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Show dorado Jeep Club Enjoys Moab Area Visit; dores Back Country Near Gemini Twine i is, Kr.ui Harms i Junction's "ilr.uu! M.'.:t :t''.l 1,11 y,u.;i:tv!' 2tst. Some l ... jvvi's .m'.J w tlmty " Ai-: mnwd u Mo.i'i Move, xx 1 1 1 1 . others , Junction e.uiy .. .;:l.iy to reach 1 1 u" (vir.t lor the s.it'.ui . , I'i.' time set tor ; ..0. - v u.i:'d Mes.i Jeep Club , ix; a:iJ quite active .. 0i some f.unilu s. It , Vy tVl'UW'd til U'Xt. . ) is famous (or us j "Ne er nu-.d tlie . ' sr lot's go!" L ; .ts sorely tried on the i M.ab tnp. lYspiU- a e of su;my ku s , '.:-.-y d.ivs, the w.i:I;.t ta iv!J a::J owiv.isi on - :..v ct the safari, ar.il ? :.ort ewn (oil, blanket - t rehvek landscape .: i cyl mantle of wh.te. threaten::-;: weather - :.". ia:v:v:i their cn'.hiK- c ho ever, as club n:o:n-' n:o:n-' '- pthertd at the Moa'j ,.i Sr.. p before lioaJ::: r ;.r a J..y cn tho trails ;J to the tops of the tia Twin Prices. ar.J to :a tel..v these sivo-L.r sivo-L.r "57.1.-5. The club had Moab tour ga.de. Ii:i r.-. d-scoverer-cf reeord je rx-e d.itble bridges. jie the safari (or the cl.b chese the Gemini ' "ties trip at a recent rr.ee:- after ere member '.ih: in 3 c:py of Outdcor r: ragidr.e in which aa .e ca the da-covery f e tribes appeared. 7:e safari left Moo.b under K kiiershi? of club prsei-A! prsei-A! S:reecker. Liii Ot-r.cle Ot-r.cle Ln the lead ehic-l ehic-l .'in: Wyl!, club vice pres;-ard pres;-ard several other safari tiers, had CB radios in . i vehicles hkh they us-s us-s :j relay directions, infer-aioeJ infer-aioeJ points of ir.tcr. s rdica:ed by O'.tir.er, ax.d : teep ie grjc? t-xje'.her. ;-r. stco k the safari i in a side canyon eff cf -J Carycn f:T a visit to -e Bride, the 3-10 foot spire iy C'Xuered last su:n-ty su:n-ty a team of climbers t a second a".:en".p:. Sr.o.v ch'ur.g dawn on th-j as they s::d adrirLrg s aes:rr.e, knife-thin moti- P-ptir.g a slight of plans. The mid-:--"g ceffeebreak was i-rrxxd for ten rrinutes Orl-.ger led the group - i a g:gar.iic, brush - hidden ' -i rot far away. There, a Ere kept the chill air ar.d the cave echoed ; -e cheerful chatter that accompanies coffee l;i pastries. r a side trip to a sp..c-'f-'--'a overlook into Day -T.n, and a walk across thin natural bridge - graces the grotto - like r;)i-D course there, the sa--"i finally reached the can-below can-below the Gemini Bridg-pst Bridg-pst in time for lunch. A- a big bonfire in a huge - I III II IH r , -.v . .,...-. . " "''"" j ,, ':r;,. - v ' 'V- " 1 "" " " - --' ; ' "' -w.,.. .. ;-.-" i'- o - K ' - -'.Villi -V"' yf. - '-'V ' ..,.- '.-rrK . - '. .-.4 ... :v -d. ' :j ... . . ... r -V 4v;'';f.-'i'--;: , L V. ' -. vTi ' ... W-v.Y.-. ' .rev, V- J1 . r, ' f '- - ' ! " ' v' ' . . ' - . : ' . ' After their mid-day meal, the safari participants, over thirty in all, hiked over to directly below the Gemini Twin Bridges for pictures and a closer look. Several men and boys ventured up the haiardous "trail" there to a ledge cave b.'lo'.v and across the canyon from the soaring bridges wanned the air, brightened spiri'.s, and made cold lurches more welcome. As they a:e. the safari meru-hxrs meru-hxrs ad:r.:re-d the view, seo-ir.g seo-ir.g it as few have sevn it be-f. be-f. re, with the canyon's rounded round-ed domes, cliffs ar.d terraces cf redden Wingate sandstone lightly coated with (resit fuilen snow. After the meal, the whole party hiked the short distance dist-ance to the cliff directly below be-low the giant bridges. Several Sever-al men and boys then tackle J the hazardous '"chimney trail" that leads to a wide lodge below the bridges. According Ac-cording to Lin Oitinger, not r.i. re than five or six people althotight-r have previoasiy ventured up this '-trail'' that he pioneered, yet the adventurous-Grand Mesa Jeep Club-soon Club-soon had eight members on the lofty ledge at one time! Try as 'tfe' tJid- however, the climbers could find no way to surmount the remaining cliff that stuod between them and the cave - like ledge beneath the Gemini Bridges. To date, less than a half-do-en people have stood directly (Continued on Page B-2) 1 I- ..." tstt: i f j ' '.-." ' 11. f ' - -..'... i1 . J J : ''. . .. ry' ' ". . ipt' '1 ..... : - '.' i.'- ' M"-i Members of the Grand Mesa Jeep Club from Grand Junction had lunch in a gigantic cave in the canyon wall opposite the Gemini Twin Bridges near Moab. A roaring bonfire took the chill off of the snow-laden air. The meal iiMmAl'jjn-li!-Ti'ffwKJ.WWw' y T -'i ,r3P" site afforded an excellent view of the double bridges that span the upper end of the canyon. can-yon. Safari members didn't let the wintery weather dampen their enthusiasm one bit. prTnJr -T' . , (. i : ;. 1,4 1 hfA U '.'. .:.v: & i , . ; -i ": I.'.','. . :.. v:,,;. ' 1 - , .. . J I : ".'v'- - ' ' Jr .c.r'3?- .. zr v ; - ... -;' v-v- : ', ---a --''Sf. v , , . , , . -r- " - - - " , ' ' x . . ' - - , J -"-" ,,-' '.'-.. u - . , v -.if 51 . - ' - ' - ft f T - ' t.,. wS. '-J .. - -v r i V mi Tli 1 - .... . "V' ;: ycil'--sl -op Lie ieeTH -Cnlls S :;-till another cave higher up .n fhe ; 30 Jot faken j sti 6 Smini Twin Bridges. The mid-morning coffee ore about halfway up the cliff below the twin spans. One of these bold adventureers can be seen in this photo, standing on the ledge directly below the bridges. PHOTO BY F.I. BARNES another large cave in Little Canyon, where safari members warmed themselves them-selves beside a roaring fire and watched a light snow drift down out of the gray skies. , Colorado Jeep Club (Continued from Page B-l) beneath these strange bridges, bridg-es, and these few got there only with the aid of a hundred hund-red foot chain ladder bolted to the rim behind the spans. This ladder has since been removed at the request of local BLM officials. Ottinger topped off the safari's itintrary by leading the way on up the main canyon can-yon below the Gemini Bridges. Bridg-es. After several spectacular miles, the lead vehicle radioed radio-ed back for a halt and turnaround turn-around because of slippery gumbo mud where the trail entered a stretch of Chkile deposits. After a brief stop to allow rockhounds in the group to pick up a few pieces of the petrified wood that abounds in this canyon, the safari retraced re-traced its route and headed for home. All safari participants partici-pants were quite pleased with their canyonlands adventure, and as they left Moab, club officials were already planning plan-ning two more trips into this area for early spring. According to Jim Wylt, club vice president, many of the club's members have become be-come less active because "they have been on all the trails around Grand Junction many times, and have gotten a little bored." Wylt and others oth-ers on the Gemini Bridges safari were quite enthusiastic however, about the "whole new world" of jeep trails to explore in the Moab vicinity, and were quite optimistic ab- out reviving the flagging enthusiasm en-thusiasm of club members who have grown overly familiar fam-iliar with the trails nearer Grand Junction. Thus, it seems assured that Moab will be playing host to the Grand Mesa Jeep Club again and again, as this active group returns to explore ex-plore still more of the virtually vir-tually unlimited backcountry of southeastern Utah. |