandered toward the grand cavity that is Hamlin-Jacob Arch first. My aim was to find the pool that people filmed skinny dipping. After all the work of getting to the gulch, pool dipping would've been a lovely break. I walked up for about 15 minutes, and then returned upon not finding the pool.(The pool was actually at the Natural Bridge, not Hamlin-Jacob Arch). I came back to Hamlin-Jacob arch, had lunch and rested in the cool shade of the cavity for a while. 

I figured, since I've done a mile up the "wrong" direction, maybe I should do half the distance to the Natural Bridge. But I was walking at a pretty fast clip on the flat terrain following the creek. Soon I was at the half way mark and it hardly took any time. I wasn't turning back. I made it to the natural bridge, waded in the water for a while and then turned back. It was 2:45PM then and I was sure I'd get out of the gulch before 4 and make it back to the car before 6. 

My rope was still there when I got back to Jacob-Hamlin. I donned my biking glove again and tried to climb up while hanging on the rope. I was tired by then and pulling on the rope was just impossible. My heart rate went up to 180 after a few try, but I haven't made any progress. I looked up, and thought maybe I better press the SOS button. Then I found another spot that I could walk zigzag while hanging on the rope instead of pulling on it. It worked to my relief and I started make small progresses. I had to stop every 15 feet or so and rest. By the time I got to the end of the rope I was totally exhausted. And I still had another 100 feet to climb on my hands and knees to get out of the gulch.

It took me almost an hour to completely climb out of the hole. And guess what? the climb continued. In the morning I didn't notice that I was descending so much amidst marveling at the desolate scenery and clicking the shutter. Coming back, you have forced to notice. And it climbed all the way back to the butte and then some more. It only flattened out about half mile away from the water tank of Moki Stairs. 

By the time I got to the butte I was totally out of water. I took half a gallon but that apparently wasn't enough. I could've used at least another quart. I had a half left when I got out of the gulch. I figured it'll be another 2 hours and I'd be fine. It was instead another 3.5 hours. I had to stop every a few hundred feet and rest. The sun was beating down and I had no place to hide. I pulled out the space blanket, pulled it over me and naps 5-10 minutes at a time. 2 miles, stop every a few hundred feet, you do the math.

When I got back to the car, it was 7:30PM. It was 10.5 hour hike and at least 8 miles, possibly 9. Next day I was cramping all over, all day long. It took 2 days to recover, but I did not get sick. There is no doubt that I'm no longer sick with CFS. At least not while I'm traveling.