Scouting for Jeep Trails

We have a Jeep reserved for tomorrow, so we went out today to check out some trails and make a plan for tomorrow.  The guy at the rental place recommended Hell’s Revenge and Fins ‘n’ Things in the Sand Flats Recreation Area, although several other people thought those were for more experienced off-road drivers.  We were told that we could drive Sand Flats Road in our car, so we went there first to see what the trails looked like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first trail we came to was Hell’s Revenge . . . and it looked a little intimidating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, we probably won’t try that one!

We passed a few campsites,

and then came to the Fins ‘n’ Things Trail. 

This one looks a little easier, so we may try it!  Nicolas and Bryce definitely want to!

As we were driving out of the loop, we saw these guys turning in, and we figured they were probably heading to Fins ‘n’ Things, so we followed them back in!

We watched as they entered the trail,

and as they climbed the slickrock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued along the Sand Flats Road, climbing in elevation as we progressed, and passing through some narrow passageways.

We passed by the Porcupine 4x4 Trail, the Porcupine Rim Trail, and the Juniper Campground, and continued up the mountain road . . . at it got steeper and curvier!

The road was still pretty smooth, so no problem for the car, but it was getting narrow and we were hoping that we didn’t meet anybody coming the other way!

We probably could have continued, but there weren’t anymore trails to look at, and Tom didn’t want to stress the car too much on the way down . . . as it was we had a 10% grade to deal with!

Tom kept his eye on the road on the way down, and carefully maneuvered through the numerous switchbacks, and we made it down the grade with no problem . . . I’m glad we got the brakes replaced back in Albuquerque!

 

 

On the way back down, we stopped at the Porcupine Rim Trail and took a short walk along the trail,

after a stop in the bathroom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This 4x4 trail is definitely NOT one to take the car on!

Along the way, we found some interesting crevices in the rock . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way back out of the Recreation Area, and had a great view of Moab on the way out!

Another trail that we’ve had lots of recommendations on is Shafer Trail.  We wanted to make sure we knew where it was, so we headed north out of Moab until we reached Potash Road.

Potash Road follows the Colorado River along the base of the canyon, with the canyon walls rising up along the side of the road.

 

Potash Road is an easy, paved drive, and we passed by several Ancient Indian Writings,

and Jug Handle Arch.

We saw this Police Helicopter circling over us several times, and were glad they weren’t looking for us!

Based on what we saw today, and some people we talked to, we think we have a pretty good plan for tomorrow . . . check back to see how we do!