Sovereign Singletrack TR - Oct 2007

[Sombeech]

Great trail! We hit this one on Saturday, before Amassa Back.

We parked on Willow Springs Road, and rode the 6 mile trail up near the Slickrock area, then returned. Even though I prefer a trail to have a consistent incline, then decline on the way back, I still would do this trail again.

Here's the info from UMB:

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/pics/m-sovern.gif

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/sovergn.htm

The Sovereign Singletrack is new in 2003, but I think it's destined to become one of the Top 10 trails of the Moab area. This narrow singletrack trail combines dirt, open rock, ledges, climbs, and views. It's great fun, but we don't recommend it for beginners. Consider this an intermediate to advanced trail, moderately strenuous.
There were a lot of people in Moab this weekend, and on the trail.

It took us about 3.5 hours to complete this trail at a slow, casual pace.

[accadacca]

I would probably give this trail a 6-10. Pretty good and I would certainly ride it again.

[Cirrus2000]

Good pics & writeup, guys!

That was a pretty sweet trip - I did it back in May when I was there. (Unfortunately, my rear brakes blew themselves apart about 2/3 of the way through - 30 minutes messing with the calipers in the hot sun on the trail. Grrr!) Neat trail, lots of variety to keep it interesting. I liked the streambed near the northernmost reaches, where there was lots of chert in the rubble. Also liked a little spot where you rode down this slickrock & got funneled by ledges on each side into a little wash (below):

[TreeHugger]

This is one of my favorite trails of all timel, but I do it a little differently. Next time try this: Ride out Dalton Wells road, and then instead of hitting the Sovereign singletrackt immediately, go left and ride the atv trail around to then connect with the singletrack - its WAY fun. Then ride in a clockwise direction to come out on Willow Springs road and ride up the road to your car which is parked at Dalton Wells. (the road part sucks but the rest of it makes up for it). One of the guys at Moab Cyclery gave us the beta on that route a couple of years back and it was awesome. Try it, you may up your rating from a 6 to an 8 or 9! :-)

[greyhair biker]

What a cool trail! Gotta get back down there and ride this stuff :2thumbs:

[accadacca]

This is one of my favorite trails of all timel, but I do it a little differently. Next time try this: Ride out Dalton Wells road, and then instead of hitting the Sovereign singletrack immediately, go left and ride the atv trail around to then connect with the singletrack - its WAY fun. Then ride in a clockwise direction to come out on Willow Springs road and ride up the road to your car which is parked at Dalton Wells. (the road part sucks but the rest of it makes up for it). One of the guys at Moab Cyclery gave us the beta on that route a couple of years back and it was awesome. Try it, you may up your rating from a 6 to an 8 or 9! :-)
Thanks for the tip, we will certainly have to try that next time. I was close to giving this trail a 7 (could do), some parts I liked and others I did not. Adding some more variety to the trail would help. It's tough to rank it high on the first ride when we did not have anyone with us that had ridden the trail. Guess I am just a picky SOB. :lol8:

[neilether]

Great Report! I love this trail! We are planning on hitting it this coming weekend. We've ridden this trail a few different ways, but I still like the out and back from Willow Springs Road the best. Anyway, I see Beech riding down a tricky descent after a 90 degree turn that dumps you into a sandy bottom. THat's a tricky little section. It took me a couple of times before I got it, and I have seen a couple of absolutely spectacular endos right there. Too bad we didn't have a camera.......

[moabfool]

Great Report! I love this trail! We are planning on hitting it this coming weekend. We've ridden this trail a few different ways, but I still like the out and back from Willow Springs Road the best. Anyway, I see Beech riding down a tricky descent after a 90 degree turn that dumps you into a sandy bottom. THat's a tricky little section. It took me a couple of times before I got it, and I have seen a couple of absolutely spectacular endos right there. Too bad we didn't have a camera.......

What day are you planning to ride Sovergn? I'm headed to Moab on Friday morning dark and early. We're riding Porcupine Rim on Friday morning and either canyoneering or riding another trail on Friday afternoon, but the schedule is still open.

[neilether]

We are going to arrive in Moab late Thursday night. We are planning on riding Porcupine Friday morning as well. How are you planning on doing the shuttle? We are most likely going to go through one of the local shuttle companies as we only have one vehicle, but I am open to cooperation on that one. We will most likely to Slickrock Friday afternoon, and Sovereign on Saturday sometime. Let me know if you are interested in hooking up for a ride or a shuttle!

[tallsteve]

This has become one of my favorite Moab trails- love it! Thanks for the pics, Sombeach. One thing that's really helped me with having a great time being able to ride the trails of Moab is riding with the right tire for the terrain. I have my Wasatch front tires and I have my Moab tires. For Moab I ride the Kenda Nevegals- 2.3" in front and 2.1" in the rear. The 2.3" is actually beefier than stated and eats up the rocks- haven't found anything better. Wasatch front- Conti Vertical Pro front and Kenda Karma rear.

[REDFOX]

I agree with tallsteve, any tire that has a larger profile will help cushion the rider from all of the wheel traps, sharp rocks and constant slamming of uneven surfaces. Even with a long travel bike, the moab trails can wear down a rider. I can only handle a few days in Moab, kicks my butt everytime. I always enjoy the challenges found there.