Slickrock

     Yesterday, was spectacular, but overall our view of Moab was of disappointment. The original plan was to spend a week here, but after two days I had seen enough ugly brown desert and trails that all looked the same. We decided Sunday would be our last day here. Three days and done. The plan was changed to going back to Gmas since it was just three hours away. Shannon could spend some more time with Gma and I could go back to Park City which I fell in love with last week.

     Before we hit the road, there were two other spots we wanted to ride. We were up again before the break of dawn. We watched the sun rise as we got ready on a chilly morning at the Moab Brand Trails parking lot. There are multiple trails in this area, providing a variety of skill-level options. There was stuff to challenge me, but also some options for Shannon so we could ride together.

    We quickly found some trails suitable for Shannon and rode for over an hour in the early light. Then we split up. She rode some more on her own while I ventured further into the hills to find some fun. I rode for several hours, hitting North 40, Circle O, Bar B, Deadman's Ridge, Long Branch and Killer B. North 40 was fast and fun. I had a near spill when I clipped my handlebar while squeezing between two huge boulders. I went flying, but stayed upright by leaning on a boulder. Just lost a little skin on my forearm.

     Circle O was on slickrock. It was entirely on rock and was marked by a solid paint line that looked like some wobbly drunk was wiping down with a brush as he stumbled through the desert. It wound back and forth across the rock, making for a 3.5-mile trail that only goes about 1 mile in straight-line distance. The best part was at the end when you find out why it's called Circle O. There's a huge hole in the ground in a near-perfect circle that you can drop down into and ride around in circles. It was really fun and made me very dizzy.

Following the line on the slickrock of the Circle O trail

Arches National Park in the distance from Circle O

By no means was this slickrock smooth

The Circle O

    Bar B was a tame version of North 40. Then came Deadman's Ridge, which was named so because it has some very narrow areas along the edge of a ridge. Add some rock ledges and drops to those narrow spots and it made my hair raise a few times as I rode the loop.

The Bar B trailhead sign...complete with Barbie

The view from the first climb on Bar B

     Long Branch was just a connector for me to get over to the advanced, downhill-only Killer B trail. I was looking for a challenge and man did I ever find one! It was a technical descent down a bluff with a huge cliff on the left. There were some sections of stairs where the trail was just too steep to ride. It was hard to even walk them due to the narrowness and potential for serious injury if you were to slip any at all. I picked my way down to the bottom, having conquered the majority of the Killer B trail. Then I saw a more-rideable trail that had spurred off the main path. Wish I had seen that one before I hit the stairs...

Another view from Bar B

GPS map of my ride at Moab Brand Trails

Video highlights of our ride at the Moab Brand Trails

     I took the paved Moab Bike Path back into town where I met up with Shannon at the campground. She had been packing up the tent and getting ready for church. I got my clothes changed and we rolled over to the local church to catch Sacrament service. Then it was over to the Sand Flats Recreation Area to ride the legendary Slickrock Trail. Slickrock is one of those "must do" trails. No matter how much I was hating on Moab, I was not about to leave without riding Slickrock.

     Shannon wanted no part of Slickrock, especially after riding the Moab Brand Trails this morning. I took off in the afternoon sun not really expecting a fun ride. So far, all the trails had been the same. Circle O had been labeled as a "slickrock trail" and it was a rough, choppy ride that just rattled your bones. Would the real Slickrock be better? Oh yeah!

First part of the Slickrock Trail

Mountains in the distance

     The slickrock at the real Slickrock Trail was smooth, fast and grippy. The trail wound its way over hill after hill, with some of the steepest pitches I have ever encountered on a bike. The sandstone rock provides amazing grip. You can ride up ridiculously-steep pitches without spinning out. Traction is not the limiter, your legs are. Power! The grip also gave you excellent control on descents as the back tire never locked up and broke loose. You could conquer some crazy off-camber sections as well.

Overloooking the Colorado River and floodplain

Slickrock sand

     The trail provided some great views of the Colorado River and the surrounding canyons. It was a fun, scenic ride, but also one that really made you work. The sign at the trailhead said that the average time to make to 11-mile loop is three hours, but I managed to knock it out in 1:31. It still left me with a 5+ hour day on the bike.

More Colorado River

Colorado River and Canyon

The trail is marked with white dashes

Echo Canyon borders the trail

The Slickrock loop

Video highlights from Slickrock

     The river views inspired me to take the scenic route out of Moab. We drove Hwy 128, which is one of Moab's designated scenic byways. It follows the Colorado River through a deep canyon for the first few miles, then passes some massive rock formations before dumping you out in the flat desert where you meet back up with I-80.

View from inside the Colorado River Canyon along Hwy 128

    It was a good weekend trip to Moab. I'm glad we went, but I doubt it'll be a place on my "Places To Go" list anytime soon. It's one of those "got to see it once" kind of places for me. I guess I'm just a mountain man. I miss trees, colors and dirt!