Trails: Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger (10/02)

Cliffhanger was the only trail I ran during Fall Fling that I had been on before (check out the first trip during easter Jeep Safari). My earlier attempt was in the Hedgehog, and between the carb flooding every 5 minutes, too tall tires and too high a gearing in the axles, I didn't have much time to enjoy the trail. I had to bump every ledge a lot harder than I wanted to and my brakes were pretty sad too. Well, this year was a blast with good gearing, wider tires, and of course a better driver behind the wheel!

A shot of Norm's new steering, fab'ed by his son

Coming up a ledge just past the creek crossing

A view of the La Sal from the trail

Lining up for the z-turn

Keith at the top of the z-turn

Our trail leader was Mil Thornton, otherwise known as GRNT. He did a great job of keeping the group rolling and helping to spot through the few tough sections. The first obstacle that slowed us all down is the z-turn about a half mile into the trail. There's an easier way to the right that involves a lot of tricky steering, and there's another line to the left that's actually easier if you have a locker. I went left...

Me starting up the "fun" line on the z-turn

Going up a big ledge

Coming around the pivot rock

This line takes you really close to the big rock outcrop on the passenger side

Coming up the last ledge

Almost up

Another great view looking east to the La Sal

A super clean XJ!

Shot from below

Dave from Colorado coming up

After the z-turn you wind your way up and out of the canyon onto Amasa Back. There are a few more ledges and places to play around before the trail heads over to the edge of a serious cliff. The trail through here is easy except for one obstacle that features a good 3 foot drop. The last time I was here I was spotted to hug the cliff wall to the pass. side--this line is very tippy, and if you get off line it's easy to do some damage by laying into the cliff face. The other line, which Mil took us down, really worked well for us. The driver's side tire comes straight off the big rock, and although it looks scary from the driver's seat, it's an easy landing.

The obstacle that gives the trail its name

Heep2 coming down the big drop--cliff falls off to the right

Me coming over the obstacle

A view from above--the drop to the left is about 800 feet

Bob Loose coming down

Coming up a ledge near the overlook

A great view of the Colorado from the lunch stop at the overlook

Coming back up the cliff

Approaching the obstacle on the cliff edge

Up and over--we took the same line up as we did going down

A short way past the cliff obstacle is a great spot overlooking the Colorado river. This is where everyone normally turns around, parks, and has lunch. Views at the top are spectacular. It turned out to be someone's birthday, and Mil had secretly grabbed a cake at City Market before the run, so everyone was treated to birthday cake--nice touch!

Norm and Pat coming up

Keith on his way up

Mil spotting me down the z-turn

Turning around the pivot rock

Lining up for the drop

Coming down

Keith coming down

Coming back down was pretty uneventful. There were a lot of cyclists sharing the trail with us that day, so we had to keep an alert eye out for bipeds around every corner. Special thanks to Mil for leading this trail, we really had a great time and were treated to some fabulous views all along the trail! It's hard to beat Cliffhanger for it's combination of fun obstacles, scenery, and it's close proximity to town. This trail is rated a "4" on the Moab scale, which means you'll be happiest with at least one locker and good skid plates. Clearance is not much of an issue on any of the obstacles, making it a good trail to run for those with 31's.