3D Trail – Distance, Diversity, Delightful

We take all day to complete the 3D trail north of Moab.  Jack promised us a marvel of a ride and he delivers on that promise.  What most astounds me about this tour of Hidden Canyon and Brink Spring is how often the scenery changes.  One moment we are in red dirt, then slick rock, then sand and at one point we find ourselves in a water dappled wash.  Storm exclaims, “looks like we are up a creek without a paddle now!”  The 59 mile ride takes us about 5 hours and 1/4 tank of gas. I figure at 1 gallon or $2.60 (regular gas gallon price here) per hour we are having some pretty cheap fun.

I spend a lot of the ride trying to get enough video clips to cobble together a video that does some justice to the slideshow of panoramas we enjoy here.  Storm and I have finally developed a plan of using the cantankerous GoPro which does not involve as much frustration on my part as I have endured in the past.  Using the remote wristband controller or the Gopro App on my phone to remotely operate the camera would be most convenient (if it worked), but using either of those devices often results in very little usable video and an extremely agitated Sunny. 

Our process when using the remotes goes like this:

1. Turn on the camera’s Bluetooth receiver which immediately starts a vampire like drain on the camera battery
2. Mount the camera on the Jeep exterior
3. After the first 2 minutes of videotaping a software crash of some sort occurs
4. Followed by 30-45 minutes of me cussing, resetting the phone, attempting to remotely reset the GoPro, threatening to teach the camera to fly
5. Storm stops the Jeep
6. I remove and re-seat the GoPro battery
7. MAYBE getting another 2 minutes of video before beginning the entire process again

That is why my videos in the past were so very short.  Our new process is to attach the camera to my passenger window.  I lower the window whenever I need to turn the camera on or off allowing me to capture short, easy to edit clips.  This problem free process works until the battery dies which occurs much later in the journey now that I am not trying to use Bluetooth. 

Please enjoy this longer, more detailed video of our fun day on the 3-D Trail.   Be sure to watch out for the cow crossing scene, the flower stop and most importantly the jeep hung on a rock clip.

Riding the 3D Trail outside Moab, Utah

• About the Author

About Sunny Weathers

Pilot, motorcyclist and full time RVer. Follow me as I travel all over the US in my Country Coach RV volunteering, making new friends and pursuing a constant outdoor temperature between 70F and 80F. I'll share the fun and the tribulations and any great survival tricks I learn!