White Rim Trail - Mar 12-15

[CobraNutt]

I was invited by Steve (sixstringsteve) to tag along and drive support vehicle (one of two) for a small group of cyclists wanting to ride the White Rim Trail. I’ve lived in Utah for 25 years now, and have NEVER been to any of the areas around Moab, so of course I agreed! We packed up and headed out on an adventure that will not soon be forgotten! It was friggin’ AWESOME!
I planned to head down a day early (Wednesday) and camp at Dead Horse Point…but my Jeep decided to start throwing codes on Monday night that didn’t make sense. I fought with it Tuesday and Wednesday, and finally got it squared away (Bad O2 sensor! Ugh…not what the codes said…) Anyway… I finally got out of town early on Thursday so I could spend an afternoon and early evening shooting at Dead Horse Point. I wasn’t disappointed! The weather was perfect, and the sunset was pretty decent.

Looking East from Dead Horse Point visitor center…

Here’s what I came here for…Dead Horse Point at sunset…

Afterward, I went scouting for a spot to camp for the evening and waited for the group to catch up. Finally found a spot up a side road that would work for everyone that had a decent clearance 4WD vehicle. Turns out, there are some people that can wheel a FWD Toyota sedan up some pretty sketchy rocks!

 

[CobraNutt]

Day one: 28 miles to Gooseberry Campground

Loaded up and ready to go at the trail head above the Shafer Switchbacks..

At the top of the Shafer Switchbacks...terrific view!

The Shafer Switchbacks...not a difficult section, but still a little unnerving if you look over the edge!

Unfortunately, coming down the exit of the switchbacks, we had a “Rider Down”, and a quick exit of one of our support vehicles as Kevin B and his family had to hustle into Moab to get their son Ian patched up. He was a real trooper though through it all and they made the trip back out that night to join us at camp! Ian didn’t want to give up! Ian, I hope you’re healing up well, buddy! We’ll see you out on another ride soon I’m sure!

We stopped several times along the way to soak in the views around us, including a quick stop to check out Gooseneck Trail.

Everywhere you look, the views are just incredible!

Of course, we had to get everyone out on Musselman Arch!

Yes...even the old fat guy trudged out for a Musselman "selfie"... LOL! :gr_grin:

Off to see some more scenery!

Easy to find places to shoot poser shots of the Liberty along the way!

Just before our first night on the trail...pushing the last few miles toward cap before sunset...

First camp...Gooseberry Camp...and more terrific views...especially of the Libby. Ha!

...and some distant rainclouds...

...and then it was night time...food, stories and riddles around the table in my tent...and a few night shots just for fun...

Kevin B and the fam made it back from Moab and spent the night with us, which was awesome! Then in the morning they headed out with gear and one of our riders back to the vehicle drop of point so we could transfer to another support vehicle for the rest of the trip while they got Ian back home and taken care of.

The landscape at camp was really interesting...to me at least...

 

[CobraNutt]

Day two: 26 miles to Candlestick!

More great views along the way as we wind our way around the many fingers of the canyons along the Colorado River.

This is a little section called Murphy's Hogback. It's a nice little climb along a drop-off to the top of the ridge. First decent challenge for the Liberty loaded with gear and pulling a trailer along behind!
I'll post a video when I get them loaded...

...and a view from the top. You can see the road we were on toward the right side of this picture...Not terribly difficult, but just enough of a climb to warm the motor up a bit!

...and then it was some nice downhill riding back to the lower elevations and canyon rims.

You don't want to turn left here...

Second camp...Candlestick...

...and another great sunset...

 

[CobraNutt]

Day Three: 25 or so miles.

Off and running! Not quite as scenic on this side of the trail, but still plenty to see!

One of the many slot canyons that are in the area...

This side follows the Green River...

The group stopped for a hike...I stayed and kept watch on the bikes and gear.

...and read and had lunch and a quick nap!

I also had a little visitor. He wasn't interested in the little piece of melon I tossed to him...

Then it was up and over Hard Scrabble...probably the most difficult section on the trail....steep, hairpin turns, loose rock...everything a Jeep owner could wish for! I didn't get pics except of the view from on top...but I'll post video when I get it put together.

After Hard Scrabble, it was off to Fort Bottom to play in the river and cool off…yes, I was informed that the river was still pretty cold! Good for sunburned arms and legs though!

Still lots of massive cliffs and rock along the way!

We were going to camp near this area, but everyone decided they wanted to finish up and head into Moab for Pizza instead. Zax’s was calling!! This meant a tough climb up the Mineral Bottom Switchbacks. Tough ride...not HORRIBLY steep, but steep enough! … and fairly long, especially after already riding 25 miles!

A couple views looking back over the switchbacks on my way up...

They all made it!! Riding and/or walking up that last set of switchbacks…it didn’t matter! It was a great accomplishment either way! Sooo impressed with this group!

After resting up a bit and doing some Yoga and stretching, we made the run into Moab for a couple slices of pizza (maybe more…lol!)…

Comfortably satisfied… we all headed back out of town to find a spot for the night to set up camp. In the morning, we gathered gear and some of us parted ways while the rest of the group went on another ride for the day before heading home.

And that's the trip report for this time around! Hope you enjoyed a taste of a really fun trip! Thank you Steve for inviting me! This was a terrific group of folks! Can’t wait to get out with you guys again!

 

[Chicken Corners]

Thank you

 

[TRD270]

Awesome pictures as normal.

 

[Caleb]

So basically about 80 miles of riding...wow, that's impressive! Nice report.

 

[CobraNutt]

So basically about 80 miles of riding...wow, that's impressive! Nice report.

That's about right...we skipped riding out the last 20-some miles from the top of the switchbacks back to the highway...pretty boring ride anyway. Besides, we wanted PIZZA! lol!

 

[sixstringsteve]

great trip report gary, and thank you so much for being our support vehicle! On monday we ran captain ahab and had a great ride. It was definitely the best trip of the year so far.

 

[ttora4runner]

Cool. Great photos.

 

[Troop92]

So awesome, totally want to do this. In a rig, not on bikes.

 

[FastGas]

I'm stoked to go down there in 6 weeks with my kayak on the roof

 

[Tonkaman]

Very well written Gary. Great shots!!

 

[glockman]

Great report. Any day spent in that area on a bike or in a jeep is a good day. Thanks for sharing.

 

[clfrnacwby]

Great as always, Gary. Wish I could have made it.

 

[moab_cj5]

Very cool!

 

[4wheelair.com]

Great report.....pictures have me wanting to plan a trip.

 

[Bart]

Thanks for the great report and pics. That was definitely a favorite ride back in the day. A small group of us rode it in one day back when I was in shape. Very fun.

 

[sixstringsteve]

That's awesome Bart, that'd be quite a ride in a single day. With training I'm sure I could do it in 2 days, but I don't think I'd ever be capable of riding it all in one day, especially without walking the steep sections (though I hear it's done all the time).

 

[RogueJeepr]

Great report. Awesome pics.
Always wondered about taking a small trailer on W.R.
One day when we go back to Moab. Just need a hitch on our new (to us) KK .