11-09-2019, 03:38 AM
(11-09-2019, 01:10 AM)Frulk_imp Wrote: If your planning to do the WHOLE trail then be aware the White Rim Trail now requires a permit because its so crowded. Moab is now officially a tourist destination and all the trappings that come with that are present. Stop and go traffic in town, crowding, competition for camp sites. Long lines to get into the national parks and so forth. Drive through town and Utah plates are the minority. I avoid the place now except for the shoulder seasons, and then it's only to have an outfitter come to retrieve me and my kayak/gear from the rivers.
1. Not doing the WHOLE 100 miles on a bike.
That guy was crazy.2. I've been in October 2013 ... it wasn't that crowded ... I only do shoulder seasons ... but let me tell you THAT story ...
I was doing one last road trip in my Honda S2000 before selling it (owned in for 5 years and 50,000 fun miles) and thought, "Hey, let's go out to Utah ... hit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon ... Arches National Park, Zion National Park ..."
And then they had the federal government shutdown just as I left ... ALL the national parks were CLOSED!
So couldn't go to Grand Canyon, Arches, etc. ... you could drive THRU Zion but you weren't allowed to stop ... so my low crowd density in Moab may be an anomaly. The tourist businesses were suffering, the state parks (still open) were overflowing ... I felt really sorry for some German tourists who rented a Winnebago for their big USA adventure but couldn't get in anywhere. But the Utah driving roads made for some beautiful scenery.
But there was a series of easy trials just north of Moab that were outside Arches and open. Very empty. Also did a nearby Jeep trail. The MTB I rented in Moab is the same model I just bought, only I bought the carbon fiber version instead of aluminum.
So what's a boy to do in this situation?
Hmmm ... what's always open, 24 hours a day no matter what?
VEGAS!
Anyway, as I headed back home, each federal site reopened ... the day after I left.
Here's a Google Photo Album with highlights ... some of the Vegas highlights ... well, I can't show you those ...
[url=https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZZtzrKDWht1x2cGC6]The Last S2000 Road Trip