Moab 2005
The People, Bikes, History:
Tracy, Honda 650L, 300 lbs, desert tank, geared way down.
Brian, Husqvarna 610LE, 320 lbs, desert tank, stock gearing.
Mike (the author), 2001 KTM 400 LC4-E, 300 lbs, desert tank (18 L?), stock gearing.
Tracy and I made our first pilgrimage to Moab in March 2004 with our BMW F650GS-Dakars. Those bikes proved to be pretty heavy! That trip was my first experience off-highway, after taking up motorcycling 3 years ago. Tracy has a lot of experience riding 3-wheelers and dirt-bikes and has been riding motorcycles on the road for many years. Brian is an experienced mountain-biker and has been riding motorcycles on the road for years.
I bought the KTM used in January and Tracy bought his bike used in February. Brian has had his bike for a couple of years.
The Trip:
Saturday Kane Springs Canyon 42 miles easy until the end
Monday Slick Rock: Hell’s, Porcupine, Fins 40 miles what a blast
Wednesday Gemini, Gold Bar, Klondike, Arches 96 miles explorations
Thursday Lockhart Basin/Canyon 145 miles lots of vistas
Friday Poison Spider, Monitor/Merrimac ? miles PS bites
Saturday Slick Rock: Porcupine, Fins; Home ? miles 2nd time around
Kansas City – Wichita – Moab. 1100 miles.
Departed Overland Park, KS at 430 pm; arrived Halstead at 745 pm; departed Halstead at 815pm; arrived Moab at 815am. Breakfast at the Moab Diner, setup camp at Canyonlands Campground, got motorcycles ready for Kane. (We almost got stopped on UT 128 about 10 miles upriver from Moab due to Moab Marathon closing the road starting at 8am. That would have been a 4 hr stop or a long detour.) 16.5 hours total, 16 hours driving.
Saturday: Butt Kicker at the End of Kane Springs Canyon.
Kane Springs Canyon – US191 loop. (Started after noon.) 42 miles, 1.1 gallons of gasoline used by the KTM.
We started out on an easy, warm-up ride down Kane Springs Canyon Road. Tracy and I figured we would take Brian out to Chicken Corners, a nice 2-rated trail that most stock 4WD vehicles can negotiate easily. Before the turn off to Hurrah Pass we took some trails to the right. What a blast! My 300 lb bike proved to be much more responsive and easy to control than the 420 lb Dakar. All three of us were grinning as we rode the trails through the sand and up the rocky slopes.
At the turn off to Hurrah Pass we took the road less traveled and turned left, which took us up Kane Springs Canyon. Tracy and I knew the first few miles of trail from last year. The trail was sandy and had lots of whoopy-de-doos (successive bumps that proved to be a lot of fun at speed). The trail crossed the flowing creek several places and was quite a bit of fun for us, despite being somewhat sleep deprived.
Eventually we found ourselves in a willow thicket that quickly narrowed to single-track with low clearance. We had just passed some Jeeps that were on their way up the canyon as well. As it appeared the trail ceased, we stopped and attempted to find the main trail. The GPS and topo maps didn’t help, nor did hiking to the left and right of the trail we were on to find any other trail to take. I walked back to the Jeeps, about 200 yds behind us, when several ATVs came down another tight trail. Their leader informed us that the motorcycles wouldn’t have any problem but that unless the Jeepers didn’t mind scratched paint, they weren’t going any further. We backtracked 20 yds to the single track the ATVs had appeared on and took that. Within a quarter of a mile or so the trail opened back up to a jeep trail. (Easter Jeep Safari, the next week, planned on using this route. I am curious as to what they did …)
As the canyon narrowed we began to gain altitude. At this point we turned a right-hand corner and found ourselves facing a difficult, uphill, rocky/ledgey section. Brian and I were about 2/3 of the way up when we noticed a parallel ATV trail below us and on the other side of the creek. As we had already struggled up (me getting lots of help from Brian and Tracy after falling a couple of times) we continued on while Tracy took the ATV track. (Tracy reported the ATV track was pretty easy, definitely worth taking.)
When I dropped the bike in this section I bent the shift lever inward. I didn’t realize it until the trail leveled off way up high and I attempted to shift into 2nd. The side case interfered with the lever. Attempts to bend the lever with leverage and beating failed. With patience I could shift but a fix back in camp was definitely needed. (I am going to look for a softer lever that can be bent back, although that means it will bend inward easier as well.)
Tracy met-up with us just before a steep ledge section where a side canyon entered from the south. We scouted for quite a while before deciding on a line. Tracy and I spotted for Brian. We didn’t do a very good job as Brian got part way up, bounced sideways from a nasty ledge, and fell over. A rock snapped one of his mirror mounts. That proved to be our only casualty of the week. We helped him get righted and up the hill and promptly removed our mirrors. Brian and Tracy helped me up the nasty little section. Tracy, the daredevil, made it most of the way but also needed an assist to get up the hill. He ended up walking his bike a lot of the way.
At the top of this nasty little section we really wondered what we had gotten ourselves into, and what lied ahead in terms of challenges. It was 4pm, we were tired, and didn’t really want to have to ride the entire trail in reverse (easy though it would be) to get back to Moab. It was to our collective relief that shortly after the nasty ledge we came upon a stock Dodge pickup and knew that the highway had to be easy to get to.
Hindsight/Insight: Take this trail from the top down. The nasty section near the end would be pretty easy going downhill. Watch for the bypass, although the second nasty section would again be easier going downhill. The bypass does hug the canyon wall and is too narrow for a Jeep.
UT 279 / Potash Rd – White Rim (Canyonlands NP) – Lathrop Canyon (Colorado River) – Mineral Rd (Horsethief Trail) – UT 313 – Long Canyon Rd – UT 279. 165 miles, 10 hours, 3.6 gallons.
In 2004 Tracy and I had planned on camping along the White Rim; doing the trail in two days. Due to an illness-caused late departure from Kansas City, we cut that from our trip, although we did make it Lathrop Canyon and the Colorado River on a day trip. This year we both wanted to do the entire White Rim as the views promised to be quite impressive.
We started out early from Moab, probably around 8am. Shortly after Potash we stopped at an overlook and discovered Brian’s bike was puking coolant. Within a few minutes we figured out the reserve tank was overflowing and we weren’t facing a burst hose or punctured radiator. With that we rode on.
As we approached Lathrop Canyon I was bringing up the rear. I could see a full-size, white pickup with a sticker on the door approaching. Of course Brian was speeding along at a lively 35 or 40 mph. The NPS ranger flagged us down, informed us that the speed limit was 15, estimated our speed at 25 or 30, and asked us to slow down. Brian was a bit freaked because as the ranger exited his pickup he reached down and unsnapped his holster. Probably SOP but certainly attention getting.
The descent to the river down Lathrop Canyon starts steep but soon turns into a sand-fest in the creek bottom. When we got to the bottom of the canyon, Brian turned to Tracy and I and asked us in disbelief if we had really taken the Dakars down there the year before. We replied in the affirmative. Brian just shook his head. (Note: I bought the Dakar from Brian, so he has experience riding it.) The ride out was a lot of fun, with all of us doing much better at sand riding.
Shortly after exiting the canyon we met another motorcyclist, Glen, from SE Colorado. We stopped and chatted. We noted his Acerbis fold-away rear-view mirror, promising ourselves that we would each get one.
The White Rim proved to be an easy but beautiful ride until we rounded the southern point. Both Brian and I had discussed bringing our wives back in the future, but the steep ascent we now faced nixed that idea. Although not terribly difficult on a motorcycle, some of the support vehicles (stock SUVs) for the bicyclists had to have a not so fun time going up first a steep, sandy rise and then a steep, long, narrow, rocky ascent to the top of a plateau (hogback?). The descent that followed wasn’t any more fun with quite a bit of “exposure” for anyone afraid of heights. At the top a group of bicyclists waved us over and offered us refreshment and food from their chase-vehicle pantry. Dang good plum and company! One of the bicyclists was also a dirt-biker from Arizona who asked us questions and described some wet-weather creek crossings he had down outside of Phoenix this spring. (Note: Tracy thinks he may have posted a story or two with pictures of some hairy stream crossings on www.advrider.com.)
The Green River side proved to be as scenic as the Colorado side. The road dropped down to river level in several places and was quite sandy for long periods. (We noted lots of footprints from bicyclists walking the deep sand.) If one was out of water you could make it to the river in this section (treat or filter!).
Mineral Bottom Rd was graded, although the remains of several vehicles lay just over the edge on several of the switchbacks. Once up on top, the gravel seemed to go on forever.
We arrived back in Moab about 6pm: tired, dusty, happy.
Hindsight/Insight: Although a long day in terms of miles and time, the views were worth it. We didn’t set any speed records (although we did break the speed limit) but enjoyed our day. Brian and I carried, between us, two 33 fl oz bottles of gasoline, which neither of us needed to use. Tracy carried a one-gallon plastic jug, which he did need. UT313 / US191 would probably be just as fast to get back to Moab.
Monday: Slick-rock Fun and Speed in the Sand.
Hell’s Revenge – Fins & Things (N side) – Porcupine Rim (bailed) – Porcupine Trail. 40 miles, 1.5 gallons.
What a blast! We started late, recovering from our epic White Rim day. Hell’s Revenge starts with a very steep slick rock dome that slopes away from you on each side. Quite the wake up call. I know I wondered about traction, but soon found that the friction between tires and “slick”rock is truly amazing. Next to overcome was the fear of flipping the bike over backwards when ascending the steep sections. Again, no problem. The torque of our three thumpers was amazing. My 400 kept up just fine with the 600s I was following.
While on top of the domes we could see storm clouds to the NW moving our way. With the thought of wet slickrock in mind we didn’t dawdle and rode into Moab to a park with a large picnic shelter. While eating our lunch we first thought ash was being blown by the fierce winds. We soon realized it was snow. Once the storm passed, we headed back up hill to try F&T.
F&T proved to be a blast. Some slick rock but lots of twisty sand paths. All of us got comfortable with speed, throttle, and sliding turns in the sand. Definitely easier than Hell’s Revenge.
Exiting F&T, we headed East on the gravel road to try the 4WD section of Porcupine Rim. PR turns into single track where it meets the canyon so we knew we were going to turn around. (We had all watched a helmet cam of dirt bikes on PR … Helmet Cam - PR) The trail started easy enough but soon we found ourselves facing several ledges. We decided to turn around after all three of us dropped our bikes. Probably a combination of skill (lack of), exhaustion, etc.
Due to the drop on one of the ledges, the needle in the Husky’s carb had stuck open. Brian’s bike was puking petrol. He tore into it in the parking area at the trailhead, only to find that we needed a larger spanner than anything we were carrying (to remove the plug on the bottom of the float chamber). A bicyclist came to our rescue with a hodge-podge of tools in his car. (Seems the cyclist used to dislike motorcyclists until his bike broke 10 miles from a trailhead. Along came some dirt bikes. They carried his frame, broken wheels, and him to the trailhead.)
On the way back to the trailhead we had seen where Porcupine Trail meets PR, so we took it. PT proved to be a lot like F&T and was a lot of fun. PT runs into F&T(N) so you could do F&T and PT as one longer ride.
Hindsight/Insight: Great day, fun riding, amazing what a thumper can do. Well worth the $2 / three day admission price. All the trails we did today were worthy of repeating.
Tuesday: Arches National Park from All Sides.
Arches (NP) Road – Window Arches – Wolfe Ranch / Cache Valley 4WD Rd (turned around at long, steep, loose section that divides at top) – Devil’s Garden – Salt Valley gravel rd / 4WD rd / Tower Arch – Sand Rd – Willow Flats Rd – Sovereign ATV Trail (N of Courthouse Wash) – Klondike Bluffs gravel access rd – US 191.
18°F this morning, new record low for the day. ? miles, ? gallons.
Note: $5 / bike for entry into the park. Good for 7 days. Two receipts together will get your car in. Just as on the White Rim in Canyonlands NP, all vehicles and drivers must be licensed and street-legal.
Tracy and I had spent a couple of days in Arches last year, both riding and hiking, so we knew our way around. A 4WD road, not on the NPS map, leaves from Wolfe Ranch and follows Cache Creek. We had turned back the previous year when it got really steep. This year we wanted to get a bit farther and were hoping to make it to the edge of the plateau overlooking the Colorado River gorge. That was not to be. We made it down and up the steep section that had thwarted us the previous year, but then came upon a long, steep, loose uphill section. This appeared to be the last section before plateauing out but looked a lot too hard to me. We turned around.
By this time we were hungry so we ate lunch in the Devil’s Garden picnic area at the N end of the paved road. (No water available.) After quick naps and some Frisbee to loosen us up, we headed for Salt Valley Rd and Tower Arch. Salt Valley Rd was graded gravel (open to all vehicles except after rains). Just short of the trailhead / parking for the trail to see Tower Arch, a 4WD road turned to the west. This road provided access to Tower Arch and to an unnamed road that I call Sand Rd. (At this point Brian was again in disbelief that Tracy and I had done this much on the Dakars.) We took Sand Rd, which we had not last year, and definitely got our workout and practice at sand riding. What a hoot. Beautiful scenery and little to no traffic. Eye of the Whale Arch was a convenient resting point.
We took a right onto Willow Flats Rd, another road that most any car could travel except after a rain. When we came upon a trailhead for the Sovereign Trail (just before Courthouse Wash), we took it. This time, the ATV portion. This trail proved to be relatively easy but a definite do. At one point we ended up on an expanse of nearly horizontal slick-rock. Great times playing on that one. Shortly after our play the only technical section ascended quickly but briefly to join up with the Jeep section of the Sovereign Trail and a graded road (unnamed, skirts the western boundary of Arches) that we took to the Klondike Bluffs access road. It was late so we turned left, geared up (with cold-weather layers) at US191 and headed back to camp.
Hindsight/Insight:
Wednesday: Gemini Bridges to Arches Part Deux.
Gemini Bridges – Bull Canyon – Gold Bar Rim (turned around just before large wash) - ?? across 191 – Sovereign / Copper Ridge to Courthouse Wash – Sovereign 4x4 (N of Courthouse Wash) – Klondike Bluffs – Salt Valley Rd – Arches NP (from N) – Tower Arch access rd / Sand Rd – Willow Flats – Arches Road. 96 miles, 2.4 gallons.
Gemini Bridges and Bull Canyon seem to be must-dos: worth the view but not technical, although Bull canyon does get sandy. From Bull Canyon we headed toward Gold Bar Rim (GBR).
From reading trail reports we knew that GBR eventually met up with Gold Spike (GS) and that GS had an obstacle that we probably wouldn’t get our bikes across, so we knew we were doing an out and back. GBR proved to be a lot of fun until we came to the drop into / across Gold Bar Canyon. We scouted and decided to turn around. Although we figured we could do the motorcycle bypass, the return-trip ascent is what bothered us. Watching a group of dual-sported dirt bikes showed us the extra pounds on our bikes made life a bit more difficult, although none of us regretted our bike choice.
After retracing our route to the trailhead, we crossed US191 and headed south on Moab Canyon Trail (the old highway). We took a left onto a trail (Bar M Loop?) that didn’t appear anywhere on our maps. This took us to the edge of Arches and the edge of a side canyon of Courthouse Wash. Seeking adventure we headed north, taking every right to keep us away from the highway and next to Arches. Eventually we found ourselves on the Sovereign Trail (ST) system (and on top of a buried pipeline).
This section of the ST proved to be a hoot. Just south of Courthouse Wash the trail descended rapidly through a technical section. Not sure of going up, but coming down was a scream (in a good way). This put as the trailhead we had started from on Tuesday. Not wanting to repeat when we could explore, we chose to continue northward on the Jeep portion of the ST. This was a nice ride which joined the ST-ATV just before the graded road that parallels Arches.
Wanting to do Klondike Bluffs, we hauled up this graded road although we did take the time to do some exploring of side trails to the east and west. The hillsides in this area are green, which implied to us that we might find a copper mine or two. No luck.
Klondike Bluffs was an easy ride that put us at the remains of a cabin (and its midden heaps) overlooking Salt Valley. Although late in the day, we continued on. Just past the cabin the trail descended rapidly to Salt Valley. Although ascending might have given us a problem or two (at least me), we figured we would continue the loop and enter Arches from the north and take Salt Valley Road to Sand Road. Sand Road was definitely worth the repeat, although Tracy surprised a Jeep as he rounded a sandy corner at speed.
At Willow Flats we turned toward the park, deciding to cruise the pavement through the park back to Moab as dusk settled.
Hindsight/Insight: Next time we will probably do GBR past the canyon. A bit of help from friends and better riding skills should make the drop (and return trip ascent) doable.
Thursday: Lockhart Basin Road-trip.
Kane Springs Rd – Hurrah Pass – Lockhart Basin – Lockhart Canyon – UT 211 – Needles District Entry – Newspaper Rock – US 191 to Moab. 145 miles, 3.4 gallons.
(I am now writing this about a month after our trip, so my memory might not be all that detailed, but will hopefully remain accurate.)
The trip out toward Chicken Corners is an easy jaunt, but worth the views. Lockhart Basin Trail turns off at a marked intersection near a creek bed. We spent a minute here watching a cowboy on horseback with a canine assistant round up his cattle and drive them through a small gap in the fence. As we started up LB we kept to the right, which was an easily corrected mistake. The trail was well worn by others but ended in an impassible dead-end. Backtracking we could see where the correct trail turned toward what had been our left.
In short order we found ourselves at the only difficult section of the day: the rise up onto the “White Rim”. I needed some help from my friends, which they provided. We figured the route had to be the right one due to its signs of use and rise out of the wash valley, but it is mismarked on the Garmin Topo and my NG maps. The real route lies to the East, but parallel, to the route shown on the maps.
Once up this short, steep, difficult section, the trail turned into a decent road similar to the White Rim in Canyonlands. This road parallels the White Rim and offers excellent views and vistas.
Coming around a tight corner I surprised a herd of mountain sheep. Brian and Tracy got a glimpse before the sheep disappeared across the knife-edge rise the road had skirted around. Tracy quickly turned around with the goal of sighting the sheep on the opposite side but returned shortly and reported that the 15 or so sheep had literally disappeared.
Just before the trail headed down into the washes that feed Lockhart Canyon it goes down a notch in quality and up a notch in difficulty. Nothing hard on a dirt-bike but certainly not the Subaru easy trail we had been cruising. From this mountain-side trail we witnessed a huge dust-devil traversing the valley below. I think we all mistook the dust for a vehicle until we got a good view.
We turned at the well-traveled junction of the Canyon and Basin trails to head down the canyon. This trail was gentle in slope but deep in sand for the 5 or so miles it took to get to the river. You had better like sand if you do this! The river frontage (technically part of Canyonlands NP) was overgrown with willows and covered with cowpies but still provided a nice view.
Brian and I had sighted a side trail on the way down, which we went up on the way out. This trail was steep and rocky and led nowhere. At the top was a small flat area with what appeared to be the remains of a road cut that had collapsed. The trail continued its ascent but looked a lot more difficult and exposed to the steep drop on the right. (I read online about an overnight Memorial Day weekend Jeep trip. From the description I assume they ascended this (most helped by winch) and camped at the top that was described as a plateau.) Brian and I turned around as Tracy had flown right by the turn.
Shortly after regaining Lockhart Basin trail we came upon lots of BLM campsites along Indian Creek, which had plenty of water. Where the trail crossed the creek we stopped to view the series of falls. This was the site of one of my two dumps of the day … when we went to leave, I moved forward about 2 feet, dropped into deep sand, the front turned north, and the bike and I fell south. Brian about fell off of this steed laughing at my expense. I was laughing too. (The other dump occurred at the difficult early section.)
We rode UT 211 to the entry station for the Needles District of CNP and turned around. It was getting late and we had a long ride ahead of us. We stopped at Newspaper rock, which was definitely worth the time. By this time the sun was getting low in the sky and the temperature was dropping. The snow-capped mountains to our south didn’t help with our mental temperature either. UT 211 was a beautiful ride, definitely worthy of a road bike if in the area.
We turned toward Moab at the junction with US 191, making it back to Moab in the light but not by much. Brian had to tip his bike to get gas over at some point (I was in the lead, without mirrors.) but I made it without going to reserve.
Hindsight/Insight: This trip, like the White Rim on the opposite side of the Colorado, was not technically challenging but was long and full of beautiful vistas. We got to do some relatively high speed riding that was fun. Definitely a do again at some point, with exploration within the Needles District on our list.
Friday: Poison Spider Bites and Sandy Ironclads.
Poison Spider Mesa – Gold Spike (turned around just after Spike Mound), Monitor and Merrimac. ? miles, ? gallons. (Late start recovering from Thursday.)
The approach road to the two technical sections of Poison Spider Mesa had turned me back the year before; the rounded river rock being too much for me to handle on the F650. (When you see rounded river rock hundreds of feet above the river, stop to think about it!) With the KTM I cruised right up the river rock section. I needed some help through the two technical sections though. Thanks to the jeep passenger behind us that ran up to help me right the bike and get on my way and out of his.
We explored PSM and were rewarded with an awesome view of the Moab valley. On our way back we took a right onto Gold Spike. We made it to the top of the hill where the spike is planted and watched a couple of groups of jeeps continue past. With it late in the day we turned around, knowing that if we continued we probably wouldn’t stop.
Once at the trailhead, we decided we had enough time to head north to Monitor and Merrimac trail. This trail had an easy rating which was nice after our epic day Thursday and efforts on PSM and GS. A few miles into MM we found ourselves traveling up a flowing creek bottom within a 20’ deep canyon. A rather odd feeling being in flowing water in the desert. A pipe ran along the creek bed for a ways, with caution being required when crossing it at the angle required.
Once out of the flowing creek gorge we found ourselves on more sand. By this time in the week we were all confident and cocky and opened the throttles to enjoy the speed. Up near one of the buttes there was a side trail down some nastily steep (named) hill. Brian and I dissuaded Tracy from attempting it … I doubt we have any luck dissuading next time.
In here somewhere I was in the lead and failed to see the sneak route to the left of a very steep, rutted rise. About 2/3 of the way up, I hit a rock with a thud and came to an abrupt stop. For once I had kept my speed up, only to be knocked off course and stopped. The rock had dinged in the right side of my skid plate to the point that it had momentarily contacted the generator cover. A bit of paint had flaked but no damage otherwise. I got down the hill on my own, on the bike, without falling over, and took the route to the left to rejoin Brian and Tracy at the top.
We did the entire loop, getting a bit disoriented on the way out as to which way to go. Dead reckoning, a NG-TI topo map, and the GPS (in that order) led us out. Thanks Brian!
Hindsight/Insight: The whole day was great. PSM for the challenge (and the view of the Moab valley), and MM for the creek, sand, and speed. I think we will attempt much more of GS and attempt to connect with Gold Bar Rim on our next trek. Of course we won’t attempt all of this after riding 160 miles the previous day.
Saturday: Porcupine Fins Redueax.
Fins & Things (S and N sides) – Porcupine Trail. (Morning only.) ? miles, ? gallons.
Hindsight/Insight: Earlier report on these. Worth redoing.
Home: Departed Moab at 1pm MDT (2pm CDT); supper at Tommyknockers brewery in Idaho Springs, CO; arrived Halstead (Wichita), KS at 4am; departed Halstead at 430am; arrived Overland Park (Kansas City), KS at 745am. 18 hours total, about 16 hours driving. Probably reduce to 14 or 15 without trip to Halstead. Cases of brewery beer at Tommyknockers were on sale for $16.95 … thankfully we had a large trailer!
Trail Info, Descriptions, and Pictures
(mainly Jeeps):
(Note: Late in the week I examined the new Latitude 40 map for Moab and the NG Moab maps that replaced 501. All had deficiencies. At $10 each, it would probably be worth the $30 to buy all three, but I thought the NG maps showed more detail and were more accurate for where we had ridden.)
As we all come from road riding and are frugal (cheap), we attempt to make use of what we have. What I used during the week:
As the day warmed I would: unplug the vest, unzip / take off the liner, unzip the vest, take off the polypropylene top. Keeping the vest on tended to keep my torso comfortable while allowing my arms to act as elephant ears (heat radiators).