This Jeep broke a front axle trying this ledge... he then parked to fix it and blocked the easier way up, forcing us to take the harder line that he broke on... nice guy!

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The Pritchett Canyon trail is not as scenic as those we had done earlier in the week.  It is down in the canyon most of the way.  There are still some nice views to be had.  Also, the light was flat and overcast most of the day, making for poor photography.

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This ledge gave us problems... one of the few rocks that got stacked the entire trip!

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Rocker Knocker is one of 2 famous Pritchett Canyon obstacles... there is not supposed to be a bypass, so Mark took the first shot at it.  This is where he got, almost up, and then stalled!  All it took was a little push back to level him out so the engine would start, and he drove right up.  It was not as close to rolling as it looks, there was a rock on the driver's side rock slider holding him there.
The folks helping us out were a Bronco club from Northern Colorado... They knew this trail very well, and were a pleasure to wheel with.  They also said that they could tell we were from California by the way we drove (what?  did it show THAT much?)... we really are trying to learn 'The Bump".  We could only console ourselves by wondering if they would be just as out of their element on the Rubicon, or a Johnson Valley trail...
 

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Steve gave it a good shot and just about made it... a little more approach angle in front and he would have climbed the second step!  After several valiant tries, Steve winched up...
 

One of the Colorado guys with 33's and uncut rear fenders!  He gave it a good shot, and was a great driver, but he was rejected...  In this group, only Mark actually drove the obstacle.  Steve winched, and everyone else, including some Big Dog Bronco's, gave up, or didn't even try, and went around on a bypass that we didn't see.  It turned out to be an illegal bypass that gets closed, and re-opened all the time.

Above Rocker Knocker is the final portion of the trail.  The canyon narrows, forcing you to climb several difficult ledges, all steep and some unnervingly off camber.  In this picture you can see the end of the trail, in the distance, at the saddle.

This is the Rockpile, the 2nd famous Pritchett Canyon obstacle.  It is a huge, steep ledge, that usually has rocks piled at its base (hence the name)... not today!  Steve and I had already used up most of our nerve on Rocker Knocker and a few nasty off camber ledges just below here... we both pull the winch cable without hesitation.  Our friends from Colorado do the same.

Looking down canyon from the top of the final obstacle before the saddle, the Yellow Hill.

THIS is the perfect line...  It is scary because you have to "bump" up the ledge at the bottom, and stay on the gas as you are dangerously close to the obvious off camber area to the driver's side... a roll would put you 30 or 40 feet into a ravine.

A wave to the crowd of ATV riders that had come up the back side, and were seated on bleacher like rock ledges at the top.  They had just watched Steve and I get too far to the passenger side in that hole (at least it felt safe!) and winch out.  This guy knew this trail REALLY well...  it was scary to watch him do this stuff without a roll bar for the driver!

This is the wrong line... the one that feels safer, but puts you in a hole, against this wall on the passenger side...  This is the position that Steve and I winched out of.

Luckily this was all the damage I got from that position!

Looking back toward Pritchett Canyon as we start the LONG dirt road back to the pavement South of Moab.

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Awesome views of the La Sals on the way out.