Moab, UT
April 22, 25, 26, 2016
One of the nice things about being apart of the Moab Friends For Wheeling club is that when people who want to go wheeling visit here, often they will contact the club via Facebook for help. Such was the case a couple of weeks ago when Mike, Tara, and their year old son Hunter arrived from Vancouver. Dee volunteered to lead them on Hell's Revenge and we were invited to come along. We readily accepted...just can't get enough Hell's Revenge !
On the way to Jackson Butte, we made a stop to hunt for fossils.
I only found one seashell fossil this time.
Jackson Butte is on the left...Cliffhanger is the ridge that wraps around from behind the butte to the right.
Rock climbing on the back side of Jackson Butte under the Cliffhanger 4X4 trail was a hoot although Joe and I didn't go as far as Dee and Jeremy. Quite a challenge to figure out the best route and not cause a rock slide.
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| L-R Tara, Dee, Mike and Hunter and Joe |
Our stopping point, looking down at Tara and Hunter...
and up at Dee and Jeremy.
Our last stop was in the riverbed where the Colorado River once flowed. One of my favorite rock hounding spots.
I found a new cactus. This is a Whipple's Fishhook. It is named after Amiel Wicks Whipple (1818-1863) who was an engineer for surveys of the US/New Mexico boundary from 1853-1856. Nature is so amazing...the pores open up at night to allow carbon dioxide to enter. It is stored and during the day is used in photosynthesis.
These are tiny cactus (2" to 1.2' tall) with showy light purple or pinkish flowers.
Our last day with the Johansens was spent on Poison Spider. It was an overcast day and we mostly had the trail to ourselves.
Looking back on the waterfall we had just climbed and the fresh tire marks we had made.
Mike drove the waterfall and V-Notch like a pro...
...and did a dang good job on Wedgy too!
Hunter had a ball...maybe an up and coming rock climber?
The stunning overlook is a must see.
And of course the sandy play hill brings out lots of laughs and wahoos! We made freshies!
Poison Spider Mesa is marked as one of Charles Wells' (author of Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails) favorite trails and it's no wonder.
It was great meeting such nice young people and we sure hope our paths cross again.
Until next time, happy days, and...
HAPPY TRAILS !
It's great reading this now that we've been there! I can really appreciate the obstacles. Next time we are here, we will hike the Amasa back and get out to Johnson Hole. How cool finding the fossil!
ReplyDeleteLove travelling along with you feels like we have been there with all your adventures.
ReplyDeleteIt looks to me like you've certainly found a lot of fun places to go and great things to photograph.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos of the red rock country.
ReplyDeleteNice find! The little fishhook cactus are pretty unique. That's a heck of a route to rock the baby to sleep, but looks like all of you and the Jeeps had a great day.
ReplyDeleteSo much beauty to be found on Moab area! I love being able to read about your adventures from afar!
ReplyDeleteWe were just in Moab and rode our side by side up Poison Spider--probably one of the more difficult trails we've ever done, and no, we didn't do the "wedgie!" Do you have a particular reference book for cactus that you use??
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