HOJeepster
New member
Some buddies and I just finished up an amazing Utah Overlanding trip, covering 120 miles of dirt trails. MORE HERE: http://www.theadventureportal.com/a-journey-through-canyonlands/
Here's the route:
Moab > Hurrah Pass > Lockhart Basin > the Needles district to > Elephant Hill > Bobby's Hole > Beef Basin > Moab
Day 1 we drove from Denver to Moab to a nice camp spot west of Hurrah Pass. Off the main road is a stand alone rock formation with caves to explore and camp fire rings to use. It's a sweet little oasis.
Day 2 we hit the trail.
The weather played a factor in this trip. We ran into rain and late afternoon thunderstorms. It seemed like it would get sunny during the simple sections of trail, then start to rain as we approach the more challenging obstacles, go figure.
The most challenging part was route finding the start of Lockhart Basin Road. We made a left turn south at the Chicken Corners sign, drove 0.1 miles, but then there were 3 different spurs...go figure we took the 2 wrong ones first, only to find the correct route 2 hours later. This was a good lesson in knowing your maps.
The uphill ascent up Lockhart Basin was a good introductory challenge to the days ahead. I'd rate these 4-6 in obstacle difficulty. The buddy with 295's realized quickly while flexing that he needed to trim his fenders here.
Jaws82: (big shout out to Jaws82 for taking some great photos during the trip. Check him out on IG)
The second night we ended up camping under Hatch Point above Lockhart Canyon. The panoramic views were amazing as we set up camp and enjoyed cold beers.
Day 3 we drove south along the easier, faster sections of Lockhart Basin. About 5 hours in, we hit a few more challenging obstacles - one including a down hill descent where a broken down Land Rover with two flat tires blocked the way. We offered our help, set up a winch line and max tracks, and towed the guy up to level ground. (On one of the winch pulls he forgot to put his truck in drive, causing excess tension on the line, which proceeded to misalign my front bumper alignment, only to be discovered over the next fews hours with a horrible clunky/rubbing sound against the fenders.) He planned on riding his mountain bike the 30 miles back to town to seek help. Not sure how that all finished up, but we wished the guy well and made sure they had what they needed.
The day included a stop and the Needles district visitor center, where we picked up our free day pass for Elephant Hill. Again, as we started the trail, the light rain started. Elephant Hill starts off quick. You immediately ascent a steep, difficult sandstone switchback road. We were all startled at the challenge of this trail. I'd rate this a solid 5-6 trail in the beginning. The trail then descends very steeply, nose down at least 45 degrees+. The entire route is quite amazing and beautiful really, I think I enjoyed this trail more than Lockhart for some reason.
Elephant Hill first 100 yards or so
Elephant Hill downhill
The Slot
We kept trekking this day and finished up all the obstacles along Elephant Hill to Devils Kitchen to Devils Lane and out towards Beef Basin. As we exited the park to the next uphill obstacle, there were 2 Jeeps broken down with a bad leaf spring. Seeing all this carnage today, we found a camp site for the night, had a raging bonfire party, and crashed for the day.
Day 4 After a slow start to the morning, our fist obstacle was faintly known as Bobbys Hole. I'd have to say, after scouting the hill, it should be called Intimidation Hill. This was a rather long, rutted ascent with not a lot of forgivenss. All in all, we all three made it up on our first attempts by keeping momentum going. I was glad to have gotten this obstacle done first thing during the day.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Q0Ho3Y3KI
BH:
We made our way down the leisurely roads of Beef Basin, checking out old ruins, and enjoying the random views. As we ascended towards the Henry Mountains, the weather turned to hail, and they roads turned into a greasy, clay mud pit. This proved to be a super challenging section, despite the easy rating, since our cars were sliding down the roads. We had zero traction...just skated our way down 3 miles of roadway. We all were glad to get down with that honky tonk bs.
We found a great creek side campsite within Indian Creek/Beef Basin Road.
Day 5 We broke down camp, aired back up, and hit the road back to Moab. It was snowing, making for an all around bad ass trip.
The entire 5 day trip ended up being over 120 miles of dirt road. Super amazing trip experience with a random group of people who I'd say become good company over those 5 days of mutual adventuring. Mutual interests do bring strangers together. :bigok:
Cheers, and hope you enjoy the story.
Here's the route:
Moab > Hurrah Pass > Lockhart Basin > the Needles district to > Elephant Hill > Bobby's Hole > Beef Basin > Moab
Day 1 we drove from Denver to Moab to a nice camp spot west of Hurrah Pass. Off the main road is a stand alone rock formation with caves to explore and camp fire rings to use. It's a sweet little oasis.
Day 2 we hit the trail.
The weather played a factor in this trip. We ran into rain and late afternoon thunderstorms. It seemed like it would get sunny during the simple sections of trail, then start to rain as we approach the more challenging obstacles, go figure.
The most challenging part was route finding the start of Lockhart Basin Road. We made a left turn south at the Chicken Corners sign, drove 0.1 miles, but then there were 3 different spurs...go figure we took the 2 wrong ones first, only to find the correct route 2 hours later. This was a good lesson in knowing your maps.
The uphill ascent up Lockhart Basin was a good introductory challenge to the days ahead. I'd rate these 4-6 in obstacle difficulty. The buddy with 295's realized quickly while flexing that he needed to trim his fenders here.
Jaws82: (big shout out to Jaws82 for taking some great photos during the trip. Check him out on IG)
The second night we ended up camping under Hatch Point above Lockhart Canyon. The panoramic views were amazing as we set up camp and enjoyed cold beers.
Day 3 we drove south along the easier, faster sections of Lockhart Basin. About 5 hours in, we hit a few more challenging obstacles - one including a down hill descent where a broken down Land Rover with two flat tires blocked the way. We offered our help, set up a winch line and max tracks, and towed the guy up to level ground. (On one of the winch pulls he forgot to put his truck in drive, causing excess tension on the line, which proceeded to misalign my front bumper alignment, only to be discovered over the next fews hours with a horrible clunky/rubbing sound against the fenders.) He planned on riding his mountain bike the 30 miles back to town to seek help. Not sure how that all finished up, but we wished the guy well and made sure they had what they needed.
The day included a stop and the Needles district visitor center, where we picked up our free day pass for Elephant Hill. Again, as we started the trail, the light rain started. Elephant Hill starts off quick. You immediately ascent a steep, difficult sandstone switchback road. We were all startled at the challenge of this trail. I'd rate this a solid 5-6 trail in the beginning. The trail then descends very steeply, nose down at least 45 degrees+. The entire route is quite amazing and beautiful really, I think I enjoyed this trail more than Lockhart for some reason.
Elephant Hill first 100 yards or so
Elephant Hill downhill
The Slot
We kept trekking this day and finished up all the obstacles along Elephant Hill to Devils Kitchen to Devils Lane and out towards Beef Basin. As we exited the park to the next uphill obstacle, there were 2 Jeeps broken down with a bad leaf spring. Seeing all this carnage today, we found a camp site for the night, had a raging bonfire party, and crashed for the day.
Day 4 After a slow start to the morning, our fist obstacle was faintly known as Bobbys Hole. I'd have to say, after scouting the hill, it should be called Intimidation Hill. This was a rather long, rutted ascent with not a lot of forgivenss. All in all, we all three made it up on our first attempts by keeping momentum going. I was glad to have gotten this obstacle done first thing during the day.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Q0Ho3Y3KI
BH:
We made our way down the leisurely roads of Beef Basin, checking out old ruins, and enjoying the random views. As we ascended towards the Henry Mountains, the weather turned to hail, and they roads turned into a greasy, clay mud pit. This proved to be a super challenging section, despite the easy rating, since our cars were sliding down the roads. We had zero traction...just skated our way down 3 miles of roadway. We all were glad to get down with that honky tonk bs.
We found a great creek side campsite within Indian Creek/Beef Basin Road.
Day 5 We broke down camp, aired back up, and hit the road back to Moab. It was snowing, making for an all around bad ass trip.
The entire 5 day trip ended up being over 120 miles of dirt road. Super amazing trip experience with a random group of people who I'd say become good company over those 5 days of mutual adventuring. Mutual interests do bring strangers together. :bigok:
Cheers, and hope you enjoy the story.
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