Tell me about Rusty Nail

[Handlebars]

It's not in the Wells book and I need to figure out what to do on Wednesday. My last trip through Golden Spike I saw a couple of small signs, I'm guessing the beginning and end of Rusty Nail. Anybody got pictures?

[mbryson]

Cool trail one of my favorites.......no pics....I'd run it with you, but I'm not sure I'll be there until Wednesday night......

[seanR]

I know Rusty nails have Drambuie in them

[Bones]

I ran Rusty Nail in '00 with NAXJA. I don't know if or what has changed on the trail since so YMMV. In '00, it was a great trail. The entrance obstacle can separate the men from the boys very quick. Do it right and things go smooth,
http://images.fotki.com/v4/photos/4/42106/114517/67-vi.jpg
do it wrong and you can ruin your whole day.
http://images.fotki.com/v4/photos/4/42106/114517/72-vi.jpg
Then there are always those that aren't content to take the "easy route" in.
http://images.fotki.com/v4/photos/4/42106/114517/71-vi.jpg

The trail never lets up. I do not have pictures of the spot, but this trail earned one lucky NAXJA member a bonehead award for a stuck that took a few hours to overcome.
There are climbs that can test your rig and descents that will surely test your nerve.
One such spot consists of a small drop onto a BIG boulder, making a several point turn to line up and slide off the rock nearly the length of your wheelbase down to a very narrow landing patch on the edge of a 200+ foot ledge.
http://images.fotki.com/v4/photos/4/42106/114517/74-vi.jpg http://images.fotki.com/v5/photos/4/42106/114517/75-vi.jpg
(For reference that bush by the front tires is at the edge)

Once down you squeeze along a rock wall that forces you to take whatever line nature hands you.
http://images.fotki.com/v3/photos/4/42106/114517/77-vi.jpg
Then drop over another big rock at the end that tests your rear bumper even with 33's and 6+" of lift.
http://images.fotki.com/v3/photos/4/42106/114517/76-vi.jpg.

Once off the trail (if you haven't had enough) it's a quick run over to the Golden Crack and Double whammy if you dare.
http://images.fotki.com/v3/photos/4/42106/114517/81-vi.jpg http://images.fotki.com/v3/photos/4/42106/114517/82-vi.jpg

Rusty nail is a hardcore trail by NAXJA standards and is worth the trip.

Bones :skull1:

[Handlebars]

Thanks, Bones. That trail looks like it is past the limits of my nerve and ability. Maybe I'll park the jeep that day and bum a ride on Rusty Nail to play photographer. :)

[Jes]

Actually, Rusty Nail is pretty easy. I'd say the first obstacle is the hardest but the rest of the trail is pretty tame. There's about 4 or 5 obstacles, "Mind trip" or whatever it's called is cool(the one with the 200 foot ledge), especially if you don't get out and look at it and just follow your spotter. :)
I'd be up to leading you and CRASH through there if ya want to go.

Jes

[4ward]

I don't think I'd call the nail "easy". I wouldn't call it overly difficult. The entrance obstacle, riff raff, is a fun one and seems to get more dug out and nastier every year. I like that. The second obstacle is the same way, of course there is a sorta kinda bypass for it that makes this trail way lame now. It's a great way to get in some obstacles and do the fun stuff at the end of the spike without having to drive in the end of the spike and then come right back out it. If you're not locked f & r, or at least locked rear, limited front- don't do it with a large group. You are going to hold them up for quite some time. If it's a small group of friends, have at it with whatever equipment you've got.

Sean

[Handlebars]

Jes- it would be fun to 'wheel with you guys again! I'm going to Moab on Labor Day weekend, I'll run Moab Rim & Cliffhanger and see how my nerve is. How is Rusty Nail with F & R TrueTracs? Don't you need a solid locker for some of that stuff? I know you do for Prichett Canyon. :(

[Grant]

As your esteemed leader for the NAXJA run on Rusty's Nailed, one requirement is NO D35's. Been there, done that, wimpy breakage and all. Many thanks and cold beers to Mr Rose and company for able assistance.

Rusty is a fun trail that can take a few hours or all day, there has always been some breakage every time I have done this trail, from minor to overnight repairs. So if you absolutely have to run a D35, carry spare shafts and drive like an old lady.

Nice pictures Bones, I don't see any of Beezil guiding you on Whammy last year though.

[Jes]

I'd say you need front and rear lockers to drive the first obstacle but the rest of the trail you could do with limited slips(and you have a winch).
Ya, Grant, that sounded more like a fart than an axle snapping. :D

Jes

[4ward]

Snapping a 35 shaft has the same humor quotient as farting on your girlfriend/ wife.

[WayneXJ]

I did the trail last October and again in April, it's changed alot in those six months. There is a climb just after the first obstacle that wasn't a big deal, but now it's been dug out. With 2 lockers and 35's it took some work to get up it.

[4ward]

Is this the climb you speak of? This is also where that certain person earned his bonehead award the year before.

http://www.montypics.com/pic.php?url=/OneTonXJ/2003-04-17/1050588202_FAMILY1.jpg

[Scott Mac.]

Originally posted by Grant
As your esteemed leader for the NAXJA run on Rusty's Nailed, one requirement is NO D35's. Been there, done that, wimpy breakage and all. Many thanks and cold beers to Mr Rose and company for able assistance.

Rusty is a fun trail that can take a few hours or all day, there has always been some breakage every time I have done this trail, from minor to overnight repairs. So if you absolutely have to run a D35, carry spare shafts and drive like an old lady.

Nice pictures Bones, I don't see any of Beezil guiding you on Whammy last year though.

I had plans on running it, but that comment has me thinking twice. I'm running stock 27 spline 8.25 w/Auburn and 297s in the front w/Lock-Rite and spare shafts all around.

Edit: My foot is lighter than Seans and I have better luck than Bones.

[WayneXJ]

Originally posted by OneTonXJ
Is this the climb you speak of? This is also where that certain person earned his bonehead award the year before.

http://www.montypics.com/pic.php?url=/OneTonXJ/2003-04-17/1050588202_FAMILY1.jpg



That's the one I'm talking about. It doesn't look anything like that now.

[mbryson]

Originally posted by WayneXJ
That's the one I'm talking about. It doesn't look anything like that now.


Well c'mon, spill it.......deeper, steeper, easier what ? :D :D

[Handlebars]

All this talk has me thinking that maybe the vehicle requirements for the "D" trails should be bumped. There are a bunch of rigs that will be sporting 32's and 1 locker this October. I'm sure there will be a few of them that have D35's and 260x front axles. How long will it take to get a group of 20 of those rigs through Rusty Nail or Prichett Canyon?

[WayneXJ]

Originally posted by mbryson
Well c'mon, spill it.......deeper, steeper, easier what ? :D :D


I've got some video of it that I'll have to show you. I'd say it's a couple of feet deeper.

[Goatman]

That spot has deteriorated every year, and could get really nasty. It's responsible for a Bonehead Award, and two broken year ends on previous NAXJA runs. The first ledge, this climb, and Head Trip are basically what the trail has to offer as far as obstacles go. The scenery is good, and it's a shorter way to get to the Golden Crack.

I wouldn't recommend it for lightly equipped vehicles, those ledges can be damaging. A couple of years ago we had a broken front axle and a roll over on the first one, plus the damage on the second one. If you want to get to the Crack and the rest of the good stuff on Golden Spike, take a couple of easy tries on those climbs and then take a strap......and enjoy yourself. I've been at the top of that second climb waiting for a rear end to be repaired the last two years.

[Goatman]

Originally posted by Handlebars
All this talk has me thinking that maybe the vehicle requirements for the "D" trails should be bumped. There are a bunch of rigs that will be sporting 32's and 1 locker this October. I'm sure there will be a few of them that have D35's and 260x front axles. How long will it take to get a group of 20 of those rigs through Rusty Nail or Prichett Canyon?

Both of those trails can take all day with 20 rigs, with a return after dark if there is any trouble. I've been on the trial after dark on both of them. With a large group, even with no breakdowns, it's an all day deal.

Unless you have a welded diff, breakage in Moab usually comes from extra effort. :D

[Handlebars]

I ran Rusty Nail with some friends over Labor Day weekend. Only 4 Jeeps in our group, it took us about 5 hours to run that, go out to the crack and get back to the highway. The trail itself was a whole 4.9 miles, according to my GPS.

That first ledge required a LOT of rock stacking to get a 33 up, it is really undercut.

http://www.fototime.com/F81CAD14EB1952F/standard.jpg

Here is the second obstacle that has apparently deteriorated over the years:
http://www.fototime.com/FEE7438A0A0D991/standard.jpg

I had to winch up that one. The 2 guys that were locked f&r were able to drive it. One other guy with a single locker and I found a nicely positioned old juniper tree to winch ourselves up with. Supposedly the left side of that ledge, where the white scrapes are, used to have a dirt ramp up to the first ledge and it was the easy line. The only trail "beakage" we had was a Rubicon that wrapped it's front locker airline up in the driveshaft on the Golden Crack. The owner made a trail repair involving a ball point pen and was able to drive it out under its own power. ;)

[Handlebars]

A video from that first ledge:

http://www.nmvjc.org/Videos/Alex-nail.WMV