Trans America Trail - Oklahoma to Oregon

[devero4]

Very nice photos, and tasteful FJ!

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I can't speak for Nevada, but most of the trail was very manageable. However, part of the route in Utah sent us down a trail that turned out to be a 4 wheeler trail. By the time we realized we were too big for the trail we had no option but to push on. In Colorado the tightest trails were the passes (Imogene and Engineer) but there have been a number of large vehicles prove their worth on those two. Oregon was mostly logging roads so they were plenty big. We followed GPSkevin's maps, so if you are at all familiar with those he has alternate routes (green, blue, and red). We highly recommend the green routes through Utah, and probably Nevada since the terrain is similar.

Congrats on the engagement very cool

How did you like GPSKevin's maps and did you use the green route 100%?

 

[jrnottarts]

Congrats on the engagement very cool

How did you like GPSKevin's maps and did you use the green route 100%?

Thank you! We were on the blue routes all they way to Green River Utah, then went back to blue and ended up on a 4-wheeler trail. After that debacle we went back to green for the rest of Utah to avoid tiny trails. Nevada we did a combo of freestyle paved routes and GPSkevin's green routes (most of which were paved highways anyway). Once we were in Cali/Oregon we went back to blue and had no major issues.

 

[jrnottarts]

Very nice photos, and tasteful FJ!

Thanks! I'm only making modifications that have a certain utility. I REALLY wanted a lift but after finding it wasn't necessary for the TAT, it's been put on the back burner. We did find that a rear bumper with gas/hilift carriers would have been a huge benefit, so a rear bumper got pushed to be my new priority. It's funny how priorities change when you focus on utility over aethetics. A fun transition nonetheless!

 

[bigskypylot]

Thanks! I'm only making modifications that have a certain utility. I REALLY wanted a lift but after finding it wasn't necessary for the TAT, it's been put on the back burner. We did find that a rear bumper with gas/hilift carriers would have been a huge benefit, so a rear bumper got pushed to be my new priority. It's funny how priorities change when you focus on utility over aethetics. A fun transition nonetheless!

Might wanna think about beefier coils with a heavier bumper and added weight etc that you'll carry on future outings

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Thank you! We were on the blue routes all they way to Green River Utah, then went back to blue and ended up on a 4-wheeler trail. .....

Can you clarify, you started on blue and went back to blue?

Also if you were to do it again would you start earlier for cooler temps and less bugs?

 

[AggieOE]

I'm sure I missed it somewhere but how did you guys decide where to camp each day? Did you build the trip around that or try and wing it certain days?

 

[jrnottarts]

Can you clarify, you started on blue and went back to blue?

Also if you were to do it again would you start earlier for cooler temps and less bugs?

Yeah that sounds confusing doesn't it. We were on the blue routes all they until we hit Green River, UT. We then did a mix of green and blue (mostly green) until we hit Nevada. There is a portion of the blue trail in Utah, near Emery, UT that was purely an ATV trail and was no business for our vehicle. Unfortunately, it was way to tight to turn around so we muscled through. For Nevada we followed only Green and our own freestyle paved routes and then continued back to blue routes for Cali and Oregon.

Honestly, the temperatures were pretty mild for the few weeks we were out. Most of the days were spent in the car (with AC) so it wasn't too bad. At night the temps dropped low enough that we were plenty cold. Lots of rainy nights. It POURED on us every night we camped, even in Moab. Probably due to the drastic changes in temperature. The bugs really weren't a problem either, minus the hoards of grasshoppers we murdered in Oklahoma and New Mexico. Its funny, its been nearly 6 months and we still have an occasional dried up grasshopper fall out of the FJ from time to time. So. Many. Grasshoppers. Doesn't help that they baked on during the hot sunny days.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Yeah that sounds confusing doesn't it. We were on the blue routes all they until we hit Green River, UT. We then did a mix of green and blue (mostly green) until we hit Nevada. There is a portion of the blue trail in Utah, near Emery, UT that was purely an ATV trail and was no business for our vehicle. Unfortunately, it was way to tight to turn around so we muscled through. For Nevada we followed only Green and our own freestyle paved routes and then continued back to blue routes for Cali and Oregon.

Honestly, the temperatures were pretty mild for the few weeks we were out. Most of the days were spent in the car (with AC) so it wasn't too bad. At night the temps dropped low enough that we were plenty cold. Lots of rainy nights. It POURED on us every night we camped, even in Moab. Probably due to the drastic changes in temperature. The bugs really weren't a problem either, minus the hoards of grasshoppers we murdered in Oklahoma and New Mexico. Its funny, its been nearly 6 months and we still have an occasional dried up grasshopper fall out of the FJ from time to time. So. Many. Grasshoppers. Doesn't help that they baked on during the hot sunny days.

Good info thanks for sharing

 

[jrnottarts]

I'm sure I missed it somewhere but how did you guys decide where to camp each day? Did you build the trip around that or try and wing it certain days?

We had a plan from the get go. Two nights camping, then one night hotel. This morphed into every other night due to various reasons (mostly whether or not we were due for a hot shower and a dry bed). Camping was purely freestyle. We tried to call it quits around 5-6pm every day to have time to find a campsite, set up camp, and then eat before dark. We used apps like "park finder" and the KOA app, but generally we just asked locals at our daily fuel stops. We had DeLorme maps as well that did a pretty good job of listing local campsites. I actually traced the entire trail on our DeLorme maps so we could find nearby campsites no matter where we ended up. That combination did the trick. Hotels were a little trickier. It was impossible to get enough cell service to make the reservations from the trail, so we just had to physically stop in to check availability. We lucked out for all of our stops except in Lake City, CO, where we ran into a few full hotels before we found the winner. There was a certain excitement (maybe anxiety) of playing the "where-are-we-gonna-sleep-tonight" game.