Day 42, 43, 44, 45 & 46
| August 17th to the 21st, 2007 |
An extra-ordinairy helpfull hand!!
Marc: "We're all set! We get out of Evanston and take county roads 151, 153, to
find 167 (called "the sheep trail"). 167 will bring us right to Meeks
Cabin."
France: "Cool! Following numbered county roads, that'll be easy !!".
...One hour and 10 miles later...
| Marc: ''Hi Sir ! I'm looking for 153 and I can't seem to find it. Can you
tell me where this one goes?" Gentleman: "OK, take this one, it'll take you
back to 150, and then you'll be able to find 167."
Marc: "Thanks!" |
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At least the scenery and the road are beautiful !
Does that look familiar? It's similar to the one we've seen a few days ago, but it's a
little different...click here,
you'll see!
AAAhhh! Finally! County road 167 !...
...Seriously! There's a sign that says "County road 167" !...( I wonder what
they consider as a trail, down here??)
...Just follow 167...
...The "sheep trail"...Now I get it !...I thought they meant "cheap
trail !"
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The vegetation changes surprisingly quickly down here on 167. From
sagebrush we are now into a nice aspen forest. It yields a pretty clear view despite de
dark threathning clouds. |
| For a while now, we keep seeing these "Sheep
camps".Sheep hearders live in them.
They take care of huge heards.
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Hey! Guess what! A closed gate!...So, just like deputy Sheriff told me to do, I open
the gate and close it back after we're through.
A few miles down...Another one!...This one, a lot more serious, since it's locked with
2 big chains and padlocks...
DISAPPOINTMENT...FRUSTRATION...ANGER...IMAGINATION...SOLUTION...
According to the GPS, there less than 1/4 mile left to Meeks cabin reservoir...We just
shared 55 miles with sheeps, cows, rocks and mud...Don't really feel like backtracking
them only to end-up in Evanston again and then ride 30 miles of pavement, 7 or 8 of which
illegals...
Of course, the cell does'nt work (so I could call my good friend the deputy
Sheriff...), and the satellite phone...Forget about it...
Luckily, we found a very clever way to cross to the other side (...humble...ain't I ?)
without breaking or cutting anything. Once we were on the other side, we put everything
back in place so absolutely no trace of us going through were left. We definetely do not
recommend that you would do the same, we know that it's not very kind...At least not more
neither less than to close a "public road"...
Check out the next pic to see how we did it:
Sorry, photo un-available ;)
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...1/4 of a mile later, Welcome to "Meeks Cabin Reservoir". We set-up camp
before it's starts raining...Should it falls on our heads, it'll go boom, boom...
For the first time in a long time, we can enjoy a nice campfire. We really relax
knowing that, tomorrow, we'll hit the Utah trail system, one of the most elaborate in the
U.S.
The rain takes care of killing our fire.
Polaris
Industries - Canada
Polaris Industries - USA
Morning brings (very) cool temp and clouds.
Entering Utah by the Grand Door...
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Since we can't be street legal in Utah, we have to stay on designated
roads/trails. Luckily, there are a lot of them and most are well signed. |
| Rain is always threathning. And, curiously, the temperature gets cooler
and cooler the more we move south. No need to hide from the sun anymore. |
 |
The highest elevation we hit yet. That explains the cooler air.
According to my map, the trail should end right in the campground where we're suppose
to meet a friend, but, it's not the case...We look for the way to get there...There's a
big sign that says "NO ATVS ON ROAD" and, after asking around, we find
there is no way to reach the campground riding an ATV !!!
Marc: "Ben là...What's up with that !?!? The trail ends up on a road and then
what??? What are we suppose to do from here???
From the road, I can actually see the campground, less tha a mile down...(Just so you
know, it's a paved, secondary road, closed in winter, going thru the forest, between 2
small towns, that has no other use but to accomodate tourists...)
 
Yeah ! Dave
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Trailering required on about 75 miles, no trails available.
No problems! Dave Yarrington volunteered to trailer us down! He made reservation for a
week at a campground to give us some play as far as arrival date goes. He also brought
huge steaks and Margaritas...Fact is, he spoiled and pampered us for 5 days!
I think there's kinda like a sorta hospitality competition between the different states we
went through... |
| Bof... |
Ridiculous ATV restrictions. |
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And unreliable maps to boot... |
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Once again, we won't tell you how we got there but, lets just say we made it
there...And met our friend Dave! (Did you really think we would forget about the steaks
and Margaritas??)
Dave found a super great campsite for the 3 of us!
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1st time we actually take the time to relax. Serious, we
almost did'nt open the computers (we feel a little guilty though...) |
AAAhhh! Outdoor Cooking ! |
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We have a visitor at the campground:
Marc: ''Good day, Mr. Rangerr''
Ranger: ''Hi ! I just want to make sure you know you can't ride ATVs on roads here.''
Marc: ''The trail we took ends up on the road at about 1/4 mile from this campground
and these quads are our only means of transportation, is it possible for us to use the
road or ditch on that distance? ''
Ranger: ''No, under no circumstances, you'll get a citation if you ride on the road. In
fact, you are'nt even supposed to have those quads unloaded in this campground...I'm
sorry.''
Marc:''The map I have clearly shows access to the campground from the trail !''
Ranger: ''Can I see this map?''
Marc: ''Here, you can easily see the trail leading to this campground.''
Ranger: ''No, you can't cross (unless marked otherwise), or ride a paved road, you got
to look at the map very attentively to see it...''
Marc: ''So, if we want to go riding the trails 1/4 mile up the road, we have to load
the quads on the trailer??''
Ranger: ''you don't have a choice. I'm sorry...''
Marc: "..............Great....Just great.........."
...After having loaded the quads on Daves' trailer, and driven 1/4 mile to the trail
head (sure does'nt make you fell like doing that everyday...), Marc and Dave go on a 45
miles joy ride.
...Ouf !
Well, the scenery made the loading worth while! 10,800ft! And no hesitation whatsoever.
T.G. for EFI !
| Dave introduces us to an area in use to know very well, having worked
here...a few years back. Here with his dearly loved friend Sacha. |
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Our guide drives us to Mirror lake, in his truck, of course...
Marc: ''Look Dave, there's a campground that, according to the map, could be ATV
accessible, and there's no road to cross or whatever. Let's check it out!".
Dave: ''OK, might as well check it now while we're with the truck...''
Marc: ''Good day Mr. Host. Is it possible to have access to this campground with a quad
(showing the map to the host)?"
Host: ''No, not anymore. They closed the access, I can't tell you why. That map does'nt
give you the right infos.''
Marc: "Now, #@&%**$?%£, That does it!!!"
Marc: ''Hey Dave, lets go back to the campground and have a big campfire. I have a
whole bunch of useless maps to burn !!!!''
It's sad to see this situation about quads. Despite what we thought, we can sadly say
that Utah (at least the part of it we saw yet...) is the most ATV un-friendly state we've
gone thru yet as far as long distance travelling is concerned...There are lost and lost of
trails here but most dead-end on roads. It's the trailering festival!
For the 1st time, we must be trailered.
What a load!
We're on the road to Daniel's Summit.
From Daniel's Summit, we enter a new trail system. Lets hope our access problems are
behind us...
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Goodbye Dave ! You fed us, guided us and trailered us here...How can we
thank you ?? THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH !!
We'll see you again soon ! |
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