On Saturday morning we discovered that we shared our spot with two other wayward travelers from Dallas, Texas. They were trying to get back home, but their Born Free motorhome was imprisoning them in Moab with a burnt valve. Charles, though employed as a telephone repair expert, might as well have been a mechanical genius. He had the entire head off his engine, and was cleaning a replacement that he had picked out of a junkyard. We pulled up alongside them and spent the better part of Saturday trying to free the bolt, using all methods imaginable, including spending two hours with a hacksaw carving a groove to try to attack the thing with a flathead screwdriver. We got tons of great advice from the folks at Car Quest, and also from Charles, who proved incredibly knowledgeable. (One interesting tip he gave: use Coca Cola to free a frozen bolt...he swears if you can get it in the threads it works better than anything.)
The cage called Born Free...there's a hole where the engine should be.
But nevertheless, Brant's valiant efforts went unrewarded, and as night fell the prospect of going out to celebrate lost all its appeal. Meanwhile, Charles and Mary, and their homesick Weimeriner Argos, continued to tear their engine apart in an effort to get home. We continued to marvel at Charles confidence in his abilities, and since our engine could still run (albeit sporadically), it put our problem in perspective.
The terrain at Wall Street.
Sunday we were determined to have some fun, so we took out the Honda, strapped on the GPS, and took out for Poison Spider Mesa to explore the trail. Armed with an incredible book about the backcountry jeep trails around Moab, we cruised down Potash Road towards the trailhead. And all along Potash Road were climbers, on some of the most incredible rock faces you could imagine. Looming red sandstone cliffs jut steeply up from just a few feet away from the asphalt, while the Colorado River flows along the other side of the highway. There were routes for all levels of expertise. Climbers were set up in folding chairs...some top-roping, some on bole, some free climbing. The entire area is called Wall Street, and although there are no stocks being traded, it's easy to see how the stretch of climber's paradise got its name.
One incredible view from Poison Spider.
We headed up from the trailhead along the rocky, switchback road, and emerged at the top simultaneously with a group of about 20 mountain bikers. Gluttons for punishment, we thought. And continued to think as the trail went on and we saw biker after biker walking their cycles like dogs. Apparently Poison Spider Mesa is popular with mountain bikers, but we have yet to figure out why. At the top of the lookout point, bikers can split off and come down the single track Portal Trail, but the 10-odd miles to the that point is mostly deep sand and impassable rocky crags. The area is officially a jeep trail, and for those traveling it with a combustible engine, it is awesome. With our bright red bike, we found companionship for a while with a black and blue butterfly, who for at least a mile was determined to get some good nectar out of Honda.
These were the only two bikers we saw make this incline.
Technically difficult, but graced with the most incredible views, the trail is perfect for a dirt bike. And another amazing view is to watch the 4-by jeeps and trucks tackle the thing. Along the way we saw a Ford F-250 and a Blazer surmount obstacles that just shouldn't have been possible. And this intermingled with bicycles and a few dirt bikes...all picking their way along the trail in harmony.
Lunch at the lookout.
Moab Valley from Poison Spider Mesa Lookout.
We lunched at the top of a lookout point which had views of the river and the entire Moab valley, a green oasis in the middle of the red desert. We watched five jeeps delicately pick through the Moab Rim trail across the valley, a foreshadowing of next weekend, when the annual Jeep Safari will bring 3,500 people into Moab with all manners of 4-wheel drive vehicles to tackle the trails. Then we tackled the Poison Spider back down the hill, covering 37 miles by the time we pulled back into camp.
Brant coming up steep...the photo does no justice.
Atop the mesa.
