It's been a weather-filled winter here in southwestern Utah, with El Nino-driven precipitation being the norm. It's been fairly cold and very wet, with higher elevations getting 200% of the normal snow that usually falls. This is making all our usual trails snowy, muddy and, sometimes, impassable.
Magazine deadlines don't wait and I needed to do another installment on our long-term Polaris RZR S. So, two friends and I took their ATVs and the RZR S out for an exploring trip in the desert of western Utah and eastern Nevada which is dry and nice this time of year. Or so I thought.
While the weather was beautiful and it WAS dry and nice most places, some of the canyons that are usually dry are now running streams and rivers from the snow melt in higher elevations. One of the washes (arroyo, wadi, etc.) had a lot of water flowing and made for some interesting crossing, especially when dropping into unexpected holes while fording.
The RZR S performed as usual - well. Dirt roads were a blast as the fuel-injected 800 twin propels the RZR S to 63 mph. The 12" Fox Podium reservoir coilovers, coupled with long A-arms, soaked up bumps. After fording one of the running rivers, we headed up a dry canyon and the RZR S did well there, too, crawling over rocks and climbing ledges.
My friends on their ATVs and me in the RZR S covered so much ground that fuel started to be an issue. There were some anxious times as we were finding our way back and the fuel gauges read "fumes". We made it, though, resolving to carry some extra gas the next time we went exploring here. The distances are great and there's a LOT to see.
The RZR S allows exploring on a much grander scale than I'm used to, as it can go so fast when the road allows that much more ground is covered. It's crawling capability is icing on the cake.
Look for this trip in 4WD&SU Magazine!