Gary's "Nothing Special" Moab trip

[Nothing Special]

Or is it Nothing Special's "Gary" trip to Moab? Either way, Gary has talked about wanting to go to Moab, and I've wanted to meet Gary. Lesley and I were planning our third trip to Moab this spring and we decided to see if Gary would be interested and able to meet us there. He was, so the trip is now planned for this June!

We've worked things out so far via e-mail, but this thread will be to help us keep stuff a little more accessible as the planning gets more detailed. And eventually it will turn into a trip report!

And Gary, I hope you have your seats reupholstered for the trip in June too!

[Nothing Special]

One detail to work out is what trails to do. Vacations need to be fun for everyone, and the fun evaporates pretty quickly when it gets too scary or vehicles start getting too beat up. "Too scary" and "too beat up" are relative to your experience and comfort level, so we need to find trails that aren't too hard or too scary for novice 'wheelers (I guess Cliffhanger and Pritchett Canyon are out!).

Gary, looking at the guide book you just got everything I'm going to suggest will probably be described as "difficult." But don't get scared off. "Easy" trails can be done in a 2WD car, and "moderate" can be done by a novice in a stock SUV. With Big Blue's higher clearance and front locker / rear Truetrac combo he'll be a lot more capable than a stock SUV. And with a spotter you won't have any trouble getting him over the easier of the "difficult" trails.

So Sevenmile Rim seems like a perfect first-timer's first trail in Moab. It has everything you want: some difficult spots that will require picking a line, some steep spots that will let you experience the incredible traction offered by "slickrock", and great views. But it does it without the difficult spots being too difficult, and without being on the edge of a cliff!

Lesley and I did this trail at the end of our first trip to Moab in 2019. That day we only followed the trail to about "waypoint 06" on the map in the guide book. At that point we made our way over to the Courthouse Rock trail to avoid the "tippy spot" listed. Since then I've seen a couple of videos of the trail, and they haven't included the tippy spot, so I'm thinking it might not be that bad (the "bad" places usually make the best video!). So what I'd like to do is continue on the trail. If the tippy spot seems like it will be too "not fun" we can turn back. But if not, at waypoint 08 Sevenmile Rim gets to the top of Wipeout Hill. I've wanted to try that for quite a while. If you end up wanting to take Big Blue down it will put us on a "moderate" trail back to the highway. And if not we can continue on Sevenmile. There is one "big dropoff" still ahead, but I've seen video of it and it looks like a good learning opportunity. And another good thing about Sevenmile Rim is that if you don't want to do that dropoff there are a network of other trails giving other routes out.

Here is a

in 2019. At about 1:40 is the scariest thing we did on that day. It won't look scary in the video (trust me, it will look different in person!). But hopefully seeing what a non-event steep hills are,you and Janey will have a little more confidence to tackle them yourself.

And here's a

of an experienced 'wheeler doing this trail with his novice wife driving her stock Wrangler Rubicon. At about 17:30 they go down the "big dropoff." She is definitely nervous doing it, but you can see how easy it actually goes. And in the end she describes Sevenmile as one of her favorite trails. (By the way, don't go looking for the Top of the World videos he references. I'll get to them a little later!)

Finally, here's a

(starting around 10:40). I am not expecting you to do this. I know you could if you want to. But if you do it will be the hardest /scariest thing I let you do on this trip, and I certainly wouldn't expect you to do it on the first day! Still, I wanted you to see it so you will have more info to make your decision if / when we get to it (and as noted above, we'll come in from the top, this video starts at the bottom). And don't worry about the first part of this video. I'm not taking Pluto on The Pickle, I definitely wouldn't have you take Big Blue there!

[Gary Lewis]

One detail to work out is what trails to do. Vacations need to be fun for everyone, and the fun evaporates pretty quickly when it gets too scary or vehicles start getting too beat up. "Too scary" and "too beat up" are relative to your experience and comfort level, so we need to find trails that aren't too hard or too scary for novice 'wheelers (I guess Cliffhanger and Pritchett Canyon are out!).Gary, looking at the guide book you just got everything I'm going to suggest will probably be described as "difficult." But don't get scared off. "Easy" trails can be done in a 2WD car, and "moderate" can be done by a novice in a stock SUV. With Big Blue's higher clearance and front locker / rear Truetrac combo he'll be a lot more capable than a stock SUV. And with a spotter you won't have any trouble getting him over the easier of the "difficult" trails.So Sevenmile Rim seems like a perfect first-timer's first trail in Moab. It has everything you want: some difficult spots that will require picking a line, some steep spots that will let you experience the incredible traction offered by "slickrock", and great views. But it does it without the difficult spots being too difficult, and without being on the edge of a cliff!Lesley and I did this trail at the end of our first trip to Moab in 2019. That day we only followed the trail to about "waypoint 06" on the map in the guide book. At that point we made our way over to the Courthouse Rock trail to avoid the "tippy spot" listed. Since then I've seen a couple of videos of the trail, and they haven't included the tippy spot, so I'm thinking it might not be that bad (the "bad" places usually make the best video!). So what I'd like to do is continue on the trail. If the tippy spot seems like it will be too "not fun" we can turn back. But if not, at waypoint 08 Sevenmile Rim gets to the top of Wipeout Hill. I've wanted to try that for quite a while. If you end up wanting to take Big Blue down it will put us on a "moderate" trail back to the highway. And if not we can continue on Sevenmile. There is one "big dropoff" still ahead, but I've seen video of it and it looks like a good learning opportunity. And another good thing about Sevenmile Rim is that if you don't want to do that dropoff there are a network of other trails giving other routes out.Here is a

in 2019. At about 1:40 is the scariest thing we did on that day. It won't look scary in the video (trust me, it will look different in person!). But hopefully seeing what a non-event steep hills are,you and Janey will have a little more confidence to tackle them yourself.And here's a

of an experienced 'wheeler doing this trail with his novice wife driving her stock Wrangler Rubicon. At about 17:30 they go down the "big dropoff." She is definitely nervous doing it, but you can see how easy it actually goes. And in the end she describes Sevenmile as one of her favorite trails. (By the way, don't go looking for the Top of the World videos he references. I'll get to them a little later!)Finally, here's a

(starting around 10:40). I am not expecting you to do this. I know you could if you want to. But if you do it will be the hardest /scariest thing I let you do on this trip, and I certainly wouldn't expect you to do it on the first day! Still, I wanted you to see it so you will have more info to make your decision if / when we get to it (and as noted above, we'll come in from the top, this video starts at the bottom). And don't worry about the first part of this video. I'm not taking Pluto on The Pickle, I definitely wouldn't have you take Big Blue there!

Bob - Thank you so much for the invitation! As we've discussed the timing is perfect as Janey and I will celebrate my 77th birthday on that trip. So I'm billing this as my birthday trip and I'll get to tick one more thing off my bucket list.

 

And yes, I hope the seats are done by then, but I should have an answer to that question by the end of tomorrow. That's about the last thing I think I want to do to Big Blue before the trip, although I'll probably think of something else before then.

 

As for the trails, I'll start watching/rewatching the videos, and get Janey involved - as appropriate. We discussed the trip with our son this evening and he said "You remember, she gets out and walks?" My answer was "Yep, both your mother and your sister did on Ophir Pass due to the shale causing the Jeep to slip a bit. But three years ago she didn't say a word as we went back up Ophir, so she's gotten a bit more brave over the years." To which she said "I was in the back seat with Leesa and she had her head between her knees scared to death, so I was afraid to say anything!"

 

So I'm not sure how this is going to go. But I'm glad we are starting out easy. Both she and I will need to get comfortable with what the truck will do.

 

Here's a list of things I am considering taking:

 

[Nothing Special]

Bob - Thank you so much for the invitation! As we've discussed the timing is perfect as Janey and I will celebrate my 77th birthday on that trip. So I'm billing this as my birthday trip and I'll get to tick one more thing off my bucket list.

 

And yes, I hope the seats are done by then, but I should have an answer to that question by the end of tomorrow. That's about the last thing I think I want to do to Big Blue before the trip, although I'll probably think of something else before then.

 

As for the trails, I'll start watching/rewatching the videos, and get Janey involved - as appropriate. We discussed the trip with our son this evening and he said "You remember, she gets out and walks?" My answer was "Yep, both your mother and your sister did on Ophir Pass due to the shale causing the Jeep to slip a bit. But three years ago she didn't say a word as we went back up Ophir, so she's gotten a bit more brave over the years." To which she said "I was in the back seat with Leesa and she had her head between her knees scared to death, so I was afraid to say anything!"

 

So I'm not sure how this is going to go. But I'm glad we are starting out easy. Both she and I will need to get comfortable with what the truck will do.

 

Here's a list of things I am considering taking:

 

Nothing we will do is as inherently scary as driving on a 2-lane highway with an approaching semi. There are so many things that can go wrong in that scenario that could lead to instant death. But very few people are actually afraid in that situation because they have experienced it many times before and haven't died yet!I haven't been on Ophir Pass, but from pictures I know it to be a fairly steep shelf road with a pretty loose surface. Like the 2-lane, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and if they do it's a long way down. But also like the 2-lane it's pretty easy to avoid most of the things that could go wrong, and the few others are very unlikely to happen. But unless you get some experience it might still be quite scary.Loose surfaces are scary because they take away a sense of control. Loose surfaces aren't very common in Moab, so that probably won't be a factor.Cliffs are scary because they are such an obvious danger. But at least at first we won't be dealing too much with cliffs. There are some on Sevenmile Rim (the "Rim" in the name is a clue!), but we won't be very close to any (the "tippy spot" might be an exception, which is why I want to be clear that we don't need to do it). And Top of the World has its iconic view point / photo op. But that's completely optional, stay as far from it as you want. The fins in Hell's Revenge and Fins 'N Things will definitely be an exception, but they aren't all that high (falling off would ruin your day, but not end your life), and my hope is that by that point you will both have had the opportunity to gain enough confidence in the traction that they will be exiting rather than terrifying. And if not, as I've promised I won't make you do anything you really don't want to do.Steep hills are scary because they also take away a sense of control and also have an obvious danger. But we'll try to ease into them to try to keep it exciting but not terrifying. Sevenmile Rim has very few required steep hills and none of them are that high. Top of the World is similar. Hell's Revenge? I hope we can do that, but we'll have to see. Fins 'N Things isn't quite the iconic trail that Hell's Revenge is, but it's similar without having so many of the steep hills (and again, not as high) until you get to the fins at the end, and those are easy to bypass. Also size is an advantage on hills. A longer, wider platform is more stable, so anything Pluto can do will be even easier for Big Blue. I'm pretty sure that Big Blue even has a lower c.g. which will also help you.Technically difficult sections can also be scary when they seem like they might tip you over or break something. But we're going to avoid the trails and obstacles that really have any chance of doing that, so again, trying to stay in the "exciting" zone without getting toward terrifying.But none of us really know how this will go. I hope that both of you will be able to push your comfort zones a bit because I think you will both enjoy it if you do (but maybe you more than Janey?). But I'm serious that we won't do something if you say "no."

[Gary Lewis]

One detail to work out is what trails to do. Vacations need to be fun for everyone, and the fun evaporates pretty quickly when it gets too scary or vehicles start getting too beat up. "Too scary" and "too beat up" are relative to your experience and comfort level, so we need to find trails that aren't too hard or too scary for novice 'wheelers (I guess Cliffhanger and Pritchett Canyon are out!).

Gary, looking at the guide book you just got everything I'm going to suggest will probably be described as "difficult." But don't get scared off. "Easy" trails can be done in a 2WD car, and "moderate" can be done by a novice in a stock SUV. With Big Blue's higher clearance and front locker / rear Truetrac combo he'll be a lot more capable than a stock SUV. And with a spotter you won't have any trouble getting him over the easier of the "difficult" trails.

So Sevenmile Rim seems like a perfect first-timer's first trail in Moab. It has everything you want: some difficult spots that will require picking a line, some steep spots that will let you experience the incredible traction offered by "slickrock", and great views. But it does it without the difficult spots being too difficult, and without being on the edge of a cliff!

Lesley and I did this trail at the end of our first trip to Moab in 2019. That day we only followed the trail to about "waypoint 06" on the map in the guide book. At that point we made our way over to the Courthouse Rock trail to avoid the "tippy spot" listed. Since then I've seen a couple of videos of the trail, and they haven't included the tippy spot, so I'm thinking it might not be that bad (the "bad" places usually make the best video!). So what I'd like to do is continue on the trail. If the tippy spot seems like it will be too "not fun" we can turn back. But if not, at waypoint 08 Sevenmile Rim gets to the top of Wipeout Hill. I've wanted to try that for quite a while. If you end up wanting to take Big Blue down it will put us on a "moderate" trail back to the highway. And if not we can continue on Sevenmile. There is one "big dropoff" still ahead, but I've seen video of it and it looks like a good learning opportunity. And another good thing about Sevenmile Rim is that if you don't want to do that dropoff there are a network of other trails giving other routes out.

Here is a

in 2019. At about 1:40 is the scariest thing we did on that day. It won't look scary in the video (trust me, it will look different in person!). But hopefully seeing what a non-event steep hills are,you and Janey will have a little more confidence to tackle them yourself.

And here's a

of an experienced 'wheeler doing this trail with his novice wife driving her stock Wrangler Rubicon. At about 17:30 they go down the "big dropoff." She is definitely nervous doing it, but you can see how easy it actually goes. And in the end she describes Sevenmile as one of her favorite trails. (By the way, don't go looking for the Top of the World videos he references. I'll get to them a little later!)

Finally, here's a

(starting around 10:40). I am not expecting you to do this. I know you could if you want to. But if you do it will be the hardest /scariest thing I let you do on this trip, and I certainly wouldn't expect you to do it on the first day! Still, I wanted you to see it so you will have more info to make your decision if / when we get to it (and as noted above, we'll come in from the top, this video starts at the bottom). And don't worry about the first part of this video. I'm not taking Pluto on The Pickle, I definitely wouldn't have you take Big Blue there!

Ok, I've watched all of those videos and reviewed your earlier trip. WOW!

Seven Mile looks great. I'm tempted to show the video of the couple with the two Jeeps to Janey, but I want to watch it again a time or two before I decide to do that. The thing I like about it is that it shows and discusses the scenery, which will be a plus for her as opposed to the climbs and descents.

As for Wipeout, thank you but no thank you! That's way beyond what I want to do, or think I could do. But it was fun watching the video anyway.

[Nothing Special]

Ok, I've watched all of those videos and reviewed your earlier trip. WOW!

Seven Mile looks great. I'm tempted to show the video of the couple with the two Jeeps to Janey, but I want to watch it again a time or two before I decide to do that. The thing I like about it is that it shows and discusses the scenery, which will be a plus for her as opposed to the climbs and descents.

As for Wipeout, thank you but no thank you! That's way beyond what I want to do, or think I could do. But it was fun watching the video anyway.

We're going to be right at Wipeout Hill, which is a "trail" I've wanted to do for a long time, so my main thought there is to take Pluto down and back up and then continue on Sevenmile. It's not so hard that I would tell you not to do it. But it doesn't surprise me in the least that you don't want to do it!

[Gary Lewis]

We're going to be right at Wipeout Hill, which is a "trail" I've wanted to do for a long time, so my main thought there is to take Pluto down and back up and then continue on Sevenmile. It's not so hard that I would tell you not to do it. But it doesn't surprise me in the least that you don't want to do it!

If this is Day 1 I think I'll watch you do it as I won't be ready for anything that steep/hard by then.

[Nothing Special]

If this is Day 1 I think I'll watch you do it as I won't be ready for anything that steep/hard by then.

Lesley will be watching as well!

[Nothing Special]

Lesley will be watching as well!

The trail I'm thinking of for day 2 is Top of the World. This is the most technically challenging trail I think we'll do, but I still think it will be a good one for only the second day. Having said that, I was on it in 2019. I've heard that it's gotten harder since then, but one of the videos I link below is from last spring. It's definitely harder, but to my eye it looks like that's mainly because of the mud and snow. It's usually dry out there, so I don't think we'll have that. Still, if I'm surprised and it is harder than we want, we can always find something else to do.

But even going on the belief that we won't have to make a new plan, as you watch these videos I'm sure there will be things that you don't think you can do. I hope you can keep an open mind and give them a try. For one thing, there's nothing on this trail that's high risk. There are some relatively high ledges to climb (and then come back down). But the hill they are on isn't at all steep, and the trail is WIDE, with bushes on the edges rather than cliffs! So you just take it slow. If you can't make it up a ledge you're just going to spin tires. So you back up and take another line. Or maybe we stack a couple of rocks. And I did use my winch once (well, twice, but the second time didn't count!).

There might be a couple of places that Janey won't want to ride, but I don't think there will be that many, and I think they'll be pretty short. Our video of this trail is only about 8 minutes long, because Lesley didn't need to get out much!

At the top of the trail is an incredible overlook, with a good place to get a photo no one will believe! But this is the only cliff on the trail, and it's completely optional. You don't need to get any closer to it than you want. And it's basically pavement up there, smooth solid rock.

Here's

. At about 1:45 I'm going up the "bypass" to the hardest section of the trail. That's where I chose to winch. The top was a little steep, and the winch was going to be an easy way up. But honestly, I think the main trail is easier than what they call the bypass. At the end of this video I go down that. And in the other videos you can see people go up it.

By the way, around 3:00 in this video is where I have the most trouble (not counting where I winched). You can see how tame that is. And that's actually the second time I drove up that ledge. I did it easily the first time, and then backed down since we didn't get any video the first time. And I didn't get the same line! So yes, there will be places on this trail that will make you work a little bit to get up them. But not an awful lot of them, and they aren't scary.

Here's a

of the guy in the Sevenmile Rim video (with his son this time). From 7:55 to 10:30 they are getting all the Jeeps up the hardest spot (the part where I took the "bypass" around). Again, not a cake walk, but not really any risk of anything bad happening. And some of those Jeeps are really built, but I think the white one is on 33" tires, and he makes it look pretty easy.

From 15:40 - 18:50 they are going back down the "back" side of the loop. I'd like to do that sometime, but I'm thinking on this trip we'll go down the same way we go up. That's what Lesley and I did in 2019, and the back side definitely looks more challenging.

And

from 2023 of the same couple as the Sevenmile video, but this time just in his Jeep (but with her driving). This is the one where the trail is definitely harder, but I think mostly because of the mud and snow. From 8:10 - 9:30 they are at that hard spot. And from about 17:30 on they are on the back side of the loop.

One other warning about watching this video is that they definitely are taking "extra credit" lines at times. 10:50, 12:30 and 14:30 are a few places where I'm pretty sure I see an easier line. Nothing wrong with taking harder lines if you want the challenge, but nothing wrong with taking easier lines either.

So take a look. Yes, it's a difficult trail, but it's not at all sneaky or treacherous about it. You can tell where it'll be a "good learning opportunity" and it won't try to make you pay too much for the education!

Also, as I said, this is the hardest trail I intend to take you on, so don't worry about day three ramping it up farther. It won't. As I've said, I'd like to take you on Hell's Revenge. While that's definitely an easier trail than Top of the World, it is scarier. So I think it's the better one to leave for later in the trip, after you and Janey have both hopefully been able to build up some confidence. But don't worry about Hell's Revenge yet, that'll be a topic for another day!

And I'll wrap up this post reminding you that I'm not going to force you to do anything you really don't want to do.

[Gary Lewis]

The trail I'm thinking of for day 2 is Top of the World. This is the most technically challenging trail I think we'll do, but I still think it will be a good one for only the second day. Having said that, I was on it in 2019. I've heard that it's gotten harder since then, but one of the videos I link below is from last spring. It's definitely harder, but to my eye it looks like that's mainly because of the mud and snow. It's usually dry out there, so I don't think we'll have that. Still, if I'm surprised and it is harder than we want, we can always find something else to do.

But even going on the belief that we won't have to make a new plan, as you watch these videos I'm sure there will be things that you don't think you can do. I hope you can keep an open mind and give them a try. For one thing, there's nothing on this trail that's high risk. There are some relatively high ledges to climb (and then come back down). But the hill they are on isn't at all steep, and the trail is WIDE, with bushes on the edges rather than cliffs! So you just take it slow. If you can't make it up a ledge you're just going to spin tires. So you back up and take another line. Or maybe we stack a couple of rocks. And I did use my winch once (well, twice, but the second time didn't count!).

There might be a couple of places that Janey won't want to ride, but I don't think there will be that many, and I think they'll be pretty short. Our video of this trail is only about 8 minutes long, because Lesley didn't need to get out much!

At the top of the trail is an incredible overlook, with a good place to get a photo no one will believe! But this is the only cliff on the trail, and it's completely optional. You don't need to get any closer to it than you want. And it's basically pavement up there, smooth solid rock.

Here's

. At about 1:45 I'm going up the "bypass" to the hardest section of the trail. That's where I chose to winch. The top was a little steep, and the winch was going to be an easy way up. But honestly, I think the main trail is easier than what they call the bypass. At the end of this video I go down that. And in the other videos you can see people go up it.

By the way, around 3:00 in this video is where I have the most trouble (not counting where I winched). You can see how tame that is. And that's actually the second time I drove up that ledge. I did it easily the first time, and then backed down since we didn't get any video the first time. And I didn't get the same line! So yes, there will be places on this trail that will make you work a little bit to get up them. But not an awful lot of them, and they aren't scary.

Here's a

of the guy in the Sevenmile Rim video (with his son this time). From 7:55 to 10:30 they are getting all the Jeeps up the hardest spot (the part where I took the "bypass" around). Again, not a cake walk, but not really any risk of anything bad happening. And some of those Jeeps are really built, but I think the white one is on 33" tires, and he makes it look pretty easy.

From 15:40 - 18:50 they are going back down the "back" side of the loop. I'd like to do that sometime, but I'm thinking on this trip we'll go down the same way we go up. That's what Lesley and I did in 2019, and the back side definitely looks more challenging.

And

from 2023 of the same couple as the Sevenmile video, but this time just in his Jeep (but with her driving). This is the one where the trail is definitely harder, but I think mostly because of the mud and snow. From 8:10 - 9:30 they are at that hard spot. And from about 17:30 on they are on the back side of the loop.

One other warning about watching this video is that they definitely are taking "extra credit" lines at times. 10:50, 12:30 and 14:30 are a few places where I'm pretty sure I see an easier line. Nothing wrong with taking harder lines if you want the challenge, but nothing wrong with taking easier lines either.

So take a look. Yes, it's a difficult trail, but it's not at all sneaky or treacherous about it. You can tell where it'll be a "good learning opportunity" and it won't try to make you pay too much for the education!

Also, as I said, this is the hardest trail I intend to take you on, so don't worry about day three ramping it up farther. It won't. As I've said, I'd like to take you on Hell's Revenge. While that's definitely an easier trail than Top of the World, it is scarier. So I think it's the better one to leave for later in the trip, after you and Janey have both hopefully been able to build up some confidence. But don't worry about Hell's Revenge yet, that'll be a topic for another day!

And I'll wrap up this post reminding you that I'm not going to force you to do anything you really don't want to do.

I'm watching the videos, in order, and will comment:

• Your Top Of The World: YIKES! Ok, I'll get, and hopefully keep, an open mind. But are you sure Big Blue is capable of doing that? Some of those places look like the long wheelbase may cause problems.

• TrailRecon: Yes, the white Jeep may be on 33's, but doesn't he still have more ground clearance? Anyway, he made it so maybe I can? But that down stretch looks tough!

• Regina, of TrailRecon, driving TOTW: No chance I'm showing Janey that. "Brand new 392 engine under the hood, which I enjoyed listening to growl and rumble all day long." "This is probably the hardest trail you'll ever 'wheel... And actually on the way down it is much harder." The stuff at 13 minutes looks like more than BB could do? Those big tires look like they make a big difference, especially in the yuk.

Ok, I'm not sure about TOTW, but let's see what the first day is like. May Big Blue, and I, are better than I think.