Poison Spider, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim
With day one in the books, it was time to set out for day two. Derek was able to get the tie rod bung welded back in place Monday night, so he was good to go for another day of riding. On the agenda today, Poison Spider, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim. We left base camp about 8:00A to get gas and ice. We rolled out for the Poison Spider trailhead around 8:30A. At the trailhead, we hooked up with Eric, a friend Chris’ from Ft. Worth, TX. Eric was driving a lifted Toyota Tacoma which looked pretty darn sharp! We aired down and decided to go with the convoy lineup from day one, but putting Eric in between Chris and Derek. That way he wouldn’t be gunning and could watch the lines of others.
Poison Spider gets you going quickly with an ascent out of the Colorado River valley up to the red rocks via some really cool obstacles. With a combination of tippy spots and pretty good steep, technical obstacles we had a great ride to the split of Golden Spike. Eric decided early on that he wanted to do the loop on Poison Spider with the scenic lookout so he parted as we headed on to Golden Spike.
Golden Spike has some great obstacles! Early on you will hit Launchpad, a vertical climb that gets the blood pumping. Next is Skyline Drive which is a long vertical slick rock climb that leaves you wondering when your rig will ever level out. At the top, there is an American flag that makes for a great photo opportunity as well as a time of reflection for what we are able to enjoy in this country. Derek decided he wanted to climb Skyline Drive with his doubler engaged and just sit back and enjoy the ride. We were all thinking at any moment he was going to pop out the driver door for a KiKi challenge. Everybody made it to the top with no problems. After some photos and laughs, we headed down toward the Where Eagles Dare trailhead to enjoy lunch in a cool shaded arched alcove.
After lunch, we debated Where Eagles Dare, but it was a mixed vote so we got back on Golden Spike to find the Golden Crack. Golden Spike is a ledgy mix trail with open sand areas. The ledges are not to be taken lightly, with some drops as high as 40 inches or more. We were all successful in making it to the Golden Crack. The fissure is one of the most iconic spots in Moab for photos and testing your rig flexibility. Jonathan was our trail leader so he took first in line with the Can-Am. That little machine made it, but not before giving us all a gasping scare with a huge passenger side tip that almost put it on the side door. Chris lined up after Jonathan. Chris walked through without a problem. I took the Rubicon through next without any issues at all. Next Katie wheeled her Rubicon through with some outside spotting and some heads up in cab things to watch for like a momentary loss of steering control. Derek walked the Blazer through the crack like it was made for the obstacle. We had also picked up a few extra Jeeps in our convoy just the other side of Where Eagles Dare trail ended. They made it across the crack without a problem in their rental Jeeps. After a short break, we headed on to the Golden Stairs which is another Jeep eating obstacle.
Jonathan was first to the stairs and found that the steps were no joke for the Can-Am. I followed behind and climbed without a problem until I got to the top and noticed I was not able to turn off my front locker. After several attempts with rolling forward and backward I did get the locker to disengage, however, I also noticed a significant problem with steering the rig. I was able to clear the top of the trail obstacle so others could finish their climb and hard left turn. Once on a flat spot, I checked the Jeep for sluggish steering causes and realized I had ripped my Rock Krawler track bar bracket right off the axle tube. The only thing holding it in place was the screws that attached points to the factory bracket. We decided to take the aftermarket bracket off and attach the track bar to the factory bracket. The factory bracket wasn’t in much better shape than the other but it was kinda still attached to the axle. I wheeled a little further to the ledge at Double Whammy and realized this setup wasn’t going to get me down the trail. I put out the SOS on Facebook in the Moab Friends for Wheelin group page and Rory Irish of Moab Motorsports posted his number. This was the one person that I was elated to see appear on the post. Rory has a trail recovery rig with a Premier Power Welder on board. We worked out positioning and logistics for him to make it to me. I was to stay put and not risk further damage. Cindi and I dismissed the rest of the crew so they could get home to eat and get the younger riders out of the sun and off the trail. Derek opted to stay behind and hang out with us – which was a super cool gesture!
Rory popped on the scene about 2 hours later and began his work. We moved the track bar out of the way and he welded the aftermarket bracket back on all while adding a few more tacks and welds to make sure it stayed together for the trip down. We got back on the trail at Double Whammy just before sunset and knew we had about 2 hours left to get to the Gemini Bridges side of the Gold Bar Rim trailhead. It was an uneventful descent until we got to the Waterfall obstacle on Gold Bar. Rory climbed #towmater up it like a boss – first attempt in rear-wheel drive only! I was next and chose a tough line on the left which proved too slick. I moved over to the middle right and started up, losing traction the Jeep backed into a large rock and crushed my left exhaust tip. I rolled over a bit more to the right and started up. My tires were spinning, but I was able to keep spinning traction walk the Jeep over more to the right just above the big rocks. Finally, I got a much needed bite of traction and was able to complete the obstacle. Derek was next and after wedging the Blazed in a rock at the bottom with all 4 tires on the Waterfall we decided it was best to tug him on over before any driveline damage was done. We continued on down the trail until the rough parts were behind us aside from a few ledges. We said our thanks and goodbyes to Rory and his passenger Chris as we headed on down to Gemini Bridges. At the bottom we got Derek loaded, and got on the road.
We got on the highway only to notice I had severe steering issues and even more severe death wobble above 45 mph. Anyhow, our evening concluded with a nice peaceful drive back into town and a late night dinner at Wendy’s. We got home at 11:30P, exhausted and sun riddled, beaten by the Golden Stairs.
