I went back into the archives of 2019 for this post. It’s a shot from Top of the World off road trail. This trail ends at a canyon overlook with spectacular views of the Utah landscape. There’s so much to look at in this photo and take in it’s almost overwhelming to me. Especially since you can see for such a long distance from this place. Starting off you have the interesting rock formations in the middle of the picture. Trying to figure out how they came to be and studying their details keeps my attention for awhile. Then taking in the red rock ridges and canyons speckled with plants that continue seemingly forever add so much depth. In contrast to all of this red you have the yellow rock in front of that adding more depth and color contrast with the plants on this rock bringing the greenery together for even more color contrasts. And to have all of this under a beautiful blue sky completes the shot. If it weren’t for all of the other Jeeps climbing into this spot I could have stayed here for a long time enjoying the scene and studying the details further. But others should be able to enjoy it without me being an obstacle for them also.
Tag Archives: Off Road
Pictures From the Trail–The Needles from the Joint Trail in Canyonlands
After several hours of enjoying off road trails in Canyonlands national park, we stopped at the Joint Trail to take in some hiking and amazing views. There are basically two ways to get to this spot: traveling in a high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle or hiking several miles through this beautiful desert landscape. This is a nice, relatively short hike through slot canyons with a little climbing in tight spots. It’s a very different experience from the hikes I’ve taken before. The tall, almost claustrophobic slot canyons were a little unnerving. What if they cave in? It almost felt like each side of the canyon was a tectonic plate slowly closing in towards each other. I continually reminded myself at first that these have been like this for a long, long time and the likelihood of rocks collapsing at the exact time I’m underneath is highly unlikely. Once I convinced myself that nothing will happen I could enjoy these geological wonders. Navigating through these canyons for a distance, there’s a climb to get up and out of them and there you are in the middle of the Needles this part of the park is named for.
Beautiful rock sculptures made up of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Each color is a different layer created during the formation of these sculptures before erosion formed them into what we see today making a them the colorful wonders you see in this photograph. Add in a blue sky and evergreens for a nice color contrast to the rock and you have such an incredible view.
Finishing Fins N Things….or at least trying to
Waking up and one of the first things I think about is it’s our final day on the trails. There have been so many exciting trails and amazing views combined with excellent weather over the past week and here we are at the final day of off-roading in Moab. I’m definitely not ready to leave this exciting area. There has been so much learned and experienced over the last several days that we want to continue on to more trails. At least we have two trails nearby to explore. Unzipping my sleeping bag, I crawl out of bed and make my way out of the tent. Another beautiful early morning in Utah even though the sun hasn’t illuminated the landscape with its warm rays yet. Some of the spring flowers are beginning to bloom in the valley Moab is set in adding to the incredible scene created by these desert mountains and snow capped peaks off in the distance. A little bit of food and it’s off to the trail we started this adventure with – Fins N Things.
The first 1/3 of this trail we completed on the first day upon getting to Moab. Now for the rest of the trail. It’s the easiest trail we explored according to different ratings and seems a lot less intimidating than it did on day 1. That doesn’t mean it’s just a walk in the park. There are still challenging spots that require your respect. Entering this next part of the trail we were moving along quite in the sand dunes when a group of buggies came up behind us. Being courteous we wanted to pull over allowing them to pass. Hitting the brakes there was no reaction. Something gave and now there are no brakes. Not good! Fortunately we weren’t traveling to fast and were able to slow to a stop rather quickly. Getting out to survey the Jeep we found fluid dripping by one of the rear wheels. A closer inspection revealed that the brake line was worn through and fluid was being lost releasing all of the pressure in the brake system. Trying to come up with a solution we tried bandaging the line and even attempted to cut the line and reattach the fitting so we could at least get the Jeep to a parts place for a correct fix. None of these ended up working so our next option was to work carefully and slowly over the trail using the emergency brake to stop when absolutely necessary.
Fortunately this trail had a road cutting across not far ahead that would take us off Fins N Things and get us to a more navigable road. We made it to the road with little issue but a lot of anxiety. Once on the road all we had to do was go down a steep hill with only the emergency brake and make it into to town and on to a parts house. This we did without incident. Now to figure out our best solution. After talking with the people in the parts store we first thought we’d have to wait until the next day as it was Sunday for a local dealership to open so we could get the correct brake line for the vehicle. After a bit more conversation it was decided to see if we could patch the line. After working for an hour or so we got the new section of brake line and tested it. Brake fluid still leaked out of the new connection. Turns out I had missed a step in preparing the line for the fitting. Going back and redoing the connection, it held the second time. Add in brake fluid to replace that lost and we were bake in business. It was now early afternoon and we were getting hungry so a trip back to the campsite for lunch and then determine what we were going to do. The brake lines still needed to be bled to get any air introduced during the repair was necessary to get the brakes working perfectly again.
With lunch now firmly in our bellies we decided to tackle the final piece of our repair and get the air out of the lines. On the repaired side some air come out and then fluid quickly after. Working on another wheel, there was no air so it wasn’t as bad as expected. It was now mid afternoon. What should we do. Another breakdown on the trail or if this repair doesn’t hold and we’re in trouble as parts places would be closing soon. We decided to take it out and at least finish Fins N Things. The easiest of the trails on our list and the trail that was the most difficult to complete. We were soon back on the trail were we left it and continued on climbing up and down hills and over small rock cliffs enjoying yet another beautiful day in Moab. There were no more incidences allowing us to relax and take in our last day of slick rock off roading. Once we finally conquered this trail it was getting late with only an hour and a half of sunlight. Not enough time to explore a second trail which was planned for the day. If all went perfectly well there would be time but taking a wrong turn or something else breaking and we would be trying to get off the trail in the dark. Not something we were comfortable doing so it was determined we should just enjoy the trail we finally finished and relax at the campsite for the last night. It was disappointing to end the day without the second trail but this Off road adventure was a lot of fun over the week. Breaking down wasn’t a great deal of fun but an experience we both appreciated because it helped us get an idea of how we would handle such a situation. Doing this kind of strenuous driving, something is very likely to break. It’s all part of the adventure!
Pictures From the Trail–A Beautiful Utah Landscape
This isn’t completely from the trail. The photo was taken on the way from the Top of the World trail heading towards Moab. The unique natural rock sculptures standing tall in front of snow capped La Sal Mountains under a beautiful blue sky really captured my attention. I thought it was worthy of highlighting as a photo from the trail. It’s along the beautiful Colorado River as it snakes through canyons helping to create such a fantastic scene as you can see in the photo below. I would have used that picture to highlight except for the bare trees in the way in the foreground along with the road on the bottom left. Besides, I really like how the details of the red sandstone formations stand out in this picture above.
A lot of contrasts in this photo also for interest. Red vs. green behind it and white behind that with blue overhead. Desert environment vs. snow covered mountains with green topped hills in between. Sharp vertical cliffs and carved stone vs. the rounded tops of mountains. The horizontal patterns in the red sandstone sculptures vs. the high rising peaks in the mountains and the horizontal line created by the green cliff behind them. All of these things keep your attention and allow for something different to capture your attention each time you look at it which is why I really like it.
Photos From the Trail–The Needles in Canyonlands National Park
While off road driving in Canyonlands National Park the views were often spectacular. Frequently these sights became distracting while driving requiring a stop to get out of the Jeep and photograph the landscape. This spot on the trial shows the sandy 4 x 4 trail at the bottom of Elephant Canyon meandering through trees and rocks leading into the natural Needle rock sculptures this part of the National Park is known for.
Poison Spider
Our third trail was one we were initially very nervous about and hesitant to even attempt due to the difficulties and challenges presented from steep rock ledges and longer climbs on slick rock. After successfully navigating Elephant Hill and Top of the World with fewer difficulties than expected we decided to take a run at Poison Spider. A powerful, yet intimidating name for a trail. What would we encounter with a name like that? Making it to the trailhead and trail prep area brought us along the Colorado River running through a beautiful canyon causing us to slow down to admire the surroundings to enjoy the amazing sights created from thousands of years of geology and carving forming this masterpiece now before us. The trailhead almost came up too fast as the canyon continues on for miles and miles, but we were here for a purpose. And that purpose was an off-road challenge.
While getting the tires ready for another off road adventure we wondered around, striking up conversations with some of the other enthusiast also getting their vehicles ready for a Utah adventure sharing a camaraderie common among four wheeling. Everything now ready it was time to go. The trail begins with a difficult climb right off the bat on a narrow trail looking into this canyon we just drove through. Too close to the edge and it’s straight down to the valley floor. Not something we wanted to experience! Within minutes of starting we found ourselves in trouble. We’ve managed to do what we’ve been trying to avoid this whole time. Becoming centered on rocks keeping both front and back tires from getting enough traction to pull the vehicle over these rocks. Trying to move back and fourth only dug holes in the loose sand causing the problem to get worse. And to make it even more stressful, here come other off roaders behind us. Fortunately they were extremely helpful and immediately began working to get us free by digging out around the tires and placing rocks for them to hopefully grab onto and raise the vehicle up and over the ones hanging us up. After quite a bit of work and trying to get out of our predicament, we realized why we had gotten stuck in the first place – we were not in 4 wheel drive! Enacting this important feature and shifting the Jeep into first gear, it crawled right out as if to emphasize our mistake and add this stupidity to its tally of blunders we’ve made.
After being stuck at the beginning of Poison Spider we really questioned the intelligence of continuing on the most difficult trail we had planned to drive this week. With no place to really turn around and several other people behind us we forged on. Soon the trail began to have a familiar comfort of others around Moab with some unique challenges. Around some corners, steep rock ledges would appear requiring a closer examination of the trail before driving the vehicle over to avoid more problems for the Jeep to put on its list. Many were less complicated than originally thought as this four wheel, off road truck relatively easily climbed up and over each one giving more confidence in our adventure. And then we rounded a corner with a broken down machine to one side. After assisting them to get them back to the trailhead we were back at it, although a bit more cautious so as to not break something on our truck.
Eventually we arrived at the point I was most concerned about, a long climb up narrow slick rock with each tire hanging on rock edges by mere inches. Watching videos of this trail I saw other Jeeps tip over on this part of the trail. What would we do if our Jeep tipped? Fortunately there was little to be concerned about if you approach this smartly and take your time climbing up this V shaped hill. At a couple of points we thought the bead broke on a tire which would require a change once on more level ground but all tires were in tact and holding air bringing a sigh of relief. There were several other steep climbs which became a bit more concerning as rain showers moved into the area. Thankfully they only produced a few drops which quickly dried up so we could continue on this enjoyable trail. As mid day approached we wanted to find a nice spot to stop and grab a bite to eat. Fortunately Little Arch was nearby which is a fun rock feature found on Poison Spider. A perfect spot to get out of the Jeep and take in a few sights while getting some nourishment. Once lunch was complete we spent a little time taking some pictures of the arch and continued on our way back down towards the trailhead completing this fun off road trail. A really enjoyable trail which provided beautiful scenery, challenging off road climbs, and some new experiences to add to our Moab adventure. At this point in the trip the realization that we were near the end of this adventure began to set in. Fortunately there still was one more day to try another trail before leaving this big playground.
Photos From the Trail – The Flintstones House
While traveling off road in the back country of Utah, we came around a corner on the trail and there below was Fred and Wilma’s house. We had found the town of Bedrock where the Flintstones must have lived. The first thing that stands out is what appears to be an entrance with a stone placed on top for the roof. And behind that are several windows through the stone allowing light to enter other areas of the house. I wanted to stop and go explore this great find but there really was nowhere to pull off of the trail safely to do that. Plus we had just begun the Poison Spider trail and didn’t want to find ourselves with a problem later on and be losing daylight if that happened.
Top of the World
Waking up on our second morning in Moab, Utah there was plenty of excitement to get started on a second challenging trail named Top of the World. This is another trail in the Jeep Badge of Honor off road adventures and rated more challenging than Elephant Hill which was the previous 4 x 4 trail we finished. Being a bit more challenging brought with it a little apprehension. Elephant Hill had some big challenges so an increased difficulty trail may be more than we’re prepared for. So many things can happen while off roading. A major dent in the vehicle from a rock or tree, something breaks on the Jeep, or even tipping over are all concerns and possibilities.
As was starting to feel routine, we pulled into the Top of the World trailhead and began preparing the Jeep for this off road adventure. Things such as airing down the tires to a relatively low tire pressure and unlocking the sway bar to allow those front tires to move independently over the rocks. It was a beautiful morning so removing the tops over the front seats seemed like a great idea allowing some of the outside sights and sounds to reach us. Once all of these preparations where complete we re-entered the Jeep and drove on down the beginning of the trail. The surrounds where just as amazing as the day before with new and different trail experiences such as a creek crossing and steeper and longer rock ledges to climb over.
Still we were able to climb up these ledges without a great deal of difficulty although there was one we passed that we would be going over on the way back down the trail after reaching the top that looked quite precarious and maybe even more dangerous. Not to worry about it now as there was plenty of trail ahead of us to reach the top. Working our way up and over numerous rocks while avoiding trees we continued up the path without a great deal of difficulty. There were some challenging spots along the way creating an increasingly fun adventure. Eventually we rounded a corner and there was the end.
Approaching the final few feet, the view in before us became almost unbelievable. Now we understood why this trail is named Top of the World. That’s what it feels like as you look out over grand vistas of red tinted rock sculptures with snow capped mountains behind them all the while viewing them from the top of a cliff that drops hundreds of feet below to green valleys below. Parking the Jeep near the edge we got out and just stared at this unimaginably beautiful landscape. Definitely a trail worth driving on to get to this overlook. A short time after reaching the top, a group of Jeeps rounded the bend below so we took some pictures and moved off of the edge so that others could have this experience as well.
While walking around these rock ledges we noticed just how much of a drop off it is and how abrupt the edge was and began to wonder how stable these rocks on top are. Finding out was not something of interest. It was at this point we realized just how far we climbed up during the course of this trail nearly 19 mile trail. It didn’t seem like we were increasing in altitude the over 3,000 feet it goes up. It would have been more difficult to leave this overlook but there were plenty of other vehicles and people giving us incentive to begin our decent before there was more traffic slowing down our adventure. So we turned around and took a different route, climbing down the trail back towards the trailhead.
Going down some of these rock ledges was a different experience. It’s one thing when you’re looking up at them but going down you often can’t see how deep they are. This creates a couple of choices to make before venturing down each step. Get out and survey the trail to find your best path or just chance it and begin crawling down them. We chose both of these options at times having become accustom to the characteristics of the Top of the World trail. Typically we able to maneuver over each one without a lot of difficulty. However there was this one spot that caught us by surprise.
We were climbing down and then needed to crawl up a fairly large rock. Coming down was typical of what we were experiencing without any issues. The trail leveled out briefly allowing us to get in position to get up the next large rock surface. One tire was up on the rock and we were working the second front tire when the Jeep began to slide and off the second tire came putting us at a very uncomfortable angle. It felt as though the vehicle was near the tipping point and it was a long ways down if it went. Fortunately we stopped moving buying a little time to attempt getting out of this situation. Working the foot off of the brake to see if we could gently roll backwards towards where we came from worked bringing with it a slight sigh of relief. Putting the Jeep in reverse and ever so slowly letting off of the brake once more we began to crawl back off of this rock and became leveled out once more. With hearts racing we attempted to go back up this rock in front of us with a slightly different position which worked well allowing us to more easily continue on down the trail. The picture below is from a 360 camera which was mounted on the dashboard. Looking at the horizon behind us you can see how much of an angle the Jeep was at. All ended well and we made it back to the trailhead without major incidence. Another adventure filled trail surrounded by the awing sights of Utah!
Off Roading in Canyonlands
A unique way to explore Canyonlands National Park in Utah is through their off road trails. The Elephant Hill trail runs through the Needles district which is in the southern portion of this beautiful landscape. As with many places in Utah the scenery is amazing. Around many turns or over hills reveal much to see and take in. After entering Canyonlands we needed to stop at the visitor’s center in order to obtain a free permit to travel their off road trail. There are a limited number of those given out each day and my friend and I were lucky enough to obtain one for this beautiful, sunny day.
It was time to hit the trail so we stopped at a pulloff on the way to the trailhead to get the Jeep ready for some rock crawling adventures. In a short time we had the tires aired down and the suspension prepared for the trail. While stopped I had to photograph some of this incredible scenery in this beautiful park. A few minutes more and we were heading to Elephant Hill.
The trail gets right into the difficult portion with steep climbs and sharp turns. There’s no mistaking this for a casual gravel road. In no time at all we had climbed to the top of Elephant Hill and began to wonder what was left for a challenging four wheel vehicle. Fortunately there was plenty more to enjoy. Along the way we took time to park the Jeep and take in the incredible views all around us. The top is relatively flat and extends for a bit of a distance allowing you to look around and see the different rock formations and canyons leading to the reason for this park.
Near the end of this plateau there’s a sign directing vehicles towards the trail. This is the only place there was a sign indicating the trail goes down through here. I found it entertaining that the icon was of a Jeep. Once getting part way down the hill it was obvious why. A sharp turn requiring off road vehicles to back through a portion of the trail along with tight turns while climbing rocks is already challenging enough. To do this with a truck which has a longer wheel base is even more difficult to near impossible. There was a Toyota Tacoma coming up the hill forcing us to wait at the top for awhile as it grappled with these tight turns up steep rocks. More than once we listened to tires screeching as it tried to make it up. Once at the top the driver looked extremely uneasy and glad to have finally made it through proving it is possible. Just not for the faint of heart as we had passed the drivers wife earlier in the trail walking away from this portion unable to watch as the Tacoma struggled to get to the top.
During a portion of the trail we were warned of some tight areas that could lead to damage on vehicles. As we approached one of these we were unsure of being able to make it through. Approaching this tight canyon slowly it became apparent the Jeep would get through with a bit of room on each side but very little opportunity for errors to avoid rubbing against the canyon walls. It was fun to glide through and fortunately the top comes off it we got stuck so we wouldn’t be trapped inside the vehicle.
Canyonlands National Park offers some amazing views with so many different rock formations and colors all around. I could have spent hours just taking in all of these views of the area landscapes studying the different types of rocks and rock formations. But there’s still a lot of trail left and much to see so on down the trail we went.
Much of the trial consists of rock ledges to climb over which aren’t extremely difficult but add to the fun while traveling through this beautiful park admiring the views both up close and off in the distance. Some of those views can become a bit distracting so thankfully accommodates in some places. Otherwise you could stop every few minutes just to look around and never drive the entire trail in one day.
Earlier in the day, while waiting for the Toyota Tacoma to make its way up Elephant Hill, we decided to grab lunch as we had plenty of time before being able to continue on the trail. It was an amazing spot to eat surrounded by all these beautiful rock formations under the big blue sky. Even though lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, and an apple (so nothing fancy), I would take that every day with cool sunny skies overlooking the canyons instead of eating a warm meal trapped between four walls inside. As the day continued on we enjoyed climbing over numerous rock ledges and dirt roads all the while enjoying views from the top and bottom of the canyons while taking in a few short hikes here and there completing our day at Elephant Hill on the first full trail of an off road adventure.
Getting to Moab, and the First Trail
Waking up from the last night on a soft bed for several more nights, it was time to grab something to eat, stop at a grocery store to complete the next weeks meals, and hit the road to Moab. It was a cool morning in Cedar City, Utah with fresh snow up in the mountains making for a beautiful landscape. Driving up into those mountains resulted in rain changing over to snow near the summit making for a gloomy drive and yet fun to see a little different weather from desert areas below. After getting over the top and descending the clouds once again began to separate allowing sun to spread across the amazing scenery of Utah.
Continuing east through Utah, the increasing sun highlighted the incredible landscapes that appeared around every corner along with warm up the afternoon temperatures. All of these canyons are why I consider Utah to be National Park central as there are so many in close proximity to one another in this state. We stopped for a brief chance to get out and stretch our legs and take in some of the sights at Devil’s Canyon Overlook just off of Highway 70. Well worth the few minutes it takes to pull off the highway and walk to the Canyon overlook.
Returning to the Jeep and getting back on the highway we were able to soon see the red rock canyons typical of the Moab area. Excitement grew knowing that these were the types of areas we would soon be exploring with the Jeep which had been in the planning for many months and now they were there right in front of us. Arriving in Moab mid afternoon we went straight to the campground to find our spot and set up the tent getting ready to reside here for the next few days. With daylight still left it was time to go see downtown Moab and even scout out the first trail planned for the next day.
A brief scouting of Fins N Things revealed the trail was split into 2 parts, one of which could only be traveled during daylight hours. After a brief discussion about wanting to return to the campsite for food and an evening fire, we decided this first portion of the trail wouldn’t take very long and we would still have time for a nice fire before turning in to prepare for the next day on the trail. The recreation area fee was quickly paid and we were off to a pull out not far away to prepare the vehicle for an off road adventure. Those preparations include removing air from the tires and releasing the sway bar supports which allow the front tires to move freely over rocks.
Twenty minutes later we were taking in our first trail adventure of the week experiencing the fun of off roading in Moab. The difficulty level of this first trail was rated as the easiest of those we were planning on attempting according to the Jeep Badge of Honor app which seemed like a good place to start and learn how to navigate in this terrain. It was a fun portion of the trail with some steep rocks to climb along with some nice rock ledges to traverse. What made this trail so amazing was the setting it was in while climbing up and down these rocks. The landscape all around consisted of beautiful red rocks and snow capped mountains all in the evening sunlight. What a great ending to a travel filled day in this spectacular part of the United States! Next stop: Elephant Hill in Canyonlands National Park.
