Hieroglyphic Mountain Loop

Trail was fun. Definitely do NOT follow the trail signs that are there. You MUST keep the GPS running and follow this. The loop follows trails 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11. It took us just over 2.5 hours. It was a really fun ride. Plenty of areas to go fast, do some rock climbing and some amazing views I will for sure come back and do this loop.

Fun trail, the lower part is a wash, but the upper loop is off camber, lots of sharp turns and a few rock ledges, enough to keep your full interest, and on your toes, not easy, but not difficult, just a long, fun trail.

We took our 2024 Yamaha Rmax2 on this trail. We have 16" of ground clearance and it sits on 30" tires. We went clock wise on the trail. The first part of the trail is easy nothing to crazy. As you get closer the the northwestern part of the trail that's when the pucker factor really kicks in. The first tiny obstacle was about a 3ft rutted out drop that puts you into a wash. The first real obstacle coming out of the wash was a some what shelf area of rocks to the right hand side and a 5' vertical climb on the left hand side. We decided to go to the left for the vertical climb. Turned our dif locker on and it had no problem climbing up this side of the trail. The rest of the trail is rutted out almost vertical trails going up and down as you make your way to the peak of the trail. The last big hill climb was almost completely vertical. Once at the top it offered outstanding views. Then it's a down hill ride from there some almost vertical but nothing like what you encounterd going up the trail.

I have a very capable 2010 2D Wrangler on 37s, 4in lift, front/rear diff locks, all the fixings. However, I am a little newer to wheeling, so this was a step up in difficulty for me. I have to say, my Jeep carried me through this loop, I was not ready for those climbs and drops lol. Definitely a pucker factor but got through it with no issue. I know for sure I wouldnt have been able to do this loop with anything less on tire size and lift. I cant imagine this isnt a difficult trail. Now, looking at other sites/ comments plenty rate it "difficult" so I would have to agree, definitely not a mid-range moderate trail thats rated "4", especially for less equipped rigs. Your first obstacle is in the first wash, shortly after following north, going clock-wise loop from the staging area. A decent size no bypass boulder climb to the left fork (bigger one on right) and if you cant do that comfortably you should not continue the loop. The climbs occur N,NW of the loop, thats the pucker factor area, steep drops/climbs