Stardate 2014.844

You Can't Beat a Dead Horse
Part I

Day Two of our trip finds us driving down a spectacular causeway of red and buff colored geologic time. Stopping at our usual camera stops, we get... photogenic.


A siren emanating from the Fisher Towers area is about as spellbinding as it gets. Four massive desert towers rise out of the desert; it's hard not to turn in for a visit. We decide, once again, to visit this enchanting place on our way home. As is, we're only 20-miles from Moab, Utah, and would like to get a ride in before sunset.


The tranquil, yet deceptive, Colorado River carries its load of sediment past us and through the east portal of the Moab Valley. Not long after entering Moab Valley, the river will exit the valley via the west portal. The river visits some remote, wild and wooly desert before being stopped in its flow by Lake Powell's slack water. We had rooms reserved in Moab for the next two nights. Hence, we don't worry about finding a camp-site. Off we go to Dead Horse Point State Park to ride the Intrepid Trail System. Neither Snowcatcher, nor myself, have ridden this collection of mountain bike singletrack.


I'm in heaven! I can't get enough of the canyon country, perpetual erosion at its finest.


Wingate Sandstone, of the Jurassic Period, erodes into massive, time-diseased cliffs.


Snowcatcher hones her off-road skills on the Great Pyramid Trail, part of the Intrepid Trail System. The riding feels similar to many mid-1980s trails. I reminisce about a Moab of years past, and how far mountain biking technology has come since its infancy. Bikes didn't have suspension, disk brakes or light weights when I started frequenting Moab.


The ancient, rounded fin formations of the Behind the Rocks area always draw my attention. The 12,000-foot summits of the La Sal Mountains, rising in the background, add contrast, especially in the spring when they still have a coating of white.


Sinuous, flowy, singletrack of the Whiptail Trail meanders through a pinion/pine forest ecosystem. I end the day riding myriad stone steps and drops along the Twisted Tree and Prickly Pair Trails back to the car. Prickly Pair has two somewhat parallel versions, hence the intentional non-cacti spelling.

With daylight winding down, Snowcatcher and I drove back to our hotel and checked in. After dinner, we slid into the outdoor hot tub, enjoying the cool autumn evening of the high desert.

There will be more sandstone in forthcoming posts. So, check back in a few days.

Adios

Stardate 2014.827

Gimme Some Slickrock

It's a warm Thursday afternoon in October. Several miles to the east sits my hometown of Grand Junction, Colorado. Snowcatcher and I are on Day One of a multiday mountain bike getaway. We've just completed a 4-hour drive through the mountains, and it's time to ride! The high desert is getting me all giddy.

I decide to ride a portion of Mary's Loop, Horsethief Bench and a segment of the Wrangler trail. Snowcatcher plans to tackle Rustler's Loop. These trails make up the east end of the 140-mile Kokopelli Trail that travels between Loma, Colorado, and Moab, Utah. I take most of the day's photos along Horsethief Bench. However, these shots are representative of the riding along Mary's Loop as well.



The gonzo drop onto Horsethief Bench is reached after a short ride along Mary's trail. The drop onto the bench was much easier in 1987 when the route was first built. In its current condition, there probably is a small percentage of riders who can ride down it; I'm not one of them. For scale, there is a 3-foot-high sign and its shadow in the upper left of the photo.



Once on the bench, I face delectable singletrack and sandstone riding.



Lots of sand, rock and stone steps keep me on my toes.



Riding along the bench can be smooth and quick in places.



Not everything is easy rolling. Some hike-a-biking exists as well.



I especially don't want to miss any turns because I may turn into a living scab.



Farther up from the river, riding is sandier and smoother.



A pinion/juniper landscape dominates this corner of the world. Mary's Loop traverses the edge of the sandstone cliff directly above me.



As the sun wanes, it highlights the tilted, northern terminus of the Colorado Plateau.



This very old, narrow, two-track, comprising a segment of Wranglers Loop, may have begun as a jeep road for uranium hunters. As usual, the ride was over too soon, and the Wrangler trail spits me back onto lower Mary's for the short pedal back to the car.

Up next...

UTAH!

Adios

Stardate 2014.805

Rusting Waterton

Indian Summer continues to bask us in unrelenting fall warmth. It can be tough at times. Yet, there is a remedy, a mountain bike ride up Waterton Canyon. Autumn has reached Colorado's lower realms, and it's been a good one. Snowcatcher and I are on it!



Upon entering the canyon, one of the first things to catch our eye is sumac. Vibrant red sumac and scrub oak tend to go hand-in-hand.



Gambel oak may be found throughout mountainous Colorado between 6,500 and 8,000 feet. Common aliases are oak brush and scrub oak. It's very difficult to bushwhack through, and in this part of the state, it hides plenty of rattlesnakes.



"The Boys are Back in town, the boys are back in town..." I think there's a song in there somewhere. Bighorn rams have arrived for their annual rendezvous with the ladies; it's a month-full of head-butting debauchery. I rode by them hoping to get a better shot. They all turned their backs on me.

Rams live 9 to 12 years, while ewes live 10 to 14 years. Snowcatcher and I have been observing the Waterton herd for more than 10 years now. Ten years ago, there would have been a sub-group of four very large rams whom we labeled Gigantor, Broken Horn, Mutt and Jeff. They didn't hang out much with the other rams and were quite dominant. The group of four is no more. However, we think we can identify offspring from Gigantor and Broken Horn. It's been fun to observe their life cycle.



More shades of rust.


In places, it's hard to make out the singletrack.



In other places, it's not hard to make out the singletrack.



As may be seen, no trail means a lot of scratchy work. Also note how easy a mountain lion, bear or rattlesnake could maintain stealth in this environment. I occasionally see bears and rattlers; I've seen only one lion. Apparently there's a good population of lions in the vicinity.



Looking down the South Platte River as it winds its way through Waterton Canyon.



This shot is in the narrows of Waterton. During the summer, portions get several hours of sun. During the winter, segments get no sun at all.



Vibrant sumac shares rock with still-green scrub oak.



A reach of reflective slack water along the South Platte River teases for a picture.



I never tire of the old and rusty hill slope.



Waterton Canyon has some nice rock formations scattered along its length. I thought the yellow kind of highlighted the cat ears.



As we headed out, we spied more sumac peppering a hill slope at the mouth of the canyon. Waterton can be busy at times. However, it can absorb a lot of people. Kudos to Denver Water for allowing us to enjoy the canyon's beauty, wildlife and fisheries.

As a final note, access up Waterton Canyon is along the old Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad. This is the same narrow gauge railroad I wrote about in my Alpine Tunnel and St. Elmo posts.

Until next time...

Adios