Northern Cape
DifficultRichtersveld Tatasberg 4×4 Trail — Eksteenfontein to Tatasberg via the Orange River Desert Plateau
Mars terrain above the Orange River — alone and honest.
Surface: Dirt
Argentina
ExpertHuemul Circuit Road — Lago del Desierto to Chaltén Massif via Río Eléctrico and Piedra del Fraile
Fitz Roy's back door — glacial fords and zero mercy.
Colorado
EasyPawnee National Grassland Backcountry — Crow Valley to Pawnee Buttes via the High Plains Desert Edge
Prairie solitude and sandstone sentinels on the High Plains.
Mongolia
DifficultGobi Desert Bayanzag Flaming Cliffs Road — Dalanzadgad to Bayanzag via the Southern Gobi Desert
Dinosaur bones and open Gobi — bring your own compass.
Peru
ModerateInca Jungle Road — Santa Teresa to Aguas Calientes via the Salkantay Approach Track
Machu Picchu's back door. Earn the view.
Australia
DifficultGibb River Road — Bell Gorge to Mornington Wilderness Camp via Beverley Springs Station
Corrugated Kimberley between two wild camps.
Arizona
ModerateCoronado Trail — Alpine to Clifton via the White Mountains and Salt River Canyon Rim (US-191)
400 curves, 8,000 feet of drop, zero guardrails.
Namibia
ExpertNaukluft Mountains 4×4 Trail — Büllsport to Tsauchab River Canyon via the Naukluft Plateau Desert Spine
Sharp dolomite, vertical descents, total isolation.
Australia
DifficultGibb River Road — El Questro to Kununurra via the Ord River and Keep River Corridor
Red pindan, croc water, and the Ord.
Botswana
DifficultNossob to Mata-Mata — Kgalagadi Transfrontier Wilderness Track via Rooiputs
Lions on the road. Red dunes. No phone signal. Perfect.