Kane Creek Canyon is a trail that was highly recommended to us by a neighbor when staying at Canyonlands Campground in Moab.
“The only hard part is the climb out of the canyon, and that isn’t too bad” were the only words of hesitation.
So with reckless abandon, I hit the trail with friends Andy, Matt and Joe.
The trail follows Kane Creek Canyon road out of Moab, heading West. The road quickly turns to dirt and descends through a really nice canyon. The road was pretty dusty, so Matt in his JK had to drop back a bit.
Kane Creek starts out a little on the boring side. At least the scenery is amazing.
Eventually the trail appeared on the Left, across from the Kane Creek/Chicken Corners pull off.
It has been a while since I have been Jeeping in Moab, so I didn’t miss a beat when selecting trails for today. By the end of the day, Andy and I will have run three of Moab’s most iconic trails: Gold Bar Rim, Golden Spike, and (most of) Poison Spider. This review covers the first trail: Gold Bar Rim.
The day started with a brisk temp and a stiff wind which kept temperatures pretty mild even though the sun was beating down on us all day.
Gemini Bridges road leading up out of Moab. Click to enlarge.
Heading ten miles North out of Moab, we turned onto the road for Gemini Bridges. This shelf road quickly climbs for some sweet views below. Eventually it levels off in a pretty wide canyon with some nice campsites peppered throughout.
Last year my best friend Andy and I decided to take a trip somewhere. Something kinda like the old days of riding our squeaky bikes down to the lake, but with the resources of middle-aged men.
We chose a Jeeping and camping week in Moab, and the MANTRIP was born.
Eastern Oregon.
We left home a bit late, around 1:00PM. This is the first full distance road trip for my M416 expedition trailer, so I wasn’t sure what to expect on the highway.
Living in rural Oregon has many advantages: beautiful mountains, rainforest streams, and a lot of wildlife. The downside? Longer commutes and chilly mornings.
What is a doorless and topless Jeeper to do?
Previously, I would pack layers of clothing and bundle up, slowly removing layers as the temp rose. I would start my day looking like Randy from A Christmas Story.
Many Jeepers start their summertime morning commutes just like this.
I am finally home in the foothills of Mount Hood in Oregon, after a long week in Daytona Beach.
I actually learned a TON during my time away. Primarily, I learned to never stand behind a man swinging a hammer at an exhaust tip (Phil, you are a great new friend – but I did warn you I would forever taunt you about that!). I learned that if you party with Rebel Off Road, be prepared to throw down (those guys DO NOT mess around).
But last, I learned about how awesome the Jeep family truly is.
Alas, the final day of Jeep Beach was finally upon us.
The contrast of cold beer and warm, sun-baked skin would soon be replaced with the similar dichotomy of airline seats and stale coffee.
Jeeps and the beach go together like America and apple pie.
The final day’s plan was simply to join the annual parade – all the Jeeps staged over by the river and parade to the beach and along it’s length.
I drove while Jason manned the camera. (Photo courtesy Jason Martin).
However, the night before we were told of horror stories of years past: huge traffic jams, hours of being stuck in the sweltering heat, and being unable to leave.
I decided to run the ARB V-Twin Air compressor as my air source. This was due to a couple of factors. Primarily, I want the ability to run air tools if needed on the trail. Second, I wanted some fast air for my 35s. Third, if I ever end up running aftermarket ARB lockers, I wanted to have the air situation figured out.
However I mounted mine to the M.O.R.E. underhood mount. This puts the open air receptacle right at the top of the compressor, and under the hood where the innards could be susceptible to water and dust.
So, I decided to add the manifold to the mix to fix these concerns.
Installation was simple and only needed a handful of tools.
Day 4 began like all other Jeep Beach mornings – waking to the warm Florida humidity, Dunkin Donuts coffee, and beautiful sunlight bouncing off the ocean.
Rule 1 about Jeep Club: When borrowing a friend’s Jeep, apply the biggest pink decal you can find.
Little did I know it would end very differently, with some Jeep damage, me in Urgent Care with stitches in my knee, and a very crazy, crazy party.
The morning started off with the beautiful Florida sun peeking through the blinds. The smell of sunscreen and stale beer rang throughout our condo, signalling yet another day of Jeep Beach.
Florida mornings are just freaking awesome.
We headed to the Daytona International Speedway to hang out and meet vendors, and to take my friend Phil’s 1989 restored YJ out on the infamous obstacle course that was set up in the massive Daytona infield.
First things first, we hit the obstacle course with Phil’s YJ. Unfortunately his transfer case did not engage into 4WD properly and when he bumped some logs, he ended up snapping the front driveshaft yoke. So, we hobbled his rig off the course and ordered the parts from the show. Tomorrow morning, I will attempt a fix right on the Daytona infield.
Approaching the first section of the obstacle course.
The rest of the afternoon was spent meeting and greeting the various companies that my Jeep is made of (or that I plan to order from).
A JK tackles a challenging section of the course. Not too shabby for Florida standards.
I had a great chat with Chris from SpiderWebShade and learned a bit about his fascinating company. They started in 2006 as an upholstery shop and made a few mesh screens for friends’ Jeeps. They started making 50 units per month, and now are at 5,000+. It is a VERY cool product and I look forward to giving it a full review on this site soon.
Factor 55’s products are safe and sexy!
I also spent some time with Mike from Factor 55. His company makes some amazing winch/recovery points and I will also get on a review of their new FlatLink shackle thimble. I am really looking forward to testing it out in Moab next month and will also provide a full review.
ACE was out…in SPADES. Sorry….
At the end of the day, I met people from ACE Engineering, Rebel Off Road, Rock Krawler (have you ever held their control arms!?), Poison Spider, Rugged Ridge, Carolina Metal Masters, Bruiser Conversions, and many many more.
We watched this poor girl try and try to make it up in her Jeep. She finally nailed it!
We retired to the condo to rehydrate, relax, and check out all the goodies we bought today, as well as formulate a plan to get Phil’s rig back on the trail tomorrow.
Tonight is also the VIP Tiky Party! Hope to post more on that later, beers providing 🙂
Today culminated one of the biggest achievements yet of Jeep Beach 2014: Completing the scavenger hunt.
We drove around between A1A and US 1, checking off an interesting list of hidden secrets such as the “mysterious” ruins of New Smyrna, a lighthouse in Ponce Inlet, and a manatee named “Cookie.”
But perhaps the most interesting thing we encountered was the “Tomb in the road.” According to the site “Weird Florida,”
Me, at the “Tomb in the road.”
“[Douglas] Dummett sent his son to school in the North and in 1860 when Charles was home from school, he was killed while on a hunting trip when his gun accidentally discharged. Douglas Dummett buried his son on the spot where he was killed. For the past century this area has been developed into a residential neighborhood, but Charles Dummett’s tomb still sits on a little island in the middle of Canova Drive.”
Pretty cool history off the beaten path.
After we completed all the items on the list, we headed back to the condo for some sun and some R&R before cruising out to the first “meet n greet” of the week.
The highlight of the meet n greet was roaming around the parking lot, checking out all the amazing rigs from around the country.
Here are some of my favorites:
Beautiful military-themed CJ.A worthy Renegade.An old Army Flattie.A 2014 JK-8 conversion. The owner did the conversion when brand new.This JK had the most beautiful axles and suspension I have ever seen. Currie Rockjock 80s!Rugged Ridge’s Army Jeep. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Unless it involves an army-themed Tacticool JK. Then it is fine.
After the drool-fest was over outside, we headed inside for some mingling, dinner, and drinks (the hotel made me a special vegan dinner of penne, fresh garlic marinara and garlic bread – super good!) but the drinks we pretty meh.
I was able to chat with Bond, the founder of Rebel Offroad and also the Editor of CRAWL magazine (who is also a Northwesterner).
Tomorrow I am looking forward to heading to Daytona Raceway for some Jeeping and to roam around the various vendors. Then it’s the VIP tiky party!
![Trail Review: Kane Creek Canyon [UTAH]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140516_181539.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Trail Review: Gold Bar Rim [UTAH]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/cover.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
Off-road Vegan 