The Portal Trail Boxes LbNA #13026
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Add Location| Owner: | Kat  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jan 9, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Moab |
| County: | Grand |
| State: | Utah |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Found by: | terpsechorean girl (2) |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Nov 21, 2012 |
| Status: | OFFFFFFFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jan 9, 2005 |
Difficulty: 1.8 miles one way, plus maybe 1/2 mile depending where you start from. All uphill one way with a 980 ft. elevation gain, but all downhill coming back! Exposed areas with no railings. Not for small children. Dogs are questionable, I don't take mine on this particular trail because they wrestle and don't watch for cliff edges very well!
Directions: From Moab, head North and about 1/2 mile past the bridge, turn left on the Potash Rd. (if you go by the entrance to Arches National Park, you have gone to far). Once on the Potash Road (Utah 279), drive about 4 miles and look for a pullout on the river side a little ways past mile marker 12. From this pullout, look up the cliff for a little trail heading up to the main trail. This will put you right at the BLM trail sign-in. Your other option is to keep driving another 1/2 mile to the Jaycee Rec. Area (campsites) and start at the very beginning of the trail. There is a Portal Trail sign marking the trailhead. Starting at the Jaycees will add 1/2 mile each way to your hike, but it is flat along here.
Clues: You are on one of the more famous Moab trails, or should I say infamous. It is an infamous singletrack bringing mountain bikers back down from Gold Bar and Poison Spider Mesa, so watch for flying mountain bikes in the spring and fall. On most of the trail, an error on a mountain bike will probably just cause a few fractures, but at the top there are a few spots where an error will cause death, and in 1998 there were three bikers who sadly made that error. The BLM considered closing this trail, but it really is a favorite of locals, so instead they put some serious warning signs along the top and did some great trail maintenance on it.
1) Midnight Marchers Microbox: This one is at the bottom, giving you a taste of stamping, knowing there are more boxes to be had. At the BLM trail sign-in box, sign in and while you are standing right in front of the sign-in box, turn to 270 degrees. Take 16 steps, and you are at a wall of rock. Notice the holes in the rock. There is one in front of you that is about 5 inches around with a rock shoved in it. It is a little over 6 ft. above the ground and what you seek is in the hole. Extra clue, it's below 1814078. Practically a drive-by!
2) Portal Bighorn Letterbox: Ok, that was the easy one. Now walk up the trail to the top. You'll know you're at the top when you see the Portal Trail Overlook sign. Check out the view. Absolutely one of my favorite places to just sit and watch the world. Bring a snack or lunch for this spot, you deserve it. This is an easy find, after all, your legs might feel like jelly and you could be delirious after the hike up, JUST KIDDING! Stand in front of the Portal Overlook sign and look up the hill at 250 degrees. There is a juniper up there with a mormon tea in front of it. On the North side of the juniper are 3 little stacked pancake rocks. Under the pancakes, hidden by another flat rock is what you seek. It's less than 30 feet away.
As always, don't bust the crust! Cryptobiotic soil is the black soil crust that allows plant life to grow here in the desert and it is our friend!
Also, check the site for more boxes. There are 4 letterboxes hidden on this trail, (as if the view weren't enough). Bring a camera, the warning signs past the overlook sign are pretty cool.
Hot Hot Hot in summer, bring lot's of water.
Handmade Journal - Handmade Stamp - Have a Great Time
Directions: From Moab, head North and about 1/2 mile past the bridge, turn left on the Potash Rd. (if you go by the entrance to Arches National Park, you have gone to far). Once on the Potash Road (Utah 279), drive about 4 miles and look for a pullout on the river side a little ways past mile marker 12. From this pullout, look up the cliff for a little trail heading up to the main trail. This will put you right at the BLM trail sign-in. Your other option is to keep driving another 1/2 mile to the Jaycee Rec. Area (campsites) and start at the very beginning of the trail. There is a Portal Trail sign marking the trailhead. Starting at the Jaycees will add 1/2 mile each way to your hike, but it is flat along here.
Clues: You are on one of the more famous Moab trails, or should I say infamous. It is an infamous singletrack bringing mountain bikers back down from Gold Bar and Poison Spider Mesa, so watch for flying mountain bikes in the spring and fall. On most of the trail, an error on a mountain bike will probably just cause a few fractures, but at the top there are a few spots where an error will cause death, and in 1998 there were three bikers who sadly made that error. The BLM considered closing this trail, but it really is a favorite of locals, so instead they put some serious warning signs along the top and did some great trail maintenance on it.
1) Midnight Marchers Microbox: This one is at the bottom, giving you a taste of stamping, knowing there are more boxes to be had. At the BLM trail sign-in box, sign in and while you are standing right in front of the sign-in box, turn to 270 degrees. Take 16 steps, and you are at a wall of rock. Notice the holes in the rock. There is one in front of you that is about 5 inches around with a rock shoved in it. It is a little over 6 ft. above the ground and what you seek is in the hole. Extra clue, it's below 1814078. Practically a drive-by!
2) Portal Bighorn Letterbox: Ok, that was the easy one. Now walk up the trail to the top. You'll know you're at the top when you see the Portal Trail Overlook sign. Check out the view. Absolutely one of my favorite places to just sit and watch the world. Bring a snack or lunch for this spot, you deserve it. This is an easy find, after all, your legs might feel like jelly and you could be delirious after the hike up, JUST KIDDING! Stand in front of the Portal Overlook sign and look up the hill at 250 degrees. There is a juniper up there with a mormon tea in front of it. On the North side of the juniper are 3 little stacked pancake rocks. Under the pancakes, hidden by another flat rock is what you seek. It's less than 30 feet away.
As always, don't bust the crust! Cryptobiotic soil is the black soil crust that allows plant life to grow here in the desert and it is our friend!
Also, check the site for more boxes. There are 4 letterboxes hidden on this trail, (as if the view weren't enough). Bring a camera, the warning signs past the overlook sign are pretty cool.
Hot Hot Hot in summer, bring lot's of water.
Handmade Journal - Handmade Stamp - Have a Great Time