Embarking on a USA Adventure:

Kicking off with the Jeep Badge Program

Written and Photographed by Andy Boettcher

When I first got my Jeep, I didn’t know where to start wheeling apart from finding some random Facebook groups and finding the event calendar from the Minnesota Four-Wheel Drive Association.

Finding some awesome people through the association and learning where we can wheel in Minnesota got me some much-needed experience and knowledge about what wheeling in Minnesota and Wisconsin is all about.

I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to be able to travel a decent amount professionally and personally; my family has road-tripped in every US state apart from Alaska and Hawaii. I’ve seen the landscapes elsewhere in the US but honestly, as a new wheeler, looking across the US and trying to decide where you want to go try something new is daunting. Should I try the West Coast? Should I just go for Moab? What about the East Coast? What about Texas? In my line of work, that’s called “analysis paralysis”. You can’t decide because there are too many possibilities, only so much money, and even less time you can take away from work.

Jeep saw an opportunity to create an “exclusive” program that gives off-roaders destinations to visit and show their love for this activity: The Jeep Badge of Honor (BOH) program was born. It’s a mobile app-based program that gives you the ability to map your destinations, check-in, share reviews, and build a community with other off-roaders.
There are no set criteria for a trail to become part of the BOH program. There are incredibly difficult trails such as Holy Cross in Colorado and trails that are no more than a forest road. The BOH program is designed to give people destinations, to break the analysis-paralysis.

Similar to ducks, lightbars, and big rims, badges are both loved and hated by the Jeep community. My viewpoint is that you try everything and find a way to make them part of your “happy”.

How have I used this program? In 2022, I was just getting started off-roading and leveraged the BOH program to plan trips around nine badges: Drummond Island Michigan (1), RedBird in Indiana (4), Turkey Bay in Kentucky (1), and Hot Springs in Arkansas (3). While I’m quite the introvert, I took advantage of guides and connecting with groups at these locations and made some awesome friends that I still go wheeling with around the US today.

Continuing into 2023, I used the BOH program as a backbone for several trips, some were purpose-driven to wheel a location with badges, and others were to create unforgettable experiences. Two incredibly memorable experiences were a trip to Moab in March (right before Easter Jeep Safari) and the western US in July.

Across four days of wheeling around Moab, we did seven badges: Fins & Things, Hell’s Revenge, Top of the World, Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Steel Bender, and Elephant Hill. Those trails were a focus, but we also were able to explore a dozen other connecting and related trails, such as Gemini Bridges, Gold Bar, Delores Creek, and Gold Mine Road. Each experience built on the one before - by the time we had to pack up for home we were contemplating extending our stay by a few more days. For me, the Moab area is unique to the US; traction for days, incredible desert scenery, and everyone that we met (locals and travelers) was incredibly friendly and were there for one reason: to enjoy this land and wheel together.

A fun example of that was me losing my magnet-mount GoPro camera after the Golden Crack obstacle on Golden Spike. I was gutted as I had some fun footage on there such as being stuck on the underside of my buddy’s bumper as he was crawling, door shots articulating through Poison Spider and Golden Spike that day, and well…being out a few hundred dollars for a camera. I had put my YouTube channel name on the camera and a group of SxS riders found it, contacted me, and met me at the BBQ joint in town that night. There are good people in this world.

My other unforgettable experience was pinned by nine badges across Colorado, Oregon, and Montana. Over the 2 ½ weeks we were on the road, we explored the Pacific Ocean beachline in Oregon, the Washington forests near Mount Rainier, Idaho, northern Montana by Glacier National Park, and an abandoned train mine tunnel near Helena, MT. Experiencing this with my family and planning parts of this trip with friends made it truly unforgettable.

My only “whoopsies” that happened was trying to run up a viewpoint on California Pass (13,000 feet) and nearly passing out and starting the Blacktail Wild Bill too late in the afternoon and getting out of the Flathead National Forest after dark.

On the flip side, I did several trips that were BOH destinations alone. Southern Missouri Off-Road Ranch (SMORR), Kansas Rocks, and Windrock in Tennessee were wheeled specifically to grab the badges and wheel the rest of those parks.

If you’re new to this off-roading “thing” or a grizzled veteran who wheels the many other off-road areas across the US, I really would recommend you take a look at the BOH program if for nothing else - ideas for somewhere to visit and wheel.

Being a video gamer back in the time of Doom, Quake, and Counterstrike - I’m plagued by an incredible case of ADHD and the need to complete what I start. Right now on my Jeep, I have 31 badges: 29 installed and three more on backorder. I’ve met and known people across the US who have Jeeps and have invited me to try and earn them all; my focus in 2024 is unknown as I’ll be welcoming my first grandchild to the family but given the chance, I’d focus on Utah, Arizona, California, and the Carolinas as the next wave to add to my already-crowded front quarter panel.

Check out my YouTube channel (@karlthemnjeep) to view a playlist I’ve created about all of my badge adventures.