A Visit to the Geological Wonderlands of Utah and Colorado - Apr 2015

[Rsquared]

Excellent photos and story telling, Scott. Before making this run I had no idea that canyons of this magnitude existed in the US outside of the Grand Canyon. As good as the photos are, they just can't do justice to shear size of the canyon walls and distances...

 

[euromedic]

Stunning! Just stunning. Thank you Scott and gang for sharing this. Must. Go. Back.

 

[Tourmeister]

Roger's holding out on us. I know I saw him take more than five pictures

 

[The Bruce]

Great photos. I recognized a lot of those spots since they are kinda fresh in my mind.

 

[Tourmeister]

Well, I am heading out of town for another trip early Tuesday morning and won't be back until late next Sunday. I won't have time to get back to this until after I get back. Roger's going with me as well.

 

[The Bruce]

Safe travels.

 

[JoePieper]

Great pics and report Scott. I still havent gone through all my pics. I have to go back for the White Rim Trail after seeing your wonder shots. Since the trip I couldn't stop thinking about orange bikes. So about a month ago I bit the bullet and got the new 500exc. Talk about power... I wish I had this beast on the trip.

 

[Tourmeister]

Great pics and report Scott. I still havent gone through all my pics. I have to go back for the White Rim Trail after seeing your wonder shots. Since the trip I couldn't stop thinking about orange bikes. So about a month ago I bit the bullet and got the new 500exc. Talk about power... I wish I had this beast on the trip.

Ohhh.... I am orange with envy!! Congrats!

 

[h2000fb]

OK Guys... I am waiting.

What's holding you up?

Neeeed moooore piiiiics.........

 

[Tourmeister]

OK Guys... I am waiting.

What's holding you up?

Neeeed moooore piiiiics.........

Well, there was this matter of prepping for a trip to New Mexico last week But, now that I am back I will try to wrap up the report

 

[Poxy]

me too

 

[Tourmeister]

Right... So let me get my head back in the groove here and see if I can finish up this report! When I left off, we Roger and I had just done the White Rim Road, a spectacular ride. So it leaves me wondering if everything else is just down hill from here on out... so to speak...?

Today is Thursday. It is yet another incredibly beautiful day. Thus far we have been really fortunate with the weather. The mornings have been cool, but by noon the temps have been very pleasant. In other words, conditions have been pretty darn near perfect! Our plan today is to head West toward Lake Powell via dirt roads, then loop back along some highways down to The Valley of The Gods. It's going to be a big bike day.

The ride starts with a quick run down US 191 to Blanding. From Blanding we head out of town in a generally Northwesterly direction along Brushy Basin Rd. Being so close to town, the road starts off paved but eventually turns to a wide well maintained gravel road that starts climbing up into the mountains and woods, getting twisty as it goes.

Near the beginning, lots of red dirt

Getting on up in the hills and it starts to get a bit rutted in places

Apparently the locals engage in rock graffiti. Better than paint graffiti

The dirt soon gives ways to loose gravel - This is Steve on his 1200 GS

Joe on his 1200 GSA

Roger on his 690 Enduro

Getting back down to lower elevations and into the dirt again

And then we climb back up onto a ridge and get back into the gravel

There are a LOT of these along this section of the road

A sand gravel mix that crunches as the tires squirm around in it

Brushy Basin Road becomes Elk Mountain Road not far out of town, which then becomes Woodenshoe Road a few miles later. The water crossing above is around 5500 feet and by the time we get to the white gravel with the purple flowers, I think we are up around 7500 feet. The road starts climbing again and we are soon running a nice dirt through a forest of Aspens at around 8500 feet.

Snow!

While stopped for the snow pic above, I also saw quite a few deer. I use deer in the generic sense because I am not up on all the various breeds of deer like critters. They were a little bigger than the average East Texas deer though. Once they stop moving, it is almost as if they engage cloaking devices. They just blend right into the background and it is very easy for the eye to lose them. The good thing is the sounds of the bikes seems to encourage them to run away from the road rather than across the road.

Across the road from the snow

The run through the Aspens is really great. I just love the look and feel of Aspen woods. There is just something about these trees that gives me a nice comfortable relaxed feeling. It's hard to describe. The road is also excellent, a nice soft dirt with great traction. I just sort of get lost in my thoughts as I wind my way through the woods, wishing this could go on for a long time. However, if there is one thing this area provides, it is variety. The views rarely stay the same for any length of time and the terrain can change dramatically in a very short distance. Soon we are leaving the Aspens behind and dropping back down to lower elevations and changing scenery.

Still a nice dirt surface, but now cedars, pines and scrub brush dominates

And we get back down into the red dirt again where we stop for a break

Makes you want to go for a ride doesn't it

Kind of soft and loose on top, but firm and packed underneath, great fun!!

There are LOTS of critter tracks in the dirt along this road and around this pond

We leave the pond behind and the road continues descending from the mountains. It soon takes on a rockier nature, gets a bit narrower, and has some fun corners. The GS just takes it all in stride and I'm thoroughly enjoying riding it. There are some spots that are fairly steep and rough, but they are generally wider and there are multiple lines to choose from for getting through them.

The only gate along the way

Steve

After everyone passes through the gate, we close it and continue on our way. Around 7000 feet, the rocks soon give way to the soft red dirt and I pick up the pace just a little to have fun with it as we continue to descend into the valley below.

The Heidenau K60s are doing great dealing with the variety of surfaces encountered on this road

Gotta keep an eye out for these critters too!! They like to hide behidn the cedars next to the road

Uh... this one has some kind of strange growth on the leg...

Sorry, can't help myself

As we get lower, the terrain starts to get rocky again. Now it is more like the Canyonland rocks. It is easy to think you are alone in a bug place like this, but we soon find someone else enjoys being out here.

A nice secluded camping spot!

Sometimes when I am leading, I have my GPS zoomed out so I can take in the "big picture" of where we are in relation to everything else. This can make intersections confusing if I neglect to zoom in and make sure I am taking the right path... When this happens, I usually figure it out as we begin to move away from the intersection and might necessitate a quick U-turn.... Roger has ridden with me enough that he's used to it, or at lease is nice enough not to complain about it

Joe gets caught out by the berm during a U-turn

I love this road surface!

We're nearing the end of the road and dropping down into the canyons down around 5000 feet now.

Back in the saddle and ready for action!

Almost to Hwy 95

Roger

And finally I reach Hwy 95. The last 70 some odd miles of riding have just been absolutely fantastic!! I momentarily consider backtracking, but there is still more to see.

As I pull up onto the highway, I spot another group of adventure riders coming down Hwy 95 from the North and give them all a wave. I bet they have no clue what a great ride they are missing by passing this road! When the others finish taking their pictures and catch up with me, we head up the highway a short ways to the Hite Marina on Lake Powell. There is a nice store here and gas.

The guardian of the store - a real sweetie

We grab some snacks and drinks, then kick back for a nice rest inside. While there we visit with this dude from England that took a year off from his job to come ride across America on his bicycle. He started sometime around January on the West coast and is headed for the East coast. He tells us that he averages around 50 miles per day give or take a bit depending on weather and terrain. He doesn't have an ounce of body fat on him! We have a nice chat with him, finish our ice creams, and head back outside. It's time for the run up Hwy 95 through the North Wash canyon

First we have to cross the Colorado River

Could use a fresh coat of paint

There's supposed to be a lake over there...

The view from a little further up the road

Climbing up into the canyon and going away from the lake

Looks like mostly a dry lake to me. The marina was no where near water.

The marina in the distance just above the back seat of my bike

Notice the gloomy looking clouds in the distance...

Once the road turns away from the river and really heads North, the fun starts. I'd love to show you lots of great pictures of this road and the cool rock cliffs on either side of it, but once I slip into a rhythm, stopping to take pics kind of spoils the fun! I definitely slip into a rhythm too The curves on this road are just perfect. The sight lines are generally good. The traction is excellent. The K60s don't complain much when really pushed. So before long I find myself nearing the intersection with Hwy 276 at the North end of the canyon. From this point, the road mostly straightens out and there's no real point continuing. The plan is to just back track down through the canyon to the marina for gas and then run the paved route down to the Valley of The Gods. So... I head back and have more fun!

But I do stop for a few pics this time

The Hog Springs picnic area

Kind of far to drive for an afternoon picnic, but if you are passing through and know it is here, it's a cool place to stop.

The bridge swings and bounces... if you jump real high and push real hard

Typical of the rock walls along the road

Just across the road from the picnic area. The holes in the rock were present all the way through the canyon.

There's actually water flowing

After a quick walk around the picnic area, we get back on the bikes and continue South back to the river.

See the bridge?

How about now?

Yeah, hauling down through those corners is a BLAST!

After getting gas, we get back on 95 and follow it South. It climbs up onto a slope that runs between the base of a long ridge line and a really cool string of canyons before it skirts the edge of the Natural Bridges Monument. All the while the sky is getting darker and darker... Then it happens. The rain starts to fall. I'm a bit of a ways ahead of the others so I stop to zip up all my vents and go into to water tight mode. The others must have already stopped because they zip on by me with a wave. I'm back on the road in a few moments and chase them down. As we near a major route direction change, I pull over into a side lot to confer with the guys. Steve and Joe are ready to just head for the hotel, which is still a decent distance from here. Roger and I decide to brave the potentially nasty weather and head for Moki Dugway and the Valley of the Gods.

Looks like the weather could go either way at this point

Steve takes off to catch up with Joe, who already has a head start. Roger and I head for Hwy 261 that cuts South along a high ridge line.

This is at the start of 261 - Who can resist an invitation like that!?

About six miles or so before the Moki Dugway, my maps show a dirt road that runs roughly parallel to 261, but much closer to the edge of the ridge. It goes a little bit further South than 261, but then loops back up to Moki Dugway. It looks interesting and still dry, so we decide to try it.

Starts out real smooth an nice...

The road doesn't stay real smooth and nice. Soon I am muscling the GS around deep ruts and rocks as the road deteriorates. It is not long before we realize that we'd likely be better off doing this on the small bikes and with better weather... Being out here on the GS when things go to full on mud is not appealing.

This is how things look when we decide to head back to 261 in defeat

 

[Tourmeister]

Once pack on the pavement, we make the short run down to Moki Dugway. I am sure that is some Indian reference that means something to someone that knows something about these things, but I am not one of those someones and I know nothing. The first time I came here I was on a loaded down VFR 800 with several other riders on similar bikes. I'd never ridden on a gravel or dirt road in my life at that point, nor had my wife who was on an SV650S. With a little pucker and sweat, we made it to the bottom without incident. Come to think of it, that was the only other time I've been here... and it was almost 15 years ago. Dang... when did I start getting old

Still some pretty iffy weather floating around... No rain yet though...

Hmmm... the gravel doesn't look so intimidating this time

A peek over the edge... If you don't like heights... you might want to avoid this road

What's that over there on the right...

Looks like the remains of a tractor trailer frame... I bet that was a wild ride

No guard rail, just a small dirt berm

I don't know why, but I find rock formations kind of cool. Must be something about my rugged sense of aesthetics

Oddly enough, there is no "Watch for falling rocks!" warning under that big rock precariously perched up there above that corner...

That's the road we heading to... it leads into the Valley of the Gods

The paved road on the right heads toward Mexican Hat

See the switch backs below?

The roads starts on the left side of this pic, about 2/3 of the way up and drops to a switchback on the right where that car just came from

You can see the switch back here

About this time, I start seeing drops of rain. In the distance I can see rain coming down pretty heavy. Unfortunately, it is falling on the dirt road leading into the Valley of the Gods... The thought of getting back in there and getting tied up in some nasty mud on the GS with these tires is not real appealing. In fact, it is not appealing with ANY tires on the GS! It looks like we will be diverting around it via the paved highways.

Blowing this corner would be... bad...

I can't help it. To me, this is a really cool texture/pattern. The nerd in me sees grain structures and likely thermally induced stress fractures.

That little white dot almost dead center on the top road is Roger, and he's riding into rain that is hard to see here.

But as he comes around the corner, everything blurs because it is coming down pretty hard

He's almost dead center on the second road now and the rain is fast coming my direction!

I head on down to catch up with Roger. He's waiting patiently below to see where we go next. With the rain coming down, I tell him we'd best stick to the pavement for now and maybe get out of it later. We run down 261 to US 163 and turn back to the Northeast.

The plan now is to run up 163 about twelve miles to the start of Comb Wash Road. This is where we will cut back North. However, I am starting to think we may need some gas soon. Roger's 690 doesn't have the range of the GS. As we cruise up 163 through some pretty heavy rain showers, I'm scoping the GPS and decide we can maybe run over to Bluff, just slightly out of the way, and pick up some gas. When we reach Comb Wash Road, I pull over and check with Roger. He agrees about heading to Bluff. I look back to take a mental picture of what the turn off for Comb Wash will look like coming back this way and then we take off down, or up, the highway toward Bluff.

Looking back West - Comb Wash Rd is down there where the green turns to reddish brown and goes off to the right

We reach Bluff pretty quickly, but we also discover that there appears to be no gas here We confer for a few minutes about what to do. We could just go ahead and call it a day, running up the highway to Monticello. Given the rain and gas situation, that would be the reasonable thing to do... So instead we decide to just head back to Comb Wash Rd and see if we can make it back to Blanding. It's not that far...

So back we go...

Comb Wash Road turns out to be a delicious surprise!! Immediately the road rises and falls over the many many little humps in the terrain. It is that smooth red dirt again and the road is amazingly well maintained. Best of all, the rain hasn't come through here... yet... So it's all good The sun is coming in low from the West under the storm clouds and is lighting up the rock wall ridge line that runs South to North along the wash.

This wall goes for miles and miles... very cool!

But then there are those pesky dark clouds...

A reminder to keep our eyes peeled when rounding blind corners and to gently roll the blind hills...

The road starts to get a decent amount of sand mixed in with the dirt

The first half of this road is nice easy packed dirt. Then the road starts running a little closer to the creek bed at the base of the wash. This is where things REALLY get interesting!! The hard packed dirt rapidly gives way to DEEP, LOOSE and RUTTED sand with a good dose of silt in it. In fact, it happens so rapidly that my turn around and live for another day instinct fails to kick in to gear. So I find myself standing up and shifting my weight back and wishing like crazy I had different tires on the GS at the moment!!

The ruts are deep enough that I try to avoid crossing them if possible. Instead I try to find the widest and straightest one and just run that for as long as possible. "Long" usually means a few hundred feet at best before I am forced to jump to another rut with a hefty dose of throttle and silent prayer. I quickly lose track of the number of times the rear and front of the bike try to swap places, causing a massive adrenaline spike that sets my heart into, "This is the BIG ONE Ethel!" territory! I try to focus on staying loose and relaxed as the bike squirms and wiggles from rut to rut. The corners are particularly fun because there's NO WAY I am going to slow down! Once on top, STAY ON TOP! I let the front end pretty much do its thing while I try to shift my weight side to side on the pegs in time with application of more throttle. The rear K60 is spinning but it keeps me moving. The front is more like a rudder than a tire at this point. About the time I think I can't take much more, I spot a relatively hard packed section under some trees and decide to stop and allow my heart rate to come back down from the stratosphere. As I roll to a stop I can just imagine the look that would be on Steve's face right about now if he were here and I took a picture of him

This is the "nice" section of the road

Not so bad right here

Roger rolls up, shaking his head in disbelief

Roger informs me that he stopped once or twice just to reset his brain after getting pretty crossed up in a couple of places. Sand can really mess with your head. We hang out for a few minutes and then get started again. I start in second gear so I don't have to try to shift out of first once I get rolling. That helps a lot! As we continue, there are more and more trees, so I guess we are closer to the water now. I soon spot some RVs in what appears to be a camping area and as we get closer to them the road starts going back to a harder surface. We soon reach pavement again at Hwy 95 just West of Blanding. As I roll to a stop I can smell burning break pads. It would seem that some of the silt got up into my brakes and created enough friction to heat things up pretty good!! I sure know it wasn't because I was touching my brakes in that sand!!

Relieved to be back on solid ground, we head on into Blanding, get gas, and then make the run back up 191 to Monticello. That hot tub is calling my name....

Climbing 95 to cut through the wall to Blanding...

 

[rob-houston]

Utah... Utah... Utah... now where did I put those pictures?

That can't be you Scott! Where's the cacti?

 

[_RG_]

This is a classic.

 

[cleaner72]

We did this trip in March just a few weeks before you guys. This was my first time riding dirt.....and on my KLR 650....We did the white rim trail and it was amazing.....Being my first time I went down a few times...severely bruising my ribs. I did this just a few miles in. The guys asked me if we wanted to turn back, but I just couldnt pass up this ride, and I did NOT want to be the reason they missed it too...It made for a long painful ride but again it was amazing.

Now as for the permit thing....they did implement the day use permits....doesn't cost anything but they are limiting the number of people on the white rim trail to 50 motorized, including motorcycles and 4x4's and 50 non motorized including bicycles. Another instance where the government steps in to "fix" something that's not broken. **** government needs to keep its nose out of we the peoples business, They were supposed to take peoples comments but apparently they didn't care about our opinions. They are attempting to do the same type of thing in southern Utah, except they want to close off trails to all motorized vehicles.

http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/dayusepermits.htm

I am currently off work and confined to my bed for almost 3 months due to surgery to repair 2 torn tendons and a ligament. So I will try and get our ride report with a bunch of pictures soon.

 

[Tourmeister]

And we come to the last day of riding. This day always brings mixed feelings. It's been an incredible week of riding already. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end... I think knowing this makes me want to get the most out of the last day, just to savor everything that extra little bit so that the high from the experience might not fade quite so fast once back to the routine of daily life.

The morning greets us and it is cool. There are clouds about but the forecast is generally for good weather. Today we will be heading out into the Dark Canyon Wilderness. It sounds foreboding... This is an out and back run and there is NOTHING once we leave Blanding. So gas could be an issue for Steve on his 690 Enduro and Joe on his DRZ400. Roger and I are good. We're both carrying enough to run at least 300 miles or more. Total distance for the route is expected to be around 175 miles. Worst case scenario, I have a hose and we can transfer gas to Steve and Joe.

We gas up the bikes and head South out of town on US 191 toward Blanding. Once there, we head back North out of town on Blue Mountain Rd. The first six or seven miles are paved, but when we enter the national forest, it becomes a wide gravel road. As we pass by Johnson Creek Road, the road we are on start to follow the side of the mountain and gets nice and twisty. Here it becomes Causeway Road and starts turning to the Northwest and the scenery changes for the better as we pass through 8000 feet. Most of the peaks to the North of us are all around 11000 feet, give or take a few hundred. Johnson Creek Road is where I had hoped to come out earlier in the week when we were thwarted by the snow on the North side of the mountains. I have no doubt that would have been an awesome ride, but even this late in the week, there is still quite a bit of snow covering the high passes we'd have been riding.

LOTS of this kind of view in the area

Causeway Road is awesome. It just twists and winds through the woods. There is snow scattered about on the edges of the road. The views change almost constantly. We eventually ride just below the Skull and Crossbones summit at about 8400 feet as we near Maverick Point. The run through the piney woods is especially fun. The road is mostly dirt with a covering of pine needles. Traction is great! The following is just a small sampling of what the road and views are like up to that point.

Notice the sand. The road surface changes a lot.

Nice smooth easy spot

See anyone?

I think this is Steve

Those clouds are starting to get my attention...

A bit of mud and a bit of snow, no biggie... for now...

During one short stretch, we come upon a small snow drift across the road. There are two muddy tracks running through it, presumably from the trucks we just passed. I take the right rut and roll through the other side without any trouble. Then we are back on our way.

Joe and Roger

Just beyond the turn off for Maverick Point, we reach Gooseberry Road, which continues mostly North/South. We turn North toward Sweet Alice road. Here are some of the views from that area.

Joe

Steve - Note the extra gas on his back

And Roger

And now it is definitely raining back toward town... I just hope it stays over there!

Once we turn onto Sweet Alice Road, things get even more fun. The road is loose dirt with relatively small rocks. It is in pretty good condition. We're on a plateau at about 8500 feet and the road runs cross the top of this for a bit before dropping down to around 7500 feet as we pass South of the Sweet Alice Hills. Thus far, we've seen no one else out here. However, as I am approaching a blind corner, I spot something through the trees coming my way. It is a big truck pulling a good sized cattle/horse trailer. We have seen a few corrals, but no animals yet. The trailer is empty. I give a wave to the driver and figure he's got a LONG slow drive to get back to town on these roads pulling that trailer! Not too long after this encounter, I come up on another truck pulling a similar trailer. I never do see any animals. These would be the last people we see out here for the rest of the day.

Sweet Alice Road has two legs, the right and the left. Yeah, the road guys were probably getting close to quitting time when they came up with those names. Anyway, we are heading for the left leg, which is further out than the right leg. From Gooseberry Road, it is about 16 miles of full on fun. Most of the corners are a bit more open than the corners on Causeway Road so sight lines are better and we carry a bit more speed. Still, I don't open it up too much because those trailers having me thinking there has to be something wandering around out here just waiting to step out from behind a bush or something...

It does not take us long to reach the Left Leg intersection. I picked this one for the route because it heads over to the edge of the canyon and I am hoping it will have some cool views. The main Sweet Alice Road continues on to the West another 15 miles or so. Given our potential gas issues, I decided to lop that off the route. Everyone regroups at the intersection and we look down the road... It's narrow. It's rough. It looks like it has not seen any traffic in a long time. Steve gets that look on his face... As always, Roger is game for just about anything. This is Joe's first trip with us so I am not sure where his level of adventure tops out... We decide to give it a go. Steve decides to wait here for our quick return.

I take point and head into the trees and bushes. Immediately the bike is squirming around in the sand and rocks. There are scattered broken branches laying in the road as well. In some places, the road goes over some embedded rocks that form a ledge across the road, sometimes going up, sometimes going down, and sometimes just making a hard hump to get over. After maybe five minutes or so, the road curves around and drops out into a big open area on the edge of a rock wall. It's obvious this has been used as a campsite in the past, but it is clean in terms of trash left behind. I've not been feeling so great so I take the rest opportunity to head out into the bushes to commune with nature... Roger and Joe kick back in the shade to relax and enjoy the scenery.

While taking a peek around, Roger spots this just over the edge... See it?

The only way to approach it is from the left side of the picture, and that is a pretty steep slope. If one had on some grippy soled boots or tennis shoes, it might not be do bad. But, if you slip and fall, failing to grab that little pine tree, it would be a good fall to the bottom!

The view looking the other direction

End of the road...

Steve's probably beginning to wonder what happened to us, so we head back. Joe takes off first, then Roger, and I bring up the rear.

Roger on a nice smooth easy section of the road without the rocks and limbs

We get back to the main road and hook up with Steve. Then we start the run back East on Sweet Alice. Once again, I just slip into a rhythmic groove with the bike and the road. The bike is running great and the traction is great. In the midst of the fun that last day angst seeps into my awareness as I realize how rarely I get to ride roads like this and how long it might be before I get another chance to do so again... We soon reach Gooseberry Road and turn South. Rather than just backtracking to Causeway Road, I want to check out a little side road that makes a loop North of the way we came and should eventually bring us back to Causeway Road.

I'm cruising along on Gooseberry not paying attention to the GPS when I notice out of the corner of my eye a "road" going off to the left. I stop just beyond it and check the GPS. Sure enough, that's the one I'm looking to take. On my Topo maps, it just shows as a trail. On my City Select map, it shows as FR 444. It's not long so I figure if it is too bad we can just turn around and keep back tracking our original outbound route.

Doesn't look too bad to me

Just beyond the bushes on the right, the road starts dropping and turns into what is basically a V shaped wash with rocks in the bottom. We work our way down and I'm thinking things are really cool. It starts to sprinkle a bit and I notice a few snow flakes floating on the wind... Hmmm... I stop just to look around and Steve pulls up next to me,

"Are you SURE this is the road we are supposed to be on?!"

Oh ye of little faith!

It's not too bad here. Besides, it only goes a little further and hits another road.

"Are you SURE this is the road we are supposed to be on?!"

"Of course I'm sure! The little pink line on the GPS shows we are right on course!"

Roger, "I'm good..." - see those blurry white dots in the pic... snow.

The road gets a little worse and starts getting a little steep as it begins to twist back and forth. We drop about 600 feet in elevation over the course of about mile and a half. About the time I start to wonder about this road, we drop out on the bottom and it runs into Cottonwood Road where we turn South back to Causeway Road again.

"See! No problem! You can trust me, I know where I'm going"

Joe and Steve happy to be back on a nice road!

Roger

The road shown above is typical of what many sections of this whole ride have been like, especially back around Maverick Point Overlook. These sections are REALLY fun! We loop back around the South side of Mormon Pasture Mountain and get back to the Maverick Point Information site. This is where we stopped earlier. There is a little gazebo like building here that has information placards in it telling about the history of the forest in this area. Fires, insects, and timber cutting had done a real number on the area. A big effort was made to replant trees and restore the forest. Something like 6000 acres were replanted.

Anyway... Where was I...?

So... The real reason we stop here is because there is this little road that runs North from here. Depending on what maps you look at, this is either a trail, doesn't exist at all, or is North Creek Road. It heads North a ways and then cuts East around the North side of the main mountains in the Manti-La Sal NF just West of Monticello. If we can run it back around the North side of the mountains to Monticello we won't have to run all they way back down to Blanding and it will cut quite a few miles off our run. Beyond that though, when peeking at it on Google Earth and trying to trace its path, I spotted some switchbacks that looked interesting...

So we head North once everyone has regrouped. It starts off heading straight North toward Maverick Point and runs along the edge of a plateau. It is nice dirt with a little sand and it looks like it has been recently traveled. That's a good sign.

Easy Peasy

Not far beyond the curve in that first picture, things get a little more interesting. We obviously reach the point where some of the maps show that the road ends, yet it obviously does not. It just doesn't look so well traveled. And why are we here? That's right, to take the road less traveled! Now the road becomes just two faint tracks running through the grass, but it is still relatively flat and nothing difficult. We come to a fork in the road and I go left. I don't go far before I realize there is a reason some roads are less traveled. This one just peters out completely. So we backtrack to the fork and go the other way. We soon reach the far edge of the plateau, go around some short tree/bush things and see this,

I'm just putzing along without really thinking to hard about where we are going or where we might be. But, then I come around another corner...

Alrighty then! I guess we've found the switch backs!

Again, without really thinking about stopping, I just keep on going. It quickly gets rougher and steeper. By the time I am thinking that this could get difficult, I am committed. I stand up, shift my weight back, squeeze the tank with my legs and try to stay loose on the bars. I try to be gentle on the front and back brakes, engine braking until I pick up too much speed, then getting back on the brakes again as I thread my way down between some pretty large rocks. I make it through the next switch back, down the next stretch, and then spot a small flat area at the next switchback where I aim to stop and wait for the others in case anyone is having difficulty or needs help.

Roger follows me down

The run down to the next switch back

Roger rolls up and stops near me. I look back up the hill expecting to see Joe and Steve, but they aren't there?! I'm trying to determine how many more switch backs there might be to the bottom and where the road goes from there when Roger mentions that Joe and Steve stopped a few levels back up the mountain.

A few minutes later they come walking down

You have to admit, this is a SWEET view!

When Steve and Joe reach us, the conversation about my sanity and navigational skills is renewed Joe and Steve are not wild about the idea of riding down these switch backs and are also concerned that the road might not go anywhere once we reach the bottom, which would mean having to climb back UP these switch backs. We go back and forth a bit. I check the GPS and strain my eyes to peer in the distance for evidence of the road away from the base of the mountain. I can see an obvious path through the trees, but then it turns and I can't tell if it goes any further. Also, there is the potential issue of a water crossing below at Cottonwood Creek. So if we get all the way down there and gas becomes an issue... Hmmm...

Joe and Roger providing a sense of scale in an attempt to show how steep and tight these corners are

While the others are hanging out discussing options, I walk on down to the next switch back to see if I can get a better view.

See the bikes upper left? Including where I am standing, there are at least 3-4 more corners before the bottom.

The corner where I am standing, which is one of the smoother ones

Walking back up to the guys (and huffing like a worn out steam engine! )

Well... It is getting on into the day and if we do hit a dead end, it will take a lot of time and energy to back track. So in the end we decide to retreat and live another day. It takes some tugging and pulling to get our bikes turned around and pointed in the right direction. Joe and Steve start walking back up the hill.

Looking back up the hill

I go first. I stand up and lean WAY forward. The rear tire spins and chunks rocks around. The back end bounces around, but I keep moving forward. One of the thinks I like about the 530 EXC is that it is a beast when it comes to climbing. It has great chugging and lugging abilities and it just keeps on going. I reach Joe and Steve at the first turn, shift my weight WAY to the left and then push the bike down right as I try to make the tight corner. I clear it and head up a little further to park so I can go back and get a shot of Roger coming up the hill.

Joe and Steve wait for Roger

Now I have ridden quite a bit with Roger. I rarely see him drop his bike. Of course, that doesn't mean he doesn't drop it, just that he is FAST about getting it back up before I show up to take a picture Not this time!

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xJSWd90UGw"]MVI 0396 x264 - YouTube[/ame]

Thank goodness I got it on video because, as usual, the bike is almost up before I can get a pic

Righted, Roger waits for me to get out of the way so he can climb the next section

We eventually get back to the top, find Steve and Joe's bikes, then start working our way back to the intersection at the Maverick Point Information booth. Then we get back on Causeway Road and start working our way East toward town. It is not long before I come around a corner and spot the snow bank we crossed earlier. As I exit the corner I aim for the left rut, which is the one I used coming the other way earlier. The front tire goes in the rut as planned...

There are times in your life where everything is going just perfect and you are in this moment of pure bliss. Unfortunately, these times are often truncated in a time and manner we least expect...

This would be one of those times...

It all happens so fast. Supposedly time slows down in moments like this. We have time to ponder and reflect on things that we'd never expect to pop into our minds in such a moment. One moment, all is right with the world. The next moment I am pretty far off the ground with my feet above my head wondering how I got here. I'm wondering what is going to stop my forward motion... A rock? A tree? Soft snow? The ground? Where's my bike? Thank God this is the last day of the trip and not the first! Beth's not going to like this... Where's my bike!?

I feel an impact. There's no real pain, just a big WHUMP! I roll a few times and end up on my side in a bunch of mud. When my senses returns, I just roll over onto my back. I can't breathe. I hate not being able to breathe. I know it will pass and I force down that sense of panic that is trying to scramble to the surface of my thoughts. Nothing in particular hurts yet, but I know from experience that this doesn't mean there is nothing hurt. The massive shot of adrenaline blocks the ability to really tell what hurts and where.

While I am laying in the mud, Joe appears over me asking if I am okay. It's still hard to talk, but I try to tell him that I think nothing major is wrong. I am getting to where I can breathe again, which is always a relief. Feeling is returning to my extremities and I can move everything without any pain. Of course the guys whip out the cameras and document everything... What are riding buddies for after all?! After a few minutes I can get up and walk around. Someone is asking me silly questions and I do my best to answer them to assure them I still have my wits about me, or as much as I ever have anyway. I look over the scene for a few moments then spot a nice log on the other side of the road. I head there and sit down just to relax for a few minutes. The guys finish with their pictures and then get to work on my bike. It appears to be none the worse for the wear other than the bars being slightly twisted relative to the front wheel. They whip out the tools and take care of that issue while I ponder the joys of breathing.

Looks deceptively mild mannered doesn't it...

Once the bike is checked out, I've had a chance to catch my breath, and the guys are sure that I am who I say I am, we mount up and keep riding. We're still a pretty long way out from town. Thank goodness no one had to go for help. As far as I can tell, the rear tire chose not to follow the front tire into the nice muddy rut. Instead, it went between the two ruts in what appeared to be snow but was in actuality ICE!! That would explain the near instant high side that launched me into the crisp mountain air. Joe said he got to watch me flying in all my unfettered glory. Nothing hurts now, however I am covered in a good deal of mud

As we head down the road I start to notice that something just doesn't feel quite right. Maybe it's me, but maybe it's the bike. I pull over and tell the other guys what's happening. After a quick look over the bike we notice that there is a LOT of mud, dirt, pine needles, and rocks jammed into the wheel between the rim and the sidewall of the tire covering about 12-15 inches. We grab an L shaped Allen wrench and try to scrape it out, but soon realize that won't get it done. Roger has an air pump so I suggest deflating the tire. Once that is done, Roger grabs the tire from the opposite side and pulls the side wall away from the rim and we easily remove everything. We air the tire back up and all is good.

After a few more miles without noticing anything unusual, my head gets back into the game and I'm back to enjoying the riding. Now that my attempt at the Northern route has been abandoned, my head shifts into the get home mode. I stop taking pictures and just focus on the riding, getting lost in my thoughts about the week behind us and how lucky I am that I was not hurt. Good gear definitely helps. The curves seem endless as we twist and wind our way back through the woods and around the mountains. As we get closer and closer to town, I realize my tush is starting to get tired from all the sitting. So I stand for the last few miles into town. Once there, we gas up the bikes to make sure we can reach Monticello and then head up the highway.

Once back at the hotel, I head straight for the ibuprofen bottle. I can already tell I will be sore and stiff from my bouncing act.

Apparently what saved me was landing on my head, not that I remember feeling it hit the ground.

The helmet is pretty dirty. I don't think much of it at first, but once I clean it off I realize it has some pretty good gouges and scratches that go across the top from one side to the other. Looks like this one will be getting replaced

After we all clean up for dinner, we head to the lobby and talk with the manager. She recommends a steak house back up 191 toward Moab. It is just a few miles North of town. She describes where it is and I recall seeing those landmarks on our numerous runs up and down that stretch of road over the last week. So we pile in the truck and head that way. We reach the spot she mentioned and we don't see anything like we are expecting. We turn around a few times, going back and forth, but still nothing. Then Joe comes to our rescue with his cell phone and some skilled search fu. We turn around again and go just a little bit further where we then notice a small lit marquee sign on the side of the road next to a little gravel road going back into the woods... Hmmm... A steak house back here? Seriously?

We head up the gravel drive and it opens into an area that looks like an old western town. The main building looks like an old saloon with a big porch and rooms up above. Scattered around the perimeter of the parking area are what look like cabins. It would appear that this is some kind of resort. Who knew!? We head inside and the place is a real throw back in time. Everything is made of faded old wood and there are heads of every kind of wild animal I can think of hanging on the walls, and a few that I've no clue what they might be. We're a little skeptical of what to expect, but remain open to new things. Our waitress is nice and takes our drink order. "Water. LOTS of water. In fact, if you have a pitcher, please bring one." So we get plenty to drink. We order and then come the salads and garlic bread. The salads are really good. The garlic bread is to DIE for!! The main cource comes out and looks fantastic. I ordered a big ol hunk of cedar baked Salmon. The other guys get various kinds of steaks. We chow down. I'm not usually a big eater in terms of portions, but this time I just keep going because it is just that good. By the time we are ready to leave, I am stuffed and can barely walk. The fatigue of the week is already setting in and weighing on me. We head outside and are greeted by a beautiful moon lit night.

It will be an early morning. We've loaded the bikes onto the trailer so we can get up and roll. I sleep great, thanks to better living through chemistry, and morning comes all too soon. We load up and hit the road for the LONG drive back to Texas. It's been a fantastic week of riding. Joe is now an old fart in training because he fit right in with our group even though he's close to twenty years younger than me and more than that for Roger and Steve. We get back to Huntsville in the wee hours of the morning, get everyone's bikes loaded into their trucks and say our goodbyes. I head inside, kiss the kids and Beth, then go to sleep to dream of rocks, snow, mountains, ruts, ledges,...

 

[Rsquared]

Thank goodness I got it on video because, as usual, the bike is almost up before I can get a pic

The sun was in my eyes... There was a gust of wind... I had a cramp... The bike ran out of gas...

 

[_RG_]

The sun was in my eyes... There was a gust of wind... I had a cramp... The bike ran out of gas...

Clearly a freak geomagnetic anomaly...

 

[Tourmeister]

Okay, so now that I am done, you other guys HAVE to post up more of your pics! I know you took them. I saw your cameras in front of your faces! I can only assume you knew to push the little button on top...

 

[h2000fb]

.
Hey, is that a miniature scuba tank on his back in case of heavy rain?

 

[Rsquared]

Okay, so now that I am done, you other guys HAVE to post up more of your pics! I know you took them. I saw your cameras in front of your faces! I can only assume you knew to push the little button on top...

He say's, as he drops the mic and walks off stage...

 

[Rsquared]

Following one of Scott’s ride reports isn’t fair to most mortal Ride Reporter's. But I’ll post up some of my shot’s from the trip. Most of which wouldn’t suffice as coaster worthy. Anyway…

Utah’s Dead Horse area

Colorado. I’m glad I brought my warm cloths and put the wind shield on the bike.

My trusty steed…

My other trusty steed, somewhere in Utah.

On top of one BIG ROCK.

The view from on top of the Big Rock.

Moi.

Steve.

Big Hunk of Rock in Colorado.

Scott prepping for another impressive Ride Report.

Wasting film…

Looking down on the entrance to White Rim Trail.

White Rim Trail is must do.

Scott showing how it’s done.

The views are just over whelming on this trail. Pictures (especially mine) just can’t convey the size.

Heck of a drop…

One long trail.

More opportunities for “Drops of Death”.

Scott.

Joe on his GSA in Manti La Sal.

Who know’s where I got this one, but it was a good view…

Arizona... Maybe…

Okay, I know where this one was taken.

Makes me really appreciate water proof gear.

Big Country.

More prep work.

Don’t want to blow a corner around here.

Last Day’s ride.

Scott doing more prepping…

Joe, wondering about the group of Old Guy’s he’s been riding with…

Really good dirt.

The group.

Yeah, now this looks fun.

This area is known World Wide for "geomagnetic anomoly’s"…

But, then again, so is this area…

Previews of upcoming Ride Reports. (scheduled for release spring of 2016)

 

[woodsguy]

Great pics, makes me want to stay in East Tx! lol Beautiful but drops are scary!

 

[Tourmeister]

Our track file is attached.