Month: April 2023

I picked this trail for the final EJS day since it’s rated 4. I think the rating was spot on, even though there were three spots that some folks asked for a spot. They all had bypasses, but they weren’t so tough.

We started at 0900 when it was cloudy, and we finished around 1500 when the sky was mostly clear. We were told the ride would be longer ride than usual so we were prepared with plenty of food and water. We stopped once every hour or so for a 10-100 (#1) break. Koda was happy to mingle with the other dogs, kids, and adults, on every stop. His tail was wagging like crazy. I can tell he is an off-roading dream dog. Folks liked him in return.

Lots of beautiful scenery, a fair amount of gravel and sand roads, sprinkled with some pretty challenging slick rock spots. The lead did a really good job of describing the landscape, the trees, the arches, and the uranium mining history. The gunners did a great job in keeping the group together. We got advanced notice of all the tough spots, and which way to bypass them.

I’m a little sad that today is the last EJS day, but it’s the best one I’ve been to yet. I’ll be back next year. I’m starting to plan my late Summer trip to the Colorado Rockies. The past two times I went right after EJS, but the best trails were closed due to snow. I hope to finally do Black Bear Pass, Imogene Pass, and Poughkeepsie Pass. I’ve already done Engineer Pass and Ophir Pass.

I washed the Jeep after the ride. Tonight’s chores include packing the Jeep, doing laundry, and going to sleep early. The next two days will be 500 miles each. I hope to get to Santa Rosa, NM tomorrow before the sun goes down, and the same for the following day’s trip to Plano, TX.

Here is one of the three spots that folks wanted to get spotted on.

One of the most most iconic trails in Moab, with a 1,500 foot high ledge that people from around the world come to for a classic picture. Jeep rates this trail 6-8 of 10. 32” tires are recommended but lockers and a winch are not required.

I’ve done this trail before. I can’t imagine doing it with less than 35” tires and a 2” lift. There are lots of challenging spots, and several spots where you would bottom out if you didn’t pick the perfect line.

The money shot. I wonder if Koda knew we were on a 1,500 foot high ledge?

When we stopped for lunch my Jeep was on an weird incline that prevented me from accessing the back of the Jeep to get to my lunch. A tailgate with a 35” mounted tire is too heavy to stay open at that angle. I radioed the Gunner and he quickly got the owner to move it so I could level out. That was a fun reminder to park level at lunch stops.

It was an eight hour day, but Koda loved it. He got to mingle with the other dogs and the folks on the ride. We had excellent gunners, great spotting, beautiful views. It was a fun day!

I was supposed to do Fins and Things (again) today, but I felt like sleeping in, so today turned out to be a rest day. I ended up going to the Old Spanish Trail Arena to check out the vendor booths. I had one item on my shopping list.

Since EJS 2021, I’ve been using a MORRFlate Quad tire hose kit to air up my Jeep tires after a trail ride. If someone is inflating all four tires with a kit that has neon green hoses, it’s likely a MORRFlate kit. The product has been durable and reliable, but over time a few annoyances started to set in.

This year I noticed a number of people using an EZ-Flate HyperFlex, which uses orange hoses. Talking to those folks, some switched from MORRFlate, and some were first timers. I realized the product resolves the issues I describe below. While I’m not sure if any patents are involved, the EZ-Flate product seemed like a version 2.0 of the MORRFlate product.

MORRFlate

The MORRFlate Quad kit comes with two 13’ hoses connected to a manifold (gauge, connectors, and a lever), and each of the 13’ hoses has a coupler attached to the end. Each of the two 13’ hoses also has a T splitter connected to a 3’ hose which also has a coupler at the end of it. So each of the two 13’ hoses can fill two tires on either side of your Jeep.

Their couplers require you to pull back a collar, push the coupler onto the tire’s Schrader valve, then push the collar forward. Easy to do when it was new, but became harder to do over time. Not sure if corrosion set in, or if some maintenance is required, that customers aren’t told about. It’s a fairly new product so maybe MORRFlate wasn’t aware this is happening.

The T splitters used for the 3’ hoses make coiling the hoses for storage unnecessary difficult. I always felt like the hoses were going to get damaged from kinking it to fit into the carry bag. This made the carry bag bulkier and harder to store in my Jeep.

EZ-Flate

EZ-Flate eliminates the 3’ hose. Each of the two 13’ hoses have a T splitter with an attached coupler. So no need for a 3’ hose. Brilliant simplification of the MORRFlate design. Make the whole unpacking, attaching, detaching, and packing process a lot easier. Their carry bag is significantly smaller, and since the hoses can be easily coiled, it’s easier to stow in the Jeep.

EZ-Flate uses a different coupler design. No collar to pull back on, just press the coupler onto the Shraeder valve and move on to the next tire. Attaches cleanly, no second guessing if it is sealed properly. Once you’re done inflating your tires, grab the coupler body and pull back. The couplers closes once they are disconnected, so no air is lost, same as couplers MORRFlate uses.

Summary

Two good products. EZ-Flate has the design edge. Let’s hope MORRFlate is working to refine their product. Competition is good for everyone.

PS thanks to all who were happy to discuss their thoughts on the EZ-Flate product.

Today was an easy ride rated 4. The drive to and from the trail was about 25 miles each way. Temperature was in the 30-40 degrees. Though at the 6,000 foot elevation it felt colder, and up there we saw some snow. The distant snow covered mountain range added nice contrast to the trail.

We had about 30 Jeeps and a Durango that had no trouble keeping up. There was one mechanical, a blue TJ that appeared to have an alternator or camshaft issue, depending on who you asked. The driver had to park it and jump into another Jeep, and likely come back in the evening to get it towed in to get it fixed.

Koda had a great time, jumping onto every new person, some kids, and a couple dogs. he was pretty well behaved. I think he likes it here. So glad I brought him with me! He was excited when we got up and prepared for the day’s ride.

Since it was an easier ride, I was able to take lots of pictures. Below are the ones I selected of the bunch.

Tomorrow we will do Fins and Things again. You read that right. I came so close to securing a Golden Spike slot, but I missed out. So I had to select from what was left. No regrets, its a fun ride!

A longer, easier trail, with lots to see, it lived up to expectations! There were no hard obstacles, though some would argue lockers are helpful in a few spots. It was a cloudy day in the 30-40s, not too much wind.

The consensus was to air down to 15-16 pounds. I normally air down to 13-14 for tougher rides.

Lots of great views. One day I’ll figure out how to set up a camera that takes shots when I press a button. Here are some I was able to take without taking any risks.

Today’s trail was rated 5. Tomorrow will be even easier.

Koda taught me how to fly today. I’m just gonna leave this here while I lick my wounds.

Today’s ride is rated 6 and had one obstacle that is notorious for destroying front bumpers. Its called “Waterfall”. It’s a 5 foot high boulder with a 45 degree incline. Two door Jeeps have a harder time than four door Jeeps. As unbelievable as it nay sound, it’s harder to go down than it is to go up.

Someone captured my pucker moment going down Waterfall. Some folks captured us going up. Once they post to the EJS Facebook page I can grab the clip, with their permission of course.

I didn’t get any pictures of Golden Crack. By the time I recognized it, it was too late. Happy to report my Mopar lift handled it with ease. Here is a video I found on the web.

Tomorrow’s we will do Backwards Bill, which is rated 5.

Today was one of those high wind days, so I went to McDonalds for breakfast. This way I could avoid issues with the stove and my food flying into the wind. I had to feed Koda in our cabin so his food won’t blow away.

Hell’s Revenge has always been one of my favorite trails. I didn’t do the optional Hell’s Gate climb or the Tip Over Challenge since there no spotters. So where possible I took bypasses. This let me watch from the sidelines. But I did Staircase, Bathtub, and a few other optional obstacles.

There were a few mechanicals on today’s trail ride. Someone’s left side electric rock slider failed and was stuck in the open position. Someone had a hack to get it back into the closed position. We also heard someone tipped over on Staircase, which is almost as difficult as the Hell’s Gate climb.

Some steep obstacles are very hard to navigate without a spotter. It’s hard to pick the right line when your Jeep is pointing straight up to the sky. I’ve always gone by feel and I so far I’ve had good luck.

About half the group climbed Hell’s Gate. I did it last year with a RTT and a loaded Jeep. At the time I was just under the GVWR but still a little heavy for that kind of climb. This year I rented a cabin so I left behind all the stuff that I didn’t need on the trail. Much lighter than last year. Deciding not to do the climb was more of a “meh, I already did it” than anything else.

The ride ended around 1500. I fed and walked Koda, and had a light dinner, then we passed out. Of Koda stole half the bed. That’s OK, it’s a big bed. With the strong winds, you can hear some unsecured stuff flying around the KOA property. It should die down in the next couple hours.

Tomorrow is Gold Bar Rim. It’s not a BOH ride, but I’ve heard so much about it, so I added it to my itinerary. Ot starts at 0900 so we get an extra hour of shuteye.

I’ve done Poison Spider a couple times, but today was the best. Not a cloud in the sky and temps in the 60s.

Got to the start an hour early. Within minutes there were dozens of Jeeps. plenty of time to air down, feed and walk Koda, cleaned off the windows and mirrors, and fine tuned how the Jeep was loaded.

I thought I knew Poison Spider, but now I know there are bypasses in most of the hard spots. I saw the winch spot that I used two years in a row, drilled into a huge rock. This year a spotter showed me the right line, so I didn’t need to use it. It was scary but very doable.

Got back around 1500 so it was a long day. I’m stopping at City Market to get a sammish for tomorrow’s lunch. I’ve been making breakfast and dinner in the Jeep’s kitchen.

I probably won’t need to do laundry for a few days but if it isn’t too cold I might anyway. That said it’s dinner time!

Got up before the sun came up, had breakfast and got to the starting point 30 minutes early.

There were already several dozen Jeeps there. Had the requisite drivers meeting. Remember, women always go on the right. Because…