11 replies to this topic

[mkadow]

Corey, my college friend recently bought a new 4-door Jeep Sahara and wanted to get some 4-wheeling experience in the Moab area.
We reserved a long weekend and made the five hour drive from Denver with his dog, Cali.

He'd never been and I may as well haven't either as it had been over 20 years since my last visit.
Boy has it changed! Lots and lots of bicylers and off-road vehicles. It seemed like every thrid vehicle was a Jeep of some sort, many of which were modified.


Thankfully I was able to upload our pix to photobucket before my computer crashed so bad that I had to do a system restore - effectively wiping out all of these pix!

Unfortunately, my computer is still slower than molasses which is why I haven't been around much here on the forums. It seems I can only have one browser session open at a time - two max, depending on the site. Grrr, very frustrating, but something I know I need to take care of. Crashing twice a day and taking about 40 minutes to reboot?! Something's got to give here.

So.., if you're up for checking out over 100 images of our trip.., feel free!

They're mostly pix of Arches Nat'l Park, and the area between the park and Canyonlands Nat'l Park.
Besides great weather and despite the many, many vehicles we saw in Moab, it wasn't as "crowded" as I thought it would be in the backcountry.

A map shows the end of a 4-wheeling trail called Chicken Corners, overlooking the Colorado River with about a 250' drop. The name comes from having to navigate closely around a number of gullies that steeply drop off toward the river.
It's about 25 miles in total length which we had all to ourselves. There's something magical for me about not seeing another soul outside of your group for hours & hours and miles & miles in such a pristine and wild area.


http://s1202.photobu...ike_kadow/Moab/

[DrCloud]

Hmm. Was this a 2012 Sahara? If so, how was it on the highway (I-70?) HPH

[mkadow]

'Newer' I should have written. It now has just over 20k miles so probably a 2011.

If you mean how was the ride as in comfort level, it was pretty good I thought. I've been in Rav 4s and Highlanders that have been louder.
He has stock tires and no window leaks. Conversation was easy and I never thought it was loud. Knobby tires would have been different I reckon.
Most vehicles list their cabin noise decibels, but not all. Not sure about the Sahara. Kind of similar to how many trucks don't list their drag coefficients - what's the point?

The ride was smooth and no different than other newer trucks. The wheel base I'm sure makes a difference as I've been in 2-door Jeeps that seem more like an amusement ride. It felt solid and firm. Again, everything is stock so there's no "soft" suspension option (but that certainly would have been nice off road).

Cross-winds were handled easily.

About the only issue if I had to pick one would be the windshield. It's no surprise about the slip stream, or lack thereof, but we encountered many splatters. Many bugs were hatching and we kept some of their population down. Expecting to see the same amount of offerings (or more) on the grill, bumper, and headlights, there was what seemed like less. That's the design I figure.
Add in the small, stock, and not so effective windshield wipers, I could see someone with vision issues having a problem with night driving.

As for mileage, I thought it did pretty well. I'm not sure what the mpg were but if you're researching already, I'm sure you know. Corey's is a 6-speed btw and he hasn't complained about it before.
To be sure though, heading up toward the Eisenhower Tunnel takes power. And rather than increase power, in certain areas we slogged up about 10 mph under the speed limit because that will definitely eat into your gas.

Hope that answers your question. Feel free to ask more.

[misssilly]

Great pictures! I've never been to Arches or Canyonlands, but I've always wanted to see them. The views from that jeep trail looked awesome.

[Janine]

Loved looking at your photos Mike. Brian and I were in Moab in 2006, loved Utah, and went back in 2007 & 2008. You and your buddie should go to Zion and hike the Narrows. You'd love it!

[Igloo Ed]

Cool that you were able to get away from people. A nice time of year to be there too, for sure.

[NWA395]

Mike,
never been out there, but looking at your pictures and video, what a view. Looks like a fun place to boondock

[HighPlainsMedic]

Moab is a nifty spot, great home base for Arches, Canyonlands, best done early in spring before it gets hot.. In Arches they have a hike called "The Fiery Furnace" We were there in 2010 but have gone numerous times when the kids were small.

[John]

I chose the "view as a slideshow" option and really enjoyed the photos. Putting the Jeep in the shade of the big rock...that was a cool idea.

[mkadow]

Moab is a nifty spot, great home base for Arches, Canyonlands, best done early in spring before it gets hot.. In Arches they have a hike called "The Fiery Furnace"

Indeed, Moab is a great base for many things, though I'd prefer to camp outside of town somewhere. The Fiery Furnace looked interesting, but we didn't have a enough time.

Putting the Jeep in the shade of the big rock...that was a cool idea.

Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck!

[Scrapinator]

Beautiful. Makes me wish I could add a few days to my trip to the Southwest to get over to Moab.

[Allie]

Haven't been to Utah for many years, but your photos brought back great memories. Looks like you had fun.