Moab UT Day 2 Poision Spider, Golden Spike, Gold Bar 04-13-07
Today's ride will be a repeat for some of us. We plan on riding Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Gold Bar, and we threw in Rusty Nail. We have the same cast of Outlaws for this ride as well. The rain clouds have gone away but the wind has picked up tremendously. The forecast was for wind gusts of up to 65 MPH and a high of 62. With the high wind you are able to ride close the quad in front of you because the wind blows the dust away.
While a couple of the guys take the trucks and trailers to the parking lot at the other end of the trail I went to read the sign at Poison Spider. The sign said there are dinosaur tracks and Indian pictographs right off the end of the parking lot up the mountain. So Off I went for a look. Sure enough just a short hike up the hill and there they were. Unfortunately there were a couple of Jug heads that had to add their initials to the wall. I would sure like to catch someone doing that. I guess they have no respect.
The riders are back so let the fun begin. This is probably my favorite trails. There are lots of challenges and beautiful scenery. The 1st part of the trail has so lots of steep climbs and ledges. This will warm you up right away. Around the 4th good obstacle you come to the wedge. This will get you if you miss the line by just a hair. Jim was 1 st up and made it look so easy. He always does that. I actually like riding behind him so I can see the line to take. He doesn't take the easiest line but if you pay attention you can learn from him. He has definitely made me a much better rider. Back at the wedge Jim and Jeff Hoonson thought it would be fun to do it backwards. After seeing them do it both ways Jeff (Azgolger) said he better do it instead of just doing the go around. It was fun seeing his eyes get big but he made it. One thing about our group unless you get stupid with the throttle there will be people there to spot you if you need it. We even use a rope on the front of the quad to keep it from going over. You would be surprised how well this works. Many times it seems like you don't need the rope but it is a good safety factor. After all these machines are very heavy and there is no reason to get hurt.
I remember one spot right after the wedge, I was in the lead for some reason and we came to a nasty hill climb with ledges. I was looking at the hill and saying " now where did we go up this one before" When Jim came up, took one look at it and launched right up the face. I said "oh I guess that is how you do it"
After this area you come to some slick rock. We headed over to Poison Spider Arch on the edge of the canyon wall next to the Colorado River. We had seen a video on the internet where a motorcycle rider rode over the Arch and banked off the mountain. We found the spot where he did this stupid stunt. There was a sign painted on the slick rock saying to park here which we did so the guy was out of bounds unless they did this after seeing his stunt. The wind was at this time blowing so hard you could hardly stand up as we walked out near the Arch. It was a spectacular view to say the least. The Arch was only about 5 feet wide at best with about a 1000 foot straight drop off on one side and about 300 feet on the other. We could not make it out to the Arch for fear of being blown off the mountain.
We played on the slick rock for a few miles until we came the mountain named the Golden Spike. This is a steep hill about 500 yards long and looks very intimidating the 1st time you see it but the traction is so good it is like driving on Velcro. We had a conga line going up the mountain. I ran down a ways to get some photos and when Roy came by me he was laid out with his feet over his rear bag. He called it the Flying Buttito. He won the style contest for this hill climb even thought he lost points for not having his knees together and his toes pointed. Even ezgoaround went right up this mountain like it was nothing. Maybe he was getting more comfortable with his King Quad or he wasn't paying attention because we never stopped to look at the climb and he just followed the rider in front of him. Coming down the Spike is a bit different. This is where you find out if your machine has good engine breaking or not. This is one place the Can-Am's shine.
After this spot there are lots of ledges both up and down. It takes some getting used to doing these especially the drop offs because you think you are going to go over. After 20 or so you do gain some confidence. There are also some killer overlooks along the way. It is amazing how red some areas are. If you look to the east across the highway from the overlooks you can see Arches National Park in the distance.
After several more ups and down with gorgeous scenery we arrived at the famous Crack for lunch. After lunch it was time to tackle the crack. You have to attack the crack at an angle or you will nose down and rest on your bumper as Robert can attest to. He ended up this way many times as the crack had it's way with him several times. In the end Robert won. We all took turns and had fun at the crack. Even ezgoaround (Azgolfer) made it. He won the contest for the best wheel stand at the crack.
After the Crack it doesn't get any easier in fact I think some of the ledges are even bigger and steeper. There are just so many places you need to pay attention to after awhile you start to say OMG how are we supposed to get up that. What fun!!!
We stopped at a balancing rock on the edge of a canyon for a break. I asked a couple of guys to go out by the edge of the canyon so I could take a photo of them. They didn't know it but the rock they were standing on is all undercut. After the photo I had them come over and see where they were standing and they were amazed. For some reason I couldn't get them to drive their quad out on the ledge for a photo? I don't know why.
At the last Obstacle on this trail we came across a Jeep that had a hole in his radiator and was blocking our assent so we had to go up the steepest line with a rope.
We found the trail head for the Rusty Nail and decided we had enough daylight to give it a try. After a few miles there was 2 extremely nasty boulder climb sections. We walked up the trail to check them out and made the decision to not go any further. We probably could have made it but this was an in and out trail and dragging 8 riders over these 2 obstacles after a hard days ride did not sound like fun.
Day 2, Trail 0 riders 8. Another day we all kicked the trails butt!!!
Read MoreWhile a couple of the guys take the trucks and trailers to the parking lot at the other end of the trail I went to read the sign at Poison Spider. The sign said there are dinosaur tracks and Indian pictographs right off the end of the parking lot up the mountain. So Off I went for a look. Sure enough just a short hike up the hill and there they were. Unfortunately there were a couple of Jug heads that had to add their initials to the wall. I would sure like to catch someone doing that. I guess they have no respect.
The riders are back so let the fun begin. This is probably my favorite trails. There are lots of challenges and beautiful scenery. The 1st part of the trail has so lots of steep climbs and ledges. This will warm you up right away. Around the 4th good obstacle you come to the wedge. This will get you if you miss the line by just a hair. Jim was 1 st up and made it look so easy. He always does that. I actually like riding behind him so I can see the line to take. He doesn't take the easiest line but if you pay attention you can learn from him. He has definitely made me a much better rider. Back at the wedge Jim and Jeff Hoonson thought it would be fun to do it backwards. After seeing them do it both ways Jeff (Azgolger) said he better do it instead of just doing the go around. It was fun seeing his eyes get big but he made it. One thing about our group unless you get stupid with the throttle there will be people there to spot you if you need it. We even use a rope on the front of the quad to keep it from going over. You would be surprised how well this works. Many times it seems like you don't need the rope but it is a good safety factor. After all these machines are very heavy and there is no reason to get hurt.
I remember one spot right after the wedge, I was in the lead for some reason and we came to a nasty hill climb with ledges. I was looking at the hill and saying " now where did we go up this one before" When Jim came up, took one look at it and launched right up the face. I said "oh I guess that is how you do it"
After this area you come to some slick rock. We headed over to Poison Spider Arch on the edge of the canyon wall next to the Colorado River. We had seen a video on the internet where a motorcycle rider rode over the Arch and banked off the mountain. We found the spot where he did this stupid stunt. There was a sign painted on the slick rock saying to park here which we did so the guy was out of bounds unless they did this after seeing his stunt. The wind was at this time blowing so hard you could hardly stand up as we walked out near the Arch. It was a spectacular view to say the least. The Arch was only about 5 feet wide at best with about a 1000 foot straight drop off on one side and about 300 feet on the other. We could not make it out to the Arch for fear of being blown off the mountain.
We played on the slick rock for a few miles until we came the mountain named the Golden Spike. This is a steep hill about 500 yards long and looks very intimidating the 1st time you see it but the traction is so good it is like driving on Velcro. We had a conga line going up the mountain. I ran down a ways to get some photos and when Roy came by me he was laid out with his feet over his rear bag. He called it the Flying Buttito. He won the style contest for this hill climb even thought he lost points for not having his knees together and his toes pointed. Even ezgoaround went right up this mountain like it was nothing. Maybe he was getting more comfortable with his King Quad or he wasn't paying attention because we never stopped to look at the climb and he just followed the rider in front of him. Coming down the Spike is a bit different. This is where you find out if your machine has good engine breaking or not. This is one place the Can-Am's shine.
After this spot there are lots of ledges both up and down. It takes some getting used to doing these especially the drop offs because you think you are going to go over. After 20 or so you do gain some confidence. There are also some killer overlooks along the way. It is amazing how red some areas are. If you look to the east across the highway from the overlooks you can see Arches National Park in the distance.
After several more ups and down with gorgeous scenery we arrived at the famous Crack for lunch. After lunch it was time to tackle the crack. You have to attack the crack at an angle or you will nose down and rest on your bumper as Robert can attest to. He ended up this way many times as the crack had it's way with him several times. In the end Robert won. We all took turns and had fun at the crack. Even ezgoaround (Azgolfer) made it. He won the contest for the best wheel stand at the crack.
After the Crack it doesn't get any easier in fact I think some of the ledges are even bigger and steeper. There are just so many places you need to pay attention to after awhile you start to say OMG how are we supposed to get up that. What fun!!!
We stopped at a balancing rock on the edge of a canyon for a break. I asked a couple of guys to go out by the edge of the canyon so I could take a photo of them. They didn't know it but the rock they were standing on is all undercut. After the photo I had them come over and see where they were standing and they were amazed. For some reason I couldn't get them to drive their quad out on the ledge for a photo? I don't know why.
At the last Obstacle on this trail we came across a Jeep that had a hole in his radiator and was blocking our assent so we had to go up the steepest line with a rope.
We found the trail head for the Rusty Nail and decided we had enough daylight to give it a try. After a few miles there was 2 extremely nasty boulder climb sections. We walked up the trail to check them out and made the decision to not go any further. We probably could have made it but this was an in and out trail and dragging 8 riders over these 2 obstacles after a hard days ride did not sound like fun.
Day 2, Trail 0 riders 8. Another day we all kicked the trails butt!!!
