Here is a good trail description/directions of Metal Masher Trail from Webejeepin:

"The Metal Masher Trail is located about 8 miles NE of Moab. To get to the trailhead from the center of Moab, take US 191 North approximately 9.8 miles. Turn left on the dirt road, cross over the railroad tracks and into the "parking lot", and air down. The trail ranges in elevation from 4,500 to 6,000 feet. The trailhead isn’t really until waypoint MM11. Prior to that however, at waypoint MM07, is Gooney Bird Rock. We were warned not to roll over the Gooney Bird’s toes, lest we have bad luck throughout the trail! At waypoint MM09 is a fork in the trail; straight ahead for Gold Bar Rim, and right to Metal Masher. At waypoint MM20 is The Bowl, which is a large, shallow bowl in the slick rock. There’s a spot in the center where if you drop in a rear tire, you get a nice photo op of the opposite airborne front tire. There’s also an optional ledge climb in this area. Finally, it’s a nice wide open area to spread out for lunch. Just past waypoint MM26 is a left turn, which is the bypass to The Widow Maker. The Widow Maker, at waypoint MM27, is a 6-foot nearly vertical climb with a sandy bottom. Not too bad for long wheel-based vehicles, but rear tippy for us shorties! The trail dumps you out in the middle of nowhere, on SR 313, leaving you with a near 1-hour trek back to Hwy 191. The trail is nearly 20 miles (not including the 13-mile trip on SR 313) and takes approximately 6 – 8 hours or so to complete."

    Just off Hwy 191 north of Moab, the road is bumpy and makes it's way up along the cliff face were we going to be above later in the day (and have lunch), and proceeded into a sandy canyon (Little Canyon).  After passing the famous "Gooney Bird", we headed up the mesa and around to the NE to Arth's Rim.  Since I hadn't been to Metal Masher since 1999, the turns were a little hard to find.  Once on the mesa, I had to scout out the sandy trail to the North, but actually found where we would come out off the rim making a loop.

   From the mesa, it didn't take long before we hit slick rock again, and signs that we were on Metal Masher.  Boy, they need a sign at the turn (on the mesa), were I'm sure not the only ones that miss that turn.  On to the slick rock!  Many kudos to the boys who mountain biked Metal Masher's slick rock all the way UP to the rim and down in 90 degree heat!   Small ledges and cracks along the trail keep you entertained as you the approach a 500' cliff face with a great view overlooking Little Canyon.

    We headed on up the slick rock to the rim, and passed thru obstacles like Mirror Gulch and many fun and challenging ledges.  Everyone manages the trail very well, with smiles and grins.  This section of slick rock is all Moab.

   We stopped for lunch at the highest point of Arth's Rim with a great view of Arches National Park and a 1500' drop below. After lunch, the trail eased up a bit and was easier to find as we worked our way along the northern edge and headed west thru Arth's Pasture.

   Instead of looping back to Little Canyon, we found a 2WD road along the mesa (the same one I found when scouting) that leads 4 miles west to pavement (Hwy 313) and back around to Hwy 191 and back to camp. After some cool refreshments and a full on steak dinner, it was off to the Cliffhanger Trail for our NIGHT RUN and the Poison Spider Trailhead overlook!!

"Jeep, Jeep"!!!!!

Storyline, web design, and captions by:

 Bill Hallinan  HoboJeepers

Here are some other Metal Masher Trip reports:

Metal Masher Trail 1999 by the HoboJeepers

Metal Masher Trail by Traildamage.Com: http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=90

Metal Masher Trail by Moab4x4.Com: http://www.moab4x4.com/mtmm.htm

Metal Masher Trail Report: http://truckworldonline.com/truckworldcom/Travel-Adventure/Moab-Jan/moab-mm.html

Scott Rozman’s 1998 Metal Masher Trip Report: http://www.off-road.com/~srozman/UTmoabmash98/mm98.html

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