"Cliff Hanger" an easy-rated trail now!?!?!

Y'all ain't gonna believe this but the infamous "Cliff Hanger" trail can now be traversed by a stocker! A local buddy sent me some pics after he went there last week. Apparently some core drilling needed to be done near the top and damn near every obstacle was filled in with dirt.....

That's right, the trail is nothing more than a sunday drive now. The nifty staircase looking entrance was smoothed out along the high side, the big ledge below that and the funky rock shelf around the corner are just as smooth as can be. The fun ledge on the other side of the stream crossing is just a dirt ramp......and "Z-turn" was completely filled in. FILLED IN!!!

I'm assuming that the drilling was done before having to traverse the infamous cliff side of the trail, that obstacle looks ok - but there was some fairly intense rock stacking.

I've got several pictures of the tragedy if someone wants to host 'em.

I simply can't believe what was done to this trail.

Troy

My friend Bill sent me an article written about this issue. Apparently, the Potash mine in the valley below the trail owns the gas line that runs across the land that Cliff Hanger traverses. That gas pipeline is in need of repairs and the contractor that will be servicing the pipeline decided to use "the least intrusive" route to access the pipeline. The pictures that Bill sent to me show only the trail modifications done so far. If you've ever run Cliff Hanger, you know that the pipeline runs near the end of the trail - which means that the cliff side of the trail will certainly be filled in and smoothed out.

I've sent an e-mail to the author of the article in hopes that I can cut & paste it to this thread.

There's also talk about Moab Rim meeting a similar fate. It seems that the owner of the tram that was built for sightseeing and carrying mountain bikers to the top has gone bankrupt and the land is up for sale. There are negotiations for purchase of the land and it's return to a natural state - meaning removal of the tram and restoration of the foot trail that runs below it. I'm assuming that in order to remove the tram equipment would involve having to use Moab Rim trail as access.

Troy, any idea how long the project on Cliffhanger will take? Does the article say if the contractor will be required to return the trail to it's previous condition?

Looks like shovels will be in order for the next few Cliffhanger runs.

This is truely tragic if the trail is left in it's improved state......hope they do the right thing here with some creative 4+ trail re-creation.

Please tell me it's April 1st.--- this really sucks. I love that trail!

Email me the pics. I'll host them.

I can always host pix and video as well.

Goatman said:

Troy, any idea how long the project on Cliffhanger will take? Does the article say if the contractor will be required to return the trail to it's previous condition?

Looks like shovels will be in order for the next few Cliffhanger runs.

Click to expand...

Richard,
The article didn't specify any dates, just that it was going to be happening. There isn't any specific mention that the contractor has said they will be returning the trail to it's original condition - hell, I can't imagine that it'd be possible, wait 'till you see the pictures. That'd take a heck of a lot of shovels. I'm sure that there will be an enormous showng from local 'wheeling clubs to pitch in to "fix" the damage, but it'll take several years for it to be the "Cliff Hanger" we've all grown to enjoy. Granted, the contractor didn't completely fill in every square foot of the obstacles, but they did fill in the areas that were the most common lines taken by us 'wheelers. Extreme rigs will still have "some" lines they can take, but you'll see what I'm talking about. I still shudder when looking at what was done to Z-turn.....

Okie Terry should be hosting the pics soon.

Here you go Troy.

This is a sad sight, I can't help but think that with some proper plannng and coordination, the trail could have been left as "was", with local 4wheelers helping to transport gear, but it's unclear as to what equipment was needed out there to repair the pipeline.

Hopefully we get lots of rain in the area and natural erosion washes much of the fill dirt away..........

Thats a bummer. The only good thing to remember is that when they built those roads, they probably looked pretty much the way they do now and time, rain, and traffic have removed the loose dirt. I'm sure they will go back they way they were with a little help.

Damn, that almost pi$$es me off enough to join the Sierra Club.
Almost.

old_man said:

Thats a bummer. The only good thing to remember is that when they built those roads, they probably looked pretty much the way they do now and time, rain, and traffic have removed the loose dirt. I'm sure they will go back they way they were with a little help.

Click to expand...

I'd bet that trail will look pretty similar to what it did within 2-3 years if left alone......(esp. if the area enters a 'wet' climatic pattern)

Some info and update on Cliff Hanger.





From: [email protected]
Date: November 30, 2004 5:29:28 PM MST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [U4WDA] Cliff Hanger is a walk in the park
Reply-To: [email protected]


This was addressed in the last RR4W newsletter...

"there will be repairs or bypasses made on the cliffhanger trail by the
utility company to work on the gas line, The traiol was originally created
for that work, and new upgrades are all permitted and approved.... they
are willing to help 'put back' any challenges on the route once their work
is finished, so please don't be alarmed."


Thanks!

-Kurt

-- Cruiser Outfitters
http://www.cruiseroutfitters.com
Dealer: ARB, Advance Adapters, OME, Detroit, WCD, etc.....
-------------------------------------------------
U4WDA - President
http://www.u4wda.com
TLCA, Wasatch Cruiser Club, Wild Yoats, RR4W







J

I'll believe that story when I see it! The only thing that will restore the trail is LOTS of water over a period of time.

Man that really bites.
From what I have seen contractors dont return things to the way the found them. They just leave.

My thoughts exactly. A few years ago up at the Rock garden, Snowbird crews had to go up through it, said they would put it back the same. Well it was only because Utah 4-wheel drive was up there to direct them to rebuild it that it came out OK.

I wonder how much cryptobiotic crust they disturbed moving all that soil?
I'm glad I got to run the "unmolested" CliffHanger.

As a member of the RR4Ws, these plans were brought up to us at our last meeting (Oct).

Many of the members volunteered to shuttle workers to the site, unforunatly this wasn't helpful since Moab Salt had to get a truck and trailer up the trail. The company is going to build a trench out of 4"x4" boards for the pipeline to sit in to prevent damage. So they needed a trailer pulled in to bring in the 800+ 30' boards.

One of the Moab Salt employees is a RR4W member, so they are sensitive to our desires to preserve the trail. That is why they tried to use dirt rather than bulldoze the rock obstacles.

My wife and I are going to check out the trail tomorrow, we'll let you know how it looks.

At least they did it now so winter snow and spring rain/snow melt can begin to move some of the dirt before Safari in March.

David
RR4W Land Use officer

The EJS will cause the dirt to go away faster then fifteen hard wet years...I wouldn't worry it will be back to normal even if they don't fix it in a couple of years....At least they used dirt and not TNT.