Prichett Canyon Trail is always tough. It has some world-class obstacles like Rocker-Knocker and the Rockpile. And these obstacles have no bypass, so once you go, you have to finish. Since the trail is reasonably popular, you really cannot go downhill as there is too much oncoming; you go from bottom to top. As we will see below, even the mogs can have a tough time. On this trip, there was a substantial group of Suzuki Samarui's in front of us. Being so small and short wheelbase, they got kicked around on several of the obstacles.
The shots below are reduced from the output size of the digital camera to 700 pixels wide.
View upstream on the Colorado River from the entrance to Pritchett Canyon.
Road building. Chain gang tasked with piling rocks to prevent a rollover on big ledge.
An early ledge near the start of Pritchett Canyon. The descent is asymmetrical, and therefore can result in a roll. The piled rocks on the right did the trick, but just barely.
Note that this ledge is taller than my winch, which is about 5 feet high.
No sweat, although I did scrape my driveline a little. I did not hit the steps into the cab as, I tore them off years ago on a trail in Big Bear, CA.
Negotiating a mud hole.
Bob Ragain's 404.
Chuck Presnail's passenger. She was very popular.
Lower Pritchett Canyon has nice slickrock canyons, cliffs and towers. Note the mud on the wheels.
Big air on this jeep. And on such a small obstacle.
A mog does the same obstacle with style and grace. And a cute passenger.
Mogs and canyon scenery.
Traffic jam at Rocker Knocker. This is a tough obstacle and takes time to do. And some people take more time than others. Note arch on the skyline.
This fellow tried and tried and tried. Later, he took the winch cable. We were glad as he was holding up traffic.
Rocker Knocker is a tough obstacle.
Ron DePugh attemptedto drive around it, but in the end he took the winch cable.
Note the height and spacing of the multiple ledges. There is a large boulder on the left that makes it really tough.
Kai is spotting, the 1300 goes up with style and grace.
I am going to do winch duty for the balance of the team since I have a rear winch.
Dan makes it up pretty easy.
Winch is in use.
The ledges on Rocker Knocker are so big, Chuck needed an assist.
Human counterbalances. Chuck Presnail get plenty of help with his 'zuki.
Bob Ragain takes Rocker with his 404.
Spire and vapor trail.
Arch in the ridge.
The Beehives in the distance.
Kai ascending an unusual line on the Rock Pile. This is a really, really big ledge.
Rob Pickering tries the classic route, but failed. The jeepers try to power their way up this and sometimes take a slow running start.
Rob tries the "big truck" route.
The 1300 went up easy, no photos of me since I was driving. Scotty from Indiana watches the action on the right.
Ron gets a winch assist on the classic route.
Top of Yellow Hill
Pritchett Canyon is always a workout. And, once you top out at Yellow Hill, you have another 20 miles of bumpy, rocky road to get you back to the highway to Moab. Several hours depending on how aggressively you drive.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2004
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.