Fauxverlanding in Moab

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 02/24/2014 at 10:00 • Filed to: cruisin

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Hi, I'm HammerheadFistpunch and I own a Land Cruiser but you probably already know that because...well...i wont !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! about it. You also probably know that I think its pretty great, but you may not know that I gave up a very jalop turbo manual awd wagon (2005 forester xt) to get it. That's right, 3400 lbs of high speed save the manuals for a 5000 lb 4 speed automatic land crusher. Why? Without going into too much detail I feel like there is just too much variety in the world to lock myself into one car, or one driving mentality and, in addition, I felt a strong urge with the passing of my father to explore and find out what the under traveled parts of my own backyard, and beyond, had to offer me.

Don't think that I don't miss the canyon carver, or that i don't still love the joy of a real fun car but at this point in my life the thing that called to me most in the Jalopnoverse...was overlanding.

Because overlanding is about people not places and, well, because taking a 2 year old into a place 30 miles from anywhere without a backup plan is a stupid idea I asked a friend along in his 2012 Tacoma quad cab TRD; I knew he would be down.

Can I say what a treat it is having a friend that's always up for adventure? Seriously. It doesn't hurt that he, after our last trip to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , totally caught the overlanding bug and was excited to take his boy back into the wild.Bonus; His wife, a photographer, was coming along for the ride.

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The plan was to bomb down to Moab, get a couple of inexpensive room ($32...are you serious?!) and then spend the next day on the trail. The trail in question isn't a trail as much as it is a series of possibly interconnecting trails. You can see for yourself in Google earth !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! if you like.

One day, when google earthing (thats a thing people do, right?) I noticed that a trail, one that had been on my to-do list for a while, showed near the top a small unmarked road that connected to a popular well maintained national park trail and that...holy crap! It totally connects to another cool trail I've wanted to try and what's that? It sure looks like there might be a way to connect that trail to a road called "4 wheel drive road" (this bodes well) that, wouldn't you know it, takes me back to the highway via another marked dirt trail, or via Arches National Park. Having connected the dots on the map it began to call to me in a big way but there was a problem; I knew the Klondike bluff trail well, as I had ridden parts of it on my bike several times, and I knew the other trails were likely sure things (weather dependent) but the connector was a mystery.

This is the culprit. Was it really there? Was it gated off? What was it going to be like? Would it even be passable if open? We went for it knowing that we could always turn back and it a fall back second trail nearby, plus whats adventure without a little of the unknown.

Klondike bluffs was exactly what I hoped it would be, a nice warm up. The kids got to get out and play with dinosaur footprints ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), which my daughter calls nature tracks, before we started the climb up petrified sand dune.

If you haven't driven on slickrock, you need to try as it really is something else all together. Essentially petrified sand dunes, its solid smooth and, despite the name, literally like driving on 100 grit sandpaper.

My daughter is taking it the whole "'venture" really well so far, her and her buddy sitting in the back of the cruiser swapping fruit snacks and making up words or trying to draw on a magnadoodle while swaying around like a paint mixer in slow motion. Truth is, kids love off-road driving, its exciting and I keep the windows rolled down despite the 55 degree weather because of requests from the back seat.

We encounter very few obstacles that we couldn't roll right over, but my mate in his Tacoma was pretty glad he worked late into the night Saturday to get his rock sliders installed as he had used them half a dozen times by now. We are also both glad that we had Toyota's excellent factory installed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the rear in one place that had the Tacoma tripoding

and the cruiser flexing out just enough that it can't find the traction to make it.

We could have easily bumped it through this point, but lockers are just so much easier and in overlanding, unlike pure rock crawling, its generally considered best practice to do it the easy way and not look for that extra challenge. Lock up, move on through, unlock. Easy peasy.

So far it had been a great drive and I was cherishing the time in the open fresh air, my enormous windows and my slightly leaky sunroof open to allow the healing ether wash away the subconscious urges to check my phone or the memory of changing lights on a screen for hours in a drab building in exchange for money. It may sound granola, but being in places like this actually make me feel better; physically and the rest.

Once we got off the slickrock I knew our junction would be coming up; turn right and follow the trail to a beautiful overlook into the park, or strait to the mysterious path on my map that I'm hoping takes me where I want to be and not strand me. The climb was immediate, rocky and poorly maintained and not at all confidence inspiring, but we make it to the summit and looked down and, though it looks rough, it appeared passable.

Descending down the trail raised my heart rate a little because its quite steep, tight turns and rocky, but its wide and there are lots of bail out points so I pressed on. Then we got here.

This shot was taken on my scouting trip to the bottom. Intimidating? Is the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! reptilian? (Yup, Futurama...deal with it.)

Here is a better view taken after I had passed through

I don't think I would have been as worried had I been off road (really off road) more than once in the cruiser, or wasn't carrying 2 small children. After surveying the hill I felt confident enough that I wasn't likely to hurt myself and, most importantly, the kids and decided to take the rest of my misgivings about my abilities, and the vehicle and stuff them into that strange place we put such things when we are driven to push ourselves a little.

The first 50 yards was the most frightening, and a slip off a rock towards a huge boulder gave me cause to stop and think for a minute....did I really want to do this? What was my out?

Then I just...did it. You know that tingle you get in your hands right after you've been in an accident or narrowly missed that car in that handbrake turn that went a little wider than you thought, yeah I got that. Alive? ALIVE! Yes, I know its not like this feat of "courage" was all that great, but it got my heart going all the same.

At the bottom, we let the kids out again to stretch their legs and explore as we air high fived for half an hour or so. Seriously, what a cool day so far, as we were only 9 miles in, out of 36.

It was getting close to nap time and lunch time which, if you don't have kids, is basically like an high water temp gauge...not so much trouble right now as it will be soon...so we decided to get a move on and try and get to our lunch destination as quickly as we could and hope they could hold out. There is a small joining track that leads from the mystery switchbacks of death to the well traveled and established Salt Valley Road, once there we opened it up, reaching speeds as high as 35 which feels like warp 7 after those last 9 miles.

This feels right.

Tower Arch trail is a trail listed in my guide book as being moderately difficult (along with Klondike bluff) suitable for stock Suv's and trucks, with caution. The book also has lots of pictures of late 90's Jimmy's and Izuzu rodeos so I was a little surprised at the first climb that was the hardest up hill obstacle we had faced yet. Big ruts, tall rocks, LOTS of sand and steep. Hooray lockers! Locked the rear in the cruiser and up we went with only one hard rock on metal moment. The Tacoma, rear locked and A-Trac on stormed right up with a little spotting. Say what you want about traction control systems, but a real locker in the back and the excellent !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! up front is a formidable combo.

The trail to Tower Arch parking lot is a mix if rock steps and sandy washes and is dispatched without too much trouble which put us into the parking lot about 40 minutes after we had set off from the rocky switchbacks of death.

Lunch.

If there is something to be said here its:

a. tailgates are awesome

b. overlanding means not packing light...we ate well. Again...awesome.

It was also nice to let the kids really play in the find sand of the area and to hike out the one of the prettier and less visited arches in the arches area, tower arch, which I think looks more like a connecting rod than anything else...thoughts?

We met a couple who had taken the footpath from the bottom of the bluff we climbed and they told us they had been at it a few hours. They were amazed to see to little kids, until we told them we were parked 5 minutes away.

THIS is why I bought a land cruiser, to introduce my daughter to "castles" that she normally wouldn't get to see. I was loving life.

The next section of trail we are headed for, called "4 wheel drive road" is 9.8 miles from a junction in the trail a few miles back and supposedly sandy, interesting and...well...that's all we knew. I aired down the tires from a previously aired down 25 (normally 35) to 20, stuffed more concerns into that place mentioned previously and drove off into solitude, mystery and a tangible sensation of adventure.

What. A. Drive. I loved it. It was 9.8 miles of slickrock, mixed with sandy river washes, mixed with stunning views of the near 14,000 foot La Sal Mountain range, covered in mid season snow.

This would be a good time to mention again that kids and off roading go well together, provided you are prepared.

The gently rocking of this trail, combined with nap time put our two kids down faster than Flintstones chewable morphine. The gentle rocking and swaying, combined with the angle of the sun also requires that you have a way to shade and stabilize their heads so they can enjoy their sleep. She stayed asleep for 2 hours like this, despite it looking like a head wound. You may also notice that my child is in the front seat and before you freak out...relax, the seat is moved as far back as it can go, is tilted back and we never went faster than 20. It was necessary for her to be up with me so I could adjust her head and make sure she stayed asleep and comfy, when we got back to pavement she was moved to the back seat.

My only regret about this trail, as we drove past, was not taking the shorter but slower 4 mile willow springs road back to the highway and instead going the easy route of getting into the park, airing up with a portable compressor and driving back to the highway on paved 40+ mph roads. It was nearly 5 pm and we had to get back to the highway, drive 225 miles and get dinner still on the menu today so it was decided to re-join civilization early and get on the way.

At the time, we were exhausted, dirty and ready to be home...I guess that's all part of the experience too. There are lots of parts to overlanding:

Long hours behind the wheel (3 hours driving, 4 hours stopped for 36 total miles)

Risk

Exhaustion

Views

Solitude

A sense of the unknown

Bonding with friends and family

Frankly, I loved it and doing this small excursion has only fanned the overland flames for me. The thing I think I loved about it most was the complete lack of anything else; no phones just good conversation, no errands or choirs, just tasks and goals. Despite the enormous complexity of it all, its the simplicity of it that charms me and I will be back.

Bonus:

Because I rely heavily on people who generously supply their experience in great detail, I have a basically uncut version of the trail from the start of Klondike bluff to the lunch break at tower arch here if you want.

Key events links are in the description on YouTube or here

1st obstacle !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
2nd obstacle !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Dino tracks !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
The gap !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Level up !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
connector junction !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
start connector !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Tough hill down !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Tough hill taco !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Tower arch trail start !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Tower arch 1st climb !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
TA climb taco !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
sandy run up to TA !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

I am planning on a edited version eventually, but there isn't much to edit. Overland travel isn't much of a spectator sport.

Photo credit is half me and Half Brianna Siddoway, the good stuff is probably her.

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:05

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You got balls wheelin Moab without sliders, haha.

Nice write-up! Moab's still on the bucket list. Do you plan on going back and making a weekend of it? (Camping, etc.)

EDIT: in the video you look like you have sliders, my bad. whoops!

Nibby > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:06

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$32 rooms? I'm down. TOYOTA 4WD DRIVERS UNITE

Also, these look amazing and lots of fun. Apart from off-road experience, how did you like the Tacoma?

Nibbles > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:15

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Once I'm confident that the Dakota will go off the beaten path without disintegrating I swear I'ma drive out to Utah and hang out with you.

HammerheadFistpunch > Nibbles 02/24/2014 at 10:31

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anytime. If it makes you feel better about the Dakota, the cruiser just turned over 240k miles on the original engine/trans....actually the original windshield...and it worries me a little, but thats all part of the fun...right?

HammerheadFistpunch > Nibby 02/24/2014 at 10:32

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You will have to ask VicariousIlive, its his.

HammerheadFistpunch > TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma 02/24/2014 at 10:33

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yup, installed them the day before we left. I tapped my cats last time I was down there and decided I needed some protection.

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:37

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Sliders were one of the first things I slapped on the truck. Saved my butt a lot of times with the stock suspension. I bent my passenger side slider last year. :(

OPPOsaurus WRX > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:41

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Awesome to see you enjoying that stuff with your kid. Talk about your truck all you want especially if your doing this stuff! I'm trying to restrain myself by not mentioning my WRX in every post. The secretary here has a Land Cruiser. If it could talk, it probably wouldn't know what a dirt road is.

Nibbles > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:46

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Damn! The engine and trans I'm not too worried about. Magnum V8, NV3500 five speed, both of which were recently gone through to the tune of about $3k. It was curbed at speed by the previous owner and still has a lot of suspension / steering / braking issues that I have yet to resolve. I have to fabricate new suspension bushings because nobody makes anything for 1st gen Dakotas and there are no suspension lifts available.

yamahog > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:49

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My current wallpaper is a Moab sunset. So jealous. Must rebuild XJ diff and road trip.

Big Bubba Ray > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 10:49

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Awesome post man, thanks for sharing! Once I'm done with school and I move out to Colorado, a Land Cruiser will be the first car I pick up without a doubt.

cazzyodo > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 11:00

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Awesome.

Only thing I can say. Awesome right up. Awesome pics. Awesome video.

Oh, I lied...other thing I can say is "jealous".

vicariousILive > Nibby 02/24/2014 at 11:28

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I have owned this Tacoma for a year and a half. I am a huge fan. My previous vehicles were mainly Fords(1982 F-250 2WD, 1977 F-250 2WD, and a Mazda B4000(basically a ford)). I owned a Nissan 200SX coupe because I studied engineering and I knew I wouldn't have time for hooning fun anyways.

All of these vehicles were manuals but the Taco is not. I still air-stomp the floor trying to find the clutch sometimes. I was pretty disappointed in myself for going with the automatic but I don't think I am missing out on much because I can still select all gears from low to 4. My wife can drive it least so that woks out when we have to do mountain bike shuttles in park city.

I almost got a Tundra at the time I bought the Tacoma because there was some pretty good deals going on. I am glad I didn't because I didn't want to haul that huge ass vehicle around all the time. I can do all of this off-roading stuff that I know the Tundra could not do as well. E-lockers got me out of a couple jams, the progressive springs make for, what it seemed like at first, an oddly smooth and comfortable ride. This ride has got plenty of torque 266 ft-lbs with 236 hp. Hellavalot more than what i have been used to. It's really easy to drive around the city and is not a pain in the ass to park.

I would really like to get a couple inches of lift on there. Hopefully some Bilstein 5100s all around and Eibach coils in the front but I'm glad I got the sliders on first. Besides the loan payments, I'm VERY VERY happy with what I got right now I don't want to drive anything else.

HammerheadFistpunch > Nibbles 02/24/2014 at 11:30

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Also you asked if im headed back, I will be down there in may doing this

My brothers and I are biking the white rim trail. The same Cruiser and Tacoma combo will be the SAG wagons and we will switch off driving every few miles.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 11:30

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You are making me seriously miss Moab. I need to go back ASAP.

BJ > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 11:31

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SO JEALOUS!

I'm going to show my wife this so that she can see that off-roading is a fun family activity. This is exactly the type of outing I would like to do, except I'm nowhere near Moab, so it'd be boreal forest instead of sandstone.

She says I can have a 4x4 when she can have a cabin in the woods at the end of a 4x4 trail, which we of course can't visit without having a 4x4, which of course can't be justified until we actually own the cabin and have time to go visit it. Classic Catch-22.

HammerheadFistpunch > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 02/24/2014 at 11:32

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Good, good.

HammerheadFistpunch > TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma 02/24/2014 at 12:00

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you asked if im going back, yup...in may to do the white rim. Moab is about a twice a year thing for me.

Nibby > vicariousILive 02/24/2014 at 12:33

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Nice! I've heard good things about the Tacoma from other people here over the years, but never so in depth as your insight. Thanks.

The facelifted Tacomas really resemble the Tundra/Sequoia now. Well, at least the 2007-2013 ones.

vicariousILive > Nibby 02/24/2014 at 12:51

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If you look at the side by side comparison of the Taco vs the Tundra there is a noticeable difference in size. The bigger difference in size is also noticeable behind the wheel. Just feels bigger and what a pain in the ass it would be to drive that daily around the city. When I go get a load of lumber from Home Depot I wish I had the Tundra or at least the longer bed Tacoma though.

Nibby > vicariousILive 02/24/2014 at 12:58

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Yeah, the Tundra is considerably taller, wider, and longer. If you sit in one with the front bucket seats, you'll feel like you and your passenger are in your own countries.

J. Walter Weatherman > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 13:03

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First of all, HOW THE HELL IS THIS NOT ON THE FRONT PAGE!!!

Second - "google earthing" - holy shit, of course you do this too, because you are my Utah doppelganger. It's one of my favorite ways to find trails. Anyone can go to the usual trails that have a line of 4x4s going up them every weekend, but the real fun is finding ones that get overlooked. It can be a total crap shoot whether or not the trail is any good, but that is all part of the fun.

Until now, I have been the only one of my friends with a 4x4, which somewhat limited our wheeling options (not wanting to get too adventurous out in the middle of the desert without a backup vehicle) but one of my best friends just bought a first-gen Tundra, so I am about to get a lot more opportunity to go exploring.

HammerheadFistpunch > J. Walter Weatherman 02/24/2014 at 13:06

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hells yeah! also you are invited to the oppo moab Meetup next year

Loping Camshaft > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 18:32

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Awesome post. Have any other mods planned?

I assume you're acquainted with our bros over at ExpeditionPortal ? They have a Land Cruiser specific section. Might want to repost this in the Completed Adventures and Events section.

HammerheadFistpunch > Loping Camshaft 02/24/2014 at 18:41

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I'm on expedition portal, but not very active. I'm hoping for a2 inch lift and...well...everything else, but one step at a time

Loping Camshaft > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 18:44

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Haha I hear ya. 2 inch is all the lift you want/need for a rig like that.

Keep us updated.

TwentyonePSI > HammerheadFistpunch 02/24/2014 at 23:33

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I love it. The last time I was in The Canyonlands, I was driving a 1986 Toyota 4X4. I'm currently trying to prep a Disco 1 for similar adventures, although most of them will be in the vicinity of the mid-west.

Great pictures and story.

uli2000 > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 12:42

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In addition to ExPo, check out ih8mud if you arn't hanging out there already. Huge LC community.

HammerheadFistpunch > uli2000 02/26/2014 at 12:42

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Im a little more active on mud, thats where I found it actually, from another mudder.

Blind Willy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 15:23

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What a great story!

I just purchased an FJ Cruiser 3 months ago and took my grandson out 4 wheeling for the first time.

I hope to give him some experiences and memories like I had of my father driving us out in the middle of nowhere to camp and fish. (We lived in La Paz, Bolivia in the 70's and Dad drove a Chevy Blazer)

I'm hoping to take my grandson down to Big Bend National Park soon, then who knows where else. Maybe down through Mexico if it ever calms down.

Thanks for the great story.

HammerheadFistpunch > Blind Willy 02/26/2014 at 15:26

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I would love to do the baja trip one day, and hope it calms down enough to make it a reality. My grandfather used to take an old chevy camper and a 28 foot boat down there and fish all the time with my uncle, reading his diary is like peering into my dreams.

On a realted note, did you buy a new fj, or use? did you get a good deal? im curious how those are doing in the light of the FJ being killed off next year.

Blind Willy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 15:37

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I bought a new 2013. I figured since it is going away, I'll get a newer one that will last me a little bit longer. I'm hoping since it's getting killed off this year, it'll make it more of a classic! Whether it does or not, I LOVE driving it! I traded in an 06 Ford Ranger Sport for it. Great little truck, but I was ready for more of an offroad vehicle. I was looking at Jeeps and my wife and I saw an FJ down at the beach. I remember when they first came out and just assumed I couldn't afford one. They weren't much more than a Wrangler Unlimited and after doing some research I realized I'd found my vehicle.

Taking it out this past weekend was an eye opener for me. It out performed what I was expecting it to do and I felt comfortable trying things I never thought I could do. I took mostly easy/moderate trails but our guide did take us up one steep and rocky hill. I took the hill with ease until I got to the top where the rock garden was. I bottomed out a few times, but nothing terrible. I WILL be getting sliders before my next run :)

Baja is on my list as is the Yucatan. Until it calms down, I'm looking at Big Bend and a road I don't know much about in NM called the Bursom Road.

HammerheadFistpunch > Blind Willy 02/26/2014 at 15:45

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Keep me up to date, I would love to hear about these adventures. I have a great deal of interest in the FJ, My uncle was involved in the Engineering of it and is a huge cruiser fan. (he's actually in the 2013 brochure on the Rubicon trail). Whats cool about the FJ is that is basically a land cruiser prado 150 with US certified engines and transmissions, but built on the same chassis and with roughly the same components as the prado (Lexus GX) where its built along side them in the Tahara plant in Toyota City, Japan. The Tahara plant is where my baby was built and its generally recognized as the worlds highest standard plant for quality. The bummer is, that quality is why its so expensive and why its being discontinued. Too costly to make for too little profit. I think you made a good call buying new since the used ones aren't much less money anyway.

Blind Willy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 15:56

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I will definitely keep you updated. There is a whole forum dedicated to the FJ Cruiser community where I did my research and met some of the guys I wheeled with.

I think it's awesome your uncle helped engineer it! He's not the guy over at Icon, is he? I saw something about them doing a prototype of the FJ for Toyota. Either way, thank him for me. I'll probably be buried in mine!

HammerheadFistpunch > Blind Willy 02/26/2014 at 15:58

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Yeah, I've been there. Are you in Texas or New Mexico?

Blind Willy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 16:05

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Texas, but the Bursom Road trip came about after an article I read about some floods stranding tourists in Mogollon, a semi ghost mining town. I google mapped it and saw the Bursom road heads back east through the mountains. It's the old mining road, I believe.

The Bursom Road

HammerheadFistpunch > Blind Willy 02/26/2014 at 16:08

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I lived in West Texas for a few years, Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland and Andrews.

That road looks fun, I like that kind of driving, we took my kids out on an old mining road last fall near me.

Blind Willy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 16:18

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Yup, that's more my type of driving too. I'm pretty much doing these off road parks to hone my skills. I did pretty darn good last weekend, if I do say so myself.

Farthest west I've been so far is Abeline. I'm hoping this spring if not this fall West TX will be under my belt. I'm taking all the back roads to BBNP.

HammerheadFistpunch > Blind Willy 02/26/2014 at 16:21

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San Angelo was a lot of fun, but its probably not along the way, I never made it down to big bend, but we did make it over to roswell and carlsbad while I was there.

Blind Willy > HammerheadFistpunch 02/26/2014 at 16:43

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I forgot about Carlsbad. I think I went there as a kid, but we lived in Gallup. (My dad worked for Uncle Sam) That would make a great weekend road trip.

m3bassman > HammerheadFistpunch 02/27/2014 at 02:56

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Nice rig and nice photos. I love taking my Tacoma to Moab. It is a truly special place. Next time, you gotta explore Canyonlands . I prefer it to Arches but thats like saying I prefer brunettes to blondes. Both are great.

handsoff > yamahog 02/28/2014 at 18:37

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Same. Only replace XJ with Nissan, and rebuild with selectably lock.