Moon Gulch
This was our first time on Moon Gulch, and we weren't sure what to expect. The day started out wet, foggy and cold, so we expected bad weather. We were wrong about that.
We actually started the trail in the middle after using Apex Road to get to it. When we got there, the sun was shining and the views were spectacular. It looked like the bad weather was below us, so we were lucky to not be in town.
We headed down the end of the trail and found the shaft house easily enough. Everyone parked and got out to take pictures.
The rest of the trail was fun as we snaked our way down. We turned on a steep downhill on the way down, which turned out to be a good time. It was steep and bumpy in places, but no one had any issues.
When we got to Gamble Gulch Road, there was a gate that was open. It looked like it may have been vandalized, but it was apparently a gate that was supposed to be open to anyone. We passed through it and headed out towards Rollinsville.
The rest of Gamble Gulch Road was smooth and easy. When we got to the highway we turned left and then turned left again right away on Moon Gulch Road, just before we got to Rollinsville.
Moon Gulch Road started out very mellow and nice, just like Gamble Gulch Road. Then there was a sign that it wasn't maintained past that point, and the trail started.
We didn't get too far in before we saw the picnic area. It was lunchtime, so we stopped there for a bit. The sun was out and we sat at the picnic table there, enjoying the weather. It was a bit chilly, but very nice.
We soon continued on, and found a hunter parked just before the narrow trees. They were definitely narrow, and you had to go slowly so you didn't hit them.
The section of trail after that was tippy almost the whole way. There were more narrow trees, and you could see that they had been hit by more than a few vehicles over the years. We made it through without hitting anything, though.
We finally came out of the trees and went through a small water crossing. Then we found the big uphill. Monica went first, and didn't make it very far before her muffler fell off.
Her muffler had fallen off on 21 Road a couple weeks before, and the fix seemed to be good enough. It wasn't, though, and this time when it fell off it hit the ground and bent the pipe at the end.
She backed down, and everyone took turns trying to get it off of her Jeep. It wasn't meant to be, so bailing wire was used to tie it up enough so she could continue. She'd do the rest of the day without windows, though, for ventilation.
Walt followed up the hill, and Mark wanted to find the other way up. He ventured off for a bit, but didn't have any immediate luck so he turned back and came up the hill after us. There was a lot of exploring that could be done up there.
We were soon back up on Gamble Gulch Road and back to our starting place. It turned out to be a fun little trail. We still had more scenery to see, though, so we headed off for Kingston Peak.
