Moabrubijohn
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The Red Rock 4-Wheelers Trail of the Month time again. This August 17th we spent our day on one of the newer trails in the area, Tommy Knocker. 16 Jeeps gathered to tackle this trail in the Cameo Cliffs area south of the town of La Sal. It enters the area from a sagebrush flat on the northern end of two large drainages that are eroding canyons into the western slopes of Lisbon Valley. It proceeds to dip into both Hook and Ladder Wash and later Sandstone Draw, and then climbs up to the higher reaches of the edge of the valley before emerging to join a graded road of the western side of the valley. Several old uranium mine sites can be seen, which gave the trail its name, as well as an abandoned well drill pad displaying the mineral production history of the area. We spent 18 miles on trail.
As with the other trails in this area the scenery is abundant. The Cameo Mesa and canyon walls contrast with the greens of the pinion-juniper forest, the LaSal Mountains tower to the north and smaller rock formations dot the area. The trail climbs to 7,000 feet in altitude the views down to the 5,800 foot wash bottoms and Cameo Mesa far below. The Abajo Mountains to the south near Monticello draws your attention as the trail makes its way towards the Casa Colorado formation near the end of the trail.
We were greeted with skies like this most of the day, but other than a few sprinkles, we avoided any heavy rain.
The area is dotted with incredible rock formations courtesy of Mother Nature and erosion.
The four wheeling on this trail featured a mix slickrock, a couple of twisty, rough wash bottom crossings, a fun rocky hill climb sprinkled with a few shelves, and some enjoyable sections that twist through the pinion-juniper forest of all those enjoyable conditions one comes to Moab for, but in moderate doses.
The cactus were abundant. Large stands of Claret Cup, Prickly Pear were spread across the landscape as well as Desert Paintbrush, Globemallow and many more. I will be making a run back here in April/May as they are in bloom next spring.
We did have time for refreshment and fellowship as always. We managed to find a level area to gather all Jeeps together and enjoy the mesa top over lunch.
As noted earlier in our report you will run across ruins from the golden age of mining in this area. We passed the remains of this structure, slowly being reclaimed by nature.
The trail provided even more grand scenery after lunch. Even with the threatening skies all around we were gifted with incredible photographic opportunities like this.
As the day wound down we made our way off the mesa and back to civilization. Another Trail of the Month in books.
Stay tuned for more adventures of the Red Rock 4-Wheelers next month when we venture out to Seven Mile Rim for September’s Trail of the Month!
As with the other trails in this area the scenery is abundant. The Cameo Mesa and canyon walls contrast with the greens of the pinion-juniper forest, the LaSal Mountains tower to the north and smaller rock formations dot the area. The trail climbs to 7,000 feet in altitude the views down to the 5,800 foot wash bottoms and Cameo Mesa far below. The Abajo Mountains to the south near Monticello draws your attention as the trail makes its way towards the Casa Colorado formation near the end of the trail.
We were greeted with skies like this most of the day, but other than a few sprinkles, we avoided any heavy rain.
The area is dotted with incredible rock formations courtesy of Mother Nature and erosion.
The four wheeling on this trail featured a mix slickrock, a couple of twisty, rough wash bottom crossings, a fun rocky hill climb sprinkled with a few shelves, and some enjoyable sections that twist through the pinion-juniper forest of all those enjoyable conditions one comes to Moab for, but in moderate doses.
The cactus were abundant. Large stands of Claret Cup, Prickly Pear were spread across the landscape as well as Desert Paintbrush, Globemallow and many more. I will be making a run back here in April/May as they are in bloom next spring.
We did have time for refreshment and fellowship as always. We managed to find a level area to gather all Jeeps together and enjoy the mesa top over lunch.
As noted earlier in our report you will run across ruins from the golden age of mining in this area. We passed the remains of this structure, slowly being reclaimed by nature.
The trail provided even more grand scenery after lunch. Even with the threatening skies all around we were gifted with incredible photographic opportunities like this.
As the day wound down we made our way off the mesa and back to civilization. Another Trail of the Month in books.
Stay tuned for more adventures of the Red Rock 4-Wheelers next month when we venture out to Seven Mile Rim for September’s Trail of the Month!
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