Josh Noesser

Mapping Crew - California

Trail Reviews: 55300 points

Questions Answered: 10400 points

My Profile

Off-Road Experience:

6+ years

Off-Road Style:

Rock Crawling

My Garage:

(4" lift, 35" tires)
(4.5" lift, 38" tires)
(Stock lift, 35" tires)
2019 Jeep Wrangler (4 door) (2.5" lift, 37" tires)

Joshua Noesser grew up in Southern California but has lived in different parts of the country during his young adult life. Josh was first turned to four wheeling when he road with one of his friends dad up Surprise Canyon in the Panamint Valley at age14. After nearly 3 different roll overs later and a half dozen intense waterfalls, Josh was hooked. At 16 he purchased his first Jeep a CJ 7 and by 17 was putting his first locker in it. Currently, Josh is the owner and CEO of Nybble, an IT Solutions Company based in Orange County, California. Nybble isn't your normal IT company where everyone stays in and plays video games. Nybble's average company trip is out on the trails since a good amount of his staff enjoy wheeling too. As Josh likes to say, he offers the only IT Company with the ability to provide services in extreme locations. "If you want a server at the top of The Hammers, we will take care of that for you." Today you can find Josh out on the trail behind the wheel in one of his three different off-road vehicles. See the vehicles below for more information. If you ever run into Josh, please say high, he is a very friendly person and is always happy to have a new person join the group.

My Garage (4)

Lift Size: 4"

Tire Size: 35"

The vehicle he drives the most is a 2001 Jeep Wrangler TJ with a 4.0, 35's Falken Mud Terrain, and 4-inch ProComp lift. This Jeep does have open diffs which is something that Josh really enjoys. Josh was driving fully locked up vehicles so long that driving the open vehicle is adding the extra challenge and bring a whole new life to some of the older trails.

Lift Size: 4.5"

Tire Size: 38"

His other jeep which is currently in testing and being used on trail. This is a 79 CJ 7 with a 4.0 Stroker (4.7), 38's falken's, Raceline Beadlocks, Dana 60 HD Front, 14 Bolt Rear, Detroit's, NV4500, Atlas, Custom Built 4 link and 3 link Suspension, 18" Coil Overs, Spuderwebshade, custom belly armor, and the list goes on. Before all the cool toys were added this Jeep, Josh has successfully either created or traversed almost every trail in Southern California.

Lift Size: Stock

Tire Size: 35"

As for the last vehicle, it is a 2002 Ford F250 Diesel 4x4 CrewCab. It might not be a rock crawler but Josh does use this vehicle for trails rating 1-4 and will tow his jeeps through trails up to a 4 rating to get to campsites that are very remote. He did recently replace the rims with 20" Raceline Wheels and Falken A/T tires.

2019 Jeep Wrangler (4 door)

Lift Size: 2.5"

Tire Size: 37"

My Trail Reviews (109)

(within last 6 months)

Kane Creek Canyon (09/02/2021)

Trail has been repaired (to an extent)

2N53 - Applewhite Road (08/31/2021)

Closed due to fire

Kane Creek Canyon (08/31/2021)

A washout happened on the shelf road, the trail is open but full-sized vehicles might not be able to do the trail. It is advised that full-sized vehicles to not attempt this trail.

The Rubicon Trail (08/18/2021)

Due to the fire in the area, they closed the trail. Not sure how long this will last but best to make alternate plans if you plan on being on the trail in the next few days.

Dusy-Ershim Trail (08/12/2021)

Possible fire on the trail on the southside near Courtright. Call the rangers if you are going to do the trail

White Bark Vista (08/07/2021)

Open

Dusy-Ershim Trail (08/02/2021)

The trail is open

The Rubicon Trail (08/02/2021)

Just got off the trail from the Jeepers Jamboree. What a fun time.

2N70Y - Sidewinder Canyon (06/21/2021)

Fun little trail that adds a little twist to the day.

2N61Y - Heartbreak Ridge (06/20/2021)

Ran the trail to re-evaluate it. The east rock garden does seem bad but there is still a very easy path through it and also the illegal bypass has now because heavily used. Overall even though the rock garden is scary looking from one way if you drive up high and wide you can drive diagonally through the trail missing almost every rock. A stock high-ground clearance 4x4 can still do this trail easily. A newer driver might need some spots to show the appropriate lines. With that said, I am going to keep the trail at a 3 -5 rating but it is moving towards getting upgraded to a 4-5 soon as the east rock garden and several of the other obstacles on the trail are getting dug out. The trail is still much easier then Gold Mtn which is a true 4 rated trail. I am looking forward to this trail getting a little harder as it would be great to have a difficult trail on this side of the mtn range.

Azusa Canyon SVRA (06/19/2021)

Open finally

2N70Y - Sidewinder Canyon (06/09/2021)

The old trail video

Toquerville Falls (05/26/2021)

Cool falls, go on a off day

Gemini Bridges (05/26/2021)

Okay trail, good camping in the area

Lockhart Basin (05/25/2021)

Calling this a 6 trail in my opinion is a far overreach. On a good day, it might be a 4. A 4 trail is hard for a 4door Jeep, mainly because they are soo low and very long where a 6 might be impossible, even with winching. I guess if people look at the other trails in the area and tried to compare it, a known 6 in the are is Kane Creek. The difference between those two trail is night and day difference in difficulty as Kane is hard with lockers where this was easy open. I have seen others rate Lockhart in the moderate territory (3 to 4 Rating) and I would agree. The only time I clicked into low was to control my downhill speeds. I did most of the obstacles in 2wd out of laziness but was able to. I did click into 4wd high (no lockers) for the section the below people are talking about because you do have to drive up 18" rock surface at the top of the narrow hill as you climb out of the wash. It feels really big because you are facing uphill. The hardest part is there is a rock in the center of the trail that wants to catch vehicles with a low belly. A 2-door would be no biggie or a 4-door with a lift or tires. In our trip, the stock JLU Desiel did need to get tugged but it was probably a combination of weight, stock tires, and it was a 4 door. Overall, it was a nice trail but probably wouldn't make my Top 10 as it didn't have enough obstacles or change in scenery to keep things interesting through the long treks. The other reason I wouldn't likely do this trail unless friends wanted to is because of how far out of the way the southern trailhead is. It was such a long drive down to the end of the trail and then a super long rough trek to the exit. Once off the trail, it was over an hour to get back to Moab so you had to air up first. If I was to run this trail and was leading, I would just run the first couple of miles of the north end of the trail and turn around head back down. You would get enough of the views on the trail and the most challenging parts. But if you are wanting to make this a one trail weekend and never have done it, it is worth it once for sure. I give it 5 stars because it was a neat trail and was worth doing it once.

Alstrom Point (05/18/2021)

Very cool place. Stopped for lunch and to BS. I would go back and camp there for sure

Croton Road (05/18/2021)

Neat area

NP 230 (05/18/2021)

They just redid the road. You can easily get going to fast.

Left Hand Collet Road (05/18/2021)

Cool trail, still was super easy but wanted to upload a few photos of the area

Left Hand Collet Road (05/14/2021)

Ran the trail today. The rating is a bit high as the group ran it in 2wd. The rock was pretty awesome. We posed for photos and currently sitting on top of the bluff right now.

Nellis Dunes (05/12/2021)

This might be the only trail rougher than Schnebly Hill, but the view is something else.

Wrecking Ball (04/27/2021)

This is the weekend for Military use... Make other plans if you are going to be in the shared use area https://www.29palms.marines.mil/Staff-Offices/Government-and-External-Affairs/Johnson-Valley/fbclid/IwAR1P9xPv9BFcI9_RKJwPoHIlYTZCVZ70xbytUkGJjlQ83Za02vLDud2Px5M/

Upper Johnson (Big Johnson) (04/27/2021)

Turkey Claw - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Tack Hammer (04/27/2021)

SOS - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Sledge Hammer (04/27/2021)

Road to Backdoor - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Qualifier Hill (04/27/2021)

Off-Your-Rocker (04/27/2021)

Nightmare (04/27/2021)

Ness’s Notch (04/27/2021)

Morongo Basin Desert Run Road - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Jack Hammer (04/27/2021)

Josh’s Crack (04/27/2021)

Short Bus (04/27/2021)

Sand Hill - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Road To The Hammers - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Road to Short Bus and Comp Hill (04/27/2021)

Jack and Sledge Connector (04/27/2021)

Hammers Scenic Byway - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Sledge Hammer 3rd Canyon (04/27/2021)

Front Door - Comp Hill (04/27/2021)

Fissure Mountain Trail (04/27/2021)

Fielder's Choice (04/27/2021)

Aftershock (04/27/2021)

Yellow Jacket Trail (Lower) / 20W24 / 126 (04/27/2021)

Trail is open for the season

Exit from Claw Hammer and Nightmare (04/27/2021)

Cougars View and Camping Trail (04/27/2021)

Yellow Jacket Trail (Upper) / 20W24 / 126 (04/27/2021)

Trail is open for the season

Cougar Buttes (04/27/2021)

Claw Hammer (04/27/2021)

Road to Claw Hammer - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Little MC - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Lazy Days - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Kimmy’s Short Cut (04/27/2021)

Giant Rock (04/27/2021)

Chocolate Thunder (04/27/2021)

Boone Road - Johnson Valley (04/27/2021)

Backdoor (04/27/2021)

3N16 - Holcomb Valley (04/26/2021)

Still a dirt road through the forest. But at least it is a nice drive.

3N14 - Coxey Road (04/26/2021)

Chose this option vs the alternative of going down the asphual. Takes a little longer but well worth it.

2N47 - Cleghorn Ridge (04/26/2021)

Ran the trail with a friend in his XJ. IT was cold and windy so we didn't stick around very long. But we still ran all the offshoots. Looks like that truck that was dragged down the hill on the roof was left out there. I hope someone calls the police and shows them that video. Don't leave your trash behind.

1N09 - City Creek (04/26/2021)

The gate was open and there was a large trash bin outside the gate. Maybe time for a much-needed trail cleanup.

Lockwood Creek Trail / 20W06 / 127 (04/26/2021)

Open for the season

Miller Jeep Trail / 20W06 / 129 (04/26/2021)

Open for the season

3N93 - Holcomb Creek Trail (04/24/2021)

Ran the trail, overall the trail conditionals are about the same as last year.

2N47 - Cleghorn Ridge (04/10/2021)

Did a quick run of the trail to see how it is. The main path is pretty torn up and would expect the forest service soon to regrade it. All in all it is a little worse then before. Increased the lower rating to a 3 from a 2 and leaving the hard rating at a 6.

Devil's Canyon (04/05/2021)

These are the forms that you need to fill out. They are pretty straightforward.

Devil's Canyon (04/05/2021)

Just ran it again. What a fun trail. We did a lot better this time as we finished in the daylight. We had 4 vehicle failures but lucky for us, all were easily fixable and we had the parts.

Doran Canyon (03/08/2021)

Did a quick run with friends. Turned out to be a great day.

Mule Canyon (03/08/2021)

Did a quick run with friends. Turned out to be a great day.

Kramer Arch (03/08/2021)

Did a quick run with friends. Turned out to be a great day.

Phillips Canyon West (03/08/2021)

Did a quick run with friends. Turned out to be a great day.