Expedition X Off-road Escalante Grand Staircase Trip

Mojave desert jump
Raw Horsepower jump in Mojave desert - photo by Trick Raptor

Expedition X Offroad’s Grand Staircase Run was one I was very glad to be able to take part in. The trip lasted 5 days and spanned well over 1000 miles of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The scenery of this trip was unmatched and can't really be done justice unless you were there to witness it yourself. The first day the group started in Barstow and the trails took us to Laughlin, Nevada.

The first day was a bit slower than the other days due to some of the breakdowns we had to deal with on the trail such as a few flats and blown fuses. These breaks were somewhat quick fixes but due to some unforeseen circumstances, they took longer than we originally thought to fix. We ended up in Laughlin after a long and very hot day but it was overall interesting and fun.

The second day started very warmly and was one of the hotter days of the trip but also one of the more scenic days. The trail was interesting and technical at the same time. Most of the time on any of the days on trail for a matter of fact, you couldn't help but stop and appreciate the scenery. We visited Lake Mead along with a quick lunch stop in the water to help us cool off from the 114 degree weather outside. After cooling off in the lake we made a run through the Valley of Fire state park which is extremely beautiful. The bright red and heat scorched rocks make for an amazing landscape that everyone needs to see. The day ended us in Mesquite, Nevada, which was one of the more fun nights at the hotel. The cold pool felt great after another long hot day on the trail.

Raw horsepower lake mead

We woke up early the next morning to start the next leg of our trip towards Kanab, Utah which in my opinion was the most scenic day of them all. When you get a chance to see the Grand Canyon, any other sights almost can't compare to it. This day was also a nice change of scenery from the desert to more forests, mountains and all around plant life. The section of the Grand Canyon we visited is a bit off the beaten path as you might imagine but it had some of the best views as anywhere else in the park. We stopped and talked to the Park Ranger who ran that part of the National Park for a while about how it was living out there away from most civilization. Her backyard is incomparable to anyone else no matter how rich you are, you will never have that kind of amazing view. This days trails had a nice fluctuation of high speed and slower sections that always keep you guessing what's coming next. We ended the day with a relaxing night in Kanab before once again hitting the trail in the

Expedition x off-road
Expedition X Off-road Grand Canyon

 

Day 4 was the last full day of trails we had on the Grand Staircase Run. The days trails were some of the most fun due to the high speed parts and few drifting sections that I really enjoy driving on. After a few hours on the trail we made it to Lake Powell, where we spent roughly an hour relaxing in the lake and after that headed up the ridge for some truly amazing views. The ridge allowed you to see a good portion of Lake Powell and it was really unmatched. Some of the views after this made its almost seem like you were on the moon with these grey and red colored rocks and hills that surrounded you. The change of scenery on day 4 went from shrubs, forests, rocky hills and lakes, this was definitely one of the most diverse days yet. We headed on a graded road into town, with a few more corners to drift our last full day came to a close.

The last day was a half day of trails and the last half of the day was spent heading home. The last day was more of a relaxing trail that included a nice lunch stop at a river crossing. Other than the lakes this was some of the only water we came across this trip. The lunch stop allowed us to get out of the heat and cool off in the nice river before we ended our trip. The rest of the trails we took at a slower pace and it rounded out the trip really nicely.

This trip was one of my favorite EXO trips that I have been on because of the differentiation of scenery, pace and trails everyday. This gave each day a very new feel and kept it fresh and guessing what was coming next. Overall this was an amazing trip that EXO did an amazing job as usual with the preparation and the trails they chose.

Raw Horsepower will have a video soon.

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