schmity

Hello to all, I am currently looking to take my Jeep out on a few Trails this summer as ive worked on the car in and out for a couple of years and have become of age to finally take it out on a cross country adventure. However this would be my first real trip out into the wild and offroading world. Im currently running 33" tires on a 2.5" lift , with the shocks and track bar to match the ride height along with a bunch of other components ive added over the years, and I do have a winch and the recovery gear for it. To bring in some more context, I live in Miami, Florida which isnt a hot spot for Offroading so I havent found a genuine place to take it other than some dirt back roads with a bit of dips and some rocky areas here and there but nothing crazy. But I want to take this thing out and onto some real trails before the car runs its course and gives out one day. So my main general questions to everyone are:

1. I plan on going alone and maybe seeing a buddy for some trails but not all of them, I know it isnt wise to go alone in case of an emergency, but has anyone else gone on alone some of the less extreme or even more extreme trails? Have you run into any issues what were they and how did you handle them?
2. The main trails I plan on taking are going to be ranked from easy to moderate, as Im just looking for more scenic trails that I can enjoy and get some good photos of since I dont know when I could see such sights again. (This kinda ties into question #1 as im trying to avoid any serious rock crawling or mudding so that I dont get stuck or into anything too serious since again ill most likely be alone for some of the trails.)
3. What should I bring with me other than the basic travel essentials (food, clothes, water, recovery gear, bug spray, medical kit, tool kit, rachet straps)
4. I have been using Alltrails.com to find the trials I would like to go through, throughout my journey. I know I can print out and download maps of the trails im going to be taking, are there any other valuable resources to consider that could be helpful?
5. In case of an emergency, like if my car truly does get stuck or dies on me in the middle of a trail, I doubt my T-mobile is gonna have good reception 3000ft up on a trail, what should I do in this case or for any emergency, what should I bring so that I can reach out to someone if I need help? (I dont own a CV radio or anything like that, would it be a good purchase?)
6. Finally, are there any trails you would recommend? I plan on driving thru the following states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and stopping at Colorado. (Maybe Utah i know id be close to it so its a strong possibility.)

Mark Doiron

1. When traveling by yourself, it's wise to stick to trails where you are pretty confident others will be.
2. Just in case others don't happen along, you might carry an InReach. You can buy the device, then subscribe just for the period of your travel. Not only does it give you two way messaging, but it also gives you access to weather reports for your location. Knowing weather conditions and forecasts as you travel along is critical at times.
3. The TransAmerica Trail does a very nice job mostly covering the states that interest you. Instead of trying to cobble something together from AllTrails, you might consider buying the maps for that. I have not (yet) driven the eastern half, but last year drove the western half. Don't worry about it being for ADV motorcycle riders. It's pretty much all two track.

https://www.transamtrail.com/maps/

Here's a video with a short bit of the InReach starting at 28 seconds ...

schmity

Thanks for all the info I appreciate it, I noticed that Garmin has an inline feature with their gps' and im almost certain I have on, so I just need to purchase the subscription for it then. I plan on going out starting mid to late July (about July 18 or so) my first stop is going to be the Ocala Hardrock OHV trail. It seems like a good practice area holding a decent bit of hills, mud, and rocks to go over so I can get a feel for offroading on trickier terrain and its in the same state as I am in currently so I wont be too invested if something goes wrong (hopefully nothing will but this would be a good test run for jeep to see how it handles). Ill also take a look at the transammaps you recommended, they seem to hold good info and ill take anything I can get for this ride lol. Much appreciated if anything else comes to mind feel free to let me know!