Moab Help/Advice/Opinions Please.....
08-21-2018, 06:44 PM
#31
JK Super Freak
So how'd your trip go?
My girlfriend and I are planning on going there towards the end of October. Her b-day is Oct. 21 and we are going to spend it in Rocky Mountain National Park and then head over to Moab the following day and be there about a week. First time taking the Jeep there and we are both pretty excited about it. Driving all the way from east of Cleveland Oh, and trying to make Estes Park in two ten hour days. Shouldn't be too hard to do as I've done it a few times in my work truck before.
My girlfriend and I are planning on going there towards the end of October. Her b-day is Oct. 21 and we are going to spend it in Rocky Mountain National Park and then head over to Moab the following day and be there about a week. First time taking the Jeep there and we are both pretty excited about it. Driving all the way from east of Cleveland Oh, and trying to make Estes Park in two ten hour days. Shouldn't be too hard to do as I've done it a few times in my work truck before.
Maybe we'll see you out there!
08-22-2018, 08:51 AM
#32
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
Sorry, I should have updated. This review turned in to a novel…..
The trip was good in general. It wasn’t like originally planned, but I tried to make the best of the situation. Rolled in to Moab with a front drive shaft that was starting to make a lot of noise. My fault….I knew the CV joint probably needed to be greased prior to the trip but I pushed my luck. It didn’t like the 15+hr drive, so the first several hours in Moab were spent dropping skids and pulling the DS. I wasn’t positive prior to pulling it that was 100% my issue, so the game plan was remove it and go from there. As soon as I dropped the TC side it was obvious, so yanked it off and headed to the auto store to add to my grease gun collection which stayed at home. Got everything patched back up and in working order, although I probably need to look at the longer term health of that CV joint.
I took my 15yo daughter, and a buddy of mine flew in to Moab to ride along with us, so I wasn’t completely alone, but we were 1 jeep for the most part. Also, I’d never been to that area, so it was all new terrain for me. My comments are relative to my build and typical wheelin’. I’m on a 3.5” lift with full arms, 37s, beadlocks, and long travel shocks. In my area we have a nice variety of wheeling terrain, although most of them are organized parks which is a little different than just out and about like Moab and Colorado. I push my jeep pretty good without trying to do stupid things that would intentionally break it……flopping/rolling being a great fear of mine. So, with that in mind……..
Sunday afternoon, once I was ready to roll again, we ran out to Top of the World. The drive up along the Colorado River was beautiful. It was very hazy out there in general for the entire trip though. The picturesque views were really washed out. Sunday was the best day we had in regards to haze, but it was still far from perfect. I had already warned the others that TOW wasn’t really about the trail itself as much as the photo op at the top. I thought the trail was “ok” in general, but the destination at the top was totally worth it. Here’s my hot opinion……people that have never been to the top will never appreciate the picture they always see. I admit that I sure the heck didn’t. The picture is nice for sure, and the view is spectacular. I realized it takes nerves of steel to drive your vehicle right out there a few feet from the edge. I didn’t think much of it pulling out there. My buddy and daughter were telling me how much further I could go and we all agreed I went far enough. The real scare started once I got out of the jeep. It was at that point that every time I turned around and looked at the jeep my blood pressure shot up. I knew I had to get back in it, and I couldn’t shake all the nasty thoughts that would race in to my head. What if I accidentally put it in drive instead of reverse? What if my brakes freaked out? What if my transmission freaked out? OMG, just all kinds of nasty thoughts that really get to me just sitting here typing this. We had the place to ourselves for the most part and spent probably 30 minutes or so dinking around up there taking few pictures, flying drone and whatnot. By the time we were down at the trailhead again, we were all dead tired from having rocked back and forth for 19 miles. One of those trails that was just bumpy enough that the jeep’s body was constantly back and forth…….not my favorite kind of trail, but well worth it. We rolled in to town after dark and ate at The Blue Pig. The food was good, but being from Texas and being a BBQ snob, was a little taken aback by the proud proclamation by the server of “and this sauce is KC Masterpiece”.
Monday I had to plan around an afternoon conference call my buddy had. We hit Fins and Things in the morning, planned on grabbing lunch, doing his conference call, and then hitting Hells Revenge in the afternoon. I thought Fins and Things was “ok”. TBH, I liked the south part, and I got tired of the north part. The south part was a perfect short jaunt that gave a good taste of the fins and slick rock, which by the way was hard to understand being from Texas. The traction on that stuff was insane….just like everyone always says. I couldn’t believe the ascent and descent angles you could take (in general). Anyhow, the north part was a lot more rocking back and forth and I was getting a little bored with it. Made my buddy drive the rest to get him a little taste of the action. By the time we finished, my head was bothering me a bit and we headed back to town for lunch. We had targeted Quesadilla Mobilla for lunch. Reviews were good, food was good, and prices were reasonable. They have an excellent business model! The conference call went a bit longer than expected, so our start on Hells Revenge was a bit late. We knew we’d be finishing up in the dark but set on out. Much like TOW, I just don’t think you can appreciate Hells Revenge until you do it. All videos just look like you’re driving over things all willy nilly. Outside of Lionsback, the general trail doesn’t look intimidating. It felt much different being on it in a lifted JK with a high center of balance….LOL….and I imagined it felt quite different for those hummer and razor tour groups in front of us with their low COB. I had previously watched every video I could on Hells Gate and Escalator. I was pretty set that I would do Hells Gate and we were going down to the Colorado overlook anyhow. That overlook was fantastic, and so worth the drive all the way to the end of the trail. After the overlook I went over and took my first glance at Hells Gate. Hmmmm, “entrance”?? Different than I imagined. Nobody ever films going down to the bottom and then up. I thought you’d just drive up to the obstacle and take a look at it. Once you go down….figured there was one way up. That got in my head a bit. Walked over and looked at the exit, and man that looked way more ugly than I imagined….even knowing what video vs. reality is typically like. I sat thinking for a good while. My buddy is not an offroader….and even though I knew my line, I really worried about his spotting ability. It was getting late (we were gonna be up against sunset), and we were alone out there. If anything was gonna be by, it was going to be a razor which wouldn’t help much with a recovery should something happen. In the end, I effin’ wimped out and decided not to risk it. I kicked myself for that THE ENTIRE REMIANDER OF THE TRIP. Like…..I didn’t come to Moab to bypass crap! I felt like a gigantic loser cuz that is something I’d usually have no issue doing. If there was someone else out there that had done it, if I was with another jeep at least, I think I would have tackled it. I set off to finish the trail dejected. Pulled up and took a look at Escalator, which after seeing Hells Gate I knew I wouldn’t be doing. With people around I’d definitely do Hells Gate…..chances of me doing Escalator probably more like 65% with very knowledgeable spotting. Almost drove right past Devil’s Hot Tub cept my buddy looking out the passenger window said something about the gigantic hole. Got out and looked and dang….that sucker looked nasty. It was getting dark fast, so I didn’t even drive down in to it for a picture (cuz you can back out easily). I was surprised by how little space was around Mickey’s Hot Tub cuz seems like videos always have a lot of people and vehicles parked there. We should have taken the short cut out of the trail. Not knowing better we went the long way……more rocking around and not much to see. It was dark once done so we aired up and called it a night.
The trip was good in general. It wasn’t like originally planned, but I tried to make the best of the situation. Rolled in to Moab with a front drive shaft that was starting to make a lot of noise. My fault….I knew the CV joint probably needed to be greased prior to the trip but I pushed my luck. It didn’t like the 15+hr drive, so the first several hours in Moab were spent dropping skids and pulling the DS. I wasn’t positive prior to pulling it that was 100% my issue, so the game plan was remove it and go from there. As soon as I dropped the TC side it was obvious, so yanked it off and headed to the auto store to add to my grease gun collection which stayed at home. Got everything patched back up and in working order, although I probably need to look at the longer term health of that CV joint.
I took my 15yo daughter, and a buddy of mine flew in to Moab to ride along with us, so I wasn’t completely alone, but we were 1 jeep for the most part. Also, I’d never been to that area, so it was all new terrain for me. My comments are relative to my build and typical wheelin’. I’m on a 3.5” lift with full arms, 37s, beadlocks, and long travel shocks. In my area we have a nice variety of wheeling terrain, although most of them are organized parks which is a little different than just out and about like Moab and Colorado. I push my jeep pretty good without trying to do stupid things that would intentionally break it……flopping/rolling being a great fear of mine. So, with that in mind……..
Sunday afternoon, once I was ready to roll again, we ran out to Top of the World. The drive up along the Colorado River was beautiful. It was very hazy out there in general for the entire trip though. The picturesque views were really washed out. Sunday was the best day we had in regards to haze, but it was still far from perfect. I had already warned the others that TOW wasn’t really about the trail itself as much as the photo op at the top. I thought the trail was “ok” in general, but the destination at the top was totally worth it. Here’s my hot opinion……people that have never been to the top will never appreciate the picture they always see. I admit that I sure the heck didn’t. The picture is nice for sure, and the view is spectacular. I realized it takes nerves of steel to drive your vehicle right out there a few feet from the edge. I didn’t think much of it pulling out there. My buddy and daughter were telling me how much further I could go and we all agreed I went far enough. The real scare started once I got out of the jeep. It was at that point that every time I turned around and looked at the jeep my blood pressure shot up. I knew I had to get back in it, and I couldn’t shake all the nasty thoughts that would race in to my head. What if I accidentally put it in drive instead of reverse? What if my brakes freaked out? What if my transmission freaked out? OMG, just all kinds of nasty thoughts that really get to me just sitting here typing this. We had the place to ourselves for the most part and spent probably 30 minutes or so dinking around up there taking few pictures, flying drone and whatnot. By the time we were down at the trailhead again, we were all dead tired from having rocked back and forth for 19 miles. One of those trails that was just bumpy enough that the jeep’s body was constantly back and forth…….not my favorite kind of trail, but well worth it. We rolled in to town after dark and ate at The Blue Pig. The food was good, but being from Texas and being a BBQ snob, was a little taken aback by the proud proclamation by the server of “and this sauce is KC Masterpiece”.
Monday I had to plan around an afternoon conference call my buddy had. We hit Fins and Things in the morning, planned on grabbing lunch, doing his conference call, and then hitting Hells Revenge in the afternoon. I thought Fins and Things was “ok”. TBH, I liked the south part, and I got tired of the north part. The south part was a perfect short jaunt that gave a good taste of the fins and slick rock, which by the way was hard to understand being from Texas. The traction on that stuff was insane….just like everyone always says. I couldn’t believe the ascent and descent angles you could take (in general). Anyhow, the north part was a lot more rocking back and forth and I was getting a little bored with it. Made my buddy drive the rest to get him a little taste of the action. By the time we finished, my head was bothering me a bit and we headed back to town for lunch. We had targeted Quesadilla Mobilla for lunch. Reviews were good, food was good, and prices were reasonable. They have an excellent business model! The conference call went a bit longer than expected, so our start on Hells Revenge was a bit late. We knew we’d be finishing up in the dark but set on out. Much like TOW, I just don’t think you can appreciate Hells Revenge until you do it. All videos just look like you’re driving over things all willy nilly. Outside of Lionsback, the general trail doesn’t look intimidating. It felt much different being on it in a lifted JK with a high center of balance….LOL….and I imagined it felt quite different for those hummer and razor tour groups in front of us with their low COB. I had previously watched every video I could on Hells Gate and Escalator. I was pretty set that I would do Hells Gate and we were going down to the Colorado overlook anyhow. That overlook was fantastic, and so worth the drive all the way to the end of the trail. After the overlook I went over and took my first glance at Hells Gate. Hmmmm, “entrance”?? Different than I imagined. Nobody ever films going down to the bottom and then up. I thought you’d just drive up to the obstacle and take a look at it. Once you go down….figured there was one way up. That got in my head a bit. Walked over and looked at the exit, and man that looked way more ugly than I imagined….even knowing what video vs. reality is typically like. I sat thinking for a good while. My buddy is not an offroader….and even though I knew my line, I really worried about his spotting ability. It was getting late (we were gonna be up against sunset), and we were alone out there. If anything was gonna be by, it was going to be a razor which wouldn’t help much with a recovery should something happen. In the end, I effin’ wimped out and decided not to risk it. I kicked myself for that THE ENTIRE REMIANDER OF THE TRIP. Like…..I didn’t come to Moab to bypass crap! I felt like a gigantic loser cuz that is something I’d usually have no issue doing. If there was someone else out there that had done it, if I was with another jeep at least, I think I would have tackled it. I set off to finish the trail dejected. Pulled up and took a look at Escalator, which after seeing Hells Gate I knew I wouldn’t be doing. With people around I’d definitely do Hells Gate…..chances of me doing Escalator probably more like 65% with very knowledgeable spotting. Almost drove right past Devil’s Hot Tub cept my buddy looking out the passenger window said something about the gigantic hole. Got out and looked and dang….that sucker looked nasty. It was getting dark fast, so I didn’t even drive down in to it for a picture (cuz you can back out easily). I was surprised by how little space was around Mickey’s Hot Tub cuz seems like videos always have a lot of people and vehicles parked there. We should have taken the short cut out of the trail. Not knowing better we went the long way……more rocking around and not much to see. It was dark once done so we aired up and called it a night.
08-22-2018, 08:52 AM
#33
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
Tuesday my buddy had rented a jeep (picked up Mon night) from Twisted Jeeps for $250. Rubicon was lifted on 37s, but they’d lead you to believe everything has a winch on it, but none on the lot did. I say 2 on the road that did, so I guess it’s luck of the draw. Guy staffing the desk was just as cordial as we came to expect from most people working in Moab. I’d hope they give random people not familiar with jeeps a bit more instruction than my buddy got, but wasn’t concerned since he had me. Anyhow, early start on Tuesday with plan to hit Poison Spyder, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim. Honestly, this was the best day of wheelin. Landscape and views were very cool, offered some obstacles, and wasn’t just rocking back and forth the entire way. We all REALLY enjoyed the trio. We had total stoppage time of at least 90 minutes which included nice break in canyon shade for snack and drone flight, another stop for lunch in what little shade we could find on GS, and another stop for a snack on GBR under some shade provided by a mushroom rock canyon-side. Total time from start to finish (not doing the PS loop) was 9 hours. There wasn’t anything that made me uncomfortable on the trail and the only reason I’d say be careful doing it yourself would be that you are out there a long ways from help. We didn’t see a single soul all day long. I unintentionally bypassed the big drop next to a tree on GS that you always see on video. We came up to a split and I looked over the one direction and saw big ole drops down 3 or so ledges. It didn’t look like a bypass at all, and that was the route we took. Come to find out later when asking the guy at the jeep rental how I missed the tree drop, apparently that was where. Golden Crack was interesting to see. We rolled up on it and it was very unassuming. My first line through was a little off, so I did back up and take a 2nd stab at it which was much more comfortable. Knocked out Double Whammy, albeit on the left side, and attempted Body Snatcher a couple times. I couldn’t find a line that didn’t look like I was gonna catch my rear quarter armor, and really didn’t want to scrape it all up just for the sake of it, so backed out. The waterfall on GBR was a fun obstacle, that I tried to make as hard as possible. After creeping right up the initial waterfall ascent, I thought the line was more skirting the ledge (there’s not a ton of room up there)……which made things harder than they should have been. I got up just fine, but it took a tad more effort going the harder way. After that it was smooth sailing on the way down GBR. The one thing I’d say is we aired back up at the end of the sandy area at the bottom of the trail. I did not realize we had ~10 miles of bumpy back road before hitting the pavement, or else I would have stayed aired down till the highway! One last comment about the jeep rental…..the one my buddy got had I believe the TrailMod narrow fender flares on it…..and I actually thought they were pretty nice. Surprised I don’t see a few people around my area with these as an option. Oh, we ate at Antica Forma on the way back in to town. Excellent Neapolitan pizza!
Wednesday we slept in a bit, got up and went to run Moab Rim. Aired down, took a deep breath, started up. Doesn’t take very long before you’re getting that “ok…..??” feeling. Got up to Devil’s Crack and took a good look at it. The rock was a little bigger than I thought it might be, which makes sense why you can find a couple sketchy vids descending that. Went right on up, and continued forward. It was pretty slow going with everything pretty off camber and having to constantly be turning the wheel a bit counterintuitively IMO (turning away from a lean rather than in to a lean). Also, being solo here and not having anyone else to watch made it quite interesting. Took a good look at Z-Turn and went on up. Feels like it took forever getting up that first mile, and honestly, a couple sticky situations on what probably should have been something relatively easy. Once up top, I thought the trail was nice. We only went to the one overlook the trail book noted as being better than the other. I thought it was a little disappointing I guess compared to the other overlooks we’d seen up till then. I was expecting a sheer cliff side again, looking down on to Moab. It wasn’t QUITE as impressive when not presented with that same kind of single drop, but it was still cool. Coming back down the rim in general felt more comfortable than going up; however, I noticed the fuel gauge looking a bit low with the constant descent. I had over half a tank when we left town and I didn’t think much of it since we were only going a matter of miles. SOOoooo, we arrive at the top of Z-Turn. I drop down the front tires down the first ledge or whatnot and then get out and take a good look at the game plan. Ho Hum….looking at the bottom part of the obstacle and all the sudden I hear the jeep start to gurgle. Oh F! It’s gonna die……so I run jump in and figure I gotta get that sucker down the first part before it dies (to level it back out and get fuel to the pump). Well, all the sudden engine dies and it’s boom boom, down to the small level area just a bit quicker than I would have liked, jamming on the brakes (sans power) as hard as I could. UGH….I do some stupid $hit sometimes. New rule, NEVER NEVER head out without topping off, regardless of how short a trip! Jeep didn’t want to start up, so got out and started looking at the bottom of Z-Turn again, and trying to block out how that could have been a deadly mistake. So, on top of going down the rest of Z-Turn and Devil’s Crack, there is a little sense of urgency knowing I’m tilted down so steeply the whole way. Set the game plan and proceeded with fingers crossed. They weren’t AS bad going down as I thought they might be, but looking back, I think I picked easy line on Devil’s Crack. Instead of straddling the crack, I went straight down the main rock. TBH, once down, I was happy to have escaped that trail. That was very sketchy to do alone IMO. I wouldn’t be eager to do that again I don’t think. We decided to have a little relaxation time considering what we’d been through. We ran down south of town to check out Hole in the Rock. I blew $20 on the 12-minute tour, and at the end, I couldn’t decide if that was the worst $20 I ever blew, or if it was the best. It provided so much fodder for the rest of the trip. SMH. My buddy smooshed his foot with a rock on Moab Rim, so he was wanting a rest. My daughter and I decided to run down to Hurrah Pass for something easy to do. Thought it was a nice picturesque drive and actually glad we did it. The look back over the pass was VERY hazy. I bet it’s usually one of the best views in town when clear. We ate dinner at Spoke on Center. It was “ok”. Food was decent, service a bit sloooow.
We decided that Thursday, the final day, would be relaxing. We hit bed early, woke up at 4am got situated, and started out for Arches NP. I talked them in to leaving early and trying to see the sunrise from Delicate Arch before the crowds showed up. We hit the trailhead at 5:30 and had about 6-7 other cars there already. Started hiking up and I now totally understand the earlier comment about the path maybe being harder to follow at night. We got to the first trail sign at the top of the rock, and quickly ran in to various other people trying to find their way. They informed us what they tried ended up at big cliff and was not passable. What ensued was probably comical…..20 people or so trying to find different route to the arch….everyone able to see it, but not quite get there. THEN, we found the arch! It was quite different than what I expected it to be up top……and THEN we realized we were at the arch, but not where you go to see the arch. LOL. back out and around, up and down….boom, finally made it! We turned 1.5 mile hike in to 2.5+ miles. We had a great time up there relaxing before too many people started showing up. When we headed back down, we realized we were only 30 foot or so from another trail sign earlier (on the way up), and just didn’t see it cuz it was so dark…..which is when people all scattered about looking for a way to the arch. UGHHH. Anyhow, we spent the rest of the morning in the park seeing things. So glad we did that…..it really was a big highlight to the trip. On the way back to the house, we ate lunch at Susie’s Branding Iron. Food was good. I needed to jack around getting my rear locker unstuck before heading home, so we did that, relaxed, souvenir shopped, and planned for early departure Friday morning. We ate dinner at Pasta Jay’s…..excellent Italian IMO with fresh pasta.
Friday, buddy flew out and my daughter and I started home, detouring through Telluride and Imogene Pass to Ouray, then down through Silverton/Durango and home to Texas. Drive from Moab to Telluride was really nice. I thought we’d get in Telluride ~8:30ish, hit a few t-shirt shops and walk around a bit before heading over the pass. Man, that town doesn’t get going very early! Ghost town except for a few breakfast shops open at 9am. We had lunch alongside stream/waterfall on the pass, and had a deer that was very interested in us while we sat and relaxed.
Wednesday we slept in a bit, got up and went to run Moab Rim. Aired down, took a deep breath, started up. Doesn’t take very long before you’re getting that “ok…..??” feeling. Got up to Devil’s Crack and took a good look at it. The rock was a little bigger than I thought it might be, which makes sense why you can find a couple sketchy vids descending that. Went right on up, and continued forward. It was pretty slow going with everything pretty off camber and having to constantly be turning the wheel a bit counterintuitively IMO (turning away from a lean rather than in to a lean). Also, being solo here and not having anyone else to watch made it quite interesting. Took a good look at Z-Turn and went on up. Feels like it took forever getting up that first mile, and honestly, a couple sticky situations on what probably should have been something relatively easy. Once up top, I thought the trail was nice. We only went to the one overlook the trail book noted as being better than the other. I thought it was a little disappointing I guess compared to the other overlooks we’d seen up till then. I was expecting a sheer cliff side again, looking down on to Moab. It wasn’t QUITE as impressive when not presented with that same kind of single drop, but it was still cool. Coming back down the rim in general felt more comfortable than going up; however, I noticed the fuel gauge looking a bit low with the constant descent. I had over half a tank when we left town and I didn’t think much of it since we were only going a matter of miles. SOOoooo, we arrive at the top of Z-Turn. I drop down the front tires down the first ledge or whatnot and then get out and take a good look at the game plan. Ho Hum….looking at the bottom part of the obstacle and all the sudden I hear the jeep start to gurgle. Oh F! It’s gonna die……so I run jump in and figure I gotta get that sucker down the first part before it dies (to level it back out and get fuel to the pump). Well, all the sudden engine dies and it’s boom boom, down to the small level area just a bit quicker than I would have liked, jamming on the brakes (sans power) as hard as I could. UGH….I do some stupid $hit sometimes. New rule, NEVER NEVER head out without topping off, regardless of how short a trip! Jeep didn’t want to start up, so got out and started looking at the bottom of Z-Turn again, and trying to block out how that could have been a deadly mistake. So, on top of going down the rest of Z-Turn and Devil’s Crack, there is a little sense of urgency knowing I’m tilted down so steeply the whole way. Set the game plan and proceeded with fingers crossed. They weren’t AS bad going down as I thought they might be, but looking back, I think I picked easy line on Devil’s Crack. Instead of straddling the crack, I went straight down the main rock. TBH, once down, I was happy to have escaped that trail. That was very sketchy to do alone IMO. I wouldn’t be eager to do that again I don’t think. We decided to have a little relaxation time considering what we’d been through. We ran down south of town to check out Hole in the Rock. I blew $20 on the 12-minute tour, and at the end, I couldn’t decide if that was the worst $20 I ever blew, or if it was the best. It provided so much fodder for the rest of the trip. SMH. My buddy smooshed his foot with a rock on Moab Rim, so he was wanting a rest. My daughter and I decided to run down to Hurrah Pass for something easy to do. Thought it was a nice picturesque drive and actually glad we did it. The look back over the pass was VERY hazy. I bet it’s usually one of the best views in town when clear. We ate dinner at Spoke on Center. It was “ok”. Food was decent, service a bit sloooow.
We decided that Thursday, the final day, would be relaxing. We hit bed early, woke up at 4am got situated, and started out for Arches NP. I talked them in to leaving early and trying to see the sunrise from Delicate Arch before the crowds showed up. We hit the trailhead at 5:30 and had about 6-7 other cars there already. Started hiking up and I now totally understand the earlier comment about the path maybe being harder to follow at night. We got to the first trail sign at the top of the rock, and quickly ran in to various other people trying to find their way. They informed us what they tried ended up at big cliff and was not passable. What ensued was probably comical…..20 people or so trying to find different route to the arch….everyone able to see it, but not quite get there. THEN, we found the arch! It was quite different than what I expected it to be up top……and THEN we realized we were at the arch, but not where you go to see the arch. LOL. back out and around, up and down….boom, finally made it! We turned 1.5 mile hike in to 2.5+ miles. We had a great time up there relaxing before too many people started showing up. When we headed back down, we realized we were only 30 foot or so from another trail sign earlier (on the way up), and just didn’t see it cuz it was so dark…..which is when people all scattered about looking for a way to the arch. UGHHH. Anyhow, we spent the rest of the morning in the park seeing things. So glad we did that…..it really was a big highlight to the trip. On the way back to the house, we ate lunch at Susie’s Branding Iron. Food was good. I needed to jack around getting my rear locker unstuck before heading home, so we did that, relaxed, souvenir shopped, and planned for early departure Friday morning. We ate dinner at Pasta Jay’s…..excellent Italian IMO with fresh pasta.
Friday, buddy flew out and my daughter and I started home, detouring through Telluride and Imogene Pass to Ouray, then down through Silverton/Durango and home to Texas. Drive from Moab to Telluride was really nice. I thought we’d get in Telluride ~8:30ish, hit a few t-shirt shops and walk around a bit before heading over the pass. Man, that town doesn’t get going very early! Ghost town except for a few breakfast shops open at 9am. We had lunch alongside stream/waterfall on the pass, and had a deer that was very interested in us while we sat and relaxed.
08-22-2018, 08:52 AM
#34
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
It was a good trip overall. In a way I felt like we didn’t get to do much in Moab……and I remain pissed I didn’t do Hells Gate! I had planned on doing Kane Creek Canyon. They guy at the Jeep rental advised that Hamburger Hill at the very end had gotten very difficult. I really didn’t want to transverse the trail to the very end and then have to face the chance of possibly turning around. That’s when we decided to just do Arches NP instead of another trail day. We also didn’t do Strike Ravine as I had planned. I think it would have been very cool to get to Canyonlands to see the Confluence and run Elephant Hill, but alas, just no time. Looking back, it was fun to take my jeep. Many times along the way I was thinking it could almost be more fun in a rented razor. 15 hour drive for me was a long ways to truck the jeep along, but fun to do it none the less. My buddy’s flight was ~$300 round trip. I spent more on gas to/from!
08-22-2018, 04:52 PM
#35
JK Enthusiast
Good write up! Glad you had a good time.
I will be in much the same situation as you were. It will be me and my girlfriend by ourselves there. I do not have much experience with rock crawling at all so until I get more experience we will be sticking to some of the easier trails. We are mostly going just for a vacation and her birthday. Even though my Jeep has a full Metalcloak 2.5" Gamechanger lift and their full skid plate system and rock rails, I don't feel like flopping the Jeep first time out. I know that the Jeep is more capable than the operator and the operator wants to keep his Jeep in one piece. We've done a bunch of gas well and logging roads near her brothers place in West Virginia, but that isn't the same as rock crawling. Had planned on doing a few of the courses at Rausch Creek but this trip is kind of spur of the moment.
I feel like Elephant Hill, the trail to the Colorado river from the ranger station in Needles District in Canyonlands are plenty easy enough. Might do Rimrocker on the way there and maybe White Rim Trail if there are permits available. I want to do Top of the World for sure. Not sure what else we will try. I have the Fun Treks book on my tablet and have enough time to look it over.
I will be in much the same situation as you were. It will be me and my girlfriend by ourselves there. I do not have much experience with rock crawling at all so until I get more experience we will be sticking to some of the easier trails. We are mostly going just for a vacation and her birthday. Even though my Jeep has a full Metalcloak 2.5" Gamechanger lift and their full skid plate system and rock rails, I don't feel like flopping the Jeep first time out. I know that the Jeep is more capable than the operator and the operator wants to keep his Jeep in one piece. We've done a bunch of gas well and logging roads near her brothers place in West Virginia, but that isn't the same as rock crawling. Had planned on doing a few of the courses at Rausch Creek but this trip is kind of spur of the moment.
I feel like Elephant Hill, the trail to the Colorado river from the ranger station in Needles District in Canyonlands are plenty easy enough. Might do Rimrocker on the way there and maybe White Rim Trail if there are permits available. I want to do Top of the World for sure. Not sure what else we will try. I have the Fun Treks book on my tablet and have enough time to look it over.
08-22-2018, 05:34 PM
#36
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
I will say, I thought the FunTreks guide was spot on with their time ranges. We were kinda of smack dab in the middle, but that accounted for a good bit of time getting out, taking pictures, flying drone, or just having a look around. If the book said 3-5 hours, we were usually around 3hr 45 min, moving briskly but with stoppage time. I can see how if you had 3-4 jeeps, and everyone stopping to take pics or vids, how things could draw out longer. I thought their rating, combined with the ratings from RR4W.com were spot on too.
Hope it clears up a bit by the time you head out there. You should at least do the small south section of Fins and Things. No danger there, and it doesn't take long. Hells Revenge really is a must do. Just take your time. It's a nice smooth ride for the most part, rather than bumpy and mind boggling like TOW is gonna be. That seems to be popular spot for the hummer and razer tours, and it would be both easy and helpful to tag behind a tour group just so you can see where the trail is going ahead and how/if they are leaning so you can know what to expect. Also, that overlook at the end is very worthwhile, not to mention you can take a look at the obstacles as you drive by em.
Hope it clears up a bit by the time you head out there. You should at least do the small south section of Fins and Things. No danger there, and it doesn't take long. Hells Revenge really is a must do. Just take your time. It's a nice smooth ride for the most part, rather than bumpy and mind boggling like TOW is gonna be. That seems to be popular spot for the hummer and razer tours, and it would be both easy and helpful to tag behind a tour group just so you can see where the trail is going ahead and how/if they are leaning so you can know what to expect. Also, that overlook at the end is very worthwhile, not to mention you can take a look at the obstacles as you drive by em.
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chiapeteater (08-22-2018)
08-26-2018, 06:31 PM
#37
JK Super Freak
My wife and daughter and I are planning on heading out there at the end of September. The group we were planning on meeting most likely won't be making it. Hoping we can meet up with some other Jeepers out there to avoid trail riding alone.
Not planning on getting too serious on the trails mostly sight seeing, but there are a few of the trails that I want to do that would be better if we had other Jeeps along.
Not planning on getting too serious on the trails mostly sight seeing, but there are a few of the trails that I want to do that would be better if we had other Jeeps along.
Last edited by tjkamp; 08-26-2018 at 06:41 PM.
08-27-2018, 06:16 AM
#39
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
Funny, the lone jeep group I saw out there turned out to be Brad the TrailRecon guy that is always posting vids on YouTube. He's started positing videos from their trip. That was the group we passed going up (as they were coming down) Top of the World. We were also airing up after Fins and Things as they were heading up Hell's Revenge. Spotted my jeep in his video for just a split second when you can see the parking lot behind them. LOL.
I think if I ever get back, I'll make more time for some easy scenic stuff too.....like Onion Creek, Canyonlands, etc. It was definitely easy to get caught up in feeling the need to hit more aggressive stuff, but I really enjoyed simple drive back to Hurrah Pass.
We sure have a long drive from Texas! I found stopping in northwest New Mexico a nice stopping point. I found perfect little "hunting lodge" for $84/night on AirBNB in Cuba, NM, and stayed at River Valley Casita in Aztec, NM on the way up for $107/night. So much better than dumpy roadside hotels!
I think if I ever get back, I'll make more time for some easy scenic stuff too.....like Onion Creek, Canyonlands, etc. It was definitely easy to get caught up in feeling the need to hit more aggressive stuff, but I really enjoyed simple drive back to Hurrah Pass.
We sure have a long drive from Texas! I found stopping in northwest New Mexico a nice stopping point. I found perfect little "hunting lodge" for $84/night on AirBNB in Cuba, NM, and stayed at River Valley Casita in Aztec, NM on the way up for $107/night. So much better than dumpy roadside hotels!
08-27-2018, 11:47 AM
#40
JK Super Freak
Originally Posted by resharp001
Funny, the lone jeep group I saw out there turned out to be Brad the TrailRecon guy that is always posting vids on YouTube. He's started positing videos from their trip. That was the group we passed going up (as they were coming down) Top of the World. We were also airing up after Fins and Things as they were heading up Hell's Revenge. Spotted my jeep in his video for just a split second when you can see the parking lot behind them. LOL.
I think if I ever get back, I'll make more time for some easy scenic stuff too.....like Onion Creek, Canyonlands, etc. It was definitely easy to get caught up in feeling the need to hit more aggressive stuff, but I really enjoyed simple drive back to Hurrah Pass.We sure have a long drive from Texas! I found stopping in northwest New Mexico a nice stopping point. I found perfect little "hunting lodge" for $84/night on AirBNB in Cuba, NM, and stayed at River Valley Casita in Aztec, NM on the way up for $107/night. So much better than dumpy roadside hotels!
I think if I ever get back, I'll make more time for some easy scenic stuff too.....like Onion Creek, Canyonlands, etc. It was definitely easy to get caught up in feeling the need to hit more aggressive stuff, but I really enjoyed simple drive back to Hurrah Pass.We sure have a long drive from Texas! I found stopping in northwest New Mexico a nice stopping point. I found perfect little "hunting lodge" for $84/night on AirBNB in Cuba, NM, and stayed at River Valley Casita in Aztec, NM on the way up for $107/night. So much better than dumpy roadside hotels!