Continuing on...
From the bottom of Rose Garden Hill we ran all of Thompson Canyon, and shortly thereafter we lost the route. It was getting dark, and my lack of an off-road GPS got the better of me. We drove around for a while but finally decided it was time to get back to camp, so we found some side road pavement to the highway, and rolled into town after 10pm. We grabbed a quick bite at McDonalds where Addison saw my truck parked, and came over to say hi and introduce himself. We made a plan to meet at Hells Revenge at 10am. We finished eating, got gas, and rolled into camp at midnight.
Now for the rest of the story, the not so good part I mentioned earlier...
It seems that roof top tents really suck in the wind, bad!
The wind was strong that first night, and it only got worse through the trip. When I first set up camp the wind was so strong it was lifting the ladder side of the tent, so we had to strap it down to the trailer. I maybe got two hours of sleep the first night, as the rain fly was beating the outside of the tent all night. I woke up to find the poles that held the rain fly and window flaps above the tent were bent, so I removed them and tied everything down. The second night was no different, and again I only got a couple hours of sleep.
Night three was hell, the worst night of camping I have ever had! We rolled into camp super late (midnight) after an extremely long day on the trail. The wind was so strong it was lifting the tent/trailer even with the stabilizers and make shift tie downs. The tent shook and echoed though the entire campground, it seriously was like being inside a drum. In the middle of the night the tent side wall "piping" started to separate from the frame and it became a wind tunnel. I couldn't get it reseated without breaking down the tent, so I packed clothes around the edge of the tent to try and keep as much of the wind out as possible. I got zero sleep that night, none at all.
Fixing the tent on-site wasn't an option, as it was too windy and I needed tools that I didn't have with me (drill, tap, etc to install set screws). As the sun was just starting to come up I decided to fold the tent up and pack up camp. This was to be my last day in Moab, and after going over several different idea's I made the hard decision to cut the trip short by one day and head home. I was seriously feeling sick from the cold wind, and lack of sleep. Aaron stayed behind and ran Hells Revenge with Addison; I'll let one of them chime in with the details of that run.
All in all it was a great trip with great company! And it was nice to meet you Addison! (even if it was for a few minutes) But, I do need to address some flaws of the tent, and choose a campsite that is better protected from the elements next time.
Picture of camp the first night
I found this guy under the mat that I keep at the base of the ladder!
