Stories tagged: mountains

Well the trip turned out great. We got off to a bit of a slow start, Jed said we could use his trailer so I didnâ??t unload the snowmobiles off of mine. After work we went to get his trailer and realized it wouldnâ??t work. It doesnâ??t really have sides for motorcycles and my truck doesnâ??t have room for them with the box. So we had to unload the snowmobiles off my trailer. Since I didnâ??t do that during lunch, we ended up being about an 30 minutes later than I thought we would be.

We ended up with an odd crew. Jake was on his new bike, Jed was on his bike, Tiffany was on their 400ex, Will was on his 450r, Katie was on Burkes 80, and Kate and I were on my Grizzly. Thatâ??s right Kate went on her first real 4 wheeler ride.

We did end up going to Monks Hollow. I always forget far it is off the highway. For future reference if you are trying to find it, the turn off is the first paved road after you pass some huge cliffs. The cliffs, and the paved road will both be on the right side of the road, if you are coming from Highway 6.

Monks Hollow was the same as always. Pretty dusty, gorgeously green, and all around a blast. We went up to the summit, but decided not to ride down the Long Hollow side.

My wife was a little worried about the dust for Kate, so we ended up giving everyone a large lead every time we started. Add that to the fact that we drove about half our normal speed, we ended up driving by ourselves most of the time. While we were driving she kept saying â??Dad whereâ??s your friends?â? And when I would tell here that they were ahead of us she would say â??Letâ??s catch them.â?

On the way back from the summit, Kate decided we should sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. So I sang at the top of my lungs all the way down the canyon. We mixed a few 3 blind mice and other songs into the mix, but mostly it was TTLS. Jed, Will and Jake took a detour up Teat mountain on the trip home and said they could hear us singing from on top of the mountain. Iâ??m sure it was the most beautiful singing theyâ??ve ever heard.

Despite leaving my house at 6:30 instead of 5:30 like I had wanted too, I think the trip went near perfectly. We got in a good couple hours riding. No one got hurt. And Kate came. I guess the only downside was that Tiff wasnâ??t feeling very well. She was a trooper, but I think sheâ??d have just as soon stayed home in bed. Poor girl.

We decided that it was time to go and ride Long Hollow up Spanish Fork Canyon. I don't know who's idea it was to get up and 5:15 am to ride but we got up anyhow! We met Jim in Covered Bridge and loaded up his quad. We waited for Rich, and Jake to show up because they forgot to get gas which turned out awesome because Jim was out of gas.

We arrived at our destination, unloaded and watched some dude get out of his VW bug that he was sleeping in. I think he was pissed at us because we probably woke him up. We headed up the trail one by one. We were met with the cool mountain air, but we went fast enough to numb our hands. Once we got up on top the layers of clothing started to come off. It was really sunny and the switch backs got your blood running a bit. After a short break we raced towards our final destination (Teat Mtn).

We started on the trail that is considered a black on the trail rating system. This trail was pretty knarly on a bike but short work on a ATV. On the steep rocky switch backs caused some concern, I think this is the only time I have heard Jake complain of spinning out (hinting that his bike maybe was too powerful!). We crested the ridge and rode for a bit and came to a huge drift. Mike decided to ride his griz over it to see if this was just check out the pics one of the road blocks. I rode my bike around and down this really steep hill. But we should have listened to rich.

A few corners down from the first snow bank was a downed tree and more snow. We decided to turn back but now we had to get my bike and Mike's griz up the snow bank. I knocked out a ledge for my bike tires, and Mike helped me push it up the steep drift. We then had Jim film Mike, Rich, Jake, and I attempt to help push the Griz up the snow drift. I thought we would have to give it a few try's but I was wrong we were able to push him up the bank on the first try. Since our road was blocked we went back down the trail and road to Monks Hollow which ends up in a parking lot up Diamond Fork.

We cruised down the trail and arrived at the Parking lot were we took a break. The whole time we were riding Mikes tire was losing air, and it was showing when we stopped at Monks. We headed back up the trail towards the trucks, stopped a few times to enjoy the beautiful scenery. When we got back to the truck Mikes tire had 0 psi in it! Radial Maxxis tires are awsome. All in all it was a awesome trip that was well needed. but Next time we will get up at 4:30 am

I've gone riding the last 3 weekends in a row. I have to ask myself why didn't I do this all summer long? These haven't been long rides. We've been back by noon every day. It has been a blast however. Sure I wish I had time every week to camp for a few days on the Arapeen or Paiute trails but I don't. What I do have time for is a few hours of Saturday morning riding at one of the trails close by. I know I couldn't have done it every Saturday, but I could have done it a whole lot more than I did.

We haven't gone anywhere new yet. Just the old standbys Lake Fork and Monks/Long Hollow. Both trails are located just a few miles up Spanish Fork canyon. Monks Hollow and Long Hollow are different entrances to the same trail. Monks Hollow is much more domesticated with a nice parking lot and outhouse. It is located up Diamand Fork canyon about 6 miles or so. Long Hollow is located just off highway 6 as soon as the road goes from 4 lanes to 2. Lake Fork is located just off highway 89 less than a mile off highway 6.

Our first trip was just me and Sam and we went to Monks Hollow. I really hadn't been there for about 10 years and was surprised by how much I liked it. The trail system connects to a bunch of trails up Sheep Creek as well as Benny's mountain. Making the system lots bigger than it used to be. When I rode there 10 years ago there was just the Monks Hollow to Long Hollow trail which is only good for about an hour or two of riding. With the new connections to Sheep Creek and Benny's I'd say you could spend a whole day on this system.

We did go to the summit, but instead of going down Long Hollow we turned around and headed up the "Most Difficult" rated trial to the tower and Sheep Creek. It's quite a fun ride although I didn't think it was that difficult. I guess these big 700 4x4's make everything easy. The tower is a good place to enjoy the view and have lunch. However, since we had no lunch we just enjoyed the view. After our non lunch we headed down towards Sheep Creek. That trail was also pretty fun. We rode down to within shouting distance of the Sheep Creek road. I hear you can ride into the cafe off Highway 6, but since we had left our wallets in our trucks we decided turn around and call it a day. I wish I had brought my camera. It's beautiful up there this time of year and there are some really gorgeous views. I really had a blast, and can't wait to go back. Next time we go I think we'll try lunch at the cafe.

Week two Jed, Sam, and I went to Long Hollow. It was freezing cold. Like 19 degrees when we got out of the truck. I had mostly brought warm enough clothes but I forgot warm gloves. Luckily Jed had some leather gloves that I was able to put on over my riding gloves. Still my fingers just about froze solid on the way to the summit. We then headed up to the tower. We had a snack, threw some rocks at beer cans someone had left up there, and then came home. It was a shorter trip, but we still had a lot of fun.

After riding the two trails back to back I'd have to say I prefer the Monks Hollow side to Long Hollow. Long Hollow is chock full of cow crap and loose rocks. Lots and lots of loose rocks. Monks Hollow also has some nice water breaks that make nice jumps. While Long Hollow is closer I'd say its worth the extra 5 minute drive in your truck to go to Monks.

This past weekend Sam and I went to Lake Fork. I was able to take the camera this time so we got a few good pictures. It was not as cold as last week, but it still got a bit nippy when you got further up the canyon. This time I brought my snow gloves though, so I was able to stay nice and warm. This ended up being extra beneficial because I ended up riding thru the river several times at high speed and had my gloves not been waterproof I think that would have ended my trip. As you can see from the picture it was a blast.

Lake Fork is quite a bit different from the Hollows. While it has a few branches that go off that are two track only the main road can be done in a car. This leads to more fast riding and a little less enjoying the scenery on the main road. Most of the side roads end up dead ending after a mile or so, but they are still fun to see the end of. One trail we always go on every time we go to Lake Fork is Smiths reservoir.

The trail to Smiths reservoir used to be a lot rougher. They apparently graded it this summer. So while I didn't find it quite as fun as I have in the past it was still worth the trip. Once we got to the reservoir we had a snack and enjoyed the view. The lake itself is pretty, but I also love looking off the cliff where the reservoir drains. I'd say this is a must stop destination if you go to Lake Fork. Bring a lunch and enjoy it. We were on a bit of a time crunch because my honey-do list was pretty big so after lunch we headed home.

Between Lake Fork and the Hollows I think choosing one or the other really comes down to one thing. Camping. Up Lake Fork you can take your fishing poles, find a nice spot to camp with your truck, and make a nice night out of it. There are plenty of camping spots off the main road with some that can fit a sizable amount of people. I have camped up Monks Hollow, but we only had a few people and we had to haul everything in on 4 wheelers. There are also a lot fewer places to camp. I'd say for camping choose Lake Fork, and for good 2 track riding choose Monks Hollow.

You can see pictures are from our Lake Fork trip here

We went up to Joe's cabin for the 24th. The weather was awesome. It had just rained so it wasn't horribly dusty and the temperature was great. The altitude helped with that I'm sure.

We went for a few rides with the girls and kids. With them it was mostly just cruising around the main roads. I was packing Kate the whole time and boy does she love riding. For some reason though, she thinks a quad is some kind of mechanical rocking chair. It puts her to sleep every time.

Natalie got to drive the Grizzly for the first time somewhere besides our lawn. She really likes it. She was able to get everywhere we went with confidence. It always makes me feel better when she is excited about quads.

Once we ditched the girls and kids, Joe and Brad and I went for a ride. Joe had his Brute Force 650. Brad was on his Sportsman 800. And I was on my Grizzly. Charles tried to come with us on the Foreman, but the breaks on it have never been great and he wasn't comfortable taking it on the super steep trail we were going on.

There are probably more trails than those we went on, but we didn't have tons of time to ride. We mostly spent our time riding this one really deep ravine. The trail crossed it only twice, but where it did it was pretty tall, and very steep. These big quads are amazing. They ripped up and down those hills like they were nothing. I started trying to find stuff to hit on the way up.

Not as fun as say our last dune trip, but it was still a blast. Last year I kept waiting for the "Big Trip" to come and I ended up hardly riding at all before the fathers and sons. Once we got there I remembered how much I really love this sport. I also realized how much fun a short ride can really be. Not every trip can be an all day thing, but adding up all the little trips can easily make up for one.

John, Sam, Bruce and I went to long hollow on saturday. Long Hollow is the other side of Monks Hollow. It is a tougher route, but a little closer to the highway. I was the only quad, I need to get some more people to represent.

We had a blast. Bruce's tires were a little over inflated, so he had trouble staying on the trail at first. But after we figured out the problem he started to have fun. We didn't ride too far, just up the main trail to the summit, and up a few side trials. It was very cool that time of day (we got there around 7:00 am), which was a nice break from the 100° weather we've been having.

The only bad part about the trip was the cows. There were cows all over the trail. And since it is a pretty tight canyon, instead of getting off the trail when you came up on them, they just ran up the trail in front of you. Taking their time I might add. After you finally got past them, you'd realize they left you a present. My fenders are covered in cow crap. And I got a fair amount on my jersey as well. The road was narrow enough that I couldn't get around ever pie, and since they were fresh they spray all over. The Z isn't know for having super fenders. Stupid cows.

We only had one roll that I know of. Sam took Bruce's bike up a really steep hill and when he got to the top he snagged a rock, put his leg down to catch himself, and realized it was the downhill side. The bike went down on his side and stopped. One good thing about bikes is that it didn't keep going down the mountain. Luckily I don't think anything was hurt but his pride.

There was one little muddy section I found that I wish i'd had a 4x4 for. It was a steep ravine filled with rocks and mud. I got high centered about 50 times, but working it back and forth, reversing several times, and picking just about every possible path, I was able to conquer the muddy hill! Man I love quads. If I end up getting a 4x4, I'm gonna have to find that mud hole again because I think it would be a nice place to test clearance and 4WD.

It Seems I've hardly been riding this year. Basically the Fathers and Sons was my only ride the whole summer. I rode a bit on the first of October with Sam, Just up in the canyon. You can see some pictures here).
So when Jed said they were gonna take the rhino's up Lake Fork I got really excited. I haven't been there in forever.

We ended up only taking Jeds rhino. Sam took byrons rancher instead of his six-wheeler and Jim ended up coming. Natalie and I rode on Joes Brute Force. Katie also came with her boyfriend on thier rancher.

I love Lake Fork. It is such a great place to ride. It is pretty, there are ruts and hills and rocks and puddles and rivers and everything fun to ride in on a big 4x4. Nat and I planned on getting wet and muddy so we hit just about every puddle. It was a blast. My fingers did start to get cold towards the end of the day, but there were no other negative side effects of the water.

Jed seemed to have tons of fun on his rhino. They went thru some ruts and had the think almost completely sideways. Same would go back and stand on the side to keep them from tipping over. Once they tried a rut with the lockers engaged, but they just evened out and drove out of the rut, so they decided to wheel drive was best. What's the fun if there is no challenge?

I was a little dissappointed because Joes quad kept overheating on us. We decided when we got home that it didn't have enough coolant. I forget quads are liquid cooled nowadays, so I didn't think to check it. I just stopped every time the light went on and let it cool off a bit before going again.

Nothing too amazing happened, it was just plain old fun. I'm not sure I'll get to make it up there again this year, but whether It's this year or next I can't wait to go to Lake Fork again.