Jeep Badge of Honor Trails: AOAA Experience

Over the Memorial Day Weekend a group of 5 guys & 4 Jeeps from Ohio invaded AOAA (Anthracite Off Road Adventure Area). This was a weekend trip and we had 2 days of wheeling. It was a great trip and we hope to get back there in the future.

We also went to AOAA in October 2020, see the blog post.

I did not take my Jeep as I was still recovering from foot surgery and with a manual transmission it was going to be hard to operate the clutch with the recovering foot.

Day one

The first day started well, we got to AOAA and registered, hit the trails on the East Side of the property. We wanted to run Blue Trails and it started out well. But we ended up on Trail 36 by mistake as this one is rated Black. There was confusion between the ON X Maps and the Paper Maps published by AOAA. The ON X Maps showed it as a the color Blue on the maps, so we assumed it was Blue, we must have missed the sign at the entrance of the trail. The description in ON X is

Recognized as the Toyota Killer, this black-level trail features a rocky path that winds along the side of the mountain. At one end, a challenging hill awaits, offering a potentially difficult climb or descent based on the direction of travel. The trail demands 35-inch tires for optimal navigation.

We also ran Barney Rubble, which is described as on ON X

49, famously known as Barney Rubble, encompasses more than just that moniker. When viewed uphill from the bottom, the left section is Barney Rubble, the center is Pebbles, and the right is Bam Bam. Despite these distinctions, they are commonly grouped together under the name Barney Rubble. This trail holds the prestigious Jeep Badge of Honor and is characterized by an abundance of rocks.

We got through the trails and it was a fun time.

Day Two

Day two was spent on the West Side of AOAA. The highlight of this day was running Fern Ridge. The Trail Description from ON X is

Recently added to the Jeep Badge of Honor list, this trail does not disappoint. It is a challenging rocky trail with plenty of options for you to fulfill your level of driving. There are black sections throughout this trail to add that extra challenge if needed. This is mostly rocks from start to finish. Some sections are more challenging than others, but it is tough the whole way.

We also ran a Black Loop from Fern Ridge. Ran 3 Jeeps through it. First one took about 45-50 min, and the last one only took 6 min to get through.