Photos and Text: Sven and Magdalena Schlogl

USA Crosscountry, Part 3

After a few days of spectacular wheeling in and around Moab, Utah, we pushed on.
In Canyonlands National Park we conquered the Elephant Hill - on our way back we rescued a family from Georgia who had gotten stuck with a broken rear driveshaft on their rental Wrangler. Towing them over the rough obstacles was a challenge in itself. We had made some friends in Georgia…

Our explorations led us further through Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park where we climbed Angels Landing early in the morning to reach the summit before the hottest part of the day. On a detour to Lake Powell we rented a speed boat to zoom through the narrow water-filled canyons - an 'off-road' adventure of the different kind. From here our journey took us back north, past Salt Lake City all the way to Yellowstone National Park, where the famous sulfur pools, geysers and wildlife kept our fingers busy on the camera trigger. We had planned some wheeling in the remoteness of Montana but again, snow and mud prevented us from exploring the high altitude trails of this northern state (in June!). In Glacier National Park we marveled upon the majestic rock formations reflecting in the ice-cold water of the crystal clear lakes which offered a refreshing bath after long hikes.
We cruised through Idaho and Washington to the Pacific Coast. It had been a little over five months since we had seen this ocean. We took the ferry to San Juan Island, one of about 100 islands in the Puget Sound, where we spent a few days with friends and were treated to a boat tour of the waterways. Then we visited some other friends in Seattle and enjoyed the vibrant birthplace of American gourmet coffee. The Olympic Peninsula sports the northwestern-most point of the contiguous USA which couldn't be missed on this crosscountry trip. Mount St. Helens is famous for its violent 1980 eruption, and the scars of the lateral volcanic blast are still visible today.
Following the coast of Oregon south, we jumped at the opportunity to switch rock with sand and went off-roading in the Oregon Dunes, a popular area for sand buggies and ATVs. Most trails through the deep sand are for ATVs and too narrow for trucks. We continued inland over windy mountain roads and visited the Newberry National Volcanic Monument with its lava fields. One of the most famous volcanic landscapes is Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the US.
After exactly 30,000 miles, just four days short of six months, we reached the border wit California.
We drove to Bodie, supposedly the best preserved ghost town in the West. Then we attacked one of the most famous four wheel trails in the country. Our friend Damian had come all the way from Los Angeles to tackle the Rubicon with us. We both had not done this trail before. In the late afternoon we conquered the Gatekeeper and set up camp. The next day should become one of the longest days of our journey. With only two rigs we made good progress, although we had a club with more than fourty jeeps ahead of us and plenty of trucks broke down on the trail creating additional obstacles. The camp area in Rubicon Springs was over-crowded so we decided to push on. It was close to 9 pm when we reached Cadillac Hill where I rolled our rig in an off-camber section. We tried to radio for help but did not get an answer. With Hi-Lift jack, tow straps and one Jeep on all four wheels we finally managed to get the XXXpedition vehicle back on its wheels. It was 11 pm when we continued our trip.
After a relaxing day at Lake Tahoe we visited Yosemite National Park and explored the rugged wilderness on foot. We found a last chance to use our four wheel drive in the deep sand of Pismo Beach where we met up with some friends who accompanied us on our last leg to Los Angeles.
6 months and exactly one week after we had left for this trip we arrived back in LA.

A long journey through many states had ended and we needed some time to digest countless impressions. This XXXpedition was definitely a great experience and hopefully we can do a similar adventure in the near future.

Some Facts:
Miles: 31,885
Days on the road: 188
No. of states visited: 41
No. of National Parks* visited: 78
No. of oil changes: 9
No. of sponsor stops: 6
No. of nights spent
o in motels (incl. New York City): 12
o with friends: 21
o camping: figure out the rest

* including National Seashore, National Lakeshore, National (Volcanic, Scenic, Historic) Monument, National Scenic Area, National Parkway, and National Preserve.