Ride over the White Rim trail

[Greg]

Made a solo ride around the White Rim trail, 120 miles of Utah's most remote, rough 4x4 trail! There was a LOT of slit around Hittle Bottom and beyond, in places it was nearly a foot deep!! I ended up getting the front tire stuck in some ruts and dropped the bike twice while riding. I got covered head to toe in silt! The rest of the ride was about as expected, lots of hauling ass... lots of rocks, ledges, etc, etc. Murphey's Hogback was about the same, some rocks stacked on the big ledges.

My fuel light came on just when I reached pavement... 150 miles from gas to gas... less than 5 hours on the trail. 340 miles total riding from home and back!

 

[bryson]

Those bighorns are... big! Cool pics!

 

[jentzschman]

So cool. Was there about two weeks ago, what an amazing area. I would love to ride in on a bike. Cudos for riding solo. Did you come across may other people?

 

[Greg]

Those bighorns are... big! Cool pics!

They didn't like the bike, but when I shut it off they didn't mind me getting close.

So cool. Was there about two weeks ago, what an amazing area. I would love to ride in on a bike. Cudos for riding solo. Did you come across may other people?

It's beautiful out there! I ran across 8-9 other moto's going the other way, probably 30+ mtn bikers and about a dozen support vehicles.

 

[jentzschman]

Which way did you do it? We started at the Shafer switchbacks. Seems to be about the way 50% did it when we went.

 

[Greg]

Which way did you do it? We started at the Shafer switchbacks. Seems to be about the way 50% did it when we went.

Rode it counter-clockwise, ending at Potash Rd. Seems like on a bike it's easier to ride the sand & silt first while you're fresh and can stay on the bike!

 

[glockman]

Awesome ride Greg. You are really getting out on that bike this year.

 

[Greg]

Awesome ride Greg. You are really getting out on that bike this year.

The weather has been great, got to take advantage while I can & before it gets hot!

 

[mbryson]

The bike looked dirtier when I saw it....

 

[jentzschman]

Rode it counter-clockwise, ending at Potash Rd. Seems like on a bike it's easier to ride the sand & silt first while you're fresh and can stay on the bike!

That makes sense.

I want to get a bigger tank for my WR and do this trail. It wold be set to do it as a 2 day ride and camp at Murphy's. That has such an amazing overlook.

 

[Tonkaman]

Wow that silt is deep! I can't imagine riding that heavy bike through all that. The picture of your bike laying down in the dirt makes it look like it's been abandoned for weeks

 

[Greg]

The bike looked dirtier when I saw it....

That'll happen on these big rides...

That makes sense.

I want to get a bigger tank for my WR and do this trail. It wold be set to do it as a 2 day ride and camp at Murphy's. That has such an amazing overlook.

I'd love to do the same, camp at the Hogback... as long as I wasn't covered in silt from wrecking! Honestly a 450 w/ 5 gallons would be the way to go out there. I've ridden it on a DR650 with an 8 gallon tank and I could move at a decent clip, but a better suspension and lighter bike would be perfect!

 

[Greg]

Wow that silt is deep! I can't imagine riding that heavy bike through all that. The picture of your bike laying down in the dirt makes it look like it's been abandoned for weeks

Yeah, it was way deep! Miles of that stuff too... there were several close calls in the silt, I felt lucky I only dropped it twice!

 

[jentzschman]

I'd love to do the same, camp at the Hogback... as long as I wasn't covered in silt from wrecking! Honestly a 450 w/ 5 gallons would be the way to go out there. I've ridden it on a DR650 with an 8 gallon tank and I could move at a decent clip, but a better suspension and lighter bike would be perfect!

5 gallons for the whole trail... I would not think that much was needed. I want to get the Acerbic 3.3 or Clarke 3.6. I Figured I would need to carry a little extra in a pack anyway but not 2 gallons worth.

 

[Greg]

5 gallons for the whole trail... I would not think that much was needed. I want to get the Acerbic 3.3 or Clarke 3.6. I Figured I would need to carry a little extra in a pack anyway but not 2 gallons worth.

WR's get pretty poor mileage, usually around 35 MPG. It's 150 miles from one gas stop to the other... 5 gallons will give you 175 miles of range, enough for a little extra security and side trips.

 

[CobraNutt]

Nice! Looks like a good time! Also look like the silt has been churned up a bit since we were out there a couple weeks ago...or I just didn't notice it in the Jeep... I was hoping to see some wildlife when we were out there, but I didn't see any. Thanks for sharing!

 

[jentzschman]

That makes sense. I would stage at mineral bottom road and then ride from there hitting shafer switchbacks last. We did that only in reverse and it was ~ 110 miles, at least that is my plan if I ever do it.

 

[Greg]

Nice! Looks like a good time! Also look like the silt has been churned up a bit since we were out there a couple weeks ago...or I just didn't notice it in the Jeep... I was hoping to see some wildlife when we were out there, but I didn't see any. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Gary! There was a lot of silt that was 6" deep or so, but this was the deepest section and caused the most trouble. Right before entering this silt bed, I met a guy in a FJ Cruiser that had just blasted thru, stirring up all kinds of dust! He had a big old grin on his face, looked like he was having too much fun. I wasn't super-happy about all the dust in the air, but totally understand where he was coming from.

The big horn sheep were a pleasant surprise, I hadn't seen them out there before!

That makes sense. I would stage at mineral bottom road and then ride from there hitting shafer switchbacks last. We did that only in reverse and it was ~ 110 miles, at least that is my plan if I ever do it.

Ahhh, yeah... if you're going to haul bikes out there, then you don't need as much fuel. Most of the plated moto guys ride it from town & back, the distance between gas stations is very important at that point.

 

[CobraNutt]

...the distance between gas stations is very important at that point.

A certain KJ owner was hyper-miling the last two days of our trip due to the distance between gas stations...
I..I mean..."he"...burned up 5/8 of a tank out on the trail and had a fuel light come on at the top of the last switchbacks!

 

[Greg]

A certain KJ owner was hyper-miling the last two days of our trip due to the distance between gas stations...
I..I mean..."he"...burned up 5/8 of a tank out on the trail and had a fuel light come on at the top of the last switchbacks!

I was doing my best to ride a gear high, keep RPM's down and conserve fuel as best I could... I know my bike get's poor mileage offroad and 150 miles is pushing it. I rode into town with the fuel light on for over 20 miles!