Nothing Special's Moab Trip - 2021

[Nothing Special]

.... Yeah, I need more experience, for sure. Hope to get some of it later this year. Looks like maybe just my brother and I'll go to Ouray.

Ouray is a good place to gain experience. I know you remember but we discussed that a couple years ago, partly in this trip report. Engineer Mountain Road and Poughkeepsie Gulch are particularly good choices for gaining experience in Ouray, because they are the more challenging trails there. Have fun!!!

 

[Gary Lewis]

.... Yeah, I need more experience, for sure. Hope to get some of it later this year. Looks like maybe just my brother and I'll go to Ouray.

Ouray is a good place to gain experience. I know you remember but we discussed that a couple years ago, partly in this trip report. Engineer Mountain Road and Poughkeepsie Gulch are particularly good choices for gaining experience in Ouray, because they are the more challenging trails there. Have fun!!!

Thanks! I do remember what you said, so am thinking of this as a learning exercise as well as just lots of fun.

[Nothing Special]

Thanks! I do remember what you said, so am thinking of this as a learning exercise as well as just lots of fun.

Tuesday - Long Canyon Road, Canyonlands Natl Park, Shafer Switchbacks

Tuesday was a tourist day, but we still hit a couple of mild trails. Our main goal was to drive around the roads in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park, and do a few short hikes.

For people not familiar with it, Canyonlands Park has canyons in it. Duh! But the implications aren't as obvious. The Green and Colorado rivers meet in the park, so the canyons of those rivers divide the park into three sections: Island in the Sky is between the Green and Colorado canyons, Needles (where Elephant Hill is) is east of the Colorado, and the Maze is west of the Green - Colorado. And there's no good way to cross any of those canyons / rivers in the park, so it's a long haul to get from one district to another.

Anyway, to keep it a little more interesting we decided that rather than take hwy 313 to the park we'd take hwy 279 to Long Canyon Road and take that up to the park. I'm certainly not sorry we went that route, but I don't know that we'll do it again. In was an OK dirt road for the most part, and I did all but about 20 feet of it in 2WD (definitely needed 4WD for those 20 feet though!). We didn't pause for any pictures though. We didn't see anyone else on the road. If anyone wants to try this route, it's very doable for any high clearance 4WD.

Once we were in the park we hiked to Grand View Point, Upheaval Dome and Mesa Arch. All total we walked about 5 miles.

Then we decided to take another road less traveled to get back to Moab. The Shafer Switchbacks drop down from the mesa top and connect to Potash Road which goes through to the end of hwy 279 and back to Moab.

The Shafer Switchbacks were well worth it! I describe them as Black Bear Road for minivans, but I don't mean that in a demeaning way. Black Bear is an easy 4WD trail that's fun and scary because it's steep, narrow and has tight switchbacks. The Shafer Switchbacks is an easy gravel road that's fun and scary because it's steep, narrow and has tight switchbacks. I did the entire thing in 2WD, usually in 2nd or 3rd gear. Anyone can do this road in any vehicle, but some people might not want to (and no, I'm not saying you should drive a semi down it!). We saw probably 8 - 10 other vehicles on this road, going both ways. It was never too hard to get past someone when it was needed.

That brought us down to Potash Road. That was not well worth it. There are certainly some good views from Potash, but there are good views everywhere out there. It only took a little over an hour to go about 10 miles, but it was not a pleasant hour. The road is rough, but not challenging. It would have been better if I aired down, but I didn't want to take the time to air back up. If I had it to do over I'd still do the Shafer Switchbacks, but then I'd turn around, go back up and head back to Moab on hwy 313. Anyway, here are a couple of the views...

At that point were were pretty worn out from the hiking and Potash Road. So rather than going back to camp and cooking dinner we stopped in town and had burgers and shakes at the Moab Diner. A good way to end a good day!

[Gary Lewis]

Tuesday - Long Canyon Road, Canyonlands Natl Park, Shafer Switchbacks

Tuesday was a tourist day, but we still hit a couple of mild trails. Our main goal was to drive around the roads in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park, and do a few short hikes.

For people not familiar with it, Canyonlands Park has canyons in it. Duh! But the implications aren't as obvious. The Green and Colorado rivers meet in the park, so the canyons of those rivers divide the park into three sections: Island in the Sky is between the Green and Colorado canyons, Needles (where Elephant Hill is) is east of the Colorado, and the Maze is west of the Green - Colorado. And there's no good way to cross any of those canyons / rivers in the park, so it's a long haul to get from one district to another.

Anyway, to keep it a little more interesting we decided that rather than take hwy 313 to the park we'd take hwy 279 to Long Canyon Road and take that up to the park. I'm certainly not sorry we went that route, but I don't know that we'll do it again. In was an OK dirt road for the most part, and I did all but about 20 feet of it in 2WD (definitely needed 4WD for those 20 feet though!). We didn't pause for any pictures though. We didn't see anyone else on the road. If anyone wants to try this route, it's very doable for any high clearance 4WD.

Once we were in the park we hiked to Grand View Point, Upheaval Dome and Mesa Arch. All total we walked about 5 miles.

Then we decided to take another road less traveled to get back to Moab. The Shafer Switchbacks drop down from the mesa top and connect to Potash Road which goes through to the end of hwy 279 and back to Moab.

The Shafer Switchbacks were well worth it! I describe them as Black Bear Road for minivans, but I don't mean that in a demeaning way. Black Bear is an easy 4WD trail that's fun and scary because it's steep, narrow and has tight switchbacks. The Shafer Switchbacks is an easy gravel road that's fun and scary because it's steep, narrow and has tight switchbacks. I did the entire thing in 2WD, usually in 2nd or 3rd gear. Anyone can do this road in any vehicle, but some people might not want to (and no, I'm not saying you should drive a semi down it!). We saw probably 8 - 10 other vehicles on this road, going both ways. It was never too hard to get past someone when it was needed.

That brought us down to Potash Road. That was not well worth it. There are certainly some good views from Potash, but there are good views everywhere out there. It only took a little over an hour to go about 10 miles, but it was not a pleasant hour. The road is rough, but not challenging. It would have been better if I aired down, but I didn't want to take the time to air back up. If I had it to do over I'd still do the Shafer Switchbacks, but then I'd turn around, go back up and head back to Moab on hwy 313. Anyway, here are a couple of the views...

At that point were were pretty worn out from the hiking and Potash Road. So rather than going back to camp and cooking dinner we stopped in town and had burgers and shakes at the Moab Diner. A good way to end a good day!

Beautiful pics, Bob! I love that country! We've been in Canyonlands, but not on Potash Road. And we've been near that area several times from several different directions, including a float trip on the Green.

Anyway, I hope we can make it out there in the not too distant future. Your "travel guides" will prove very helpful, so please keep them coming!

[grumpin]

Beautiful pics, Bob! I love that country! We've been in Canyonlands, but not on Potash Road. And we've been near that area several times from several different directions, including a float trip on the Green.

Anyway, I hope we can make it out there in the not too distant future. Your "travel guides" will prove very helpful, so please keep them coming!

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

[Nothing Special]

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

Obviously most of the fun in a trip like this is the trip itself. But planning it ahead of time is also fun, and sharing it afterward is fun too. So you're helping me stretch my enjoyment of the trip! Thank you!

[Nothing Special]

Obviously most of the fun in a trip like this is the trip itself. But planning it ahead of time is also fun, and sharing it afterward is fun too. So you're helping me stretch my enjoyment of the trip! Thank you!

Wednesday - Metal Masher, Gemini Bridges

I told you before that Lesley hadn't thought we'd be able to top Elephant Hill (as opposed to when she first thought we couldn't get to the top of Elephant Hill...). She was similarly concerned about doing a trail called "Metal Masher." But long before we were done with this trail she decided that we had, in fact, topped Elephant Hill!

Metal Masher is listed as one of the most difficult trails in the guide book I have, but the book also says that there are bypasses to the most difficult parts. So I went in figuring we could probably get through it, even if we had to take most of the bypasses. As it turns out, there were quite a number of places where there were optional lines ranging from easy to "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!" but there were also quite a few places where the easiest line was far from easy. So it's not a beginner trail unless you go in figuring that you'll turn around when you get to something that's beyond your abilities. In that case it's fine, as long as you have a good understanding of your abilities! (This reminds me of a T-shirt I saw in a Moab store that said something like "Confidence: The feeling you get before you completely understand the situation.)

Metal Masher is accessed off the Gemini Bridges road. If you come in from the north you pass Gooney Bird Rock. According to the Bleepin' Jeep YouTube channel guys there's a legend that if you touch the Gooney Bird's toes (drive across the rock at the base) it will give you luck. The problem is, the legend doesn't specify if that will be good luck or bad luck (Doom, despair and agony, oh me). There are plenty of tire tracks across his toes, but there's also a "bypass" from people so intent on not touching his toes that they've gone completely off the trail to avoid it. I decided that I didn't want bad luck, and I hoped that I didn't need good luck, so I stayed off his toes (but did stay on the trail).

Here is one of those places with a range of options. I'm going up the intermediate route. To my left is a significantly easier route...

... but to my right is this! No, I didn't drive up it, this is just a poser shot. But it does give another view of the intermediate line that I did take. It's one of the more difficult lines I've taken, so it was fun to be gaining confidence (and finding that it wasn't just not understanding!).

Here's a few more fun sections. The first one shows the max flex I get out of my Bronco (yes, it hiked up the right rear tire just a bit).

Then we got to a section called "Mirror Gulch" (I'm guessing because the rocks on the sides have an appetite for mirrors). It was no gimme so I hiked it first to scout it out. While I was doing that a group of about 8 side-by-sides went up and gave me another perspective. They stopped for lunch at the top, which meant I now had an audience! Fortunately the Bronco was able to pretty much crawl the entire way up , only having to back up once. The second picture below is from the top of Mirror Gulch. This was the only place the whole week I wasn't able to crawl an obstacle. The rock was a little dusty so I was slipping too much. I backed up about a foot and bumped it lightly and scrambled up the second try.

There were a couple more fun spots after that before we got to an escape route a little before the bypass to "Widow Maker." We decided that we'd had enough fun from this trail, and were thinking getting back to the pool sooner rather than later might be a good idea after yesterday's more draining day. So we took the escape route. This points out another really nice thing about Metal Masher. Like Elephant Hill, a lot of the parts of the trail that aren't fun obstacles are smooth sand 2-tracks. So it doesn't beat you up the entire time.

Overall we spent about 4 hours covering 11 miles (not counting Gemini Bridges to get to the trailhead). Along with the group of side-by-sides we saw going up Mirror Gulch we saw two other side-by-sides come down it, another large group of side-by-sides were coming up as we were heading down toward the escape route, and there were 2 trucks at the trailhead when we went in (but we never saw them on the trail). So it wasn't deserted, but it wasn't very busy either.

The escape route gave us a good way to get back to the trailhead so we could pick up the Gemini Bridges trail again. We stopped and took the short hike to see the bridges. Lesley posed for a picture with confidence born from a lack of understanding (she freaked out a bit after getting up and looking at where she had just been sitting!)

If you're just looking to see Gemini Bridges, the road from the south is a lot smoother than the road from the north. We met a couple coming in from the north in a JL Wrangler who ended up turning around because the road was too rough and shelfy for them. They'd have had no trouble coming in from the south. Most people and all 'wheelers would have no trouble from the north either, but if you're just looking for a pleasant drive, come and go to the south.

So that was the best trail day of the trip. It was a lot of fun for me to push myself a bit and find I could do it. Lesley really enjoyed seeing the Bronco do some harder lines. And we both really appreciated not getting beat up. And Gemini Bridges was a great "bonus" along the way!

Edit to add in January 2023: Here's the video from Metal Masher

 

[Gary Lewis]

Wednesday - Metal Masher, Gemini Bridges

I told you before that Lesley hadn't thought we'd be able to top Elephant Hill (as opposed to when she first thought we couldn't get to the top of Elephant Hill...). She was similarly concerned about doing a trail called "Metal Masher." But long before we were done with this trail she decided that we had, in fact, topped Elephant Hill!

Metal Masher is listed as one of the most difficult trails in the guide book I have, but the book also says that there are bypasses to the most difficult parts. So I went in figuring we could probably get through it, even if we had to take most of the bypasses. As it turns out, there were quite a number of places where there were optional lines ranging from easy to "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!" but there were also quite a few places where the easiest line was far from easy. So it's not a beginner trail unless you go in figuring that you'll turn around when you get to something that's beyond your abilities. In that case it's fine, as long as you have a good understanding of your abilities! (This reminds me of a T-shirt I saw in a Moab store that said something like "Confidence: The feeling you get before you completely understand the situation.)

Metal Masher is accessed off the Gemini Bridges road. If you come in from the north you pass Gooney Bird Rock. According to the Bleepin' Jeep YouTube channel guys there's a legend that if you touch the Gooney Bird's toes (drive across the rock at the base) it will give you luck. The problem is, the legend doesn't specify if that will be good luck or bad luck (Doom, despair and agony, oh me). There are plenty of tire tracks across his toes, but there's also a "bypass" from people so intent on not touching his toes that they've gone completely off the trail to avoid it. I decided that I didn't want bad luck, and I hoped that I didn't need good luck, so I stayed off his toes (but did stay on the trail).

Here is one of those places with a range of options. I'm going up the intermediate route. To my left is a significantly easier route...

... but to my right is this! No, I didn't drive up it, this is just a poser shot. But it does give another view of the intermediate line that I did take. It's one of the more difficult lines I've taken, so it was fun to be gaining confidence (and finding that it wasn't just not understanding!).

Here's a few more fun sections. The first one shows the max flex I get out of my Bronco (yes, it hiked up the right rear tire just a bit).

Then we got to a section called "Mirror Gulch" (I'm guessing because the rocks on the sides have an appetite for mirrors). It was no gimme so I hiked it first to scout it out. While I was doing that a group of about 8 side-by-sides went up and gave me another perspective. They stopped for lunch at the top, which meant I now had an audience! Fortunately the Bronco was able to pretty much crawl the entire way up , only having to back up once. The second picture below is from the top of Mirror Gulch. This was the only place the whole week I wasn't able to crawl an obstacle. The rock was a little dusty so I was slipping too much. I backed up about a foot and bumped it lightly and scrambled up the second try.

There were a couple more fun spots after that before we got to an escape route a little before the bypass to "Widow Maker." We decided that we'd had enough fun from this trail, and were thinking getting back to the pool sooner rather than later might be a good idea after yesterday's more draining day. So we took the escape route. This points out another really nice thing about Metal Masher. Like Elephant Hill, a lot of the parts of the trail that aren't fun obstacles are smooth sand 2-tracks. So it doesn't beat you up the entire time.

Overall we spent about 4 hours covering 11 miles (not counting Gemini Bridges to get to the trailhead). Along with the group of side-by-sides we saw going up Mirror Gulch we saw two other side-by-sides come down it, another large group of side-by-sides were coming up as we were heading down toward the escape route, and there were 2 trucks at the trailhead when we went in (but we never saw them on the trail). So it wasn't deserted, but it wasn't very busy either.

The escape route gave us a good way to get back to the trailhead so we could pick up the Gemini Bridges trail again. We stopped and took the short hike to see the bridges. Lesley posed for a picture with confidence born from a lack of understanding (she freaked out a bit after getting up and looking at where she had just been sitting!)

If you're just looking to see Gemini Bridges, the road from the south is a lot smoother than the road from the north. We met a couple coming in from the north in a JL Wrangler who ended up turning around because the road was too rough and shelfy for them. They'd have had no trouble coming in from the south. Most people and all 'wheelers would have no trouble from the north either, but if you're just looking for a pleasant drive, come and go to the south.

So that was the best trail day of the trip. It was a lot of fun for me to push myself a bit and find I could do it. Lesley really enjoyed seeing the Bronco do some harder lines. And we both really appreciated not getting beat up. And Gemini Bridges was a great "bonus" along the way!

Edit to add in January 2023: Here's the video from Metal Masher

Man, your Bronco has some articulation! That, and the lack of overhang make a big difference to Big Blue. I'm in awe of the places you and your Bronco can go!

I don't have a desire to even attempt some of those places, but it is really cool to see what can be done. And the scenery is glorious.

I REALLY want to get out there at some point. Please keep the reports coming, this is so much fun to read/watch.

[grumpin]

Man, your Bronco has some articulation! That, and the lack of overhang make a big difference to Big Blue. I'm in awe of the places you and your Bronco can go!

I don't have a desire to even attempt some of those places, but it is really cool to see what can be done. And the scenery is glorious.

I REALLY want to get out there at some point. Please keep the reports coming, this is so much fun to read/watch.

Very nice scenery, I’d like to go in that area someday.

I’m impressed with your Bronco! And you!

[Nothing Special]

Very nice scenery, I’d like to go in that area someday.

I’m impressed with your Bronco! And you!

Thanks for the kind words!

I wanted to comment about your compliments about the Bronco's articulation and off-road capabilities, but I thought that would fit better in my project thread, so I stuck it there. The Reader's Digest condensed version is that I agree that it does work well, but it really isn't all that special (see my screen name!). It has a few mods that work well. And the size of an early Bronco is certainly not a bad starting point either.

As far as my abilities go, I'm a slow learner, but at least I'm trainable! I've been 'wheeling for 36 years. I'm not very good for having that many years of experience. But I'm not bad and I'm getting better. And the "getting better" is fun!

What's also fun is 'wheeling an unusual trail rig. Bronco's didn't used to be that, but now that they've become "collectible" you don't see many out there. And it's so easy to get a side-by-side or a Wrangler Rubicon that are more capable than my Bronco that you don't see much else on the trails. So when people see me with an old truck they don't expect me to take it where I do, or for me to do it as successfully as I do. It's a lot of fun to surprise them!