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Summary: The 4+ rated Hell's Revenge trail exposes great expanses of "Slick Rock" (sandstone) with slopes so steep you will wonder if your tires can maintain traction. The very steep climbs and descents on the slick rock are not for the faint of heart and cannot be bypassed. Hell's Revenge crosses the famous "Slickrock Bike Trail," a mountain-bicycle trail.
Location: The Hell's Revenge trail head is a little over a mile northeast of Moab on Sand Flats Road. Don't miss seeing "America's most scenic dump" (the Moab landfill) along the right just after you top the ridge and the famous Lion's Back on the left just beyond.
Scenery: From high points on the broad expanses of slick rock, views include the La Sal Mountains and more and more slick rock. The lunch break is often taken on a breathtaking overlook of the Colorado River gorge above Highway 128.
The Trail: The first optional obstacle is just off the paving of Sand Flats Road. The "Dump Bump" is the most difficult way to mount the sandstone fin that begins the trail. Your tires may slip a little even on the bypass. After passing through a low area that often stands with a foot or more of water and passing by a ridge that overlooks Lion's back and the Moab Dump, the slick rock fun begins. Steep ascents, sharp turns and steep descents will be the order of the day. Keep the vehicle in front closely in sight or you can get into serious trouble fast. A steep hair-raising descent on a narrow ridge allows no room for error left or right. As you start the decent your 4X4's hood will drop a long way before you can even see the narrow ridge top in front. After that is the Tip-Over Challenge which has seen many a 4X4 rise to the challenge and tip over. The Rubble Trouble Hill leads the way back toward smoother roadway and civilization.
Your trail leader may offer to let you go over and play on Potato Salad Hill either before or after the the main portion of the trail is completed. He will probably advise you that it is no longer an official part of the trail and is very dangerous. Listen to him. Several 4X4s roll there every year and countless more break gears, driveshafts and axles. Potato Salad Hill is a series of gravel covered rock steps that just gets more difficult every year. The name comes from a Potato Salad that bounced out of the back of a pickup that tried the obstacle years ago.
4X4NOW
Next Day
Jeep Safari Trail Report
Sunday, April 4, 1999
We
met in the Branding Iron Restaurant Parking lot South of Moab on Hwy 191 across
from the new Shell station. Jack and Angie Williams checked off the
participants and led us out on a crisp cool morning.
GPS coordinates were taken with my new Lowrance GlobalMap 1600 and imported in to Topo USA for display. The major way points and distances from the start of the trail to each waypoint are listed below. Each pin in the map represents a waypoint. The red pin at the beginning (northerly pin on Sand Flats Road) of the trail is WP2 while the red pin at the end (southerly pin on Sand Flats Road) is WP19. Same waypoints are not shown in order to reduce clutter. All waypoints are listed in the table below:
| WP # | Latitude | Longitude | Description | Mileage |
| 1 | N 38°33.905' | W 109°32.084' | Intersection of Sand Flats Road and Mill Creek Rive | |
| 2 | N 38°34.565' | W 109°31.464' | Start Hell's Revenge (left turn off Sand Flats Road) | 0.0 |
| 3 | N 38°34.599' | W 109°31.464' | Dump Bump (our trail went up the easier east end) | 0.1 |
| 4 | N 38°34.864' | W 109°31.787' | Right Turn | 0.5 |
| 5 | N 38°34.986' | W 109°31.801' | Top of First Slick Rock Mound | 0.7 |
| 6 | N 38°35.258' | W 109°32.036' | Right Turn Off Slick Rock onto Sand Trail | 1.3 |
| 7 | N 38°35.341' | W 109°32.007' | Right at Y | 1.4 |
| 8 | N 38°35.796' | W 109°31.913' | Right at Y | 2.0 |
| 9 | N 38°36.464' | W 109°32.138' | Colorado River Overlook (Hell's Gate just a little S and W) | 2.8 |
| 10 | N 38°36.083' | W 109°32.037' | Right Turn off Overlook Spur | 3.3 |
| 11 | N 38°35.551' | W 109°32.560' | Bath Tub AKA Car Wash Obstacle | 4.6 |
| 12 | N 38°35.629' | W 109°32.406' | Mickey's Hot Tub Optional Obstacle | 4.9 |
| 13 | N 38°35.628' | W 109°32.309' | Long Steep Drop | 5.0 |
| 14 | N 38°35.241' | W 109°32.515' | Tip Over Challenge Obstacle | 5.7 |
| 15 | N 38°35.157' | W 109°32.662 | Rubble Hill | 6.5 |
| 16 | N 38°35.079' | W 109°32.490' | Right Turn | 6.6 |
| 17 | N 38°35.020' | W 109°32.538' | Left Turn | 6.7 |
| 18 | N 38°34.708' | W 109°32.085' | Right Turn | 7.4 |
| 19 | N 38°34.197' | W 109°31.544' | Sand Flats Road | 8.2 |
WARNING! Do NOT rely solely on these coordinates. ALWAYS get and a check before cresting a slick rock hill top or crest to check the best line down the other side!
Download the waypoints and track in the Lowrance GPS Data Manager file version or the DeLorme Topo USA / Street Atlas format for just the waypoints.
Jack
leads us up the "Dump Bump" near the beginning of the trail just off
Sand Flats road. There are even more extreme "Dump Bumps" within
view to the west. More than a few 4Xs had to make more than one attempt at
this one or spin there tires a little as shown in the Quick Time video
clip of one participant.
The first part of the trail includes some long steep slickrock climbs. It is critical that one keep the vehicle in front in view when coming over a slickrock crest to avoid disaster going down the other side. If there is no vehicle ahead get out and look. You won't be able to see the downslope over your hood until it is too late.
Our group moved along well and we were soon at the Colorado River Overlook. Just a short walk south and then west of the trail to the overlook is the new optional "Hell's Gate" obstacle (not recommended). We were fortunate to see a few vehicles go down and then make the harrowing trip back up on the other side. See a Quick Time video clip of both the trip down and back out (heavily edited and sped up to reduce download time).
 The trip into Hell's Gate is scary but nothing like the trip back up on the other side |
 Todd Adams, the Resident Mechanic on 4X4EXPERTS makes the harrowing trip back up the other side |
After
the Overlook and fun at Hells Gate we were soon back on the slickrock. The
high elevations of the slickrock routes used for the Hells Revenge trails
normally provide for long and scenic vistas. This day, however, it was
providing for cold wind mixed with rain and snow. I was to get much
worse before getting better.
The
Bathtub AKA Car Wash obstacle had more water in it than I've ever seen before.
It's a good idea to double check the depth before driving in. The last
four or five feet of the drop in seems near vertical.
This
three generation family wasn't backing off from anything. Here the
grandson takes his dad and 94 year old grandfather into Mickey's Hot tub.
The near stock Land Rover wasn't able to get up the other side but was able to
back out. This is another of the extreme optional obstacles on Hell's
Revenge (not recommended). I remember watching a Jeep trying to get up the
other side of the Hot Tub. I remarked to some one that at least the Tub
was small enough that it would be nearly impossible to role. A few minutes
later the same Jeep was on its top.
This
long very steep drop near Mickey's Hot tub is not optional. It is steep
enough to make you worry about your tires gripping when it is dry. It was
raining and cold when we went down. The surface looked shiny from
the water on the back tire marks left by previous 4Xs. I was ready to let
up on the brakes at the first sign of slippage and ride it down hoping not to
bounce off the ridge. But the tires gripped fine even with the moisture
today. This is another location where you can't see the slickrock over
you're hood until it is too late. To help get drivers started down in the
right location, the Red Rock 4 Wheelers have painted white paint marks on each
side of the proper line.
This
Suzuki and our trail leader were among the few to conquer Tip Over Challenge as
the rain began to turn to snow. Seeing others sliding around on this
dangerous obstacle was enough to make most of the group choose the bypass.
By
the time we reached Rubble Hill the rain had turned to snow and it was snowing
hard. 4Xs without lockers had an unusually difficult time on the slick
rocks on the upper part of the obstacle.
Fortunately we were near the end of the trail. We were
back on the asphalt of Sand Flats Road at about 3:00 p.m.
1997 Hell's Revenge Report
1996 Hell's Revenge Report
34th Annual Easter Jeep Safari
(2000)
33rd Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1999)
32nd Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1998)
31st Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1997)
30th Annual Easter Jeep Safari (1996)
Moab, Utah, 4WD Trails Map with Links to all 30 Trails
Trail Difficulty Ratings
Utah Trail Guidebooks, Trail Maps, and Trail Videos
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