Actually, I don't "drag" anything into the mountains or desert. That's why I have a capable trailer that can go where I want to go without damage, then offer a fine place to camp in any weather. It's all relative, I guess. Modern stickies can't get off the pavement without ripping off parts or breaking something. Caravans have real ground clearance, large tires, good suspension with shocks, articulating hitches, like the McHitch, and relatively narrow bodies for fitting through tight places. I've been to Saline Valley, CA many times, Baja, Usal Beach in CA, Seven Mile Rim at Moab, Whitmore overlook, the mining roads near Silverton, CO, climbed up to Leavitt Lake on the Sonora pass with a washed out road in a hailstorm, parked in soft sand just feet from water at a local lake visited numerous hot springs in NV, and lots of places in Utah. You can hike in or out all you want and that's fine, but I can stay for days in any weather, cook great meals, be away from everyone if I want to and see places others only dream about. All while towing my caravan. And no, I don't litter up the place by leaving it there for seasons. Bring on a snow storm, bring on freezing weather. That is why I like ground clearance, large tires, quality suspension, good insulation, a narrow body, large solar, large batteries and quality construction. I wish I was too young to know about the places you mention, but I'm not, and it seriously pisses me off to see the destruction by looters and gun toting **************** who think it's their god given right to shoot up anything they find out there, or tear up cabins left by others. CA is the worst for this scourge, but it is moving east.