The photos below are what we saw.
The quad
copter got a nice shot of our group campsite on Elk Ridge.
Chris
displayed various kinds of extrication equipment including tow
ropes, straps, safety rated shackles and pulleys for wire rope.
Crosby
is the de-facto standard for lifting shackles. This one is
rated at about 35,000 pounds.
This
rope is rated at 74,000 pounds.
A safety
rated pulley.
A
different style of pulley.
Chris
started the briefing on extrication equipment. The
briefing covered basic equipment, hardware ratings and do's and
don'ts of equipment selection.
Our
guide had a set of these MaxTrax flotation plates that he kept
on his Land Rover. This set was cracked because he used
them to extract his 40,000 pound motor home.
We broke
camp and headed down Elk Ridge toward Beef Basin.
We went
through Big Notch and got a nice view of the peaks of the Abajo
Range.
We all
dismounted at Big Notch for photos.
The
notch provided great views of the Abajo Range and the nearby
canyons.
The
canyons were both rugged and colorful.
On top of the mesa
past Big Notch we stopped to regroup. The mesa had nice
pine trees and plenty of great spots to camp.
We got
all the trucks to the side of the road to let any potential
oncoming traffic pass unimpeded.
We found
a nice meadow on the mesa and assembled for a group photo.
Given
that it was Memorial Day weekend, Rob brought his flag and
pole. L to R: Mark and Gail, Vince, Bill Burke, Chris and
Ann, John, Brad and Oksana, Bill and Kathleen and Rob,.
Oksana
was nice enough to take a photo of me next to Thor.
Further
down the trail we got a view of Cleopatra's Throne in the
distance.
The trail went past both large and small cliffs.
Kathleen was riding with Rob and took this photo of Thor going past the red rock cliffs.
We began our descent into Beef Basin. The exposed formations in the center of the photo are part of Salt Canyon.
Brad and Oksana negotiate a tight switchback on the Beef Basin trail.
Salt Canyon with the La Salle range in the distance.
The harsh environment killed this Juniper tree, but it also preserved it after death.
The group continues the descent into Beef Basin past huge cliffs.
Looking back from the
descent we could see the complex erosion patterns in Salt
Canyon.
We passed this nice
hoodoo en-route to our camp in Beef Basin.
A final view of Salt
Creek Canyon before we cross the ridge into Beef Basin.
Bill
Burke, our guide, found a nice camp spot with enough room for
all the trucks and we set up for the night. The winds
were calm and the temperatures mild.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2014, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.