Moab: 2011

**Jeffro06** · 05-29-2011, 09:51 AM

On Saturday, May 21, 2011, I loaded up the Rubicon and headed to Moab, via Arvada Colorado. I left home at 3am and arrived in Colorado at 2:45pm. I stopped at the Colorado boarder for the customary photo op:

I stayed at a someone's house, in Arvada, Saturday night. We spent Sunday making sure our jeeps were ready.

At 8am Monday morning we headed off to Moab. This was the earliest in the year I had ever visited Colorado and there was more snow in the mountains than I had ever seen before.

Climbing up the mountain passes wasn't too bad, as long as the overdrive was off.

Approaching the Eisenhower Tunnel.

Driving through the tunnel.

Breaking through to the other side.

We traveled along I-70 until we met up with Hwy 128, which is the scenic way into Moab.

As we made our way down 128 the storms could be seen off in the distance, there was a lot of lightning too. Eventually we drove through some rain, but it didn't last very long.

We stopped a couple of times for some Kodak moments:

We arrived at our hotel at 2pm. We checked in, fueled up our jeeps and headed out to do an easy trail. This would be my friends first time wheeling his jeep.

We decided to do Onion Creek Trail.

My jeep.

The trail did reach some pretty good heights.

Onion Creek met up with Thompson Canyon; Polar Mesa Trail, which started to get muddy. There is an option to go up to some old mines, we took the mine option. As we traveled up the mountain, it got colder and muddier. I was leading the way and after climbing for awhile I decided to stop and see if the other guys wanted to turn around. Since we had no idea what was around the next corner and since it was getting late, we decided to turn around and head back down the mountain.

Going down the mountain required 4lo. There were some pucker moments as we rounded some of the turns, due to the slickness of the mud.

Once we made it back to the main trail we still had 16 miles until pavement would greet us.

We made it back town right about 9pm. That's 6 hours / 47 miles of trails later.

On day two we met up with Polecat, who was nice enough to come down from Salt Lake City and show us around. We started the day with Top of the World, which starts at Dewey Bridge.

Dewey Bridge really isn't a bridge any more.

While we were airing down a group of Nissan Exterra's showed up. I never saw them on the trail but Polecat and his gf said they were on the other side of the loop, near the top, as we were coming down. They were slow.

Polecat climbing his way to the Top of the World.

Me.

Top of the World is a moderate trail. It's bumpy as heck, but has a few obstacles along the way that keep you entertained. It takes a few hours to make it to the top, but the view is like none other:

I'm on top of the world!!

Polecat and his gf.

After taking some photos, eating a snack, and making a phone call back home (yes we had cell service up there) we headed back down.

**Jeffro06** · 05-29-2011, 09:51 AM

Going down had some nice little obstacles as well.

Polecat.

Me.

After completing Top of the World we went back to town, fueled up and grabbed some lunch at Wendy's. A storm had passed through town while were doing Top of the World and the rain was just slowing down as we returned.

We decided to do Hell's Revenge next. It was still raining as we arrived at the trail head...which was a bit disturbing, since the first climb of Hell's Revenge looks scary enough when it's dry.

We all survived the first climb, but our hearts sure were pumping.

This is not the first climb.

The sun shinning off the rain soaked rock made us a bit nervous at first, but we soon found out that the rain had no effect on the traction.

We all did the "Car Wash":

Car Wash was easy, we each did it both ways.

Group photo.

The views were amazing, no matter which way you looked.

We didn't do Hell's Gate, since none of us knew the lines down or up, and it was a bit too late in the day to press our luck. It'll give me something to go back for. We didn't see anyone else on Hell's Revenge either.

Day three would just be Polecat (his gf) and myself. We decided to start the day with Fins-N-Things.

Polecat starting Fins.

This is way steeper than it looks here.

Polecat's gf used my camera to get these shots of me.

It was cool when the tires barked.

We didn't see but maybe 4 other jeeps while doing Fins.

**Jeffro06** · 05-29-2011, 09:51 AM

The trail seemed to go on forever, which was fine with me.

After Fins-N-Things we headed back to town, grabbed lunch at McDonalds, did some souvenir shopping and headed out to Long Canyon.

Long Canyon is an easy trail, and can be traveled in either direction. We travled up the canyon. As you enter the canyon you can see Jug Handle Arch:

A view up the canyon.

We passed a TJ, coming down the canyon, which Polecat noticed had a flat front passenger side tire. We turned around and stopped the jeep, which was being driven by an older lady, and she was alone. She had dropped her friend off back up the trail a bit, who was walking with her dog. The lady driving the TJ, stock with street radials, said she was trying to find cell service to call AAA. Polecat broke out his floor jack and 4-way tire iron and we started changing her flat.

The lugs on that thing were so over tightened it wasn't even funny. Polecat just about twisted his tire iron trying to get those things loose. We told her to yell at whoever put the tires on, as she would never have been able to change a flat by herself. One Polecat broke all the lugs free I completed the tire change.....he did the hard the part. Once we were done we headed back up the canyon.

I felt like I was in a John Wayne movie, but in a jeep and not on a horse.

The trail kept climbing and climbing, steeper and steeper, and it got to the point where I had to put it in 4lo just to keep moving.

This is probably the most well known spot on the trail:

Once we completed the trail we had about a 45 minute drive, via the hwy, back to town, and the end of my off road adventures.

Polecat had to return home the next morning, so I decided to call it good as well. I had done what I wanted to do, didn't have anyone else to wheel with, didn't feel like pressing my luck, and I missed my girls.

The next morning (Thursday) I pulled out of Moab at 8am (central time) and headed for home.

Climbing back through the mountains was harder than it was the first time, I think coming from the west is much steeper than coming from the east. There times I could only muster 50mph @ 3600 rpm's. Once over the top it was easy to run the posted 75 mph.

Once through Colorado, and with nothing to stop for I just kept on driving home. I ended up making it back home Friday morning @ 3:30am. That's a bit over 20 hours on the road, in a jeep.

All in all I traveled 2982.6 miles, spent $822.85 on gas, and averaged 13.9 mpg, which includes the time spent wheeling as well. The best mpg I got was 17.96 (coming down the mountain) and the worst was 4.9 (on Hell's Revenge), but the worst hwy mpg was 11.34.

The jeep performed flawlessly. The Rampage top performed great too. It was quite, it never leaked, despite all the rain on the trip out.

The wheeling out there is a lot different that it is here. Moab seems to have the risk of death where here it's the risk of breaking something.

I cant' way to go again, but I'd like to do it with some of the guys I wheel with here, back home. I think that would be a blast.

If you have a lot of time on your hands and want to see all of the photos, click HERE.

I have an hour of video from Hell's Revenge and I'll post it when I get done editing it.

Hopefully Polecat will post up some pictures too.

And of course a big thank you goes out to Polecat for meeting up with me and showing me around.

**TheHeilis** · 05-29-2011, 11:25 AM

Great pics Jeff.

I'd really like to make a trip like that sometime in the future with a group from the area too. Looks like you had a great time and glad you had no problems with anything.

Red_Smoke · 05-29-2011, 04:04 PM

Now that you've got a taste, you'll have a hard time turning us down next spring when we head out! Great pictures, excellent write-up.

**Jeffro06** · 05-29-2011, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHeilis

Great pics Jeff.

I'd really like to make a trip like that sometime in the future with a group from the area too. Looks like you had a great time and glad you had no problems with anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red_Smoke

Now that you've got a taste, you'll have a hard time turning us down next spring when we head out! Great pictures, excellent write-up.

Thanks guys.

I'd love to head out there again next year, but it's way to soon to tell if that'll happen.

**Jeffro06** · 05-29-2011, 05:16 PM

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

**yelset** · 05-29-2011, 11:00 PM

Looks like a great trip, thanks for sharing. Hope to get there this fall.

99goldxj · 05-30-2011, 06:21 PM

Awesome pictures, just wondering, how much would be possible with a stock XJ (not saying mine will be stock if I ever get out there, but just incase I want to go there and be stock).

**Jeffro06** · 05-30-2011, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 99goldxj

Awesome pictures, just wondering, how much would be possible with a stock XJ (not saying mine will be stock if I ever get out there, but just incase I want to go there and be stock).

I think a stock XJ or Wrangler would do fine out there, but a 2" lift and 32's or bigger would make things a bit easier. The traction is amazing. There were bypasses around the really hard stuff.