Toyota Road to the Summit Cont.

The Diversity of Utah
There are only a few places that offer the diversity of scenery of Utah, especially the southern portion where we spent most of our time. Pictures don’t really do the area justice – it must be seen to get a true appreciation. We’ve certainly had our fair share of Moab adventures over the years (a must-see area of the world, whether it be in a four-wheeler, side-by-side, dirt bike or mountain bike), but our adventure on the second and third day of this trip showed the beautiful diversity of Utah. We picked up camp after night one and made our way into the La Sal National Forest, an area full of green, tree-lined terrain mixed with red-colored trails and plenty of wildlife.

After hours on the dirt, we eventually hopped on the highway and reconnected with roads to make our way into the Henry Mountains. Once back on the dirt, we passed the hands-down favorite campground name of the trip: Lonesome Beaver Campground. We kept climbing higher into the Henry Mountains for the ideal camping area for our group. The Henry Mountains are stunning. Even though the highest point (Mt. Helen at 11,522 feet) is still is a far cry from the height of Imogene Pass, the views from our 9,000- and 10,000-foot trails still provided a stunning view of the La Sals (where we were earlier), Moab and Canyonlands National Park off in the distance.

After passing through a few small showers and encountering more wildlife, we eventually rested for the night at a truly amazing campsite. The area was really just a small clearing between some trees where someone had constructed a small makeshift fire pit, but it was looked like something out of a postcard and offered good protection from the wind.

The Expedition Overland crew made us another great meal for dinner, and we warmed up with some scotch, beer and other beverages near the fire before eventually retreating to our tents to call it a night.

Coming Down the (Henry) Mountains
We covered quite a bit of ground on our third day, as we drove out of the Henrys (but not before catching a few glimpse of Buffalo off in the distance) and into drier, more arid lower elevations. We drove for hours without seeing another soul, eventually hopping onto Burr Trail Road toward Boulder for a gas stop. We hadn’t had a single flat with any of our rigs, and although we were with two heavily modified Expedition Overland Toyotas, our stock Toyotas were still going strong and showing no signs of slowing down.

As the morning turned to afternoon, we encountered some rain clouds in the distance just as we were finishing up some video and photography. We drove on making our way toward Kanab, with our final destination for the day being the campgrounds at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, our lone “formal” camping spot of the entire trip.

More: Toyota Drive to the Summit Photo Gallery

The rain started to come down pretty hard, and within about five minutes our trail leader Kurt’s warnings about the unique slippery soil became apparent. I was driving the Tacoma and continued on at a slower pace, as the soft tacky mud literally began caking onto our tires leaving no tread exposed. As the trail winded down a hill and into a moderate right-hand turn, I suddenly lost traction in the Tacoma, which began sliding toward a large dirt wall on the edge of the trail. Fighting to regain traction, the wheels finally took hold of the slippery trail just before I hit the wall.

But the traction was short-lived and lasted only a few feet, as we began sliding again – this time heading straight off the right-hand side of the trail toward a three- to four-foot dropoff. With co-driver Zach reminding me (loudly) to brake, I helplessly pressed and released the brake pedal to no avail, as we slowly slid closer to the edge of the trail. Fortunately for us, the trail had a dirt mound at its edge, likely leftover debris from whenever the road was last maintained, which was just tall enough for the Tacoma’s front bumper to bury in to help us stop. Zach’s passenger side front wheel hung a few feet off the edge of the trail, but we finally were stopped. Although I wasn’t smart enough to get our truck stopped sooner on the slippery trail, I was at least aware of the fact that trying to get unstuck from the driver’s seat would only make things worse. I sheepishly asked for assistance and the Expedition Overland team quickly pulled out the winch line and MaxTrax recovery boards and we were back on all four wheels and ready to continue on after a few minutes, our Tacoma TRD Off-Road no worse for the wear.

Our campgrounds that evening at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park were great (and pink, as advertised), and they also offered something our other campsites had not: showers! We had our first showers of the trip, had a great steak and mushroom meal from the EO crew and enjoyed some beers by the campfire, sharing stories of the day and other great trips we’ve taken over the years.

The final day was at a quicker pace than the rest, as we ventured from Utah into Northern Arizona. We passed through some areas of note, such as Colorado City, which may ring a bell if you’ve seen the Escaping Polygamy show or read about the city’s ties to the FLDS Church. We also later traveled through the the Mt. Trumble Wilderness area and later passed land owned by the Bundy family – yes, the same “Bundy” family of Cliven Bundy who had a recent standoff with the BLM over unpaid grazing fees.

We officially ended our journey near the 15 Freeway not too far from St. George, Utah. When all was said and done, we covered 808.7 miles during our four-day trip. Combined with the first group that drove 722.1 miles, the grand total for this venture was 1530.8 miles. Although our day wasn’t quite over, as we still had to drive a few hours into Nevada to make it to Las Vegas to catch flights home, we said our goodbyes with the Expedition Overland crew and got back on the highway.

It’s hard to put into words just how great this trip was. Our guide Kurt kept noting this was just a trip to whet the appetite, which is true because there are so many offshoots and different paths to travel and sites to see along the way - we really only scratched the surface. Although we covered a lot of ground on our adventure, we also had it easy in some regards, because the Expedition Overland team really made our lives easier by cooking great meals for us every day, and they took the planning out of our overland adventure. The trip reinforces the fact that any adventure taking you away from civilization requires planning, preparation (of mind and equipment) and a good crew (and competent trail leader). Exploring the outdoors alone is never a good idea. Besides, who's gonna pull you out of that ditch?

In the end, we came away extremely impressed with the Toyota vehicles. The trip also reminded us that no manufacturer offers what Toyota does for off-road enthusiasts, mainly because no other manufacturer offers an off-road-capable half-ton, SUV and mid-size truck. No matter what we threw at the vehicles they never failed us once. Surprisingly, we never needed to use any of the spare tires either.

We’ve gone into great detail when testing these Toyota units in the past, and so for a little more info on each we’d direct your attention to our most recent tests of the Tundra TRD Pro, 4Runner TRD Pro and the 2016 Tacoma.

The trip was a success in more ways than one. Everyone had a blast, we all made it home safely, and at least for me, I'm already planning that next adventure. A big thanks to Toyota, Expedition Overland and Kurt from Cruiser Outfitters for making it all happen!