Tucker
12-30-2005, 10:39 PM
A couple friends and I were in St George this past June and had a great time. If I remember right we rode:
"Broken Rim Mesa": This is not for the faint of heart as the trail was the most technical of all the trails I have ridden out there. However the tech heads will love it. Riding on, over, and in between Lava rock was a thrill. And the downhill at the end was super sketchy! A little climbing to begin with switch-backing up the hill but after that it's all DH.
"Bear Claw Poppy Trail aka Green River Loop": I'm not sure which is the right name for this one but this trail was a blast. It was pretty much all DH. I was told that dirt bikers built this place but they aren't allowed on the trail any longer. The trail begins with some sweet drop offs and technical bits. The Three Fingers of Death gives you three routes down. Each progressively harder, but not too hard. There's a nice little hairy drop near the bottom. After the semi-technical stuff it opens up to rollercoaster style hard-pack where you can just haul ass and get some air for 4 miles. We liked it so much we did it twice.... In a row. :2thumbs:
"JEM": Had a blast on this one too although I was so tired from the Little Creek Mesa ride earlier in the day that I can’t really remember much except it was a fun quasi DH with some minor exposure on the cliffs above the river and a hairy switchback on a steep downhill section....well hairy for me anyway....I break myself a lot. :ne_nau:
"Gooseberry Mesa": This is the second time I rode it and we went a different route this time. Hidden Canyon trail is a great way to see both the North and South loops. This place is ripe for picture taking & I think it puts the Slick Rock Trail in Moab to shame.
"Little Creek Mountain.": This trail was right across the valley from Gooseberry Mesa and had many similarities. Little Creek had more wide open bowl type areas and was a little less technical. It is only marked with cairns at this time but they are going to paint lines on it sometime soon. Easy to get lost when we were there. Some incredible cliff side views!
"Thunder Mountain": (Panguitch) This trail has the best scenery of all. Riding among hoodoos and red soil was incredible. This was my second time back and it was even better this time. This trail is a must do for anyone in the area. We took hundreds of pictures here.
We could have done more but we did some canyoneering also.
We hired Mountain Bike Buddies to shuttle us to these places which was the best decision we ever made. Mark Erickson is the best, his knowledge of the area is second to none. All we had to do is sit back while he drove…we didn’t have to waste time trying to find these trails...just having a blast riding them. He was right there at the end to pick us up..even had snack bars and cold Gatorade ready…sahweet! If you’re from outta town or are unfamiliar with the area I highly recommend http://www.mountainbikebuddies.com/ Read the testimonials on his site..they say it all.
Here are a few pics from our trip.
"Broken Rim Mesa": This is not for the faint of heart as the trail was the most technical of all the trails I have ridden out there. However the tech heads will love it. Riding on, over, and in between Lava rock was a thrill. And the downhill at the end was super sketchy! A little climbing to begin with switch-backing up the hill but after that it's all DH.
"Bear Claw Poppy Trail aka Green River Loop": I'm not sure which is the right name for this one but this trail was a blast. It was pretty much all DH. I was told that dirt bikers built this place but they aren't allowed on the trail any longer. The trail begins with some sweet drop offs and technical bits. The Three Fingers of Death gives you three routes down. Each progressively harder, but not too hard. There's a nice little hairy drop near the bottom. After the semi-technical stuff it opens up to rollercoaster style hard-pack where you can just haul ass and get some air for 4 miles. We liked it so much we did it twice.... In a row. :2thumbs:
"JEM": Had a blast on this one too although I was so tired from the Little Creek Mesa ride earlier in the day that I can’t really remember much except it was a fun quasi DH with some minor exposure on the cliffs above the river and a hairy switchback on a steep downhill section....well hairy for me anyway....I break myself a lot. :ne_nau:
"Gooseberry Mesa": This is the second time I rode it and we went a different route this time. Hidden Canyon trail is a great way to see both the North and South loops. This place is ripe for picture taking & I think it puts the Slick Rock Trail in Moab to shame.
"Little Creek Mountain.": This trail was right across the valley from Gooseberry Mesa and had many similarities. Little Creek had more wide open bowl type areas and was a little less technical. It is only marked with cairns at this time but they are going to paint lines on it sometime soon. Easy to get lost when we were there. Some incredible cliff side views!
"Thunder Mountain": (Panguitch) This trail has the best scenery of all. Riding among hoodoos and red soil was incredible. This was my second time back and it was even better this time. This trail is a must do for anyone in the area. We took hundreds of pictures here.
We could have done more but we did some canyoneering also.
We hired Mountain Bike Buddies to shuttle us to these places which was the best decision we ever made. Mark Erickson is the best, his knowledge of the area is second to none. All we had to do is sit back while he drove…we didn’t have to waste time trying to find these trails...just having a blast riding them. He was right there at the end to pick us up..even had snack bars and cold Gatorade ready…sahweet! If you’re from outta town or are unfamiliar with the area I highly recommend http://www.mountainbikebuddies.com/ Read the testimonials on his site..they say it all.
Here are a few pics from our trip.