Trail Reports : Moab Rim, Sept. 2001
Moab, UTBy: Brent Winter-Holm (pix: Denis Glennon & Liz Demco)
Check the Trail Reports for Poison Spider Mesa and Fins-n-Things from this trip!
To put this trail into perspective I offer the following quote from the 4x4now website trail report, "The Moab Rim trail is very difficult, broken axles, gears and rollovers are not uncommon." Sounds like a challenge to me! We lined up at the bottom just as the sun was coming over the cliffs. This is when we heard what must be the quote of the trip, from a passing local jogging the trail, "Just how far do you think you are going to get?" ...... No response was given, we simply conquered the trail as I expected.
The trail starts out hard, you could still see the parking area from the section of rock ledges and the infamous Z-turn. I think this is about when John was asking if I thought there was a good turn around point. We did some scouting and with a little guidance we eased all three G's up. This section is nothing short of dramatic though, lots of leaning, all lockers in use, and nerves of steel didn't hurt.
Further up the trail you come to the top of the chairlift that gives scenic rides above the town. We took a short break then continued on. The trail remains challenging, there are several good steep climbs with major rock outcroppings to tackle.
Then you come to the optional rock dome said to be an 85% grade, no problem, the back side is pretty steep as well.
The trail makes its way to an overlook of Moab, more terriffic scenery! We took the low road back towards the chairlift, where the trail split. The low road has quite a bit of deep sand and some pretty good leans and climbs. Nothing boring about the whole trail, with the first section living up to its 4+ rating.
On the way back down I think everyone was much more comfortable with the trucks abilities as well as thier own. Erwin was even taking tougher lines than I through parts! We got back to the rock ledges and carefully guided each other through. This section is truely intense, I think we all came away with a tremendous sense of accomplishment, and a deep respect for the design of our vehicles.
When we reached the parking area we were greeted by a gal that drives Hummers for a local tour company. She was pretty amazed that we had just completed this trail, offering that they don't let the Hummers go up there. I think my head swelled a bit! The next group heading up was comprised of highly modified Jeeps and Land Cruisers on huge tires, I felt pretty smug knowing we had just done it with stock trucks without incident. This trail was a fitting end to a great weekend. I want to extend thanks to all who attended, we had a great group! No matter how tough it looked (brutal at times) everybody pulled through. Without a doubt it took tremendous fortitude and faith to risk the expensive G500s here on some of the most difficult trails anywhere. I personally can't wait to put another trip like this together. I would encourage anybody with a G and a little vacation time coming to sign on, experiences like this are all to rare.
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