Photography by Jonathan Kane
You can feel the gallop through the steering wheel of the 2014 Ford
Explorer Sport as we surge through steep mountain ranges, effortlessly passing other road warriors on the way from Salt Lake City to Moab, Utah.
On the surface, the Explorer is a sleek and stylish vehicle, roomy enough to comfortably accommodate seven people and a cargo area full of gear. But looks can be deceiving, and beneath the hood of this black beauty is a beast of a machine: a 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost® engine that boasts plenty of hauling and climbing ability, all with impressive EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings.*
Utah has an idiosyncratic climate that threatens to shift every few minutes. During a three-and-a-half-hour afternoon drive, fog turns to rain to snow to rain and back to fog. Whipping the windshield, the otherworldly snowflakes seem—deceptively—as if they’re as big as the palm of my hand. Despite the wild weather, the Explorer is doing great on the highway. But how will it perform when the pavement ends?
THE DESCENT
When we arrive in Moab, we head straight to Canyonlands National Park to find out. We enter the preserve at dawn, just as the sun begins glinting off the red rock canyon walls. Pulling off the road, we get out of the car and walk gingerly toward the canyon’s edge. The earth seems to disappear, with hundreds of feet of sheer cliff dropping away from our toes.
The centuries peel away, and I begin to think how difficult it must have been for Native Americans and settlers alike to move across this unforgiving landscape, much less make a home here. We’ve arrived in a vehicle packed with technology, from the available SYNC® with MyFord Touch® voice-activated technology**—which allows me to use voice commands to get directions, make phone calls, and even skim through the available SiriusXM® Radio† stations—to the available heated leather-trimmed seats that take the bite out of the desert’s freezing dawn.
When you stand face-to-face with nothing but thin air, your hands start to tremble. Your knees shake, and it feels like your stomach has taken up residence in your mouth. One wrong move could end in a free fall. It’s a sobering reminder that for all of humanity’s efforts to tame it, the ferocious wilderness still lurks. The Explorer had taken us to the brink, and it was time to push the envelope.
In the distance, what looks like a game trail snakes its way down to the canyon floor. We decide to explore the trailhead, and we discover that it’s actually the Shafer Trail, a road into the backcountry. On second thought, “road” might be a charitable description; it’s little more than a one-lane path carved into the side of the canyon. On the right, a sheer red rock wall towers into the sky. On the left, nothing but thin air. How can we say no?
The Explorer’s available Terrain Management SystemTM is designed to intelligently deliver the vehicle’s resources in the way that best fits the landscape. The Sand setting keeps the transmission in its lowest gears and allocates the vehicle’s 350 foot-pounds of torque to the wheels to aggressively pilot through desert conditions. With Hill Descent ControlTM enabled, we set our desired speed and begin our off-road descent, handling the plummeting switchbacks with ease.
The walls of Lathrop Canyon shoot up around us as we plunge into the abyss we had been standing above only moments ago. Looking along the contours of the gorge, the snowcapped La Sal Mountains form a stark contrast to the searing desert clime surrounding the SUV. Just when we think we’ve reached the floor, huge fissures open up in front of us: canyons within the canyon. The Explorer scrambles over the rough rocks with all the grace and poise of a mountain lion. After several miles of winding, rugged road along the Colorado River, we emerge from the canyon onto pavement, victorious over a trail that—despite its beauty—was fraught with danger.
THE CLIMB
In awe of the earth’s oddities, we head to Arches National Park to ascend into an entirely different landscape. There, we discover spires of sandstone that tower over us like castle ruins. Below our feet lies an ancient salt bed that’s thousands of feet thick in places.
The bed was created 300 million years ago, when the sea flowed into the Paradox Basin. The basin evaporated over time, forming the bed, which continued to rise and sink as the environment changed. A plethora of rock layers formed, and as erosion and acid rain began to take effect, weaker bottom layers fell away from stronger top layers, creating the striking arches that more than a million visitors flock to see each year.
The current rangers of the park are also concerned with fostering natural ecosystems. They do this by eliminating exotic plants while encouraging native ones to grow. Some plants in the park are over 100 years old and are examples of the resilience needed to survive in the desert.
Despite this hardiness, conserving the delicate desert ecosystem is an important task, the scope and scale of which is not to be underestimated. The rangers are following in the footsteps of forward-thinkers like Teddy Roosevelt (revered as one of the fathers of the national parks system) and Edward Abbey, an extreme naturalist and author who served as an Arches park ranger in the 1960s.
It’s essential work that allows us to revel in the wonders of the natural world. But it’s also a reminder that adventures in the wilderness can be tough, especially in a place like the rugged desert of Moab. Luckily, the Explorer is just as rugged and has shown that it’s up for the challenge.
FAST FACTS
2014 EXPLORER
>SOLID FOOTING The 4WD system allows the Explorer to deliver confidence and traction in all conditions.
>SAFE ON SLOPES Hill Descent ControlTM lets you set and maintain a constant speed while traveling downhill.
>ADAPTABLE TO ALL TERRAIN The Terrain Management SystemTM lets you easily shift on the fly into one of four settings to match the terrain: Normal, Mud/Ruts, Sand and Snow, Gravel, Grass.
*EPA-estimated rating of 16 city/22 hwy/18 combined mpg, 3.5-liter EcoBoost® 4WD. Actual mileage will vary. **Driving while distracted can result in loss of vehicle control. Only use mobile phones and other devices, even with voice commands, when it is safe to do so. Not all features are compatible with all phones.
†Subscriptions to all SiriusXM services are sold by SiriusXM after trial expires. Subscriptions are governed by SiriusXM Customer Agreement; see www.siriusxm.com. Sirius U.S. Satellite Service available in the 48 contiguous United States and D.C. Sirius, XM and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Sirius XM Radio Inc.
