Road Trip to Moab:

Sometimes you just gotta get out of town! And this week was one of those times, so we packed up the Dodge and the JK and rolled out of Denver about 8am on Thursday morning heading to Moab. As we approached Georgetown the snow began to fall, making for a slower drive than we wanted. As we wound through Glenwood Springs, the snow stopped and we continued on.

When we arrived in Moab, the first stop was at the Moab Diner for some grub. We left there and headed straight to Steel Bender, wanting to see what the old Ram 1500 could do. Well, she definitely isn’t a Jeep, and Steel Bender lived up to its name, autographing the bed of the truck at one point when I was on three wheels. A Jeep it is not, but was still a lot of fun. It is definitely a whole different experience in a full size truck. We exited Steel Bender in the dark, and headed to the condo.

Posing for pics as we start out on the Steel Bender trail. Sun is still shinning, but it goes fast and we got a late start.

Full size truck on Steel Bender trail? Yes, it fits and yes we did pay the price.

Climbing one of the many waterfall ledges on Steel Bender.

Steel Bender lives up to it’s name and gave the Dodge a nice little crinkle!

Day Two -Poison Spider

We decided to leave the truck and take the Jeep to Poison Spyder. With all the recent rain, the trail was wet, muddy, and the sand turned into this weird squishy playdough like stuff. The trail is a lot more fun and challenging when wet, that’s for sure. We picked up a couple TJ’s that were not familiar with the area and let them tag along. We had a blast, and enjoyed guiding the TJ’s through the trail. It’s always a fun time when people make it through an obstacle that they are unsure of. The day went as we had hoped, and we had no issues.

The rain made everything muddy and slippery making the trail much harder than it usually is… The switchback was tough to get up.

Starting up the waterfalls on Poison Spider trail.

Always gotta get that obligatory picture climbing through the Notch.

Another obligatory shot is the line-up… this one taken just past the Notch on Poison Spider trail.

Day Three – Flat Iron Mesa

Day three led us to Flat Iron Mesa. That was the first time that we had ran that trail. It is one of my new favorites, offering both challenges and views along the way. The “chutes” were definitely a challenge, and kept me from fully conquering them. I was super light in the front and the spotter was nervous that I would stand up on the rear and roll back over on the optional exit at the top. In order to keep everyone sane, I didn’t push the issue, and reversed out, in order to continue the remainder of the trail. The “intimidator” pushes your nerves to the limit as you slide close to the edge and lean out over the 1,000 foot drop. All in all, this trail is a must do again for all of us.

Climbing one of the many ledges found on the Flat iron Mesa trail.

Hanging in out around an outcropping.

The Chute ended up being one of our favorite obstacles on Flat Iron Mesa.

Coming through the SQUEEZE…..

Day Four -Headed home…. :^(

Day four, we decided to skip wheeling and head home due to the storm that was bringing more snow to the Denver area. Knowing it would be a long day, we headed out about 9am. The snow strted falling as we rolled through Glenwood Springs and continued all the way to Evergreen. We finally got home about 5:30pm. Just in time to unload, clean up, and get ready for another awesome week at the Denver, CO Northridge 4×4.

-Chris Roell