Gold Bar Rim
We had two groups running this trail on the same day. The first group ran Poison Spider Mesa and Golden Spike first, and the second group started with Rusty Nail. We were within an hour of meeting each other near the Golden Crack.
Run 1 Report: Andrew, Bob R. and Ladd
Gold Bar Rim consisted of a nice drive with views and lots of chatter with the other Trail Damage group having some issues on Rusty Nail. When we got to the big Slide Rock, and we all had trouble getting up the right line. It looks like it is well on its way to getting dug out like Widowmaker on Metal Masher and becoming impossible. Andrew had a little trouble and got himself in a precarious situation. We used a tow strap to steady him and he went right up the left line.
The rest of the trip out was pretty straight forward. We played on some of the ledges and we were out to the highway by 6:30PM, sitting at the bar at the Moab Brewery by 7:00PM. What a great day of wheeling!
Run 2 Report: Bob S., Cheryl, Don, Eric B., Kendall, Monica and Robert
Rusty Nail was a fun and difficult trail, and towards the end we were talking on the CB with the other Trail Damage group while they were on Golden Spike. We wanted to meet them at the Golden Crack, but they were trying to get back to town to get a new shock for Andrew. We ended up missing them, but we saw them later at the bar for dinner and beers.
It was interesting to see where the Rusty Nail trail met up with Golden Spike. It's right between the Golden Crack and the Golden Stairs, and even though we've driven right by it many times we never noticed the intersection. Though we did part of Golden Spike, it's actually part of Rusty Nail at this point (the two trails share a few obstacles).
When we got to Golden Spike, we backtracked a little to get to the Golden Crack. Everyone took turns going through it in the opposite direction, then turning around to go through the regular way. No one had any issues. Monica was going to go last, but when it was her turn some people came from the usual direction. They had never done the Golden Crack, so Monica decided to skip it this time.
Kendall still had no four-wheel drive, so he had to work a bit harder than everyone else, and he had to skip the Golden Crack. When we got to the Golden Stairs everyone did just fine, but Kendall needed a tug. Eric used his winch and a snatch block hooked to a Jeep at the top of the stairs, and Kendall got up without needing too much help.
The whoopdeedoo hills after that were a bit of trouble for Kendall, again, but he got through with help from a tow strap. He decided to go on ahead of us so he could spend some time working on whatever gave him trouble, and we would catch up with him later.
We took the time to check out Double Whammy this time. Cheryl was anxious to try the obstacle with her new, longer wheelbase Jeep. Robert got there first, though.
Robert tried the left line where you need to go up the stairs head-on. It was really close, but he couldn't get his tires up the second set of ledges. He moved over to try the right side and had a really good line, but it wasn't happening for him.
Cheryl tried the right-side line when Robert was through trying, and it really looked like she was going to get up and through it. Her rear tire could climb almost to the top of the lowest ledge, but that's as far as she could get. She moved over to try the left-most line but it wouldn't work out for her. She really gave it some gas, bouncing on the obstacle, but it still didn't work.
Body Snatcher was pretty easy for everyone. Cheryl came close to getting body damage a couple of times, but she made it right through after adjusting her line.
We went up to the top of Gold Bar Rim to check out the overlook and the views, then we turned around. Bob and Robert played on the obstacles at the top for a bit, and they didn't have any issues.
We were just past Mushroom Rock when Bob came on the CB saying he thought something major just broke. It turned out that his clutch went out. There wasn't anything we could do on the trail to fix it, so he got ahead of everyone and wheeled without shifting, stopping or backing up. It made things interesting, to say the least!
When we got to Slide Rock we managed to catch up with Kendall and we were all together again. He had built a big ramp on the left side but he still couldn't get up it without four-wheel drive. He got out of the way as Bob came through, using the ramp Kendall built and not even stopping. Luckily, he walked right over it and kept going.
Monica, Don and Cheryl all walked up the middle without having to work at it very much. Then Cheryl gave Kendall a tug and he was up it too. Robert walked up the middle line after that. Eric tried the middle line but he was having a lot of issues, so he ended up using Kendall's ramp.
We all worked our way out, and Robert had to try his ledge again. He went right up it without any issues this time. We were off the trail pretty quickly, then we headed back to town to meet the rest of the group.
Note: on the way in to do Rusty Nail we had to do part of Gold Bar Rim. We got to the section where the optional "Impossible Hill" is located. Robert and Cheryl both gave it a try, and both of them made it. Nice!
Reports from Other Days: 12
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Gold Bar Rim. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
