Moab, Sept 8th

[Kware]

I am heading out to Moab on Saturday Sept 8th for my first time. I am going with my retried riding buddies. One of the guys has been there several times and he will be leading the group on easy rides, as he says, "No, Peal Pass".
Any advice from others who have been there would be appreciated.
The camping details have all been worked out.

[iyeager]

Not sure how tight your schedule is, but here's something that will be loads of fun, and goes towards a good cause for riders. Remember, we love riding Moab, so we have to work just as hard to keep it legal. I made it to their last ride, and it was awesome, tons of great people, tons of great rides.

Quoted from the motoUtah newsletter:


"Our last event in the mountains above Moab was such a blast, we're doing it all over again!

Except this time the aspens will be golden. And we have a new issue to raise funds for: virtually every trail surrounding Moab.

That's right, the Bureau of Land Management has just released it's draft RMP and travel plan. They define every route as either open or closed to mountain bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, and full-size vehicles. You have until 11/30/07 to comment. To inform your opinion, review the documents at http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/moab/planning.html. Also read the alerts from credible sources as they're released.

But until then, here's the most fun way to support the sport. Elite Motorcycle Tours is hosting a couple BITCHIN’ DAY-LOOPS for Ride with Respect, non-profit. The organization adopts shared-use trails and educates visitors of Moab. In order to professionally analyze 1000+ pages of the RMP with our local knowledge of the place, Ride with Respect needs your help.

So join our expert trail ride in the sixty-degree temperatures atop Moab's backdrop.

The La Sal Mountains are mostly national forest, which only offer a few primitive roads for motorcyclists. But on the far side is a state forest which allows travel on existing routes. For five years, Ride with Respect has developed a singletrack network out of overgrown roads and cattle trails.

Dale Parriott, myself, and a handful of volunteers have spent at least 1,000 hours caring for this system, and are working with the state to designate it for public enjoyment. Now here's your chance to reap the fruits of our labor, and contribute to responsible recreation.

On Saturday (9/15) at 9AM we'll stage from the south end of Spanish Valley (directions below). Heading east, we'll cross over La Sal Pass and above tree-line to the state forest. Then it's onto the singletrack, which passes mountain lakes and boulder fields among aspen and spruce trees. The trails are generally tight with good traction. After this northward traverse, we'll turn back west, over Geyser Pass, and then catch some two-tracks for an interesting finish.

On Sunday (9/16) at 9AM we'll stage from the north end of Old La Sal (directions below). Nearby are some remote mining roads within a pinion and juniper woodland. As we climb northwest to the state forest, the scenery will turn to scrub oak and ponderosa pine. Up top, the singletrack will differ from the previous day. Watch for grouse, deer, elk, and even bear. Then its a long way down the Twomile drainage to complete our loop.

Elevation will start at 5,500 feet and rise to 10,500, so you should jet the carburetor for 8,000. Gear your bike low since the terrain is mostly expert. Each day we'll probably ride sixty miles, but your range ought to be at least seventy for safety's sake. Bikes need to be currently registered, spark-arrested, and muffled (maximum 96 decibels, or 92 for brownie points). Quiet bikes, and only riding the singletrack at midday, will keep the hunters happy.

Also bring a tool kit, lunch, 100oz of water, and a waterPROOF jacket. Did I mention the suggested donation of $50 per day? Cash is good, or checks to "Ride with Respect." We'll get the transactions over with before riding, but you can always give more afterwards.

So what are you getting out of this deal? First, you'll have me leading and another guide to sweep. Second, you'll have the distinguished honor of helping to develop a trail system with proper management. Third, you'll have an unforgettable ride!

Please RSVP by Sunday (9/9) to cliftonkoontz@yahoo.com, in case I need to find extra guides. Happy Trails -Clif


Directions to Staging Areas:

Saturday, it's approximately a fifteen-minute drive from Moab. Head south for about ten miles on Highway 191. After mile marker 114 (but before ascending Blue Hill), turn left onto a dirt road. Drive 0.2 miles, and turn right onto a raised road (along the SMALL power lines). Drive another 0.3 miles, and turn right to park.

Sunday, it's almost an hour's drive from Moab. Head south seventeen miles on Highway 191, then turn left onto Highway 46. Drive ten miles to La Sal, then another five through Old La Sal. At mile marker 16, turn left onto the Buckeye Road. Drive one-and-quarter miles, bear right for Buckeye, and drive another mile. Park in the small gassy spot on the right (before the Buckeye Road switchbacks downhill). "

[katbeanz]

Kevin, give me a call and I'll loan you my Charles Wells book on Moab 4wd trails. I've been twice, the most recent was in 2000.
We did the easier stuff, White Rim, Gemini Bridges, Klondike Bluffs. I would think it's still going to be hotter than the dickens on the west side but doable early morning. In the afternoon you can go on the east side up in the LaSals. Dean

[Hank Moody]

Kevin you better take a lot of pictures! Man I wish I had the flexibility to do this!

[Kware]

Well, we will only be there for a week, so we will miss the, "Ride for Respect".
Dean I will give you a call over the weekend or early next week to get the book from you. Thanks

Daryl, I will take the pic's. I will try to send pic's daily, however my computer is locked out on internet explorer because of a company proxy server. If someone can tell me how to get, Picasa to use, "Firefox" instead of, "internet Explorer", I may be able to send updates daily, if I can get a wi fi signal from the campground. (dough full)...........

[katbeanz]

Give me a call whenever Kevin, I'm off work this week on vacation. I'm supposed to be riding in Colorado with my buddy Larry. He lost his rear brake coming down Corkscrew Gulch south of Ouray late sunday afternoon and augered in pretty hard.
He split his good knee open since he wasn't wearing knee shin guards, sprained his ankle and probably tore some ligaments in his shoulder. In his defense the knee brace he usually wears doesn't have a guard and prevents him from wearing one on THAT knee.
He didn't need ER but we had to wait until monday to get him into a clinic to get patched up good enough to travel. I briefly thought of getting him a bus ticket.
Between the shot they gave him when they were digging the gravel out and the percocet he slept pretty much all the way home. I think his wife's a better nurse than me too.

[safiri]

This is from before I had a GPS. Hayden (Tracy) probably has the tracks, but he is somewhere on the East coast. The pdf files are maps. Have a great time.

Here is my write up from 2005:
http://home.everestkc.net/malsin/Motorc ... %20v02.htm
And here are the other files I found:
http://home.everestkc.net/malsin/Motorcycle/archive.htm

[Motoracer13]

Never had a bike out there but have taken the jeep thing out there a few times. Moab rim is my personal favorite. Hells reveenge is good for someone not use to the terrain.

[safiri]

This is from before I had a GPS. Hayden (Tracy) probably has the tracks, but he is somewhere on the East coast. The pdf files are maps. Have a great time.

Here is my write up from 2005:
http://home.everestkc.net/malsin/Motorc ... %20v02.htm
And here are the other files I found:
http://home.everestkc.net/malsin/Motorcycle/archive.htm

I fixed the linked files and added two more Garmin GDB files. Pictures got added, too.

[Kware]

Thanks Mike. I printed it all out, and I can't wait to get out there.
Dean, thanks for the book as well. Started reading it last night.

[safiri]

I can't wait to get out there.

Moab is absolutely awesome ... whether you are on a mt bike, rd bike, street mc, dirt mc, or boot power.

Be sure to take a large camelback ... Sept temps will still be hot and the area is very dry. Today's high is forecast to be 96 with a low of 67.

One of the routes we did was the sand road within Arches NP on the west side (see Tuesday in my report). You may want to avoid that as we were told by a local DSer that he wouldn't go up there once summer hit as the sand was so dry (and fluffy) as to be nearly impossible to get through. Also, all bikes and riders must be plated/licensed to be in a NP, either Arches or Canyonlands (incl the White Rim).

Klondike Bluffs is at the N end (just outside of) Arches. There is a N entrance (unmanned, gravel rd) to Arches. You can drop down from Klondike. See my write up on that. Makes a neat loop. To be legal you will need a park entry (although I doubt you get checked ... and if you do, just pay then).

Also: MC entry into the parks is about $5 per bike. If you come back with your car, just show them two MC receipts (car entry is (was) $10) for the week and you won't have to pay. There are some neat hikes in Arches.

One of my must do repeats is Lockhart Basin / Canyon (Thursday), which parallels the CO R on the SE side. Chicken Corners is an easy out and back when doing this. Avoid the pavement coming back and just run it in reverse. As beautiful as the White Rim but no NP Rangers checking speed (15 mph limit ... NOT). High speed run. Off of Lockhart canyon (which goes to the CO R and would make a nice lunch spot as you have some shade) are some side trails. BTW, Lockhart Canyon is where that Outward Bound teenage girl died a year or two ago (hiking group spread out, she wandered off ... probably dehydration). When I read the article I knew exactly where they were referring to. Sad.

Slickrock is another must do. Don't go Fri - Mon (esp Sat - Sun) to avoid any crowds.

BTW, I am envious. I want to go back to Moab, but next time with both my MC and my MTB.

[katbeanz]

"One of the routes we did was the sand road within Arches NP on the west side (see Tuesday in my report). You may want to avoid that as we were told by a local DSer that he wouldn't go up there once summer hit as the sand was so dry (and fluffy) as to be nearly impossible to get through. Also, all bikes and riders must be plated/licensed to be in a NP, either Arches or Canyonlands (incl the White Rim)."

I may have done that too, we went all the way up to yellow cat flats in early april of 99 or so. After I got home I read up on how it's not a good idea to spend a lot of time up there without a geiger counter.

Lots of good info here too, http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com ............ Have fun, Dean

[safiri]

[quote="katbeanz]yellow cat flats ... geiger counter. [/quote]

Hmmm, "yellow cake" is made as uranium is extracted from its ore. Wonder if "yellow cat" comes from that?

IIRC, most of the roads around Moab are the result of uranium prospecting in the 50s/60s as the US built up its arsenal of nukes. "The atom is your friend." Individuals were encouraged to go out and find uranium. The CO R is a bit "hot" from Utah downstream due to the uranium mine tailings dumped in its drainage area.

[katbeanz]

[

Had to look it up.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-63322748.html

The curious appellation Yellow Cat is derived from a mountain lion or cougar that was killed near an old campsite alongside one of the rare springs. The site became known as the Yellow Cat Campsite (Cannon 1964); later the name was used to refer to a mining claim, a mine, and the general area. Today the name Yellow Cat Flats appears on topographic maps.

Uranium and radium ores were discovered in 1899, and miners worked claims from 1911 until 1923, when the rich ores of the Belgian Congo started supplying world markets (Huleatt, Hazen, and Traver 1946). The first ores were mined exclusively for radium; reportedly some was shipped to Madame Curie during the early stages of her research (Cannon 1964).

[Hayden]

So..........are you back yet??

Hayden

[Kware]

http://picasaweb.google.com/kware1
Be sure to look at all 3 Moab albums.
I have a million more pics on disk

Well, here is my report from last week’s trip to Moab.

Group members,
Duane Davis, Grove, OK age 69 06 KLX 250
Larry Davis, Rapid City, SD age 64 02 Serpa 250
Fred Mays, Wichita, KS age 63 94 XR650L
Me, Smithville, MO age 46 00 XR650L

The Davis brothers have been to Moab several times, so they set the trip plans and guide Fred and I.

Sunday: We met in Grand Junction CO and arrive in Utah in the afternoon. Our first camp site is about 15 miles northwest of Moab off highway 313. We set up camp at the foot of Tombstone rock. We take a short 24 mile late afternoon ride out to Spring Canyon Point. This point overlooks the Green river canyon and we can see the Spring Canyon Bottom road below. Back at camp, the wind picks up and we lose two awnings and sand is blown everywhere.

Monday: We take a 50 mile ride down the Spring Canyon bottom rd. This trip takes us down the Spring Canyon to the banks of the Green river. This was a great easy ride down. Once on the river bottom, we rode along the east side of the Green River for about 10 miles to the end, where the abandon, “Hey Joe Mine” lies. This is a retrace back route. We get back early afternoon and a fierce wind storm is brewing and we again go through a bad afternoon and evening of sand storms. We decide to move camp Tuesday morning because of the wind and ride other areas in the region.

Tuesday: We pack up and make a major move 70 miles southwest of Moab. We camp at the, Needles Outpost campground, just outside the Southwest entrance of the Canyonlands NP. This move takes most of the day, so we take another short loop ride east of camp off of Highway 211. This 25 miles loop takes us north and back west to Lockhart rd and back to camp. Again, all very easy riding.

Wednesday: Todays route is going to be the toughest day of all. The plan is to enter Canyonlands NP at the southeast entrance and proceed west to Elephant hill. Once over Elephant Hill are going to the Confluence overlook. This is where the Colorado and Green rivers converge. From there we would take Beef Basin rd south out of the NP and back around to highway 211 east of camp. This route is about 85 miles.
The road to Elephant Hill is paved and easy gravel. Duane warns us that Elephant is steep rock with several switchbacks. He and Larry have been over it 3 years ago. We drive the eight miles to Elephant hill. Duane fails to stop at the bottom to give us new guys warning that this is where it gets tuff. Larry is following Duane and he loses control after the first switchback and goes down hard with an open face helmet and no chest protector. Fred is able to stop and help him up. He has several cuts on his face and possible cracked ribs. I am not prepared for all of this stoppage and I go down dropping my bike on the left side. Fred also helps me up. We get Larry all settled down and he makes his way up to the next switchback where Duane and Fred are now waiting. I go back to my bike for a second attempt only to find out that my shift lever has cracked the engine case and I am losing oil. We decide to go back to camp to regroup.
At camp, Larry is in too much pain to continue riding. We prep my engine case for some JB weld type material. This repair works so we decide to reverse our route. Duane warns us that we will have to come over the west side of Elephant Hill going this direction. He says it is not as bad from that side. We head east on 211 to Beef Basin road. We head south on beef basin road for a great ride up Elk mountain. We take one side trip out to one lookout point for lunch. We continue around the mountain area and head down to the, Beef Basin. There is one bad down hill section that again I go down on the left side, however no bike damage. I do get the handle bars in the chest from side of my chest protector. No big deal. Once through the Beef Basin, we re-enter the Canyaonlands NP from the south boundary. We go though about 10 miles of deep sand and we are all wearing out quick. I dump the pig once in the deep sand and had to dig and pick it up by myself, as Duane and Fred are far ahead of me now. We finally get to the Confluence turnoff. It is 3 more miles and a half mile walk to the Confluence Lookout. Duane has been there before and does not care to go again. Fred and I are too tried to try it. We proceed to the west side of Elephant hill. Duane’s memory is not very good, because the west side appears twice and rough as the east side. Duane and Fred make it up to the first switchback okay. I am beat from the sand and fall again on the way up to the first switchback. This time on the right side, no damage, just pride. I require Duane and Fred’s assistants to get the rest of the way up Elephant hill. We make quick work of the 8 miles back to camp once down the east side of Elephant hill. Total we rode 98 miles.

Thursday: Larry decides to head home. The three of us are worn out from yesterday so we decide to take an easy route north on Lockhart road to the Lockhart basin and Canyon. The Lockhart Canyon leads us to the banks of the Colorado River. An easy route, with 3 miles of deep sand at the end. We reverse the route back out and head back into the NP. From the Visitor’s center, we take a 7 mile route northwest to a Colorado River overlook. The route has a mile of rock at the end with about ¼ mile walk to the overlook. About 60 miles today.

Friday: We break camp and go into Moab for some shopping and info gathering for a return trip. Duane heads back to Denver and Fred and I leave Moab about noon and drive to Limon for the night. We drive the rest of the way home on Saturday.

All and all it was a great trip. The region is so large you could go there 10 times and not see it all. Fred and I agreed that the next time we would spend more time east of Moab and toward the Arches NP.

[ajayhawkfan]

Great Pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

[BeemerBill]

Great pictures and report Kevin....I really enjoyed them. Darn, I wish I would have went with you and Fred, looks like a good time.... Maybe the next time.