Meet the Mapper
Feat. onX Trail Guide Jon Tirrell
Get to know the onX Offroad Trail Guide team—our dedicated crew powering our App’s extensive trail content. Every Guided Trail has been scouted and documented by one of our passionate off-roaders. But they’re not just gathering data; they’re capturing epic stories worth sharing along the way.
Author: Jon Tirrell + onX Offroad
Get to know the onX Offroad Trail Guide team—our dedicated crew powering our App’s extensive trail content. Every Guided Trail has been scouted and documented by one of our passionate off-roaders. But they’re not just gathering data; they’re capturing epic stories worth sharing along the way.
Author: Jon Tirrell + onX Offroad
Meet Jon Tirrell
I love exploring, finding hidden things, and lesser-known routes. The best memories are made when things don’t go perfectly, so remember next time something goes sideways it’s probably going to end up as a great memory! I love the community found in off-roading–there are so many amazing people I’ve met that I never would have without a 4×4.
Tell us a little about yourself.
When I was about 10, my parents bought an old golf cart as a UTV on our 20-acre property.
I loved putting that thing into situations in the woods where it shouldn’t go! As a teen, my first vehicle was a 1986 Jeep Cherokee. I learned to wheel at Paragon Adventure Park in Hazleton, PA, and have been exploring and wheeling in a Jeep ever since!
Tell us about your rig!
Which one? Ha! I have a 2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ (“The Spool Bus”), a 1988 Wagoneer 1-Ton build, and a 1951 CJ3A (stock).
The XJ is my primary rig and what I’ve become somewhat known for. It’s Solar Yellow, rolling on D44’s a 35’s, and powered by a Volkswagen 1.9L TDI Diesel engine. Most people don’t know that it has dual transfer cases, so it’s got a 7:1 low range and a crawl ratio of 135:1!
Riser Ford
Check out one of Jon’s favorite mapped trails.
Tell us about a time when onX Offroad saved your ass, or, a time when you discovered something new or unexpected on a trail while using onX.
A friend of mine has a hunting camp bordering State Forest land, and we go there to cruise around a few times a year. We’ve explored most of what is there, so it’s rare we find something new.
I was looking for a route to discover on our way home once and saw on onX what looked like a cool road. It was just outside our normal areas. It turned out to be a really challenging little road with some technical climbs and deep puddles! Definitely one of the coolest and most challenging routes we have up there to date!
How about a memorable experience you’ve had mapping trails for onX?
I happened upon this road by accident while looking for access to a fire tower, and I noticed on onX that the road connected way down to a big creek and appeared to ford it.
As soon as I started down the road, I knew it was feature material! About halfway down, I had to make room for an oncoming car to pass. The driver inquired whether I was coming back up because he had “a delivery coming at 5”. I asked if I could ford at the bottom, and he looked my rig up and down, confirming yes, which of course, negated his delivery question! It was a funny interaction that made it into the Green Ridge episode on my YouTube channel, Dirt Road Therapy.
You are given enough money and time to go off-roading anywhere in the world. Where do you go?
I’d like to spend about 3 months in BC, Canada, from Fall into the first snow of Winter!
What was your first car, and what’s your dream car? Explain why it’s your dream car if you can!
First car was a 1986 Jeep Cherokee. Total piece of junk with a 4 cylinder!
I quickly upgraded to a 1994 4.0 and 5 speed. I’ve basically built my dream rig, my dream CAR is a Porsche GT3 RS…Yellow, of course!
We couldn’t do it without Trail Guides like Jon, and we love hearing the stories they’ve earned on the road. Follow Jon’s explorations on Instagram IG @dirtroadtherapyjon and Youtube @dirtroadtherapy.
Stay tuned to meet more of our mappers,
and follow the link below to learn about the onX Offroad Trail Guide program or apply to join.