LJTim
Active Member
- Location
- Herriman, UT
Vernal - July 27
After meeting up and thenusual BS at the staging area, we finally pulled out at something like 7:40am
We started the day at Doc’s Beach, which really ended up being the funnest part. To summarize my opinions of both Doc’s Beach and Red Mountain, I’ll put it this way:
Doc’s Beach: 7-8 rated with 9+ buggy options all over the place. While there are split off roads all over the place, to stick with the trail that has been mapped through the area by Ron Allred, it is a solid 7-8 rating, which means 35’s and 2 lockers recommended. Possible body damage, but unlikely for smaller body vehicles.
Red Mountain: 6-7 rated with almost no bypasses. There are a few optional 7-8+ rated obstacles. Lots and lots of brush hangs onto the trail, so if you’re concerned about your paint looking like new, I wouldn’t suggest this trail. It’s also a very long trail. There are multiple options for how to run this trail. There is a larger loop that circles all the way down to the Moonshine Arch. We didn’t run the large loop, as it was close to 7:00pm by the time we finished what most probably consider the main loop. 33’s and 1 locker is my recommended minimum requirements. I also strongly recommend a winch and solid recovery points. If conditions are wet (which they were for us) difficulty bumps up at least 1-2 points.
Back to our experience. Ron Allred led the group of I believe 12 vehicles, with Brent Jolley bouncing around between mid and tail. It kind of ended up being beat with him in the middle for the aid of several rigs in the middle of the pack. Several built rigs ended up in the back that were able to just follow anyway. Throughout Doc’s Beach, it was great to see how much the group appreciated the new scenery. As expected, the cave and the crack were major hilights. I’ll try to get the pics from Ron, but I believe he got pics of most out-of-towners coming through the cave. The trail was packed full of lots of steep climbs, several had a significant hump at the start requiring a commited bump to get started. It was awesome to see Brent take some really cool lines that few drivers have the vehicle or the skill to handle. It was seriously awesome to see what possibilities there are in the area. There were several notable obstacles that Ron had named, but for the rest of us, it was just another steep climb. The terrain was great. Similar surface as Little Moab - It was a solid sandstone at most of the areas. What I would call the gatekeeper of the day ended up being really dusted over making the climb pretty challenging. Other areas had excellent traction. There was a huge variety of technical obstacles, super steep climbs and drops and some pretty cool scenery.
In order to have enough time to complete Red Mountain, it was decided we would skip the last grouping of obstacles initially planned. This put us back to the staging area just in time for a lunch break.
After lunch we headed toward Red Mountain. Brent, seeing the forecast and knowing the trail is a narrow road 90% of the way, ran his buggies home and met us at the trail head with his modified TJ on 39’s. He took the lead on this trail, which I believe was due to a contact he had that put us on the trail at a non-typical entrance. I say that because we were on obvious private property approaching the entrance of the trail. I heard Ron talking to Brent and it sounded like Brent knew the owner and had our passing through cleared. Right off the bat, we were faced with a long section of super steep sandstone surface. But everyone made it up ok. The following 30-40 minutes remained fairly mild until we approached Commando Corner. This is the area with the tipped green XJ in the pic on the event page. The pic doesn’t give the spot justice. It is gnarly. Even the normal route takes precise tire placement, a couple committed bumps, and a willingness to handle an off-camber effort. Brent, on the other hand showed us a bonus line that he drove flawlessly without a spotter. His driving seriously deserves some credit. Some of the best driving I’ve ever seen. He twisted his TJ through a tall wedge that had 2 major pivots that his wheelbase worked perfectly with. After seeing how easily he handled it, I decided I would give it a try. Having a bit longer wheelbase and not the same articulation as Brent’s made my journey a bit more of a challenge. After 2-3 tries up and falling off the wall on the passenger side, I had decided to go around to the usual route. But we thought it just might be possible to squeeze through without straddling the wedge. It was super off-camber, but the tires held. I continued straight, and made the second pivot, floated a tire a few feet to make the line unassisted. The challenges continued with a broken brake line, which we were able to replace in 30-40 minutes. After getting one rig up the double set of ledges, there was another nasty ledge accompanied with a frustrating set of tree roots on the opposite side that didn’t make anything any easier. A couple rigs required some winch aid to get through. The diesel powered blazer with one locker and some slippery conditions made a fun finally and practicing all our recovery tricks to finish up this section. This was the worst of it, but there were plenty challenging areas to come - and as soon as we were passed commando corner, the downpour really turned on. Those without tops and windows really suffered. The rain was off and on the rest of the day. We had a good stop st the old cabin at the top of the mountain, as well as enjoyed the breath-taking view of the multiple mountain ranges off the nearby clifff. I’m my opinion, what Red Mountain lacked in obstacles, it made up for in beautiful scenery. Some areas looked straight out of a rain forest - I understand the current rainy/distant foggy conditions added to that effect, but there were moments that really were unexpectedly stunning.
Vernal is really an underrated and usually forgotten area when people talk about off-road 4x4 recreation, but that shouldn’t be the case. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the locals. The persuit from the locals to make Doc’s Beach an official and permanently accessible trail is quite commendable. It’s unfortunate that because of the ease to access it, the ease to vandalize, part and litter are a usual problem.
I’ll deffinitely be returning often, and hopefully sooner than later. The locals were excellent hosts and super friendly. Thanks for everyone that came. It was so cool to put some faces (and real names) to the forum names. I’ll add pics to a reply tomorrow. I’m sleepy. I’ll also proof read tomorrow too. I’m typing on my tiny phone. I’m sure there are mistakes. Please feel free to share any pics you might have.
After meeting up and thenusual BS at the staging area, we finally pulled out at something like 7:40am
We started the day at Doc’s Beach, which really ended up being the funnest part. To summarize my opinions of both Doc’s Beach and Red Mountain, I’ll put it this way:
Doc’s Beach: 7-8 rated with 9+ buggy options all over the place. While there are split off roads all over the place, to stick with the trail that has been mapped through the area by Ron Allred, it is a solid 7-8 rating, which means 35’s and 2 lockers recommended. Possible body damage, but unlikely for smaller body vehicles.
Red Mountain: 6-7 rated with almost no bypasses. There are a few optional 7-8+ rated obstacles. Lots and lots of brush hangs onto the trail, so if you’re concerned about your paint looking like new, I wouldn’t suggest this trail. It’s also a very long trail. There are multiple options for how to run this trail. There is a larger loop that circles all the way down to the Moonshine Arch. We didn’t run the large loop, as it was close to 7:00pm by the time we finished what most probably consider the main loop. 33’s and 1 locker is my recommended minimum requirements. I also strongly recommend a winch and solid recovery points. If conditions are wet (which they were for us) difficulty bumps up at least 1-2 points.
Back to our experience. Ron Allred led the group of I believe 12 vehicles, with Brent Jolley bouncing around between mid and tail. It kind of ended up being beat with him in the middle for the aid of several rigs in the middle of the pack. Several built rigs ended up in the back that were able to just follow anyway. Throughout Doc’s Beach, it was great to see how much the group appreciated the new scenery. As expected, the cave and the crack were major hilights. I’ll try to get the pics from Ron, but I believe he got pics of most out-of-towners coming through the cave. The trail was packed full of lots of steep climbs, several had a significant hump at the start requiring a commited bump to get started. It was awesome to see Brent take some really cool lines that few drivers have the vehicle or the skill to handle. It was seriously awesome to see what possibilities there are in the area. There were several notable obstacles that Ron had named, but for the rest of us, it was just another steep climb. The terrain was great. Similar surface as Little Moab - It was a solid sandstone at most of the areas. What I would call the gatekeeper of the day ended up being really dusted over making the climb pretty challenging. Other areas had excellent traction. There was a huge variety of technical obstacles, super steep climbs and drops and some pretty cool scenery.
In order to have enough time to complete Red Mountain, it was decided we would skip the last grouping of obstacles initially planned. This put us back to the staging area just in time for a lunch break.
After lunch we headed toward Red Mountain. Brent, seeing the forecast and knowing the trail is a narrow road 90% of the way, ran his buggies home and met us at the trail head with his modified TJ on 39’s. He took the lead on this trail, which I believe was due to a contact he had that put us on the trail at a non-typical entrance. I say that because we were on obvious private property approaching the entrance of the trail. I heard Ron talking to Brent and it sounded like Brent knew the owner and had our passing through cleared. Right off the bat, we were faced with a long section of super steep sandstone surface. But everyone made it up ok. The following 30-40 minutes remained fairly mild until we approached Commando Corner. This is the area with the tipped green XJ in the pic on the event page. The pic doesn’t give the spot justice. It is gnarly. Even the normal route takes precise tire placement, a couple committed bumps, and a willingness to handle an off-camber effort. Brent, on the other hand showed us a bonus line that he drove flawlessly without a spotter. His driving seriously deserves some credit. Some of the best driving I’ve ever seen. He twisted his TJ through a tall wedge that had 2 major pivots that his wheelbase worked perfectly with. After seeing how easily he handled it, I decided I would give it a try. Having a bit longer wheelbase and not the same articulation as Brent’s made my journey a bit more of a challenge. After 2-3 tries up and falling off the wall on the passenger side, I had decided to go around to the usual route. But we thought it just might be possible to squeeze through without straddling the wedge. It was super off-camber, but the tires held. I continued straight, and made the second pivot, floated a tire a few feet to make the line unassisted. The challenges continued with a broken brake line, which we were able to replace in 30-40 minutes. After getting one rig up the double set of ledges, there was another nasty ledge accompanied with a frustrating set of tree roots on the opposite side that didn’t make anything any easier. A couple rigs required some winch aid to get through. The diesel powered blazer with one locker and some slippery conditions made a fun finally and practicing all our recovery tricks to finish up this section. This was the worst of it, but there were plenty challenging areas to come - and as soon as we were passed commando corner, the downpour really turned on. Those without tops and windows really suffered. The rain was off and on the rest of the day. We had a good stop st the old cabin at the top of the mountain, as well as enjoyed the breath-taking view of the multiple mountain ranges off the nearby clifff. I’m my opinion, what Red Mountain lacked in obstacles, it made up for in beautiful scenery. Some areas looked straight out of a rain forest - I understand the current rainy/distant foggy conditions added to that effect, but there were moments that really were unexpectedly stunning.
Vernal is really an underrated and usually forgotten area when people talk about off-road 4x4 recreation, but that shouldn’t be the case. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the locals. The persuit from the locals to make Doc’s Beach an official and permanently accessible trail is quite commendable. It’s unfortunate that because of the ease to access it, the ease to vandalize, part and litter are a usual problem.
I’ll deffinitely be returning often, and hopefully sooner than later. The locals were excellent hosts and super friendly. Thanks for everyone that came. It was so cool to put some faces (and real names) to the forum names. I’ll add pics to a reply tomorrow. I’m sleepy. I’ll also proof read tomorrow too. I’m typing on my tiny phone. I’m sure there are mistakes. Please feel free to share any pics you might have.
