TrailDamage.com

Photos, videos and information about 4x4 trails in Colorado and Utah

  • Trails
    • Colorado
    • Utah
  • Reports
    • Featured Videos
    • Reports Calendar
  • Members
  • Search
  • Trail Damage Winners
  • FAQ
  • Community
  • Upcoming Events
  • Membership
  • Log In
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Golden Spike 050514

May 14, 2005 by Monica

Golden Spike

Trail Run on May 14, 2005
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader
View trail information for Golden Spike

Ladd G.
Green 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Jason H.
Yellow 1985 Jeep CJ-7
Robert M.
Green 1987 Jeep Wrangler
Eric B.
Green 2000 Jeep Wrangler
Mike V.
Blue 2000 Jeep Cherokee
Tom B.
White 1998 Jeep Wrangler
Monica I.
Red 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Kendall C.
Blue 1988 Suzuki Samurai
Sean G.
Brown 2017 Toyota Tacoma

The best part about this trail run was that we ended up at Golden Spike with lots of daylight to spare. The worst part is that we ended up split into two groups and you didn't get to see much of the group other than the one you were with. As always, though, this was a great run on a great trail and no one broke anything.

Launch Pad gave us its usual thrills and Sean left the first of many sand trails on the obstacle as the sand from Poison Spider Mesa leaked out from his transfer case skid plate.

Eric gave us all a scare in Witch's Crotch when he got a bit too far over to the right and did a major wheel stand. He killed the engine and tried to roll back slowly to get out of it. When he was down and out of danger the first thing he wanted to do was try it again.

Though we usually stop for lunch on Skyline Drive we ended up on top of the dome at 11AM which was too early for lunch. We decided to head back down and have lunch in the Washtub because we always spend so much time there.

When we came around the corner at the bottom of the Washtub obstacle we were very disappointed to see that the obstacle had been widened by about 10 feet to the right. This meant that the ledge at the top wasn't mandatory anymore, making the obstacle much easier. You could simply go to the right now over a few short, sandy ledges. The bypass was even easier as the two sections merged together.

That meant we got through the Washtub in record time and everyone barely had lunch eaten by the time we were off again. We ran into a group of people we had met the day before and caught up a bit, and then we were off again.

By the time we worked our way to the ledge above Highway 191 there were two groups behind us. We decided to pull up to the overlook area to let them pass. At that point a couple of people started checking things on vehicles so we spent some time there, taking pictures and exploring.

The ledges between the overlook and the Golden Crack were as fun as ever, and no one did any serious damage. We got to the Golden Crack with plenty of daylight and we took lots of pictures.

No one had any issues at all in the Golden Crack except for Monica and Eric. The Golden Crack is one of the few places where having a flexible suspension is a bad thing. They would drop their front tire in and instead of having it drive up the other side like everyone else it would stay there and their back tires would slide to the right instead.

Monica solved it by going straight across it with both tires, straddling the Golden Crack. Then she turned sharply to the right to drive the rear tires through at as much of an angle as possible.

Eric solved it by airing up his front driver side tire so it wouldn't fold into the crack as much. Because he didn't go so deeply into the Golden Crack he was able to pop his tire up and drop the right front tire into the crack like normal.

After we went through Robert decided to go through the Golden Crack in the other direction. He almost did a nose dive into the crack but then he pulled it out and went through without any issues, turned around and went through again.

Ladd did the same thing, going through the Golden Crack in the other direction, then turning around to go through the regular way. It's nice to have sunshine to work with!

We kept going and everyone went up the Golden Stairs without any troubles. We ended up driving right past Double Whammy by mistake, but there wasn't anyone who would have done the obstacle anyway so we didn't go back.

It was a nice change to not have any issues in Body Snatcher. Everyone drove right through it, and Mike with his longer wheelbase went through it like he's done it a million times before.

We ended the last hill and started Gold Bar Rim in daylight for a nice change. It was yet another great time on Golden Spike.

arches_national_park
climb_up_skyline_drive
climbing_ledges
eric_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
eric_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
eric_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
eric_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
eric_in_the_washtub
eric_in_witches_crotch_part_1
eric_in_witches_crotch_part_2
eric_in_witches_crotch_part_3
eric_on_launch_pad
eric_on_the_golden_stairs
eric_up_skyline_drive
highway_191_north
jason_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
jason_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
jason_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
jason_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
jason_in_the_golden_crack_part_5
kendall_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
kendall_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
kendall_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
kendall_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
kendall_in_the_washtub_part_1
kendall_in_the_washtub_part_2
kendall_on_slickrock
kendall_on_the_trail
ladd_climbing
ladd_in_body_snatcher
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_5
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_6
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_7
ladd_in_the_golden_crack_part_8
ladd_in_the_sun
ladd_in_the_washtub
ladd_on_a_ledge
ladd_on_slickrock
launch_pad
lined_up_at_the_golden_crack
mike_at_the_overlook
mike_in_body_snatcher
mike_in_rocks
mike_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
mike_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
mike_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
mike_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
mike_in_the_golden_crack_part_5
mike_in_the_golden_crack_part_6
mike_in_the_washtub
mike_on_the_golden_stairs
monica_and_kendall
monica_at_the_overlook
monica_in_body_snatcher
monica_in_rocks
monica_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
monica_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
monica_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
monica_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
monica_in_the_golden_crack_part_5
monica_in_the_golden_crack_part_6
monica_on_the_trail
parked
peanut_gallery_part_1
peanut_gallery_part_2
peanut_gallery_part_3
robert_at_the_overlook_part_1
robert_at_the_overlook_part_2
robert_at_the_overlook_part_3
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_5
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_6
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_7
robert_in_the_golden_crack_part_8
sean_and_ladd_at_the_overlook
sean_in_body_snatcher
sean_in_the_golden_crack_part_1
sean_in_the_golden_crack_part_2
sean_in_the_golden_crack_part_3
sean_in_the_golden_crack_part_4
sean_in_the_washtub_part_1
sean_in_the_washtub_part_2
sean_on_launch_pad
sean_on_slickrock
sean_sand_trail
skyline_drive
top_of_skyline_drive
view_from_body_snatcher
view_from_the_golden_crack
views

Reports from Other Days: 9

Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Golden Spike. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.

October 14, 2017

Led by Monica I.
Is there anything more fun than Golden Spike?  We were making decent time as we came off of Poison Spider Mesa and started the trail, and we were grinning from ear to ear just thinking about it. It didn’t take long to get to the Launch Pad, and we had…
»
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
Join Us!
If you aren’t a Member or Subscriber, you can’t see all of the content on this site. Get membership information to see why this site is best when you join and log in

Information for Subscribers

When you log in you’ll see more information here:

  • Recent Community Forum posts
  • Recent polls
  • Upcoming Events you can attend
  • Links to online users

© 2000-2019 · TrailDamage.com · Terms and Conditions · About · Contact
Trail information is only accurate on the date posted. Trails may have changed or closed since that date. Use this information for historical purposes only.
Contact the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management for up-to-date trail information.

/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* View slug: reports-other-reports-for-same-trail-slider - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* place the prev/next controls on the sides */ .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-next-link, .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-previous-link { border: none; font-size: 300%; position: absolute; top: 70px; } .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-previous-link { left: 0; } .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-next-link { right: 0; } /* center the page selector horizonatally */ .td-transition-controls ul.wpv_pagination_dots { text-align: center; margin-top: 10px; } /* center the page selector horizonatally */ .td-transition-controls ul.wpv_pagination_dots li.wpv_pagination_dots_item, .td-transition-controls .wpv_pagination_dots li a { display: inline-block; float: none; } /* remove the default styles */ .td-transition-controls .wpv_pagination_dots li a { text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none; } .td-slider-container { padding: 0 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; position: relative; width:100%; display:table; } .td-slides { position: relative; } .td-slides-image { float:left; display:table-cell; } .td-slides-image img { border:1px solid #c0c0c0; } .td-slides-content { padding:4px 4px 4px 10px; border-top:1px solid #c0c0c0; border-right:1px solid #c0c0c0; border-bottom:1px solid #c0c0c0; display:table-cell; height:227px; overflow:hidden; } .td-slides-content h3 { margin-top:8px; } .td-slides-leader { font-size:smaller; margin-top:4px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* View slug: reports-other-reports-for-same-trail-slider - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for a Single Report - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .entry-header { display:none; } .entry-content h1 { margin-top:16px; padding-top:0; } h1 a { color:#222; } h1 a:hover { color:#666; } p.entry-meta { font-size:small; } #report-body-spacer { clear:both; width:100%; height:20px; } #addtoany-bar { margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; } .category-reports .post-info .author, .post-info .date { display: none; } .addthis_recommended_horizontal { text-align:center !important; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for a Single Report - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in REPORTS Runners - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ #runners-container { width:100%; clear:both; } .runner { border:1px solid #c0c0c0; margin:0 6px 6px 0; float:left; width:49%; height:81px; } .runner-image { float: left; } .runner-image img { margin:2px 10px 0 2px; height:75px; width:75px; } .runner-name { text-transform:uppercase; } .runner-name a { color:#222; } .runner-name a:hover { color:#666; } .runner-vehicle { font-size:small; } @media only screen and (max-width: 768px) { .runner { width:100%; } } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in REPORTS Runners - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */