Spring 2012: Friday (4/13) – Portal Trail & Sovereign Trail

The Portal Trail is one of the tougher hikes in Moab.  It starts at the Colorado River and you gain about 1000 feet in elevation – over slickrock and sand.  The views were great – including a Golden Eagle teaching a young one to fly.  My cranky knee made me stop after about 1 ½ miles and 700 feet elevation change so I sat on a rock and waited for Vaughan to finish the climb.  I apparently made the right decision because the path got narrow and the cliffs were right along side.  Along this narrow path Vaughan passed a sign saying “Three bicyclists have died here – dismount now”.  Why would anyone ride a bike down this trail?

Later his “Pit Crew” (namely me) took him out to a mesa to ride his Honda on the Sovereign Trail.  This was just a long desert ride – lots of sand, scrub brush, and tumble weeds.  After an hour of this we came back, showered, and had a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite places in Moab – The Sunset Grill.  It is half way up a cliff above Moab and has a wonderful view.

Not an easy hike. This is about a third of the way up.

This is almost to the top.

This is near the top at the narrow part.

That is the town of Moab below.

I'm so glad I decided to stay put.

The Colorado River 

Here is Vaughan at the beginning of the Sovereign Trail.

We had to drive a mile back onto the mesa on this Jeep road to get to the start of the trail.