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Show Safari Trail .. . Poison Spider Mesa Promises Great Views, Sidelights Poison Spider Mesa lies in the backcountry of rounded sandstone domes, arches, dune sand and dry gulches. This route will be guided by Royce Henningson during this season's Safari. Participants on this trail will head out of Moab on U.S. 163 and travel west on Utah 279 for about six miles. The jeep run climbs up from the paved road, passing a display of frozen dinosaur tracks and Indian petroglyphs. Alternating Alterna-ting between level rock strata and stream courses, the trail at one point crosses a huge mass of rock which Safari drivers must pass over. Magnificent scenes of the Colorado River, the stone fins of Behind-the-Rocks, the mouth of Kane Creek Canyon and the distant snow capped La Sal Mountains pleasantly confront the travelers travel-ers along the way. After finally topping out on the high mesa, the run then winds its way across slickrock and sandflats where Indian chipping grounds of countless chassy chert and agate shards may be seen. The trail crosses a broad, flat sandy tableland and then drops into an area where uplifted strata drastically tilts the mesa. From these sand dunes and slickrock, a spur trail leads to "Little Arch", a natural bridge spanning a water course, and another spur ends near the cliffs that loom above Atlas Minerals uranium refining plant in Moab Valley. This site affords an excellent view of the valley and several outstanding features fea-tures of Arches National Park can be seen. The return loop of Poison Spider Mesa run soon rejoins the main trail toward Moab by the same route, leaving the splendor of this backcountry far behind. |