Rubi SoHo
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
So the schedule for my second and final day called for the Golden Spike trail, and what a day it was!
Golden Spike is the middle part of the famous Moab Trifecta (Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Gold Bar Rim). It’s usually driven in that order (going in a south to north direction), though some go the other way and start on Gold Bar Rim.
I’ve done Poison Spider a lot, and Gold Bar Rim once in the out and back configuration (going from the traditional Trifecta exit, to the junction with Golden Spike, then back out the way we came in).
This Trifecta Route has become my new favorite trail in Moab. It’s a LONG day, but to me it felt totally manageable. I actually felt less fatigue than on Moab Rim, despite the Moab rim being completed several hours quicker.
We got through the entire trail unscathed and drama free. I embarrassingly forgot to shift back into 4 LO for the biggest sustained climbs (Launch Pad, and Skyline Drive) but got up them just fine. Other than that, it was a flawless run.
The trail claimed a fairly built 3rd gen 4runner who was accompanied by an SFA swapped 1st gen Runner. They broke a CV about halfway in, and had no replacement. The 1st gen then took over towing duties on all the obstacles and sections that couldn’t be done in RWD. But then at the bypass to double whammy, the lame’d 4runner attempted a smooth climb up a small hill and grenaded his rear end. One of the trail leaders in a seriously intense JK then took over recovery duties, but after a couple more miles one or both of the tie rods failed and the decision was made to leave the vehicle on trail and call for a professional recovery the next day. So look out on Trail Mater’s YouTube channel for a 4 runner recovery on Golden Spike soon, it may be on there.
A jeep also suffered from some type of overheating issues, but I believe they had the equipment to make a trail repair and get it out under it’s own power. At least that’s what it sounded like to me.
Anyway, our 2026 EJS is now over. We made the haul from Moab to Salt Lake City immediately after the trail ended and got home late last night. Thanks so much to rhe @3Wliners team for the opportunity and the SWEET floor liners. They’re honestly incredible and clearly of great quality. I’ll post separately about those when I get the rig unpacked and wiped down so Y’all can see what they offer.
I can’t wait to get back down and run this trail again soon.
A few pics below.
Some video of me on Zuki hill:
most of my other video clips are going to require a good bit of post processing to get the file sizes down enough to upload here…
Golden Spike is the middle part of the famous Moab Trifecta (Poison Spider, Golden Spike, Gold Bar Rim). It’s usually driven in that order (going in a south to north direction), though some go the other way and start on Gold Bar Rim.
I’ve done Poison Spider a lot, and Gold Bar Rim once in the out and back configuration (going from the traditional Trifecta exit, to the junction with Golden Spike, then back out the way we came in).
This Trifecta Route has become my new favorite trail in Moab. It’s a LONG day, but to me it felt totally manageable. I actually felt less fatigue than on Moab Rim, despite the Moab rim being completed several hours quicker.
We got through the entire trail unscathed and drama free. I embarrassingly forgot to shift back into 4 LO for the biggest sustained climbs (Launch Pad, and Skyline Drive) but got up them just fine. Other than that, it was a flawless run.
The trail claimed a fairly built 3rd gen 4runner who was accompanied by an SFA swapped 1st gen Runner. They broke a CV about halfway in, and had no replacement. The 1st gen then took over towing duties on all the obstacles and sections that couldn’t be done in RWD. But then at the bypass to double whammy, the lame’d 4runner attempted a smooth climb up a small hill and grenaded his rear end. One of the trail leaders in a seriously intense JK then took over recovery duties, but after a couple more miles one or both of the tie rods failed and the decision was made to leave the vehicle on trail and call for a professional recovery the next day. So look out on Trail Mater’s YouTube channel for a 4 runner recovery on Golden Spike soon, it may be on there.
A jeep also suffered from some type of overheating issues, but I believe they had the equipment to make a trail repair and get it out under it’s own power. At least that’s what it sounded like to me.
Anyway, our 2026 EJS is now over. We made the haul from Moab to Salt Lake City immediately after the trail ended and got home late last night. Thanks so much to rhe @3Wliners team for the opportunity and the SWEET floor liners. They’re honestly incredible and clearly of great quality. I’ll post separately about those when I get the rig unpacked and wiped down so Y’all can see what they offer.
I can’t wait to get back down and run this trail again soon.
A few pics below.
Some video of me on Zuki hill:
most of my other video clips are going to require a good bit of post processing to get the file sizes down enough to upload here…
Sponsored
Last edited:
