MOAB advice

[blackened_offroad]

Sounds like you don't like free market capitalism (sarcasm)

People are allowed to spend their money and enjoy what they enjoy however they want. If it means more crowds and increased prices well thats the price you pay.

correction: that's the price people who live in these towns pay for you and your entitled friends to escape their boring cubicle and mortgage lives.

You strike me as the same person who sees someone with little skill on a hard or moderate trail and then does not offer to help and criticized behind their back they are going on the wrong line etc - and then complain on here of people take overly built rigs on what are essentially dirt roads with some exposed slick rock......

You need to contribute or leave the forum - O wait free speech - carry on as you please :yo:

quite the contrary. I've pulled more tourists' vehicles out of snow and mud and off of rocks than you can imagine. I carry multiple sets of tow straps in my vehicle expressly for this purpose. I still think it's f*cking retarded to rent a jeep with 37's to drive on dirt roads.

for people that are so worried about "freedom", you sure do have a lot of opinions about what i'm allowed to say and think and do. you can get f*u*c*k*e*d.

 

[mrblah]

correction: that's the price people who live in these towns pay for you and your entitled friends to escape their boring cubicle and mortgage lives.



quite the contrary. I've pulled more tourists' vehicles out of snow and mud and off of rocks than you can imagine. I carry multiple sets of tow straps in my vehicle expressly for this purpose. I still think it's f*cking retarded to rent a jeep with 37's to drive on dirt roads.

for people that are so worried about "freedom", you sure do have a lot of opinions about what i'm allowed to say and think and do. you can get f*u*c*k*e*d.

opcorn:

you sound like an angry tourist... Oh excuse me....i mean part time tourist.

 

[ElectroBoy]

Since at least the 1970s there’s been an explosion of people doing “outdoorsy” activities. Bicycling, backpacking, hiking, camping, trail running, downhill skiing, X-C track skiing, back country skiing, mountain bikes in all their flavors. And all the varieties of motor sports on land, snow, and water. And the latest fad of “overlanding”.

All of these activities are attracting more people every year due to being glorified in various media like books, magazines, blogs, YouTube, FB, IG, on TV, etc where people can make money bragging about their accomplishments, post photos, and share the special places they’ve discovered. So if people have the money this attracts more of them to play with their toys in remote and mountainous locations.

The small communities near these places depend on these tourists as their economic lifeblood. A lot of them took a pounding last year during the covid shutdown when parks were closed then later opened with just a fraction of tourists allowed in. Now that restrictions are being lifted there’s an even greater surge to get out there.

So yeah, it’s crowded everywhere and tourists are filling these and other fun communities, driving up housing prices, rentals, food, gas, etc. To the joy of businesses and the distress of local residents. But Moab isn’t particularly special in this regard. Just ask the folks anywhere in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, NYC, San Francisco, Colorado, national parks like Yosemite, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, any ski town, etc. Tourists are loved and hated.

As [MENTION=96008]Engineer[/MENTION] said, and similar to the line in The Graduate: “One word: Capitalism”.

 

[Jivewalker]

Did you do any hiking in Capitol Reef? If so, what?

I have driven the roads and trails in the park, but never hiked in it except for the end of the Upper Mulley Twist trail where it goes from trail end to overlook.

Yes, we hiked a couple of trails in Capitol Reef ans also some overlooks. Cassidy Arch was my favorite hike there. It's about 4 miles or so round trip and pretty steep at the beginning with a decent elevation gain, but it was great. We also walked the pioneer register trail, was about a mile or so but through a pretty cool narrows type washed out slot canyon. Very hot with no shade. Did Hickmans bridge. All fairly easy hikes, but cassidy was maybe a moderate. Thats all I can remember for now. Was going to hike Sulphur Creek but there was possibility of flash floods so skipped it. Have 1200 pictures but all on my phone. I'll post some once I get them on computer.

Capitol reef reminds me a lot of Zion without the people. I told my wife it will only be a matter of time before Torrey, where we stayed near capitol reef, becomes like Zion.

 

[dezertbomber]

We really had a great time in MOAB. Our primary reason for the trip was hiking in Capital Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. We spent 3 days there. The Jeep day was just an add-on for my boys and they loved it. We hiked a ton of trails. Over the 10 days after that went up through Colorado and did the same, ending at RMNP and then leaving through Denver. Great trip. Downtown MOAB didn't seem that crowded to me, but then again I live in Charleston and am used to heat, tourists and traffic.

That's all fine and dandy, but all I care about is did you eat at Milt's???

 

[Jivewalker]

That's all fine and dandy, but all I care about is did you eat at Milt's???

Damn, forgot about Milts! I did, however, do the back door trail off Willow Springs road, that's how I stumbled on the Tower Arch trail I think.

 

[dezertbomber]

Damn, forgot about Milts! I did, however, do the back door trail off Willow Springs road, that's how I stumbled on the Tower Arch trail I think.

Next time for Milt's!

Glad the back door entrance worked out for you. Read your trip report and saw you went to Tower Arch, so was wondering if that's how you got there.

 

[mocat16]

glad you had a good time, OP.
I also just got back from Moab. this year did Fins n Things (again) and White Rim / Potash.

I did not want to do White Rim but I'm glad I did. incred scenery. But it is pretty boring after the switchbacks (except for that awesome river overlook).
After White Rim you really get the itch to actually wheel.
Fins n Things is the most fun you can have in your 4Runner, imo. Like every 10 seconds is a new obstacle *or* a sandy section of swerving back and forth in buttery powder, almost like you're in a wave runner. And the best part is it's located in Sand Flats! I was planning on doing Elephant Hill instead but it's just so g dang far away, which doesn't leave much time for the mandatory waterfall cool-down before sunset!

tl;dr edition: doing an easy road with good scenery *and* a more difficult trail where it's more obstacle-focused seems to be a good balance for a Moab trip. Like take your small child or elderly father-in-law on White Rim, and then the next day you can shred Fins n Things with some assorted bros.

White Rim:

 

[Xtremluck]

Yup. I guess I never responded to that post, LOL.

That said, I am one of those who refuse to equate offroading with rock crawling.

I divide offroad as follows and then grade out of 10 points.

1. Expedition, OZ style, or overlanding. 4R OR gets 10, Rubicon 6.
2. Desert Running (for normal people). 4R OR gets 8 with aftermarket suspension and Rubicon 6,if on top of the line suspension.
3. Rock Crawling (excluding extreme). 4R OR gets 8 and Rubicon gets 10.

So for me, a 4R offroad edition gets a total of 26 vs 22 for the Rubicon.

I just don't see the appeal of hardcore rockcrawling. Fins and Things, Elephant Hill and the like are fun but dancing on boulders, nah. I would much rather go (reasonably) fast in the desert.

Neither my Outback, nor my 4R has ever been passed by a Jeep in 4H territory. That's over 400 runs and Wranglers have been like 90% of all vehicles encountered.

EDIT: within those parameters, I like to have a balance which is why I have made limited mods to mine. Obviously everyone has their preferences and no type of offroading is more "real" or "better" than another.

I like the categories you broke out there, it's a good rating framework. For me technical trails are more appealing because they are like puzzles that require good problem solving skills. They also force you to use all that fancy equipment people tack on their trucks (Winches, Hi Lifts, traction boards etc). So in some ways its more satisfying to me. Either way I enjoy all forms of being on dirt