View east as we climb Rusty Nail. Checkout ride and photos by Bruce on April 28, 2011.
Rusty Nail TrailThe Rusty Nail Trail itself is only 2 miles long, climbing from the
Gold
Bar 4x4
road to the
Golden Spike
4x4
route near the Golden Crack. Lowest altitude is 4550, top is 5100. I
wouldn't consider this trail to be a stand-alone route -- it's an
in-between trail that creates some nice combined-trail rides.
As an uphill route to Golden Spike, Rusty Nail is a fairly strenuous climb. It has a few highly
technical features that you may need to hike over. Rusty Nail forks off
the Gold Bar 4x4 (not
the singletrack) 1.5 miles from where it starts on the
Gemini
Bridges
road.
Rusty Nail reaches the Golden Spike 0.9 miles from its northern end.
For riders who are doing a loop or point-to-point from Gemini to
Poison
Spider
(or riding the
Magnificent 7
route down the Portal Trail), the climb up Rusty Nail cuts a couple of
miles off the distance and eliminates a little bit of tough climbing on
Gold Bar Rim.
Doing the Gold Bar to Poison Spider route, we're climbing the Gemini Bridges Road. 500 vertical in the Chinle skirts below the Wingate cliffs.
After dropping down from the hillside, we're heading west on the Gemini Bridges road.
As a downhill route, Rusty Nail can be used by riders going south-to-north on Golden Spike.
Or, it can be the DH segment of a loop where the uphill is the
Gold Bar Singletrack
and
Gold Bar 4x4
, and the first part of the descent is the first mile of
Golden Spike
(This is a nice loop ride if you can catch it when the moto churn has been settled by rains.)
Rusty Nail climbs on tilted Kayenta sandstone. The tilt is caused by the salt dome anticline
beneath the Moab Valley. The lower portions have a bit of chunk-and-churn
from motos; the upper
area is slickrock.
Rusty Nail doesn't quite reach the cliffs overlooking Highway 191. Once you
reach the junction with
Golden Spike
, you can ride a mile in either
direction to reach an overlook.
We're now climbing the Gold Bar 4x4 road.
Early on Rusty Nail. The brown ribbon across the valley is the trail.
Ride option: Gold Bar to Rusty Nail loopStart the ride anywhere between Moab and the Gold Bar 4x4 road. I
started near the Colorado north of Moab and rode the paved Old 191 bike
trail to the Gemini Bridges road. I arrived at the fork to Gold Bar with
11.4 miles traveled and 1100 vertical feet of climbing already. Nice
warm-up.
From the Gemini TH, the loop is 17 miles. If you skip Gemini and drive
straight to the Gold Bar Rim road, it's a paltry 8 miles, and you'll drop
500 vertical feet from your climbing.
Pedal south 1/2 mile on the Gold Bar Rim 4x4 road. Just after it begins to climb, find the
Gold Bar Singletrack on your left.
When the Gold Bar Singletrack drops back down onto the Gold Bar Rim 4x4, keep climbing all
the way to the viewpoint over the cliffs. You're now about 9 miles from
the Gemini Bridges
trailhead.
Reaching the slickrock area climbing Rusty Nail.
Looking back down an ugly ledge. Couldn't climb it.
From the viewpoint, backtrack 0.1 mile and fork left onto Golden Spike. A mile from the viewpoint,
you'll pass The Sword in the Stone -- a big rock with an oversized sword
handle sticking out
of the top. That's an important landmark (but it might be gone in the
future). Just after you
go past it, Rusty Nail forks downhill on the right, while Golden Spike
continues uphill.
The intersection was very well-marked with fresh paint on the slickrock. I passed the painting
crew during my ride. If you come to the Golden Crack (a big slot in the
slickrock where 4x4's
scratch themselves up), backtrack about 1/4 mile.
A typical spot on the Rusty Nail.
The trail skirts the edge of Gold Bar Canyon, which begins with this sudden chasm.
Descend the slickrock as it veers south along the edge of Gold Bar Canyon. The route will now
turn into rocky dirt road, drop through a wash, then turn north and climb
a little on ugly
broken loose stuff. Then it will turn to join the Gold Bar Rim 4x4. Turn
left here, and ride
1.5 miles to the Gemini Bridges road.
Ride Option: Rusty Nail - Golden Spike - Poison SpiderPoint-to-point from the Gemini Bridges TH, this ride will be a tough 20
miles. The Golden Spike portion has a lot of up-and-down sections, so
you'll climb 3200 vertical feet.
No shuttle? I did a loop using Old 191 and the Potash Road. With an
out-and-back to the Gold Bar viewpoint (so I could track the entire Golden
Spike), my ride was 37 miles with 4000 vertical. Do it if you dare.
The trail is marked by white paint spots.
Looking back south toward Gold Bar Arch.
Ride the Gemini Bridges road to the Gold Bar 4x4 road. Climb 1.5 miles uphill (pass the Gold
Bar Singletrack and ignore two small roads forking right). Now turn right
on Rusty Nail. It
will drop through some nasty loose stuff into a wash. Yes, this section
stinks, but it will
get much better.
As you climb, the road is first dirt with little ledges, then open rock. There are some tech
spots that you'll need to scramble up. (If you claim you can ride them,
send me the video.)
As you reach the top of Gold Bar Canyon, the trail suddenly turns to smooth
slickrock.
We've reached Golden Spike, and will be approaching the rim. The La Sal Mountains are across the Moab Valley.
Looking north along highway 191.
After 2 miles on Rusty Nail, you'll reach Golden Spike. Hopefully, the markings on the rock
will alert you. Fork right (uphill). After the first descent, you'll reach
the Golden Crack.
Now you know you're on the right path.
Golden Spike will undulate up and down, slowly beating your legs to death. It drops 700 vertical
feet, but you'll do 1500 feet of climbing between bits of downhill.
Once Golden Spike turns away from the rim for the last time, the riding turns from slickrock
to red dirt and ledges. It will drop into a wash between domes of sandstone.
Landmark if you're riding the Gold Bar to Rusty Nail loop. Just after you pass this sword, you fork R downhill off Golden Spike onto Rusty Nail. (If you're doing point-to-point to Poison Spider, you won't pass this.)
Ah, Moab. Bet there's a 48 ounce Coke down there somewhere.
Follow what appears to be the main route. There are some little dead-end forks, and a connector
over to Poison Spider. Only a few of these intersections are marked with
signs, but you should
be able to figure it out as you ride.
After an ugly sandy section, you'll climb open rock again to the
intersection with
Poison Spider
near the rim. Fork right.
Poison Spider has an ugly climbing surprise for you right away. Then it converts to a boring
road before starting the drop to the river. There will be some tech spots
as you descend. Your
ride will end in the "Dinosaur Tracks" parking area on Potash Road.
We're dropping downhill on Poison Spider. Only about 5 miles to go.
Map of the Rusty Nail area
Getting there, Gemini TH: Drive south on US-191
for 16 miles south of I-70 (about 15 miles north of Moab). Spot the
parking area on the west (right as you head toward Moab) side of the road.
GPS N 38° 39.381' W 109° 40.672'. Park in front of the railroad tracks,
and head out west on the road. (Note: this is private parking, and
requires payment of a fee. Free parking is available across the highway at
the Bar M trailhead.)
Start at Gold Bar: Instead of parking at the
Gemini TH, drive 4.5 miles up the Gemini Bridges road. Turn left at the
Gold Bar Rim road and drop off to begin your ride.
To leave a shuttle at the Poison Spider trailhead for the
point-to-point ride: On 191 at the bottom of the canyon (just past the
old tailings pile), turn west onto U-278 (also called Potash Road). Drive
6 miles then turn right up a short dirt road with a sign that says
"Dinosaur Tracks." There's a bathroom at the parking area. GPS
is N 38° 31.917' W 109° 36.473'.
Riding notes, Gold Bar - Rusty Nail Loop
clockwise:
0.0 Begin riding Gemini Bridges road
N38 39.376 W109 40.659
4.6 L on Gold Bar road
N38 35.997 W109 40.426
5.1 L on Gold Bar ST
N38 35.881 W109 40.143
6.2 Stay L. Alternate track on R
N38 36.543 W109 39.961
6.6 Alternate rejoins N38 36.682 W109 39.698
7.1 Straight (R), L=closed area
N38 36.635 W109 39.295
Descend toward Gold Bar
7.4 Join Gold Bar rd, fork L
N38 36.419 W109 39.233
8.8 Keep R (L=return from
closed area)
N38 36.817 W109 38.562
8.9 Straight (L) to viewpoint (R=Golden Spike)
N38 36.849 W109 38.525
9.0 Viewpoint, backtrack downhill
In 100 yards, L on Golden
Spike
9.9 Fork R downhill on Rusty Nail
N38 36.508 W109 38.240
11.9 L on Gold Bar Rim road
N38 36.097 W109 39.341
13.4 R on Gemini Bridges road
18.0 Back at parking
Riding notes, Rusty Nail to Poison Spider:
0.0 Begin riding Gemini Bridges road
N38 39.376 W109 40.659
4.6 L on Gold Bar road
N38 35.997 W109 40.426
5.1 Stay on Gold Bar 4x4 as ST crosses
N38 35.881 W109 40.143
6.1 R on Rusty Nail
N38 36.097 W109 39.341
8.1 R on Golden Spike
N38 36.508 W109 38.240
8.4 Golden Crack N38 36.509 W109 38.138
9.1 Overlook N38 36.529 W109 37.550
10.5 Straight (L) N38 35.884 W109 36.815
10.8 L to Viewpoint N38 35.920 W109 36.547
11.6 Keep L N38 35.435 W109 36.506
11.8 Stay straight in wash N38 35.302 W109 36.449
12.7? L for Portal Connector (exact spot not noted, sorry)
14.4 R on Poison Spider N38 33.710 W109 35.788
15.2 Keep R (L = alternate) N38 33.273 W109 36.233
17.1 Alternate rejoins N38 33.078 W109 36.878
19.6 At Poison Spider parking N38 31.939 W109 36.560
