10/17-18/2009

Mountain Biking 80 miles of the Kokopelli Trail

For several years now, Eric and I have talked about mtn biking the Kokopelli Trail in anywhere from 1 to 3 days. We have arranged it, set dates, and packed.... yet never got to the trailhead for various reasons on atleast 4 other occasions.... but this time we finally got started. I did the 5hr drive out to the Loma Trailhead on Friday night and shortly after, Eric and his nephew Billy arrived who was kind enough to meet us along the trail to refuel and camp. I was feeling guilty for leaving Jean and Miles at home, but needed to put this bear to rest. Ultimately we only made it through the first 4 (of 7) sections and bailed after 80miles at Dewey Bridge. It was our planned halfway point, and I pulled the plug on finishing the last 60miles on Sunday mainly because it would've been impossible to get home after the ride. Besides, I don't think my ass could've handled the abusive 6K of elevation gain! So now we've got some unfinished business to come back and take care of.

Section 1, Loma to Rabbit Valley; 21miles; 3hrs: 7:30am on a chilly Saturday morning we were on our bikes and finally about to start this thing! This part was quite familiar as I've ridden these trails several times before. The first 13miles are the most technical and your ride could end real quick with a crash. Mary's Loop to Lion's Loop to Troy Built Loop contours along the rim with the Colorado River below. The willows and cottonwoods looked awesome with plenty of yellow and greens dotting the riverbank. Lots of bumps, jumps, exposure, and drops that you've gotta pay attention to! The broken branch of a tree decided to jump out and rip my shirt and leave a bloody reminder on my shoulder. Time quickly passed between Eric and I as we swapped baby stories and got caught up on months of laughs and making fun of each other. Along Troy Built we dropped down to Salt Creek and had to hop off our bikes several times on both sides to hike-a-bike over obstacles. After about 13miles we joined the Rabbit Valley access road and cruised some easy miles to the I70 exit where Billy was waiting for us so we could drop off some clothing and grab some more food/water.

Section 2, Rabbit Valley to Westwater; 18.5miles; 2.5hrs: After a 20min break we were back on the bikes and cruising through some campsites with plenty of folks getting ready to bike or ATV for the day. The riding was much easier along this section and the sun was warming up the day nicely. A few rough spots along the 4x4 road dropping down into the dry McDonald Creek. Some cool Moab-esque rock formations as we crossed the invisible Colorado/Utah border following the Entrada formations. Mostly double track trails that we cruised along knocking off the miles with the occasional surprise of loose rocky descents or stiff climbs. The only folks we saw were a couple ATV'ers and a large group of mtn bikers that seemed to enjoy hooting and hollering! The 400ft climb up Bitter Creek Mesa wasn't bad, and in typical fashion we were wishing it was longer and steeper. The next few miles down to Westwater road reminded me of the Porcupine Rim.... downright abusive! It was a sweet cruise, but bone-rattling and really bounced my eyes all around my head. Once on the road, we had an easy few miles on pavement to Westwater boat launch where Billy was waiting again for another refuel spot.

Section 3, Westwater to Fish Ford; 26miles; 1.5hrs: Alot of biking under our belts, alot more to go. This section cruised by pretty quickly, though I was starting to feel all the miles in the saddle. We pedaled a couple miles back up Westwater road and hung a sharp turn under the trestle bridge. All 2wd roads along the RxR and powerlines in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing. A great place to zone out or sing Elmo songs, like we did! The LaSal mtns still looked far far far away. Out of nowhere, an 18wheeler fuel truck came up behind us and disappeared down the road leaving a cloud of dust, strange, what the heck was he doing out here?! Another couple miles of road where we talked about how bad it would suck to be lost out here in August with no map or water!

Section 4, Fish Ford to Dewey Bridge; 13miles; 1.5hrs: No support between these sections and our last miles for the day... thankfully! This section is kinda a blur, but it was some rocky uphills and single track before getting real close to the Colorado River and cruising through willows that smack ya head to toe. The colors really made this a special place, and like Eric pointed out... how many people have seen this section of the river? It would either have to be by boat or bike. Close to the river were some muddy sections with giant dinosaur footprints.... well, not really, but looked like it to us at the time! A few more hike-a-bike sections and a break to toss rocks into the river from the trail high above. Another few miles of teeth-rattling downhills to McGraw Bottom and popping out on 128. Here we had the choice to cross the highway and continue through the tough Yellow Jacket Canyon adding on another 2hrs, or an easy 5miles on pavement to Dewey Bridge where food, beer, and camp were waiting. Not a hard decision as we hid in the shade of a telephone pole, and before long we were in camp. Funny that we had no mechanical problems all day until 25ft away from camp when Eric got 2 flat tires!

Whew, an ass-whoopin' ~80mile day and 8.5hrs in the saddle (9.5 w/ breaks). Definitely tougher then I imagined and not all relatively easy 2wd dirt road cruising like most of the White Rim. Beers and spaghetti tasted damn good! I was sore head to toe from all the jarring around, and while Eric changed his tubes and Billy played guitar, I loaded up my pack and bike for the second half on Sunday. After crawling in the sleeping bag and falling asleep fast and hard, at some point during the night I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about how bad it would suck to not get back to Colo Spgs until ~1am after a 60mile, 10hr, 6000ft day on the bike. Seemed impossible. So in the morning I proposed the idea to Eric that we come back in the Spring to finish off the Kokopelli, but for Sunday just go back and ride the section of Yellow Jacket Canyon that we skipped. After weighing both sides over and over, and a long period of indecision, we decided it would be best to go that route. I felt like a wuss, but also didn't want to fall asleep and die on the drive home!

Yellow Jacket Canyon; 15miles; 2hrs: After a leisurely Sunday morning and watching the start of the "Moab Other Half Marathon" that started at Dewey Bridge, we gingerly put our sore asses back on the bikes for the 5miles of pavement back up 128 to the start of Yellow Jacket Canyon. The first couple miles of climbing the rocky double track went real slow as we worked out the kinks and tried not to sit as much as possible. Rocky up's and down's led to some fun slickrock and deeper in the giant sandstone walls growing around us. Just as I stated that the sand wasn't too bad, like mentioned in the guidebook, viola.... tons of sand! Rock drops and pockets of sand kept our full attention, as did the awesome views all around of colorful walls and arches, and Fisher Valley with the LaSals behind. Double track sand helped to steer our bikes all over the place, and we took break in a giant rock amphitheater with several precariously placed boulders all around. Too Cool! A few more miles of bumpy downhill brought us back to Dewey Bridge where we packed up and headed out of town.

All in all, another fantastic self-induced ass-whoopin' with Eric and Billy to put in the books. But we've gotta come back in the Spring now to finish off the Kokopelli Trail as it climbing thousands of feet into the LaSals and spits us out into Moab.