Kane Creek story: Peter Matusov photos: Mike Gorbunov and Peter Matusov Back to Golden Spike |  slide show |  pile of photos |  Way back home   I have to admit to some feeling of relief, having learned of our destination for the next day – which was to be Kane Creek trail. Wells’ book seemed to use less harsh language in describing the trail’s obstacles, and the photos offered less daunting picture than for other trails. However, seeing Dan in the morning in his lower and wider Rubicon made me think that there must be something besides sightseeing on this trail.   Kane Creek Road leads from the town to the trailhead; pavement yields to gravel, then dirt. Soon, the “four-wheeling for fun” began. For many miles on, we’d drive across every possible mound of dirt or hole in the ground when there was a perfectly flat bypass. That kept Mike giggling for most of the day – for no reason, I should say. Compared to having traveled eight hundred miles from home for a single purpose – leave the pavement for a few days, I saw nothing wrong with using up the most of our last day in Moab.   Besides, my bumpers were already all banged up, so jamming them into dirt a few more times couldn’t harm them more.   The trail cris-crosses Kane Creek Canyon for many miles; it dives to the creek bed at times, snakes between the desert willows, aspens, and tamarisk bushes, climbs steep berms and gets back up to the higher – and redder – ground. This trail would make perfect rally grounds – the optional obstacles aside, it can be driven moderately fast.   Several miles into the trail, we stopped in the shadow of an aspen grove for lunch. I’ve tried to use two high-lift jacks to straighten up the front bumper, without perceptible results.   About ten miles from the trailhead, the road emerges from the creek bed, and starts its climb to the top of the canyon. The trail becomes a shelf road – with multiple ledges to climb over and large rocks to straddle. Dan found yet another spot that could be made uneasy for those who’d listen – and Joe’s got some two feet of air under his right front tire. Considering the fact that this spot was at the edge of the hundred-foot drop on the left, it was a bit crazy. Not too far down the trail, Dan pointed to us remnants of a vehicle that was rolled off the cliff a long while ago... Very comforting.   The trail climbed some more, in one spot skirting a nice cascade of waterfalls. We then followed the creek bed for a little more, and came upon the final pile of rocks to get over. We’ve watched as Dan took a couple of different tries to bump over it, and cheated out of this one. Surprisingly, Frank rolled over this obstacle without any apparent difficulty – followed by Joe and Roger.   That was the end of the trail, and we bid a quiet good-bye to Moab’s off-roading. We stopped at the famous Hole’n’the Rock store on U.S.191, and aired up at the parking lot. I rummaged through the pile of cassette tapes in the store, picking up a couple – which would later turn out a musical disaster on our way to San Diego.   The day was still far from its end; we had a farewell dinner at the Moab Brewery. Afterwards, Mike went to town for souvenirs and t-shirts, and some of us headed back to Dan’s shop to make his Discovery 2 an equal partner in his stable of jeeps (by removing yet another failed range interlock solenoid, and installing a center differential lock kit). Nick Markiw finished the install with Dan late in the evening.   This night, we’ve opened that bottle of tequila which sat untouched since previous Sunday night in St. George, and celebrated the survival. We still had the truck that could take us back home! Back to Golden Spike |  slide show |  pile of photos |  Way back home