4x4 Trails
At Syncro Safari, Idaho '13 we took remote Syncro adventures on three of our days together. Trails were selected for their scenery, historic value, and for a mild-moderate 4-wheeling challenge. Trails are scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The remote roads in this area are fairly well maintained the routes we took surprised us in that they didn't really need 4-wheel drive during the dry weather we had.
Monday, July 1: Selway River & Fog Mountain - We traveled along both the Wild and Scenic Lochsa the Selway Rivers, on pavement part of the way. We visited Selway Falls and then turned north and made our ascent out of the river canyon up the slopes of Fog Mountain to be rewarded with a beautiful view of the jagged peaks called the "Selway Crags". Easy to Mild 4-wheeling, mostly a 2 on the "Massey Scale" (below).
Wednesday, July 3:Historic Lewis & Clark Trail - Eastern Bitterroots, (also known as the Lolo Motorway) Historic Lewis & Clark Trail campsites and scenic views. About 9 hours total duration including about 2 hours along paved, scenic Highway 12 paralleling the Locha River. Easy to Mild 4-wheeling, mostly a 1 on the "Massey Scale" (below).
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Friday, July 5: Historic Lewis & Clark Trail - Western Bitterroots, Historic Lewis & Clark Trail campsites and a visit to beautiful Lewis & Clark grove following the Lewis & Clark path approximating their path out of the mountains to Weippe where they were aided by the Nez Perce tribe. About 8 hours total duration including about 2.5 hours along paved, scenic Highway 12 paralleling the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers. Easy to Mild 4-wheeling, mostly a 1 on the "Massey Scale" (below).
* Note: See difficulty descriptions below.
More detailed trail descriptions and additional information can be found with these links:
Monday, July 1: Selway River & Fog Mountain - We traveled along both the Wild and Scenic Lochsa the Selway Rivers, on pavement part of the way. We visited Selway Falls and then turned north and made our ascent out of the river canyon up the slopes of Fog Mountain to be rewarded with a beautiful view of the jagged peaks called the "Selway Crags". Easy to Mild 4-wheeling, mostly a 2 on the "Massey Scale" (below).
Wednesday, July 3:Historic Lewis & Clark Trail - Eastern Bitterroots, (also known as the Lolo Motorway) Historic Lewis & Clark Trail campsites and scenic views. About 9 hours total duration including about 2 hours along paved, scenic Highway 12 paralleling the Locha River. Easy to Mild 4-wheeling, mostly a 1 on the "Massey Scale" (below).
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Friday, July 5: Historic Lewis & Clark Trail - Western Bitterroots, Historic Lewis & Clark Trail campsites and a visit to beautiful Lewis & Clark grove following the Lewis & Clark path approximating their path out of the mountains to Weippe where they were aided by the Nez Perce tribe. About 8 hours total duration including about 2.5 hours along paved, scenic Highway 12 paralleling the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers. Easy to Mild 4-wheeling, mostly a 1 on the "Massey Scale" (below).
* Note: See difficulty descriptions below.
More detailed trail descriptions and additional information can be found with these links:
SELWAY FALLS & FOG MOUNTAIN LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL - EAST LEWIS & CLARK TRAIL - WEST
Trail Ratings
Trails are rated here on a very simple basis and truthfully there’s much more behind describing trail difficulty than this simplification does justice to. But, for the sake of simplicity these ratings are compared to a typical Syncro’s capability. What’s a typical Syncro? Original 2.1L engine, 14” wheels with 27” LT all-terrain tires, and a rear differential lock.
Syncro Safari Ratings
Easy – 2WD with decent tires and maybe a little ground clearance can do this trail.
Mild – Occasional 4WD needed, obstacles are not a real challenge for a Syncro, Diff-lock not needed.
Moderate – 4WD often needed, challenging for a Syncro, Diff-lock needed at times, some obstacles
require getting out, scouting a route, stacking some rocks.
Difficult – 4WD often needed, some obstacles more than a Syncro can handle, Diff-lock often required,
significant terrain modification to make passable for a Syncro, damage likely
Extreme – Fuh-getaboudit! Serious off-road vehicles needed, not passible by a Syncro
The Massey & Wilson trail ratings are included in the fantastic guide book "Backcountry Adventures" series by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson.
Rating 1: The trail is graded dirt but suitable for a normal passenger vehicle. It usually has gentle grades, is fairly wide, and has shallow water crossings (if any).
Rating 2: High-clearance vehicles are preferred but not necessary. These trails are dirt roads, but they may have rocks grades, water crossings, or ruts that make clearance a concern in a normal passenger vehicle. The trails are fairly wide, making passing possible at almost any point along the trail. Mud is not a concern under normal weather conditions.
Rating 3: High-clearance 4WDs are preferred, but any high-clearance vehicle is acceptable. Expect a rough road surface; mud and sand are possible but will be easily passable. You may encounter rocks up to 6 inches in diameter, a loose road surface, and shelf roads, though these will be wide enough for passing or will have adequate pull-offs.
Rating 4: High Clearance 4WDs are recommended, though most stock SUVs are acceptable. Expect a rough road surface with rocks over 6 inches, but there will be a reasonable driving line. Available. Patches of mud are possible but can readily be negotiated; sand may be deep and require low tire pressures. There may be stream crossings up to 12 inches deep, substantial sections of single lane shelf road, moderate grades and sections of moderately loose road surface.
Rating 5: High-clearance 4WDs are required. These trails have either a rough, rutted surface, rocks up to 9 inches, mud and deep sand may be impassable for inexperienced drivers, or stream crossings up to 18 inches deep. Certain sections may be steep enough to cause traction problems, a nd you may encounter very narrow shelf roads with steep drop-offs and tight clearance between rocks and trees.
Trails are rated here on a very simple basis and truthfully there’s much more behind describing trail difficulty than this simplification does justice to. But, for the sake of simplicity these ratings are compared to a typical Syncro’s capability. What’s a typical Syncro? Original 2.1L engine, 14” wheels with 27” LT all-terrain tires, and a rear differential lock.
Syncro Safari Ratings
Easy – 2WD with decent tires and maybe a little ground clearance can do this trail.
Mild – Occasional 4WD needed, obstacles are not a real challenge for a Syncro, Diff-lock not needed.
Moderate – 4WD often needed, challenging for a Syncro, Diff-lock needed at times, some obstacles
require getting out, scouting a route, stacking some rocks.
Difficult – 4WD often needed, some obstacles more than a Syncro can handle, Diff-lock often required,
significant terrain modification to make passable for a Syncro, damage likely
Extreme – Fuh-getaboudit! Serious off-road vehicles needed, not passible by a Syncro
The Massey & Wilson trail ratings are included in the fantastic guide book "Backcountry Adventures" series by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson.
Rating 1: The trail is graded dirt but suitable for a normal passenger vehicle. It usually has gentle grades, is fairly wide, and has shallow water crossings (if any).
Rating 2: High-clearance vehicles are preferred but not necessary. These trails are dirt roads, but they may have rocks grades, water crossings, or ruts that make clearance a concern in a normal passenger vehicle. The trails are fairly wide, making passing possible at almost any point along the trail. Mud is not a concern under normal weather conditions.
Rating 3: High-clearance 4WDs are preferred, but any high-clearance vehicle is acceptable. Expect a rough road surface; mud and sand are possible but will be easily passable. You may encounter rocks up to 6 inches in diameter, a loose road surface, and shelf roads, though these will be wide enough for passing or will have adequate pull-offs.
Rating 4: High Clearance 4WDs are recommended, though most stock SUVs are acceptable. Expect a rough road surface with rocks over 6 inches, but there will be a reasonable driving line. Available. Patches of mud are possible but can readily be negotiated; sand may be deep and require low tire pressures. There may be stream crossings up to 12 inches deep, substantial sections of single lane shelf road, moderate grades and sections of moderately loose road surface.
Rating 5: High-clearance 4WDs are required. These trails have either a rough, rutted surface, rocks up to 9 inches, mud and deep sand may be impassable for inexperienced drivers, or stream crossings up to 18 inches deep. Certain sections may be steep enough to cause traction problems, a nd you may encounter very narrow shelf roads with steep drop-offs and tight clearance between rocks and trees.