Pearl Did A Wedgy!

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
June 13, 2014

When Friday the 13th dawned...we had plans with a Poison Spider...good thing we are not superstitious! 
Poison Spider Mesa is rated #5 by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers Club. It does have a sting, but not a deadly bite! In fact, their review states "the jeeping is just challenging enough to be fun without being a vehicle buster". 


The trail begins with a series of uphill switchbacks with rock ledges. We followed Dee who was driving Roxanne.

Unlike Porcupine Rim, which was a precursor for Poison Spider, this trail had lots of open spaces with some sections of easy driving.

We enjoyed a variety of terrains from sandy canyons...

to riding the mesa...

and even slickrock.

 The first obstacle came at about 2 miles into the trail. It is called "The Waterfall". It does not have a bypass so to continue, you have to climb up and to exit you have to climb down.

Tire placement is important...so much so, Dee drew lines with a rock on the passenger side for us to follow.




The Waterfall obstacle gives this 4X4 Trail its rating of "5". Pictures don't show how narrow it is, the drop off or the two turns. Joe and Pearl did great with Dee spotting. Go Pearl!

The second major obstacle (at about 2.8 miles) is called the V-Notch or "Big Wedgy" as the locals say. It does have a go-around. No shame in that! Dee went first...notice how the side of the tires ride the rock? An inch off  makes a huge difference. Not only is it a v-notch, it also climbs which the picture doesn't show.

Joe gave it a try...successfully I might add! What a rush that one was! On the return trip, however, he chose not to drive down. No shame in that!

Thank you Dee!

 

Wahoo!

Remember Pig Rock...we saw it on Chicken Corners. You get an up close view of it on Poison Spider. I just found out last night at dinner that you can see the back of Pig Rock on the cliff behind Portal. That's so cool!

Pig Rock...mama and piglets on the Poison Spider

The back side of Pig Rock from Portal...

We also saw Buffalo Rock. This one was alittle harder to see for me until I realized he was laying (or is that lying ) down.

Buffalo Rock

And remember Little Arch from the Chicken Corners trail? Well, Little Arch is the park and have lunch spot for Poison Spider. Its the end of the trail...

 

You can see Moab Rim parking lot, Kane Creek Road, and the Colorado River thru the arch. 

 

 

 And we had a bird's eye view of the Z-Turn on Moab Rim.

Do you see the two jeeps in the Z?

 It was a fantastic Friday for sure...full of thrills...

 

Dee exiting via the Big Wedgy

 

...adventure...

 

There is a cave to explore near the Little Arch.

 

...beauty...

...more beauty...

...wonders of nature...

...birds...

 

...and animals.

A beautiful grey fox with breakfast...

Its been over a week since we made the Poison Spider run.

 

The Bledsoe's home on wheels!

 

Look who happened to roll in three sites down, our friends, Ronnie and Carol and their pup Cooper. They arrived last Wednesday and it has been non stop fun!

Be safe and...

happy trails!

Up next, jeeping with Ronnie and Carol...