Norm's rocky road in the desert

Written by Norm....

Off-roading is a major activity in and around Moab.  Besides the obvious mountain biking trails, there are hundreds of miles of trails specifically for ATV’s and high clearance heavy duty suspension Jeeps.  This has piqued my interest for a long time so no better place to give it a try.  I checked out a number of rental companies and went with one that allowed us to pick up the vehicle the night before with no added charge.  This was beneficial because all of the rental companies were almost 20 miles away but the trails were only a couple of miles from our campground.  The owner of the company was very helpful in outlining a suggested full day route; he was also very insistent that many trails were NOT to be taken.  Evidently his vehicles are not as indestructible as the competition, but that didn’t concern me much because I had never done this before anyway.  By picking it up in the evening, we could get a fresh start first thing in the morning. 

 

Alison does not do well sitting as a passenger for several hours.  Add to this the fact that the journey involved severe rock climbing with the resultant bouncing, twisting and jarring of your body.  Also, the windshield of this Jeep was very narrow and surrounding visibility was limited.  So it came as no big surprise that she opted to not go with me. 

 I headed out alone on to Gemini Bridges Trail wondering how I was going to cope with following detailed driving directions and taking pictures of the big adventure all while maneuvering up and over rock mounds, boulders and tight turns.  Oh well, you gotta deal with it! 

 

Above is a little movie Norm took during his crazy 4x4'ing day.

 After about a ¼ mile on a gravel road all of a sudden I was faced with nothing but seemingly insurmountable rock slabs going sharply up a hill.  Well, here we go!  I threw it into 4-wheel drive and eased on the gas.  Not much happened.  OK – I need more power (aka – more gas).  All 4 wheels engaged and the fun was on!  I did everything I could to hold onto the steering wheel as I was tossed around inside.

This rugged portion settled down after about ½ mile.  Seemed like an eternity.  Then it became a rough road with pot holes big enough to swallow a Volkswagen, kind of like driving in Boston in the spring. 

I was deep in a valley and had solid rock walls on either side of me that went up a couple of thousand feet.  Wowwww.  Gradually I was ascending to the top of those cliffs but with all of the twisting and turning, there did not seem to be much severe climbing.  There were a few scenic stops along the way and I did the mandatory “ check it out” and take a few pictures.  Every once in a while I would hit a patch of solid rock and climb 20 or 30 feet but nothing too strenuous.  It actually began to get a little boring and next thing you know, I was at the top and was turning onto a paved road. 

Side hike to Gemini bridges

I had to go into Canyonlands National Park and obtain a permit to embark on the next section of the adventure – the dreaded Schafer Trail.  When we were at Deadhorse Point State Park the day before, I had marveled at the vehicles on the canyon floor and wondered how they got down there.  Well, this was the way down. 

 I had been instructed to throw it into 4-wheel drive and then shift it into low gear because the descent is very steep.  Understatement!  This was a single lane rutted dirt road that hugged a cliff edge and wound around blind corners.  Although it was single lane, it was NOT single direction!  Thankfully I encountered very few oncoming vehicles but when I did, I made sure I was the one to pull into the hillside and stop and let them deal with passing me on the cliff side! 

Looking down at these narrow roads, I had a glimpse what was coming next..

 
Then came the white knuckle descent.  VERY tight hairpin turns.  I could see across the canyons to where the road was taking me, and it got scarier and scarier as I went down and around more and more blind corners!  It was several miles of steep downhill driving before I finally arrived at what I thought was the bottom. 

Finally I got a view of the Colorado River

The arrow shows where we were the day before looking down at the roads on the canyon floor.

It leveled off for many more miles and then I caught glimpses of the Colorado River, but it was several hundred feet below me.  I still had more descent ahead of me.  Several more patches of navigating rock slabs, crossing through a river bed and finally I was on the banks of the mighty Colorado.

I connected with another scenic paved road that followed alongside the Colorado and was treated to a pull-off that featured several clusters of native American rock art about 20-30 feet up from the ground.  Why did they have to draw so high and how did they get up there??

I  hurried back to the RV and picked up Alison to accompany me back into Moab, where we had left our car.  The entire journey lasted about 6 hours and it was a very memorable experience.  Would I do it again?  You bet!