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Offroad trip to Utah
I just got back from three days of offroad travel in the Utah Canyonlands. I posted a couple of pictures so far.
We were out for three days to do a 105 mile loop where the Colorado and Green rivers come together in Southern Utah. This is the first time that I have really been able to try the Hummer on a good offroad course. It did very well.
I averaged around 20 MPH and 8 MPG for the offroad part. That included some "goat trails" where I had to fold in my side mirrors and the tires were sitting right on the edge of a cliff. During some play time, I was able to coax the H2 up onto a 3 ft tall rock table with all four wheels. I don't have any pictures back from the others in the group yet, but if they got a shot of that one I will post it.
I went along with two other vehicles. One was a Ford Excursion and the other was a GMC Tahoe. Both of the other vehicles made it through the course, but they had some bangs and marks from collisions with rocks. They averaged 8 MPH and also got 8 MPG on the same course.
I was running on point, and was able to hit speeds of 40MPH or so in some parts. The terrain ranged from deep sand, to bare rocks, to "goat trails", to conventional dirt roads. When I would get way out in front, I would stop and walk around a little. We used GMRS radios to keep in touch and they worked very well over the few miles that we were apart. This was one of the best offroad trips that I have ever taken.
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Offroad trip to Utah
Sounds like a great trip! Those pics are nice - I've spent months around and in the Grand Canyon and your pics bring back the memories. I don't think I'd want to be right on the edge of a cliff even on foot. Run into any unfriendlies?
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Offroad trip to Utah
I never had any problems at all.
I had read a few articles about bears there recently, but did not see any sign at all. It was 107F during the days, so perhaps it was too hot for them. I did not even take the guns out of the truck. We saw a total of perhaps five or six other vehicles in the whole three days.
I set up the ham radio and worked half a dozen stations around the US and one in New Zealand. But, for emergencies, we could get a cell phone signal from any high point. If I wanted to, I could have checked email when it would have taken several hours to drive to the nearest town.
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Offroad trip to Utah
AC5ZO,
Beautiful pictures! Sounds like a fun trip. I am not so sure I would be doing that kinda rock crawl with a Hummer H2. That could be come expensive rock crawlin'. Anyhow glad you had a great time.
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Offroad trip to Utah
Sounds like a great time! Now we know where you've been the last couple of days. I haven't been to the canyon in thirty years, as they said I was to big to ride the mules then but still had a great time. I think I'd rather go your way the next time!
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Offroad trip to Utah
Chief, I cannot figure out why anyone would buy a Hummer and not take it out and use it in the environment that it was built for. As for the expense....I don't have a boat or other such vehicle, so the Hummer is the best factory vehicle that can utilize the environment where I live. And I can tell you that the adrenoline rush from running over those desert tracks easily compares to times that I have been piloting sailboats with water coming over the bow or riding in a fast ocean racing boat.
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Offroad trip to Utah
AC5ZO,
I can definitely identify with what you are saying. I guess I was just meaning to say that H2 is a really nice vehicle and I would be afraid of putting a dent of scratch in it with the luck I have sometimes. I guess you can't let stuff like that get to you. My dog put a scratch on my Dodge Cummins pickup the day after I brought it home. I was pissed at first but then thought, "its a pickup truck, use it and get the enjoyment out of it". I still try to be as careful as I can. Nice lookin' rig. I don't know that much about them. You posted that you got 20 mpg on the road. Did your H2 come with a diesel? That is great fuel mileage for a vehicle that size and weight.
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Offroad trip to Utah
That's fun, but IMHO the best way to do the canyon is by going down the Colorado river. I've done it four times now. This link has a picture of what to expect - that's my bald head sticking out the top of the raft.
Link:
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Offroad trip to Utah
I averaged 20 Miles per Hour over the 105 mile course and 8 Miles per Gallon. That was in contrast to the other SUVs that averaged 8 MPH and 8 MPG. My engine is a 320 HP 6.0 Liter GMC Vortec gasoline engine that produces the same torque as the GMC diesel used in the Hummer H1. It is very fast to deliver power and you really feel it on your backside when you hit the throttle.
Twenty miles per hour average is not a slow or fast pace. What it means is that I could complete the 105 mile loop in about five hours if I did not wait on other vehicles. To put this in perspective, in the Baja 1000, we average about 40 MPH with our specially built Class 9 race car. The fastest classes average closer to 60 MPH on rugged but fairly open terrain.
The stretch of the Colorado River where we were runs very slow and looks more like a lake than a river. There are still scenic canyon walls, but not like the Grand Canyon. This area is called Island in the Sky. My friends that I met for this trip rafted down to Lake Powell and then came back to pick up their vehicles and do this offroad trip.
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Offroad trip to Utah
EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! Ken. Bet you were picking some grit out of your teeth on that ride!  !
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08-14-2003, 17:09 
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