Needles District & Moab Trails 2011 Pictures

[Number7 86]

Great time, great people. Awesome trip.

 

 

More pics here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/DRGW497/CanyonlandsNeedlesDistrictAndMoabApril2011#

 

The only thing I wish had been different is that I could have joined you guys on Poison Spider. But I was busy getting to Las Vegas to play volleyball where we won gold medals on Saturday (Men's division) and again on Sunday (coed division).

 

 

 

Good work Goose! Glad you won the gold. George:cool:

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Our first trail in Moab was Hell's Revenge, a 6.5 mile roller-coaster of a trail rated Difficult. We took everybody over to Baby Lion's Back so they could get a preview of what its like to drive on slickrock beforehand. Then it was back to Hell's Revenge staging area and up on the rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met Jonathan and his two boys in a Land Cruiser and later George spotted him up Hell's Gate

 

 

These guys on quads and a motorcycle were on Hell's Gate when we stopped to check it out. They used 2 guys on tow-straps to keep the front-end down as they rode up.

 

 

This poor guy really had a hard time getting his bike up Hell's Gate, he dumped it when he was almost to the top.

 

 

Here's Jonathan in his Landy with George spotting him:

 

 

This is the tricky part

 

 

Bad picture - the front passenger tire is off the ground as the rear driver dropped into a hole.

 

 

One of the ATV guys helped get the front of the Landy down and he made it to the top no sweat.

 

 

Having driven Hell's Gate once before and almost going over backwards, George thought he had the line figured out, but he gained some insight from spotting Jonathan. He figured out you have to do a little Zee-Turn when you get to this point to keep the tires on the ground. So he explained that to Goose and Scott and asked them to spot him coming up.

 

 

Scott's turn

 

 

 

 

Mmm, lunch

 

 

Continued

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[theksmith 3,832]

excellent work on hell's gate guys!

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Lunch at the top of Hell's Gate where it was less windy

 

 

m00se was already so worn out from hanging on in the Jeep she that didn't realize who was sitting next to her

 

 

After lunch we drove the short distance to the Colorado River Overlook

 

 

The road you see next to the river is Hwy 128 which we took the following day to Dome Plateau

 

 

 

Frequently visible to the south from many trails in Moab, the ever snowcapped La-Sal Mountains make a scenic backdrop

 

 

More pics from the trail

 

 

 

Scott's steering box started making some weird worrisome clicking sound. He had to finish the trail with it still doing it, but figured it out that night at camp. He found a loose bolt and tightened it, viola!

 

 

 

 

Back on the trail again, the Rhino you see there had just tipped over in front of us. We stopped to see if everybody was okay and helped them pick up their stuff, but other than that they didn't want any assistance. We went past them, meeting up with them once in a while as we all made our way along.

 

 

Johnny Boy & Spike in Micky's Hot Tub

 

 

 

View from the Hot Tubs

 

 

Up next, The Escalator & Tip-Over Challenge.

 

Stay Tuned

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[dzJeepChic 2,435]

This is a particularly pucker-factor decent on the way to the escalator

 

 

 

Did I make you think any of us actually did The Escalator? Here's the boys checking it out, and determining NOT to do it. It looks doable until you walk it, and then you see the practically vertical wall you must climb out of that 2nd bowl.

 

 

Then we got to Tip-Over Challenge

 

George

 

 

Scott

 

 

Goose

 

 

 

After Tip-Over Challenge is basically the exit of Hell's Revenge, the trail leaves slick rock and follows the side of a hill and passes Lion's Back on the way to the road. This is actually the toughest part of the trail, rocky, steep and shelfy in places. Moab comes into view just as you reach this part of the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got to the air-up spot a bunch of us decided to go over to Potato Salad Hill, which is only a block away. You saw the videos of George and Scott going up, here are a couple still shots I got:

 

Goose assessing the hill:

 

 

 

 

George and I had to stop at City Market on the way to camp. There was what I thought was a JK on huge tires parked behind Clifford when we came out, and I told George "That Jeep makes Clifford look like a punk." He agreed, and then said, "Hey, that's no JK, it's Rich's LJ!" Our friend Katvans from the VJC recognised Clifford and was waiting for us. So we yakked a bit and invited Rich to run with us the next day.

 

Dome Plateau up next: Arches, Sandcaves, an Overlook, a mine and a Cave House!

 

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Thursday everybody gathered at the Slickrock and we took off east on Hwy. 128 which winds along the Colorado River. It’s the road we saw from the overlook on Hell’s Revenge the day before. About 30 miles out we went across Dewey Bridge and made a left onto Dome Plateau trail and aired down. It was my turn to drive since the trail is rated Moderate.

A couple miles in we came to a nice arch.

Lots of nice scenery all along the trail

This arch is pictured in Charles Well's book unbroken, but it has collapsed since then (hard to see in pic)

A whale, or a submarine? That is the question:

After some serious route-finding efforts by Maddogjeer, Goose & Gear, we drove to and ate lunch at La Boca Arch:

Then we drove out to a Colorado River Overlook:

From the overlook we went back to the main trail which then led to these caves at Caves Spring:

Here's a sad little story. Where the last Jeep in the following picture (Rich's) is located was a horrible stench, and someone noticed a dead cow caught in a trough close to that cave. And then George noticed a calf hanging out over there, and we surmised that the dead cow was the mom. Being the awesome group that we are, Dennis started trying to get somebody who could help on his ham. Then we came into an area where there was cell service, and he called the Sheriff's Office who said they were going to try to get the proper rancher out there. We hope that happened.

Exploring the caves:

The view from the mouth of the cave:

Continued

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[dzJeepChic 2,435]

The trail winds around after leaving the caves and meanders along a valley floor until you come to a rocky portion up a hill to a graded road. George the co-pilot navigator didn't notice the left turn mentioned in the book, he saw the right, which is "An alternate, more difficult side trip that rejoins the main road near the cabins." The group called us back so we turned around, but it figures G would find the hard line without reading even the book!

 

We came to an old mining camp where there were several structures:

 

 

 

 

From the mining camp it's still almost 6 miles to the highway on a graded road through Owl Draw. It's a little rocky at first but then it smooths out and travel is faster. Everybody aired up when we got to the road, and some folks went straight back to Moab while a few of us stopped at the Cave House a few miles down the road. It was kind of hard to find; after turning off the highway we had to hike up some slickrock and around a corner before it came into view.

 

If you go, this is what it looks like as you walk back from the Cave House:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driving back into Moab George and I decided to stop off at the Riverside Oasis to inquire about future accomodations in Moab. Rich went with us, he wanted some brochures about a dinner cruise and light show they do on the river. The Riverside Oasis claims to the the cleanest campground in Moab, and proudly invite prospective guests to inspect the facilities. To add insult to injury, we found that they have the same style basic cabins as the Slickrock for $10 less per night They also offer hotel style cabins with a bathroom, bed and TV for $80 per night, which is what we are reserving next time.

 

 

When we were back in cell service range I discovered a voice message from Ob1jeeper. He'd called from Monticello on his way to Moab, saying he'd be arriving soon. I called him and we made plans to get together at the Slickrock for a drink after dinner. When the group realized how cold and windy it was we went into town for dinner. When we got back a lot of folks were hanging out, and there was a new JK Unlimited parked on the road in front of the cabins. As I approached the new Jeep in the dark I heard, "Hey Girlfriend" and found Ob's arms wide open for a big hug. Then he took me to the JK and surprised me by opening the back door to reveal none other than Ladybug Karen! Woo-Hoo! How fun to meet up with good old friends! And to top that, the drivers door opened and there was Azjeep4me, Jim!

 

We invited Rich, Steve, Karen, Jim and Steve's friends Mike & Maryann to run Poison Spider Mesa with us the next day. So that's up next!

 

Continued

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[Project510 2]

omg.. this has to be the best trip report I have ever seen on any forum. Amazing!

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Thursday morning Clifford was dead. He didn't even click when G turned the key. Scotty gave us a jump start, soon we headed for City Market. On the way there George said, "If this Jeep needs another jump-start, we're not running Poison Spider Mesa today. We're going home. Just saying." So we filled him up, G jumped in, turned the key, and viola! Clifford fired right up! Yay!

 

 

 

Cross the Colorado River going out of Moab

 

 

Poison Spider Mesa is my new favorite trial in Moab. To get there you go north on Main (Hwy. 191) past the Colorado River a couple miles and turn left on Potash Road. Also known as Hwy 279, it snakes along the Colorado River directly across from Moab Rim and Cliffhanger, which is kind of a mind-bender for me. At mile 5.9 there's a well marked parking/staging area on the right. Poison Spider Mesa is a 4 mile loop located about 5 miles from this parking lot. This main trail goes through a series of obstacles in sections interspersed along wide flat graded road. Along the way there are breathtaking views of Behind the Rocks and the La-Sal Mountains.

 

Well marked parking lot on right:

 

 

Ob's friends Mike & Maryann's CJ:

 

 

Jim's new JK Unlimited (dig the AEV hood):

 

 

The trail sets out on a set of switchbacks. There are a few places where it's become ledgy in the turns, which results in various levels of challenge, anywhere from moderate to difficult to extreme.

 

 



 

 

scottL:

 

 

Below from front to back: Macinyart's YJ, Maddogjeeper's TJ, Ladybug's LJ, Ob's friend's CJ & Azjeep4me's JK Unlimited:

 

 

Rich's LJ:

 

 

Maddog:

Hummer Tour:

More

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[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Ledgy in places:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack:

 

 

All 5 tires on the ground:

 

 

Next bump in the road:

 

George in Clifford:

 

 

scottL

 

 

Rich:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Waterfall:

 

 

Rich:

 

 

Jack:

 

 

Dang, that's a pretty Jeep:

 

 

At the top of the Waterfall:

 

 

Next,

 

 

 

Huh-uh!

 

 

Continued

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