Just got back from our second trip to Moab (April 27 - May 5). Wife and I pulled the Polaris 550's out for the second year in a row.
Preparations for the second trip were much easier...knew exactly what to bring, trailer prep was much quicker, ATV's were maintenanced and ready to roll.
Told the wife to be prepared for some challenges...as last year's trip was waaaaay to easy and uneventful. Those words turned out to be spot-on. Less than two hours in to our trip the Big Block threw a check engine light. Thankfully my good friend is service manager at GM dealership. Fourteen years of ownership and I've never seen the check engine light on this truck. Stopped at O'Reilly's and rand the ODB2 scan...MAF sensor needed cleaning, and we were back on the road.
We break the drive up by staying in our neighbor's condo in Georgetown, Colorado. Next morning we were loading up the truck and prepared for the trek over the pass...and I noticed a puddle of fluid under the truck(?). Crawled around and yes, it was coming from my truck(!). A text, call and some photos to my buddy and we determined the water pump had probably took a crap. So called dealerships in Denver asking 1), could you get me in today, and 2), could you get a water-pump for a 8.1 GM V8? Emich Chevrolet in Loveland was very helpful...we were in by noon and walking out by 5:15 pm, my wallet $850 lighter, but very thankful we didn't lose another day. Dealership was awesome!!
Remainder of the drive was uneventful mechanically. Beautiful scenery.
Arriving at Moab, our AirBnB was located on road right next to Swanny City Park...and there was a car show. We had to ask police to help us get past barricades and blocked roads to our rental. He suggested we get out of town before 3 PM, the time when all the cars would leave the show and start cruising main-street. We made it out and headed to Gemini Bridges and Metal Masher...and then this...
Last year was our first big ATV trip. I started the wife off on some easier trails, built her confidence and awareness. For some stupid reason I thought Metal Masher would be a good place to start this year. Nope.
It's just the two of us and I'm pretty conservative on the trails. If the obstacle looks to much, I opt for the by-pass, or I offer to drive the wife's ATV for that part.
This section of Metal Masher was a u-shaped ledge that I was able to get up with little problem. Wife got up okay, then caught some traction on right side and pulled her ATV up causing an extreme angle. Shen panicked a little and applied throttle, pulling her further up the side...and started to tip backwards. Thankfully I was standing right there spotting and was able to grab on and holder her steady. I couldn't pull her down straight...the "slick-rock" was too tacky. So we winched her down straight.
It was definitely a pucker-moment for both of us.