2011 Moab - EJS (April 16th - 24th)

[darnold87]

We're going to Moab!!

Every couple years, me and a few great friends make the journey from Salem, Oregon to Moab, Utah (~2100 miles rounds trip). We go there for the Easter Jeep Safari and it's a full week of non-stop 4wheel drive awesomeness! There are always tons of friends, and thousands of others who are all there to have fun and traverse the red slick rock.

Well, this year, instead of dragging one of our 4x4's down, we taking the dualsports! There are 3 of us going with bikes; Me (TW200), Bagwell (TW200), and Greggy-Pooh (DRZ400).

We've got a list of things to do to get ready and we're starting on them now!

Bagwell has ordered the Ricochet skid plate and is gearing up to do a full tune-up.

I've gotta build a rear rack and upgrade the front tire (considering: Dunlop 606, Michelin T63, Kenda K760 / Trackmaster II, or Kenda K270) (I ride 50/50 but prefer aggressive tires for the harder trails)

Plus lots more stuff to do...

I will update this thread with anything interesting that pertains to the trip. And I'll add tons of photos when we return!



I'm very interested in tire recommendations as well as trail recommendations in Moab. Would love to hear from anyone who's ridden around the Moab area...

Thanks!

[darnold87]

Just found these threads on ADVrider and got super pumped about our trip!



http://www.advrider....ad.php?t=630398



http://www.advrider....&highlight=moab





[media]http://vimeo.com/16061738[/media]

[bbagwell]

It is going to be awesome!

[lizrdbrth]

Last trip I stayed about a mile further up the road from The Lion's Back. Pretty close access to town and I had the whole place to myself. Can't recall the exact name of the campsite but I'll go through my pics for it.



Gotta do the White rim.



I don't think there's a bad trail to be had in Moab. Rock bashing or just taking in the scenery, it's all good.

[Gunner]

If You're staying in a campground, Arches campground is about 5 miles north of town, trails all around, gas, general store, small pool, showers and if I remember $18 a day for tent site. Good people, that's where I plan on staying when we go down this year.

[darnold87]

Thanks for the information so far!

We're staying in a condo again this year and splitting it up between friends so its pretty affordable.

I saw a video of a guy doing Baby Lions Back on a GS1150 - yikes! I've actually done both the original Lions Back (back when it was accessible) and Baby Lions Back in my Suzuki Samurai and it was enough pucker factory in a 4x4 going nice and slow. I'm so curious how well the TW will stick to the slick rock...

[lizrdbrth]

Question: The Lion's back was cordoned off and near as I could tell it was in private hands. No one was around when I was there, so I moved on. The townies indicated that (for a fee) you could get access. Anyone know if that is the case?

[darnold87]

It was open when I did it in 2002. I couldn't convince my cousin to take his chevy truck up it when we took it in 2004. And it was closed when we were there in 2008. Sounds like 2007 was the closure year. New owners were going to put in condo's but it's been on hold due to various issues I believe...



Some info from google...

http://www.pirate4x4...ad.php?t=555559

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion's_Back

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=562221

[owtcast]

Lion's back was indeed closed last year when I was there. It had been purchased previously by a private owner and the liability was just too much to allow it to be open for public use.

Sounds like you guys are gonna have a blast. My TW is going with me next time I head there. Are you really going during EJS? Gonna be crowded.



As for trails, you may want to look into some of the local bicycle and moto clubs to see what they run. I know there are one's they prefer. I've always just had my Jeep so those are the one's you already probably know.

[darnold87]

Lion's back was indeed closed last year when I was there. It had been purchased previously by a private owner and the liability was just too much to allow it to be open for public use.

Sounds like you guys are gonna have a blast. My TW is going with me next time I head there. Are you really going during EJS? Gonna be crowded.



As for trails, you may want to look into some of the local bicycle and moto clubs to see what they run. I know there are one's they prefer. I've always just had my Jeep so those are the one's you already probably know.

Hey owtcast~

Yeah, we are going during EJS. Many friends are going during that event and we're sharing a condo with some, making it really affordable. Like $169 for the whole week!

It does get a little crowded and the RedRock 4wheelers have certain "trail reservations" that allow access to only them. But, it's also a very entertaining and fun event if you enjoy that kind of thing. There are some folks that we hang with that we only get to see during that event, so its kind of a reunion of sorts.

Anyway, that's good advice to check into local clubs, thanks. I too have only had my rig down there, so I'm only familiar with 4x4 trails...



PS - nice shot going up Moab Rim! That's a frun trail. We rolled going downhill at night, in a HUGE K5 Blazer back in 2004 (never ride with someone you don't know, especially if they've been drinking!). Very scary - a rock stopped up from rolling to the edge of the cliff and over.





Here's one of me back in 2008: