May 1 2013
Our first time hitting the trails with my FJ Cruiser. I've done these trails out here many times in 200-2004 with my Land Rover but that had a winch, a couple more skid plates and I mainly wasn't alone,10 other trucks, Very important if you get stuck to have something to winch to or to tow you out of an obstacle. We decided on Gemini Bridges Trail. Shortly after entering I decided to air down my tires, ride was a little stiff. That softer tire also allows more tire tread to grip surfaces when extra traction is needed. Some guys in another FJ stopped and asked if we were here for the Cruiser Rally. Some type of Toyota 4x4 rally here in Moab starting Thurs. We did notice an unusually amount of Toyotas in town. We eventually continued on and trail was very tame. Fortunately there were some more technical routes to pull off the main trail from to get a little challenge in. Truck handled obstacles great! Actually had to put it in 4WD a couple times and push the secret button too (electric rear locking differential)! One rock climb had a wheel in the air and truck tipping corner to corner, Kim got out. Putting a little too much weight on the rear axles at a climb, bouncing and hopping. Not knowing the strength of these axles ( I had installed heavy duty rear axles on my Land Rover) and being alone I backed out. The 'Grocery Getter' got a pass on this one!
We broke off of Gemini Bridges Trail because the guys we met before said they were hitting this Bull Canyon Trail. Looking for more, we took it also. More boulders and rock ledges..fun. Got to end of the trail where we had lunch,bumped in to those guys, let Roxie run around, and turned back. We found the walking trail that led to the bottom of the actual Gemini Bridges. Beautiful!
We had stopped at a hardware store before hitting trail and picked up a small 3' by 6' rug. I strapped down in the back of the truck to give her more to grip onto as opposed to the hard plastic. Made a world of difference for her and looked way more comfortable along with her new Thundershirt (picked up in Grand Junction, Co) getting rocked around back there on the trail.
Stopped at Moab Brewery to get a small bite to eat and sort through and upload pics. I had set up Personal Hotspot on my iPhone before we left (turns iPhone into a wi-fi access point to give internet to laptop). Cell signals too weak at cabin to work, so we have to head to town where I have a LTE 4G signal to utilize it. Surprisingly fast!. Reserved a RZR side-by-side for sat morning(not available for fri) for Kim,headed back to cabin, went for a short walk, built a campfire, listened to some Pandora (dont know why it works so well there with weak cell signal but it does), and called it a night! As usual on our vacations, exhausted by bed time! Hiking tomorrow.
