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Show I safari Special ... . J picturesque Castle Valley seen from Porcupine Rim trail 11 i - - i Moab realtor Bob An- ! derson again leads his irj.. ari tour along the U ..western rim of pic turesque Castle Val lev-known lev-known as Porcupine Kim. The route stretches from the foothills of the LaSiil Mountains l the Colorado River gore. a total distance of almost twelve mountains. And llu lic;iv snuwp;ik un tru- LiiSal.s this year should make this a picture takers' delight. The Porcupine Rim trail leaves Moab via the Sand Flats Road. Several miles up the highly scenic dirt road, a spur trail heads toward the rim of Negro Bill Canyon. This appallingly appall-ingly deep and narrow sandstone gorge comes in sight very soon. After descending a long sand hill, the trail approaches the rim of Negro Bill Canyon and then follows the rim for almost three miles, offering a series of breathtaking views into and beyond the sheer gorges. After crossing the canyon's can-yon's upper drainage line, just iihuvi- wiii-n- n. f 1 1- l cuts decplv. the irail climbs steeply toward distant Porcupine Rim. The Rim is not visible al first because of the nature of the sloping terrain, even though the run is closely parallel to it. Farther on, the trail travels within a few feet of the rim in several places, again offering spectacular views this time of Castle Valley, the LaSal Mountains, Moun-tains, Round Mountain, Castle Rock and the Priest and the Nuns. The Colorado Colo-rado River gorge is also visible in the distance. As the trail leaves Porcupine Rim, it travels a winding route along high rimlands that lie between Castle Valley and Negro Hill l anvmi. Alter skirting around Colice Pot Rock, a huge oddly shaped sandstone sand-stone monolith, the run angles northerly around the head of Jackass Canyon. As the trail travels an ever-narrowing hog-hack between Jackass Canyon and Drinks Canyon, it eventually reaches the i' lorado River gorge at the mouth ol Drinks Canyon. Here, a short hike along the slickrock rim leads to a sweeping panoramic view of a huge bend in the Colorado River, known as Big Bend. The return trip retraces the outgoing route back around the head of Negro Bill Canyon, then cuts steeply back to the Sand Flats Road just above beautiful Rill Canyon. The route travels the rim of this gorge back toward Moab. Moderate to very rough driving over a variety of terrain is offered on the Porcupine Rim trail. It presents no difficulties to competent drivers, but it is slow because of the extreme roughness in places. However, outstanding out-standing scenery is offered offer-ed on this trail. |