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White Rim Trail mountain biking tour
Last week I did a 4-day mountain biking tour on the White Rim Trail in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. It was fabulous. Before the bike ride, a friend and I spent three days touring Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Dead Horse Point State Park. Lots of hiking, and lots of fun.
We started the ride Thursday morning in Moab, Utah, with 10 guests, two guides, and two friends of one of the guides. Most of us rented bikes (full-suspension Santa Cruz Superlight) and camping gear. We drove to Canyonlands, and about 11am we started down Schafer Trail. What fun!
The trail was fairly rough in spots, with lots of rocks and sand, but was wide enough for trucks so the cliff on the side of the trail wasn’t too scary. We camped at the Airport, Murphy's Hogback, and Potato Bottom campgrounds, and averaged about 22 miles/day. There were a couple of steep climbs, some very long, that most of us had to walk our bikes up. A very fit father and son on the trip were able to do most of the climbs.
We generally got on the road between 8 and 9 am, and got to the next camp around 4, with plenty of stops for photos, breaks, and lunch along the way. The food was fantastic—a sandwich/chip/cookie/salad spread for lunch, and a full breakfast and dinner cooked on the spot at the campsite. They accommodated my vegan diet very well (with the exception of dessert, which I didn’t need anyway.) The truck which followed us was well stocked with drinks, snacks, etc.
The bike was amazing. I had never ridden a full suspension mountain bike, and wow, what a difference from my hardtail. It just glided over all the rocks and ruts and drop-offs, and handled like a dream on the steep downhills. I want one now.
I am not a camper. I didn’t sleep the entire trip, because a thin little Thermarest pad is just not the same as my Sleep Number bed. :) But I still managed to ride until the last mile and a half climb out of the canyon. I dropped my chain on a small hill leading up to the big climb, and just decided to bag it. I was toast. The two alpha guys, the guide and a friend, and one woman in our party managed to ride the entire hill, but most walked up. This is the Mineral Bottom section of the trail that washed out last year and was recently rebuilt.
The truck had to turn around and drive all the way back out, because the trail is covered with water due to the snowmelt coming from up north. The water was waist deep, so the bikes took a very sandy and steep alternate route across the wash and back to the trail. We waited a bit for our bags on the truck to arrive back at the shop and enjoyed a welcome shower in the meantime.
Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures I took on the trip. Someday I'll get the rest of them loaded onto a website.
One of many arches we saw in Arches National Park.
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A view of the first descent, Schafer trail from above.
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Sunset at our second night's camp, Murphy's Hogback.
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Me on my bike.
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The last climb--one rider and four walkers.
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