Golden Spike

Portal Rv Resort
Moab, UT
May 3, 2016

To complete Golden Spike has been on our bucket list for sometime.  And now we can finally check it off.  It is one of the longest (20.1 miles) 4X4 trails simply because to complete it you have to do half of Poison Spider, all of Gold Bar and part of Gemini Bridges. Golden Spike is only 6.7 miles by itself and full of non-stop challenges.  

Our group for the day chose to do it backwards which means we saved Poison Spider for last...the views coming out that way are spectacular.

The only folks we really knew in the group were Dee, David and Lois, and Dale and Rolande.  The others were all from the 4 Wheel FMCA club.  We followed a nice guy named Kevin sometimes and other times we followed Dee.  

David and Lois

Starting on Gold Bar meant that we had to go down the waterfall.

Kevin

Sometimes it's hard to keep 4 on the ground.





The obstacles on this trail have the "awesomest" names...Body Snatcher, Double Whammy, Golden Stairs, Golden Crack, Zuki Hill, Skyline Drive, and Launch Pad.   But as the pictures show, my focus was on the views!  

 My favorite picture of the day was looking back at Dee as she came down Wedgy on Poison Spider.  She was photographing us while driving !

 It was a long, exciting day.  Thanks to Dee's spotting we aced the Golden Crack for the first time. 

The puppies were glad to see us.

 Until next time, happy trails !

National Public Lands Day 2015

Portal RV Resort
Moab, UT
September 26, 2015

This past Saturday was NPLD.  Moab Friends For Wheelin' volunteered to paint trail markers and put up signs on Golden Spike, a difficult 6.28 mile 4X4 trail.  Jeff, the club president, had a plan that was executed to near perfection. Volunteers were divided into two painting teams with five to six vehicles each. Glen and Dee were the designated paint team leaders leaving Jeff to repair or replace damaged signs along the entire trail.  The team we were on started at Poison Spider with Glen as the leader and the other team led by Dee, started at Gold Bar. The plan was for the two paint teams to meet, hopefully somewhere near the middle of the trail and WE DID! 

We met at the cinema at 8:30 sharp.

Our group aired down at the Poison Spider trailhead. 


Joe has decided to call our jeep Mini Pearl since it is usually the smallest in the group and we almost bought a Mini Cooper instead of a Jeep... can you believe that ? 

All work and no play makes for a dull day. We had a few miles and fun obstacles to climb on Poison Spider Mesa before we got to the left hand turn where Golden Spike begins. 

Hi Melissa!

Glen is ready if anyone needs a spot on Wedgy.

The waterfall...

Golden Spike was created to link Poison Spider Mesa and Gold Bar Rim...the trio is known as the "Trifecta".  Once on Golden Spike, the lead vehicle (Glen) stopped to begin painting the first quarter mile, while the others passed and drove a quarter of a mile before the next vehicle stopped to begin painting their quarter mile, ect., ect., ect.  Thus the game of "leapfrog" began.

Chris, with paint in hand, on her first section. Joe, Dave, Scott, Dale, and Gary all had passengers to walk their quarter mile sections...how lucky for them!

Melissa painting one of many domes we climbed.

Lunch is always a time to regroup and visit. The rim/mesa trails guarantee a great view and Golden Spike was no exception.

Glen enjoying the view.

Our lunch spot.

There's Pearl...

Wahoo! Larry and Glen meet in the middle!

At this point, Joe and I turned around and went out the way we came in with Dee's group.

Until next time, let the good times roll...

HAPPY TRAILS!