Pittsburgh to Utah in my Bronco "Lusitania"

Samsquanch33 said:

That picture of your footwell is wild. Love to see it. I gotta ask, what line of work offers a 5 year sabbatical? Sounds amazing.

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BostonSasquatch said:

You'll get lots of advice. For Moab, get the Wells & Peterson "Guide To Moab, UT, Trails & Backroads" guidebook. Indispensable for deciding upon what you can, and should not, do. Between Moab and Canyonlands, there's an overabundance of trails. Also,, the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, which gives you good, visual mapping of the entire state, including topography.

If you want true offroading (overlanding) look into the Pony Express Historic Byway: long, scenic, historic, and fun. The Byway itself is BLM-maintained, and passenger-car friendly, but there are interesting and very remote little-used trails with opportunity to leave tire tracks completely. You can drive true baja along the edges of the Dugway Proving Ground (otherwise government-restricted) The area between I-80 and US-50 ("the loneliest road in America") is remote and, to me, wondrously, magnificently harsh and beautiful.

Going alone there is risky. I got bogged down trying to reach Wilson Hot Springs just north of the Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge off the Pony Express Byway. (An Explorer pulled me out!) You could take that to the Nevada border (and beyond), and loop up to West Wendover (little casino town) and the Bonneville Salt Flats. Read up on gas, food, water and make sure you have a full complement of recovery gear.

An important word on tires: Goodyear Territories are known to chuck rocks (get quality mudflaps, like RokBlokz) but with me, they grabbed & held rocks which worked their way up through the ply, puncturing the tire. I had 3 flats out there, and had to replace one tire outright. So consider swapping them off (lots of threads on that!), and be sure to carry a tire repair kit and a compressor.

Speaking of RokBLokz and gear, you could stop in Wheat Ridge, CO and pick up a ThorsLightning compressor + hoses (I swear by it, mention me!). And in northern Utah, you can buy, right from the source, RokBlokz mudflaps (I use 'em), a TrailRax roof rack, and Heretic lights. Then, there's Diabolical storage systems. Plenty of outfitters there. All that is along the I-15 corridor, which is very developed & urban. Check outfitters for what you need, then get to the outback. You're going to off-road Nirvana.

Message me for more thoughts, if you want.. 5-year sabbatical? Maybe we can connect next year! Happy trails!

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Mishra42 said:

Oh I've got full recovery gear. Maxtrax, 20ft and 30ft straps, 30ft recovery rope, snatch block, tire repair kit and a pretty good selection of tools. Plus a GMRS radio. I've also got wells and Peterson guide for Moab and Colorado.

Any suggestions for the Grand Junction to Moab part of the trip tomorrow? I need to be in Salt Lake City by the 7th to pick up a friend.

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Mishra42 said:

So I'm fortunate enough that my work offers me a 5 year sabbatical, so what else to do but head west and see what my Bronco can do. I thought I'd keep a travel log so that some folks back home can follow along. So this is my ride, the Lusitania, or Lucy for short:

She's a 2021 Badlands, mostly stock with a few upgrades for protection, LOD Destroyer Rock Rails, an LOD Transmission bash plate and DV8 Shock Bash Plates. I've got a Rough Country high winch mount with a Warn EVO 10K Winch.

Why do I call her Lusitania? Cause I've been known to sink her.

Anyway I'm relatively new to off roading, So I'm going to be doing the Bronco Off Rodeo to start and then exploring Moab and other points in Utah and Colorado. I need to be back in Pittsburgh the 21st, so feel free to follow along, and I'm open to suggestions on stuff to check out. I made it to Denver and the Front range today, so tomorrow we hit the mountains. In the mean time here's a few road trip attractions I hit on the way!

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Mishra42 said:

So I'm fortunate enough that my work offers me a 5 year sabbatical, so what else to do but head west and see what my Bronco can do. I thought I'd keep a travel log so that some folks back home can follow along. So this is my ride, the Lusitania, or Lucy for short:

She's a 2021 Badlands, mostly stock with a few upgrades for protection, LOD Destroyer Rock Rails, an LOD Transmission bash plate and DV8 Shock Bash Plates. I've got a Rough Country high winch mount with a Warn EVO 10K Winch.

Why do I call her Lusitania? Cause I've been known to sink her.

Anyway I'm relatively new to off roading, So I'm going to be doing the Bronco Off Rodeo to start and then exploring Moab and other points in Utah and Colorado. I need to be back in Pittsburgh the 21st, so feel free to follow along, and I'm open to suggestions on stuff to check out. I made it to Denver and the Front range today, so tomorrow we hit the mountains. In the mean time here's a few road trip attractions I hit on the way!

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drmdwebb said:

I'll put a plug in for Ouray, CO. I've been there twice on UTV trips. It's some of the most beautiful country in the West. The trails are amazing with an interesting mining history. If at all possible, spend a couple of days there.

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