2016 Rock Therapy: Trails

Dovetailing this Trails thread with the main RT thread found here.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess there might be some questions about trails from people who have heard of them but have never run them, and answers from people who have run them enough to know what they're talking about. Since RT draws plenty of Moab Noobs, why not put the trail questions and answers in one thread?

Copied from Bob's 2015 thread (which was copied for this year's IH8MUD post)):

TRAILS:

TRAIL GROUP SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 10-15 TRUCKS..multiple departure times will be added to popular trails if needed

ALL TRAIL RUNS WILL MEET AT 8AM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED BY THE TRAIL LEADERS OR THROUGH UNANIMOUS DECISION OF THE GROUP RUNNING THE TRAILS
PLEASE RESEARCH THESE TRAILS BEFORE SIGNING UP OR ATTEMPTING THEM!!!!

IN THE END, ALL RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITH YOU! IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS....ASK ASK ASK!

useful links
GPS Tracks: http://www.myxj.net/blog/utah-gps-tracks/
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php
http://www.rr4w.com/trails.cfm
http://www.4x4trails.net
http://www.utah.com/offroad/moab_area.htm
http://www.4x4now.com/mu4wd.htm
throw up some requests

click here for an explanation of the ratings used by traildamage.com on the following trail descriptions

According to traildamage/4x4trails rating system of 1-10, basing categories off the higher end of the rating range within the trail description and higher of the two trail reporting websites (traildamage.com and 4x4trails.net)

Ratings 6/7+
The Pickle 10
Kane Creek (note: current trail conditions rank the trail higher than 6 TD shows, see 4x4trails.net, rating it a 7 primarily due to the condition of the final rock hill)
Poison Spider (6 on TD, 8 on 4x4)
Golden Spike (8 both TD & 4x4)
Gold Bar Rim (6 on TD, 7 on 4x4)
Cliff Hanger (7 on TD, 8 on 4x4)
Moab Rim (7 on TD, 8 on 4x4)
Hells Revenge (8 on both TD and 4x4) (rides easier than the rating though, high due to optional obstacles)
Steel Bender (8 on TD, 7 on 4x4)
Behind the Rocks (8 on both TD and 4x4)
Area BFE - good for night trail running (ranges from 3-10+, lots of trails and playgrounds)
Ten Mile Wash (7 on TD, due to the obstacles at the end)
Flat Iron Mesa (7 on TD)
Hole in the Rock (7 on TD) (60 miles round trip, FULL DAY or 2 DAY)
Metal Masher 5-9 rating (optional obstacles bring rating to a 9)
Top of the World (7 on TD) (Mach375 note: I just moved TOTW to the Difficult section, because it is getting tougher every year)
Rose Garden Hill (9 on TD)

Ratings 4-5
Elephant Hill (5 on TD)
Hey Joe Canyon (4 on TD)
Sevenmile Rim (4 on TD)
White Rim (4 on TD) (FULL DAY or 2 DAY 77miles)
Klondike Bluffs (4 on TD)
Porcupine Rim (5 on TD)
Pole Canyon Rim (4 on TD)
Delores River (4 on TD) more pics on a colorado 4x4 report
Strike Ravine (5 on TD)
Little Canyon 5
Fins & Things (5 on both TD and 4x4)

Ratings <=3
White Wash Sand Dunes (3 on TD)
Bull canyon (3 on both TD and 4x4) and Gemini Bridges (3 on both TD and 4x4)
Secret Spire (3 on TD)
Onion Creek (3 on TD)
Rock House (3 on TD)
Long Canyon (2 on TD)
Tusher Tunnel / Hidden Canyon (2 on TD)
Yellow Cat Flat (3 on TD)
La Sal Pass (2 on TD)
Lavender Canyon (3 on TD)
Beef Basin (3 on TD)
Boxcar Bridge (3 on TD)
Tower Arch (2 on TD)

...just to name a few options


2012 Trail Listing

http://www.areabfe.com/

BLM Maps

Traildamage

Trail leaders...


Meeting locations:
Hells Revenge: Parking lot just inside Sand Flats Recreation Area (Fee Area)

Fins and Things: Same as Hells Revenge

Moab Rim: In parking lot of the Moab Movie Theater on Kane Creek Road

Pritchett Canyon: In parking lot of the Moab Movie Theater on Kane Creek Road

Kane Creek: In parking lot of the Moab Movie Theater on Kane Creek Road

Poison Spider: Meet at the Poison Spider trailhead parking lot marked by the Dinosaur Tracks sign.

Trifecta: Meet at the Poison Spider trailhead parking lot marked by the Dinosaur Tracks sign.

Metal Masher: Meet at the staging area at the end of Gold Bar Rim trail off Hwy 191 across the street from the Bar M Chuckwagon.

Steel Bender: meet at O-Reilly's autoparts south of town off of Hwy 191 near Ken's Lake.

Behind the Rocks: Meet at BTR trailhead off of Hwy 191

Elephant Hill: (Early meeting time since it’s a long day) Meet at Area BFE upper lot. (Fee Required or Parks Pass)

Rose Garden Hill: Meet at Lions Park parking lot at the turnoff to hwy 128 near the bridge coming into town.

Top of the World: Meet at Lions Park parking lot at the turnoff to hwy 128 near the bridge coming into town.

Cliffhanger: In parking lot of the Moab Movie Theater on Kane Creek Road

Sevenmile Rim: From Moab drive north on Highway 191 until you pass the turn for Highway 313. The turnoff is a wide gravel area just after this turn on your left.

Any other trail not determined, meet at trailhead.

 

I plan on taking the long way into Moab again this year. Considering changing it up some from last year.

Last year I came in from Canyonlands via Lockhart (and into Canyonlands from Hite via Elk Ridge Road). Amazing drive, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. However, I'm always up for new experiences.

Anyone familiar with both sides of the Colorado and Green rivers tell me if coming in from the south via the west side of the Green river (through Horseshoe Unit of CNP) is as nice as Lockhart? Looking for scenery, isolation, and some driving challenges.

Are there any additional trails branching off either that would make one more preferable than the other (Elephant Hill off Lockhart being an excellent example......one of my eventual Must Do trails)?

 

I guess a comparison.
I loved Lockhart, ran it solo. The Elk Ridge Road was okay, nothing to write home about.
I have no experience with coming up the west side of the Green river, and am just wondering how it compares, if anyone would recommend it over or equal to Lockhart.

 

west side of GR as in san rafael desert/glen canyon region?

there's hundreds of trails over there, so you might have to narrow it down a bit

 

so if you did elk ridge, you did beef basin, elephant hill and lockhart?

again there's a lot of different options coming from the south, so you'd have to narrow that down

 

Yep. SR/GC area.
Didn't do Beef Basin (isn't that on the other side?...don't have my map in front of me now). My son opted to skip Elephant Hill so we could get to Moab sooner. Likely be just me this year, possibly with one or even two more rigs (@bmgreene ?).

Yeah, I know I'm asking a broad question about a very broad area. Gotta start somewhere!

I guess I'm looking for a good route that takes less than 3 days, has (in order) scenery, isolation, and some technical challenges, and is overall somewhat comparable to Lockhart.

I can certainly make up my own route easily, but I figured Those In The Know could help me get started by narrowing the options down a bit.

 

where are you coming in from? by zion? or page? or other?

how deep of a water crossing can you do/willing to do with your setup?

 

Zion is where I will be leaving I-15. Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP will be my first bit off pavement, then leave pavement for most of the rest of the trip when I take Cottonwood Canyon Road to access GSE (an area I'm quite familiar with). Likely end up near Bullfrog. It's from there I'm looking for suggestions.

My intake is routed to the cowl in front of the windshield. So basically water up to the headlights shouldn't be *too* much of a concern.

 

Very unlikely I'll actually pass through Zion. Subject to change should anyone joining me insist on visiting.

 

very nice...CCR was going to be my suggestion if you were coming up from the page area...

bullfrog over by halls crossing?

if so, shoot over to Hite and take that into the maze area, up the flint trail then north along lower san rafael rd...

or take poison spring canyon into GC NRA/Canyonlands and into the maze or up flint trail...

or up to hanksville and you can enter the swell by goblin valley and temple mountain...then explore the swell for a few days

or over to caineville to take caneville wash rd or coal mine road north to the muddy creek crossing and into the back side of goblin valley...then link into the swell via temple mountain

 

or if you want to stay south and take moki dugway up to natural bridges, then over to comb wash...take a side trip up arch canyon or hotel rock...then bust over elk ridge again and explore beef basin and enter the back way into elephant hill ("required" day permit now unless you have a camping permit, then it's included)

or go do hole in the rock

 

This is all the kind of stuff I was looking for! Thanks Bob!

Good info on the new day permit requirement. Do you know if I need to stop somewhere in person to pick it up? Or is it possible to do online?

I'll research these recommendations and see what piques my curiosity the most.

 

unclear whether you need to stop by the park office first or not, but i would hope you can obtain online and use a confirmation email as your permit...

http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/dayusepermits.htm

 

Great tip on Poison Springs. Looks like there's a couple of good routes across the Henry Mtns from the Burr Trail. That caught my eye!
I'm also liking the Moki Dugway and Comb Wash suggestion. I'm assuming you were inferring to take Snowflat Rd across? Looks like lots of cliff dwellings in that larger area......

 

from moki dugway down to the wash, there's usually permits required to access the good dwellings in there...but you can easily access house of fire and the tower ruins off rt 95...

if you're looking for ruins, you can also see a lot along butler wash which is also in that region (there's a map/brochure out there showing locations and descriptions...rough enough access road and hikes, so you don't see a lot of people)...if you're looking for a challenging trail and a ruin, check out hotel rock...who knows how much longer we'll have access to that via 4x4

if you haven't seen many ruins, please remember to not disturb the ruins and leave no trace...many people in the past have done damage to many great sites and risk "the man" closing access to many great historical sites.

i still have to finish up some edits on a trip we did last spring that hit up a lot of areas around there from north to south...basically elephant hill south through beef basin, over elk down to hotel rock, house of fire, comb wash, snowflat, above valley of the gods, moki dugway down and into the indian res by mexican hat...

snowflat was a fun road by itself with many silt sections

 

Looking good for a 2wd to be joining me (stock suspension, factory locker, sliders, likely a winch...... @bmgreene from the main RT thread).
In your opinion Bob, do you think he would be good to go on either your Poison Springs or Moki suggestions? Including Flint, or BB + EH + Lockhart? Without too much help from me? (Lockhart in that direction should be a piece of cake for 2wd, imo).

 

if he has a winch, make sure you are up front as an anchor point and you should be fine. the only issue might be EHill...SOB Hill would be a bitch possibly and the final climb up elephant hill will be stressing the shit outta his tranny...looks like he's an auto, so that's a plus..

i'm not 100% on poison spring as I have not yet been through there...we tried to hit it coming out of the maze region and missed the turn...went down hatch canyon instead, having to turn around at 11pm..i know there was a recent rock fall that took out part of the trail making passing a tricky task and from videos I've seen, 2wd might struggle a bit..but locker and winch might be ok...

flint should be doable...again be in front in case he needs an anchor..

going that way on lockhart should be doable as the tight canyon is downhill..

BB>EH at bobby's hole is another tough spot, but you'll be going downhill there, so that's not an issue...

I would not do hotel rock if you end up over there...

this is all assuming they he has good tires...the stock suspension might cause a few issues here and there with articulation and clearance

the safe bet would be, take Hite into GC NRA/Canyonlands, up flint trail, shoot over to temple mountain and explore the swell heading north..

if you hit Canyonlands, the trip into the maze isn't too hard, but can cause some issues in a couple spots, but taking your time, he could get through with some help if needed...but you can head up to the maze overlook and camp there, then hike down into the maze if you wanted to hike in there..

if you take moki>snowflat, again stay in front especially in the silty sections...that shit gets thick

if you have traction pads (maxtrax or other) that could help out with areas where he lifts a tire and needs a little extra grip

disclosure: I've only ran these trails with 4wd capable vehicles, so my opinions are a bit skewed possibly..


hope that helps

 

I'll definitely have new tires by then, and I'll at least have solid recovery points (I've got a US Offroad bumper waiting to install, tax refund should make a decent winch within budget for the near term assuming I can make time for the install/wiring) In a pinch, I've got the come-along kit for my hi-lift and 50' of chain although enough muscle to do a long pull that way is a big question mark. Experience-wise, I'm used to mountain trails/fire roads where clearance is the biggest factor but so far have known better than to go for anything that's really off-camber or likely to sink/dig in (I know that's where extra drive wheels get more important, and I'm not a big mud guy anyway) since I grew up in the Rockies where that's mostly the terrain. I do have my rear diff breather relocated over the rear fender but haven't moved my intake so probably don't want to get into water much over the axles if possible.

Plan at the moment is to bump up to 265/75/16 tires from the stock 265/70s. Any recommendations for a good trail tire that's still highway friendly and has a decent load rating? (taco is my daily driver and I don't get much chance for wheeling living so deep into L.A. but will be hauling a decent bit in the next couple/few years) I've been looking at Wrangler Adventure A/Ts with Kevlar but am open to most alternatives at this point.

Also, I may end up with a 1-2" lift (3" is still more aggressive than I want to go for a city/work truck though since it's that much more height to have to load lumber). If Toyota doesn't come through with a fix for the leaf recall by April, I'll probably take matters into my own hands. Would the OME add-a-leaf pack actually serve to reinforce my stock springs, or does it not really kick in until there's more load applied?

As far as permits, would the DOI inter-agency pass cover all of that, or are area-specific permits still needed?
https://www.doi.gov/tourists/get-a-pass

 

good info for water crossings in Utah, http://www.expeditionutah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1393