Moab Utah; Red Rock Canyon Country

Yumafolks

Adventurist
Moderator
Red Rock canyon country ride.

With spring break in full force and the start up of Easter Jeep safari beginning; I had one goal. Thats to go on a ride with as little traffic as possible. We started the day in the Island In the Sky NP. We left the Island Top via Long Canyon trail also known as Pucker Pass. Its a very scenic and well groomed 98% graded trail winding its way down to the Colorado River along Pot Ash Rd. We kept our speeds low and we’er able to spot 4 Big Horn Sheep as we dropped down into the canyon. Once at the river bottom we drove along the Colorado river north-east to Hwy 191; then north to Willow Springs Rd.

The second leg of our three leg trip began with showing the others how crazy the BLM dispersed camping area can get this time of year. Its like a Jimmy Buffet concert. All walks of life. People camping in Prius’s to Earth Roamers, 5Th wheels and old remodeled school buses. A few miles passed the camping area and on the outside boundary of Arches NP we stopped to examine a few dinosaur tracks left in the rock. Entering the Park on Willow Springs Rd; we turned left and headed North on Tower Arch Trail. Its about 10 miles to the Arch from that point. The trail offers all types of terrain. Sandy wash bottoms, shell rock hill climbs, slick rock obstacles, rock gardens and sandy narrow canyon walls. I’d say it’s not really a trail to test your skills or Equipment but more of a scenic drive on steroids. Going West to East I would rate it a moderate rather than Difficult drive like the Charles A. Wells trail guide does. After our time spent viewing Tower Arch; we worked our way towards Salt Valley; up and over the rock garden (extremely boney) hill climb. We descended down the Sandy section of the trail with a number of 1 and 2 foot step downs surrounded by soft powder sand. It’s easily understandable why this section of the trail would be rated difficult if going the opposite direction. Turning South-east on Salt Valley rd we entered the heart of Arches National Park. The valley is massive with no structure or human presence other than the road down the middle. So much of this area reminds me of Baja back in the 80’s.

The third leg of the trip was the dreaded pavement. Taking our time headed down the main Arches Hwy to their front gate and visitor center. Just the drive alone through the park is an eye opener at how amazing this area is. Do to having such a great time I lost count on the vehicles we passed or waved at in the dirt along the way. However I think it would be safe to say less than 20 other trail goers. It was a full day of Backcountry travel.
 
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I had to drive a bit further than most to meet up with the usual suspects, but this trip exceeded all expectations.

I usually over-plan and over-think things, so this time I did some “light planning” and just hit the road which left me lots of wiggle room for spontaneity during my 10 day adventure. This was a solo trip for me so I used the Mountain Hatch single swag and it worked out great in all weather.

Nearly 4,000 miles round trip from FL through AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, CO and UT on the way there with OK and AR on the back end.

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Fuel mileage averaged 15 MPG and the Gladiator did amazing. I even played with the adaptive cruise control on the way home and decided it’s pretty damn cool.

After getting out of the South and across Texas, I stopped and visited an old friend in New Mexico on the way out. We call this place “Fight Club Falls”...

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After Cloudcroft, I drifted north towards the Colorado line and explored up around Chama, NM. If you’re into old trains and steam engines the RR museum there is a literal gold mine filled with engines and rolling stock from the coal burning railroad days of the old west.

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Amnesty: I cheated on this trip by booking one night’s hotel stay on the way there, and one night on the way back. On the way there I stayed in Durango, CO, and on the return trip I stayed in Tucumcari, NM.

It was nice to get off the road after 3 very long days and get a hot shower. After my spa treatment in Durango it was onwards to Utah and one of my favorite places on earth for a night near the Bears Ears.

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Utah. The point of this whole trip. Massive vistas and friends I had not seen in way too long. I was a couple of days early so I drifted around southern Utah a bit before heading north up near Moab.

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Onwards, upwards to one of my favorite places on earth for a night near the Bears Ears. Made camp in an excellent spot and never saw another soul up there the rest of the day or night there. Weather rolled in and dumped a couple inches of snow on me in the night so the next morning that was my cue to load up and head down the mountain towards Newspaper Rock and Moab.

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Grabbed fuel and firewood in Moab and kept going - with EJS going on it was jam packed so I got out of there quick and made my way towards our main camp coordinates. When I got there I was blown away by the views! More magical Utah scenery! Now all I had to do was wait for people to start showing up.

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My trip out was a bit different as I decided to use up some airline miles and be a mooch. I flew into Las Vegas late enough to miss dinner since not much was open on a Covid Wednesday night. At least the hotel was free of screaming partiers so I could work on the jet lag in relative peace and quiet. Some people think the hotel view is great but it was nothing compared to what was coming...
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The following day I linked up with my transportation (thanks for not leaving me in sin city @Brett C) and we set off for Utah. Despite a few navigational challenges we all managed to link up at the first night's camp. Sadly this road led to a locked gate so we adjusted on the fly and had a nice, if brisk, evening.
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No matter which way you looked the view from camp was amazing. The Marine Corps taught me that if you are sleeping on the ground you don't need a tent. The VA has since determined that is false so I brought a new tent complete with a folding cot.
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The first night was cold with a nice breeze that forced us to sleep early. The precipitation held off until oh-dark-something but then turned into snow as the sun came up. I awoke to find a light coating of wet snow to test the new tent (which did outstanding on this trip).
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We made some coffee and enjoyed the view while packing up after we let the tents dry a bit and then hit the road again.
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As we started the journey to Moab the weather got worse and I was extremely glad I wasn't forced to ride with @richard310 though the snow, hail and rain in the 20 degree weather...
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There was more incredible scenery when the precipitation cleared up for a bit. Pretty certain there are no bad views out there.
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Of course there are some things that you see that make you think...
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I had to drive a bit further than most to meet up with the usual suspects, but this trip exceeded all expectations.

I usually over-plan and over-think things, so this time I did some “light planning” and just hit the road which left me lots of wiggle room for spontaneity during my 10 day adventure. This was a solo trip for me so I used the Mountain Hatch single swag and it worked out great in all weather.

Nearly 4,000 miles round trip from FL through AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, CO and UT on the way there with OK and AR on the back end.

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Fuel mileage averaged 15 MPG and the Gladiator did amazing. I even played with the adaptive cruise control on the way home and decided it’s pretty damn cool.

After getting out of the South and across Texas, I stopped and visited an old friend in New Mexico on the way out. We call this place “Fight Club Falls”...

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That is a special place.
 
I had to drive a bit further than most to meet up with the usual suspects, but this trip exceeded all expectations.

I usually over-plan and over-think things, so this time I did some “light planning” and just hit the road which left me lots of wiggle room for spontaneity during my 10 day adventure. This was a solo trip for me so I used the Mountain Hatch single swag and it worked out great in all weather.

Nearly 4,000 miles round trip from FL through AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, CO and UT on the way there with OK and AR on the back end.

View attachment 55680

View attachment 55681

View attachment 55683

View attachment 55682

View attachment 55684

Fuel mileage averaged 15 MPG and the Gladiator did amazing. I even played with the adaptive cruise control on the way home and decided it’s pretty damn cool.

After getting out of the South and across Texas, I stopped and visited an old friend in New Mexico on the way out. We call this place “Fight Club Falls”...

View attachment 55674

View attachment 55678

View attachment 55675
Every mile with a smile.
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