Moab Rim Trail
Today was a draw straw day. Our base camp group was up late the night before trying to get Derek off the trail so they rested in. We opted to get up get gas and ice and go see if anybody was at the City Market waiting to select trails. The parking lot was empty except for shoppers so we selected Moab Rim as our trail for the day and headed to the trailhead to catch anybody possibly going up so we could tag along. We hiked a few small areas while we waited. The sun hadn’t come over the rim just yet and the air was cool and crisp. After about 45 minutes we decided that we would slowly make our way up to the rim solo.
The most difficult obstacles are less than a half-mile from the trailhead. First on the list is Devil’s Crack. This obstacle is shelf preceded by a large rock on the river-side of the trail. You have to start on the large rock and go tippy to the ledge of the step. The right line here will keep the hood level and the climb will be straightforward. A bad choice and you will flop your rig. We breezed through the crack. Next up is the Z-Turn. This obstacle is a very short switchback of very ledgy rock that takes a good line and high clearance. I started far left on the first turn then traversed the first flat to work the far right section of ledges. This climb was not bad. Make sure your line choice keeps you flat and not tippy. After the first two obstacles, we figured out we were on our way to the rim with those left waiting for us on the return trip. The next obstacle was a large shelf that I chose a really bad line and got the rear passenger tire completely wedged in a shelf cup. The only way out of that mess was to power out in reverse. The sounds of rock on the wheel were not pretty and the aftermath proved it. We popped right up the step after moving about a foot to the right.
The terrain through the rim trail is winding, sandy, rocky, and whoever painted the trail markers made sure you were off-camber wherever possible. A beautiful turnout and overlook were just beyond the rock ledges of the river edge. We stopped and snapped some photos. The trail led us to a choice in which we chose the standard EJS route to the right up to the top. At the point where the previous split in trails comes back together, there is a short turn out that leads to a hike into the Hidden Valley. We decided to park and hike to the upper portion of the valley overlook and take a break while enjoying the scenery and quiet. since our stomachs were saying it was time for lunch, we climbed back in the Jeep and took off for the Rim. Not much further on the trail, we made it to the dead-end at the rim overlooking the city of Moab. We found a shaded alcove and spread a blanket for some lunch.
As we finished up our lunch a convoy of SxS machines converged on the turnabout at the dead end. We chatted with them for a few minutes before heading back down the trail. We chose the EJS route on the way down and bounced our way down through the valley to the river. Our entry obstacles were still hanging around waiting for us to make our way to the parking area. We needed a break from the bumps and were in no hurry to exit the rocks for our final day in Moab. The Jeep proceeded down the obstacles in 4-Lo and first gear. We crept down the last part of the rim in super slow motion! Cindi hopped out to get some pics and vids of the Jeep slowly creeping through the Z-Turn and the Devil’s Crack.
Another successful day on the trails in one of the most beautiful areas in America! Somehow in our slow-motion descent, the topic of ice cream came up, so we got back on flat ground and headed to The Spoke restaurant for some of their amazing Espresso Chip ice cream. We walked and shopped as we finished our ice cream. Since it was load-out travel prep evening, we grabbed a quesadilla from Quesadilla Mobilla to carry back to base camp for dinner. Once back at our house in Spanish Valley we met up with our crew and started the sad process of loading up the rigs to travel back to Texas.
A huge thank you to Moab for another wonderful trip and tons of marvelous memories! We will be back soon!
