B_AIRS
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@BDinTX, his wife, and I took a trip to Moab last week to run a few of the badge trails and a few of the easy scenic trails in the area. I had a blast, upped my confidence in both my abilities as well as the Jeep's, and I will definitely be going back at some point as there is so much more to see and do there.
As we were coming from two different cities and our schedules for leaving didn't line up we agreed to meet up in Farmington, NM on Saturday night. The next morning we got up and hit the road towards Canyonlands NP in order to run the badge trail Elephant Hill. On the way we made a brief stop at Newspaper Rock to see the Petroglyphs.
Once we made it to the trail-head we aired down and headed up Elephant Hill. We ran the loop and the northern spur up to the Confluence overlook. The most challenging/technical section really is the hill itself that you tackle at the beginning and then again on your way out. The views of the Needles area were awesome and I really enjoyed the trail. The loop section did have a few other rocky climbs and descents that made it interesting, and As many of you have probably seen, there is a short section of switchback on the hill itself that you have to back down on the way in and back up on the way out.
Me going back up Elephant Hill on the way out
@BDinTX climbing one section of the hill
The confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers.
After getting back to the trailhead we aired up and made our way into Moab to check-in to our lodging for the remainder of the week.
The next morning we got up and headed for the Sand Flats Recreation area to tackle Hell's Revenge. This was a bucket list trail for both @BDinTX and I and we both wanted to conquer Hell's Gate. Hell's Revenge turned out to be one of my favorites of the trip (minus the exit area past the newly reopened Staircase; that section is just a bumpy mess crawling over rocks and getting bounced all over the place). There are lots of different obstacles along the trail and you can really pick your line on how difficult you want to make it in addition to the optional named obstacles. Hell's gate looks very intimidating when you are there, but we both walked right up it with no issues. We did skip the Escalator and the rowdier hot tubs as we both had driven our Jeeps from Texas to Moab and didn't want to break or flop and loose our way home.
Airing down at the Hell's Revenge trailhead.
Following Hell's revenge we had some lunch and then headed for Fins & Things. It was a lot like Hell's Revenge in scenery and obstacle type, but there were still some fun sections. We only ended up running the Southern portion of the trail, but that just gives us all the more reason to go back.
@BDinTX coming down an obstacle on Fins & Things
Tuesday morning we got up and headed down Kane Creek road to Hurrah Pass. This is one of the easy trails in the area but the views more than make up for the lack of obstacles to conquer. Once over the pass we made our way to Catacomb Rock. This is a great place to stop for lunch and explore the multitude of wind caves.
Inside one of the wind caves
After exploring the area and having a bite to eat, we continued on down to Chicken Corners. Again, this trail is very easy but the views were great. Once we made it down to the hiking trail at the end we turned around and made our way back into Moab and some rest.
After a little rest we decided that we wanted to see if we could get into Arches NP to see an arch or two. Following @wibornz advice from the epic trip he is on, we took the back way (4X4 route) into Arches and avoided the lines and that whole process.
The next day we got up and drove outside of town about 40 minutes to run Top of the World. I had been told by a friend that this was a must do for the epic view at the end, and he was right. Top of the World is very bumpy and will try your patience with the time it takes to make it up and back, but there are a few obstacles along the way to make it fun and the view at the end just isn't describable with words. We both took the obligatory picture on the cliff edge and had lunch at the top. On the way back down the trail we ran into a large group of Broncos headed up. They were in town for the Bronco Safari. The Bronco Buster (YouTube) guy was there, however he had to abandon his rig on the side of the trail with what we later found out was a broken steering issue.
Once off Top of the World we headed back towards Moab a few miles to Onion Creek Road. This is a gorgeous dirt road that winds through a narrow canyon below the overlook of Top of the World. There are about 27 creek crossings along this road, however you could run it in a passenger car as it is a well maintained gravel road. At the end of this road there is a fork that can take you on a long overland route or to another more difficult trail, but we were getting tired so we backtracked to the highway and back to Moab.
Our last morning we woke up and headed down Potash road to the trailhead for Poison Spider. This turned out to be my favorite trail of the week. The views of Moab, the La Sal Mountains, and the Colorado River were amazing and there were plenty of fun obstacles to play around on. In addition it connects several other trails and we explored a minimal amount on Where Eagles Dare and Golden Spike.
The next day we woke up and began our journey home. On the way we stopped at Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, TX to check it out.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the overview of our trip. @BDinTX may have some pictures or comments to share as well.
As we were coming from two different cities and our schedules for leaving didn't line up we agreed to meet up in Farmington, NM on Saturday night. The next morning we got up and hit the road towards Canyonlands NP in order to run the badge trail Elephant Hill. On the way we made a brief stop at Newspaper Rock to see the Petroglyphs.
Once we made it to the trail-head we aired down and headed up Elephant Hill. We ran the loop and the northern spur up to the Confluence overlook. The most challenging/technical section really is the hill itself that you tackle at the beginning and then again on your way out. The views of the Needles area were awesome and I really enjoyed the trail. The loop section did have a few other rocky climbs and descents that made it interesting, and As many of you have probably seen, there is a short section of switchback on the hill itself that you have to back down on the way in and back up on the way out.
Me going back up Elephant Hill on the way out
@BDinTX climbing one section of the hill
The confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers.
After getting back to the trailhead we aired up and made our way into Moab to check-in to our lodging for the remainder of the week.
The next morning we got up and headed for the Sand Flats Recreation area to tackle Hell's Revenge. This was a bucket list trail for both @BDinTX and I and we both wanted to conquer Hell's Gate. Hell's Revenge turned out to be one of my favorites of the trip (minus the exit area past the newly reopened Staircase; that section is just a bumpy mess crawling over rocks and getting bounced all over the place). There are lots of different obstacles along the trail and you can really pick your line on how difficult you want to make it in addition to the optional named obstacles. Hell's gate looks very intimidating when you are there, but we both walked right up it with no issues. We did skip the Escalator and the rowdier hot tubs as we both had driven our Jeeps from Texas to Moab and didn't want to break or flop and loose our way home.
Airing down at the Hell's Revenge trailhead.
Following Hell's revenge we had some lunch and then headed for Fins & Things. It was a lot like Hell's Revenge in scenery and obstacle type, but there were still some fun sections. We only ended up running the Southern portion of the trail, but that just gives us all the more reason to go back.
@BDinTX coming down an obstacle on Fins & Things
Tuesday morning we got up and headed down Kane Creek road to Hurrah Pass. This is one of the easy trails in the area but the views more than make up for the lack of obstacles to conquer. Once over the pass we made our way to Catacomb Rock. This is a great place to stop for lunch and explore the multitude of wind caves.
Inside one of the wind caves
After exploring the area and having a bite to eat, we continued on down to Chicken Corners. Again, this trail is very easy but the views were great. Once we made it down to the hiking trail at the end we turned around and made our way back into Moab and some rest.
After a little rest we decided that we wanted to see if we could get into Arches NP to see an arch or two. Following @wibornz advice from the epic trip he is on, we took the back way (4X4 route) into Arches and avoided the lines and that whole process.
The next day we got up and drove outside of town about 40 minutes to run Top of the World. I had been told by a friend that this was a must do for the epic view at the end, and he was right. Top of the World is very bumpy and will try your patience with the time it takes to make it up and back, but there are a few obstacles along the way to make it fun and the view at the end just isn't describable with words. We both took the obligatory picture on the cliff edge and had lunch at the top. On the way back down the trail we ran into a large group of Broncos headed up. They were in town for the Bronco Safari. The Bronco Buster (YouTube) guy was there, however he had to abandon his rig on the side of the trail with what we later found out was a broken steering issue.
Once off Top of the World we headed back towards Moab a few miles to Onion Creek Road. This is a gorgeous dirt road that winds through a narrow canyon below the overlook of Top of the World. There are about 27 creek crossings along this road, however you could run it in a passenger car as it is a well maintained gravel road. At the end of this road there is a fork that can take you on a long overland route or to another more difficult trail, but we were getting tired so we backtracked to the highway and back to Moab.
Our last morning we woke up and headed down Potash road to the trailhead for Poison Spider. This turned out to be my favorite trail of the week. The views of Moab, the La Sal Mountains, and the Colorado River were amazing and there were plenty of fun obstacles to play around on. In addition it connects several other trails and we explored a minimal amount on Where Eagles Dare and Golden Spike.
The next day we woke up and began our journey home. On the way we stopped at Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo, TX to check it out.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the overview of our trip. @BDinTX may have some pictures or comments to share as well.
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