Jeep - Offroading, Travel Blog

Leading Trails and Making Friends: Jeepers BOF in Moab

In May 2025, we joined the Escapees Jeepers BOF event in Moab, leading trails, earning rare Jeep Badge of Honor climbs, and tackling classics like Hell’s Revenge, Behind the Rocks, and Sego Canyon.

After a few days of scouting trails on our own before Escapees Jeepers BOF week, we moved up to the Seven Mile RV Park North of Moab for the official Escapees Jeepers event ready for bigger adventures. The pre-event runs gave us a good shake-down of Rubi and reminded us how Moab always demands both respect and preparation. Now it was time to join our friends, take turns leading trails, and dive into the full BOF experience. From limited-time Badge of Honor trails like Wipeout Hill and Lost World to classics like Hell’s Revenge and Behind the Rocks, the week promised challenge, camaraderie, and plenty of red rock stories.

Jeep Notes: Escapees Jeepers BOF
The Escapees Jeepers BOF (Birds of a Feather) is a community within the Escapees RV Club for RVers who love to explore off-road. The group organizes meetups across the country, with Moab being one of the highlights of the year. Events are built around camaraderie, shared trail rides, and helping each other tackle everything from trail spotting to trail repairs. Whether you are a new Jeeper (of any brand of off-highway vehicle) or a seasoned rock crawler, the BOF makes every ride a shared adventure.

Wipe Out Hill – Limited Time Jeep Badge

Barb tackles her first big big obstacle as the driver on Wipeout Hill!

Wipeout Hill is part of Jeep’s limited Badge of Honor program, where certain trails are only available to earn for a set time. That made this climb extra special, knowing it might not always be on the list. The program adds a little extra motivation, turning an already thrilling obstacle into a badge-worthy memory. For us, tackling Wipeout Hill was not just about the challenge, but about earning a rare piece of Jeep history.

Jason is counseling Barb before she begins the climb up Wipeout Hill, hoping that she will not have Rubi fulfill the name sake of the obstacle! From the top of the obstacle you get a little idea to how steep of a climb is ahead.
Barb wheeled Rubi up to the top of Wipeout Hill, navigating carefully while Jason spotted from below and Tina from above. The angles and heights associated with this climb is lost in the photo, but keep in mind the size of the Jeep and the how it is dwarfed on the shelves Barb is having Rubi climb!
Still smiling after tackling her first big obstacle at Wipeout Hill. Rubi handled it like a champ, but the driver gets the bragging rights.
Jeep Notes: What is a Limited Time Jeep Badge Trail?
Most Jeep Badge of Honor trails stay on the program year after year, but a handful are designated as limited-time badges. These trails rotate in and out, which means if you want the badge, you have to run it while it is available. Wipeout Hill is one of those rare opportunities. That makes completing it more than just a trail ride—it is a chance to collect a badge that may never return to the lineup.

Lost World – Limited Time Jeep Badge

We served as trail leaders for this run, with six Jeeps following behind as we carved our way across the landscape. The pace was steady, the obstacles light, but the sense of adventure was high. Lost World is one of Moab’s newer Jeep Badge of Honor trails and, like Wipeout Hill, it carries the added intrigue of being a limited-time badge. The trail itself feels more like overlanding than hardcore rock crawling, winding through wide-open desert terrain with dramatic mesas rising in the distance.  Leading Lost World gave us a chance to guide others in earning, for some, their first badges themselves.

Much of Lost World feels more like “overlanding” than pure off-roading, as the trail winds deep into the desert landscape. On this day, we took the lead with six other Jeeps following behind, streaming across the open country. It was the kind of ride where wide horizons, dust trails, and the steady hum of engines made the adventure as memorable as any obstacle.
Our Jeep Rubi is lined up with her friends at the base of Tombstone Butte. The Escapees Jeepers BOF rigs looked small against the massive sandstone backdrop, but this contrast is what makes exploring Moab so amazing. Every trail here feels like a postcard image.
Jeep Notes: What makes Lost World different?
Most Moab Badge of Honor trails are famous for steep slickrock climbs and technical rock obstacles, but Lost World stands apart. It is a limited-time badge trail with more of an overlanding character, long stretches of desert track, sweeping views, and only a handful of moderate challenges along the way. That makes it a great trail for groups, especially when not everyone is looking for heavy rock crawling. The reward is not just the scenery, but the chance to grab a badge that might not always be offered.

Behind the Rocks

Behind the Rocks is classic Moab with big ledges, steep slickrock, big repairs and plenty of opportunities to test both Jeep and driver. The trail skirts the cliffs overlooking Kane Creek before diving into a series of obstacles that earn their reputation. We ran it with the group and quickly learned why it is considered a challenge. Broken parts, blown tires, and trail repairs became part of the adventure, but so did the satisfaction of conquering another Moab legend.

The group’s rigs suffered a number of broken parts and blown tires on Behind the Rocks. At this point, our silver Rubi is waiting to pull up Ed’s white Jeep, which had drive train issues and was down to only front-wheel drive. At the same time, Tim and Tina were changing a rear driver’s side tire that blew when a sharp rock sliced open the sidewall. Fortunately, everyone either had what they needed on hand, or someone else in the group was ready with the right gear.
Moab trails are known for testing metal as much as drivers, and Behind the Rocks lived up to its reputation taking out another differential cover. One more scar for Rubi’s skid plates and diffs to wear proudly. Rocks like these remind us that trail armor is worth every penny and we need to do something about these rear covers!

Hell’s Gate at Hell’s Revenge

This was our second run on Hell’s Revenge, the domed slickrock that launches you straight out of the parking lot immediately triggers that feeling of falling off a cliff. Back in 2021 we rushed through the trail because the morning heat was already climbing past 100 degrees. This time was different. With great spotting from our friend Joel, we took on Hell’s Gate, a classic obstacle every Jeeper should try at least once.

With Jason holding tight onto Rubi’s steering wheel, we both took on Hell’s Gate, a steep sandstone chute that looks impossible from the bottom. Tires squealed on the slickrock, and some tipping with only three wheels on the ground stretching out Rubi’s reach, the climb felt both nerve-racking and exhilarating.
Jeep Notes: Hell’s Gate
Hell’s Gate is one of the most famous obstacles in Moab, located along the Hell’s Revenge trail. The chute itself is about 150 to 200 feet long, rising steeply in a narrow groove of slickrock that feels nearly vertical from the bottom. Good spotting is essential, as the wrong line can put you dangerously close to the edge. Reaching the top delivers an unforgettable rush and instant bragging rights in the Jeep community.

Book Cliffs and Sego Canyon

Another trail we had planned to lead together took a different turn when Barb was sidelined with a migraine, leaving Jason to guide this one solo. Sego Canyon and Book Cliffs are north of the interstate and north of Moab, the route stood out because it was tucked away from the classic Moab off-roading zones. The guidebook promised sweeping views over Arches National Park, which might have been a stretch, but the vistas were still epic. As you pass the Moab exit and look up to your right, the towering cliffs dominating the desert horizon are the Book Cliffs.

We aired down for the trail at Jackass Joe’s Twilight Zone. This is a one-of-a-kind pit stop in Utah, impossible to miss with its bright green paint and cartoon aliens. If you are coming off the interstate on your way down into Moab, you can swing by this quirky roadside stop on the north side of the interchange. Their fuel prices are a little out of this world, but the inside is just as wild and fun! An honest full-size fuel stop is being built across the road, so you will probably get more earthly priced fuel in the future!
Stepping into the Twilight Zone store was like entering another planet—aliens, neon signs, and shelves stacked with quirky snacks and gifts.
Tucked against the Book Cliffs, this wildlife guzzler provides a vital man made source of water for desert animals.
The trail ahead suddenly turned into a bison crossing, so we stopped to give him the right of way. However, he had other ideas! Instead of moving off, he trotted in front of us for a while before hopping up onto the side of the road and pacing us from the banks. It felt like we had our very own trail escort.
We were snowed on at the 8,500-foot summit where BLM land meets the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation boundary. From up here, the views seemed to stretch forever, looking out over Hell’s Hole Canyon, the Book Cliffs, and beyond. The air was cooler and damp, the breeze carried the sweet scent of pine, and the wide-open sky reminded us just how vast this country really is.
We picked up a handful of rocks along the Sego Canyon trail to take back for our granddaughter’s “rocks of the states” collection at her science museum. Red sandstone, black volcanic rock, and smooth river stones each told a little story about how this land was shaped. If you did not know, the Funtreks guide books are a great resource when wheeling with a group. They have several volumes that cover the Southwest and are packed with trail details.

Seven Mile RV Park

Our only criticism of Seven Mile RV Park is that, for the price, having full hookups would be ideal. That said, it was a great spot with 50-amp electrical service, which let us run the heat pumps at night and the air conditioning during the day without worry. The campground sits “up on top” outside the Moab river valley, just north of Arches National Park, with easy access to the northeast entry into Canyonlands. It borders low-speed railroad tracks used to move nuclear material from the cleanup site below to its new resting place north of the interstate. This property was once known as Gemini Bridges Campground, and although the name has changed, it remains in the same family’s hands after generations.

Morning light poured across the cliffs surrounding Seven Mile RV Park, turning the red rock into glowing shades of gold and orange. Some people miss the magic of sunrise, but the golden hour here is worth setting an alarm for! The early sun bathes the towering cliffs of the Gemini Bridges area in warm orange tones that seem to wrap the whole campground in light.
Each campsite here has little patches of native plants between them, and these spring flowers were waiting to greet us when we pulled in. Out in the desert, you never know when a splash of color will surprise you in the spring. With Rubi and the motorhome in the background, it almost looked like a scene from a modern-day western. The flowers are Evening Primrose, opening up in the cool of the morning and closing by midday to keep from drying out.

What’s Next? Zipping back to Wisconsin for summer!

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