Good Water Rim @ the Wedge

[Udink]

Friday I got a last-minute invite from asdf to head out to the Wedge to drink beer, ride bikes, and shoot sunset/lightning/sunrise. As soon as I got off work I showered, threw some gear in the Jeep, and met Bill just as he was finishing up some grocery shopping in Price. He had his dog, Moki, and I brought only Torrey, leaving Boulder at home with Traci. I followed Bill south on UT-10 while keeping an eye on a nice rainbow forming to the east. Just after passing Paint Road, Bill hit the brakes and turned around to get some photos there with the rainbow in the background.




Torrey and Moki getting acquainted in Price before heading down to the Wedge
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8QwClbbLkVM/VAvF-l-pS6I/AAAAAAAAo3o/XcoAl8OruRc/s640/IMG_7278.JPG


Paint Road rainbow
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-47WT7g2ShpY/VAvGCpFO6cI/AAAAAAAAo3w/ptRGfy9OmtY/s640/IMG_7283.JPG


Paint Road
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-snXUSdIFjfI/VAvGF0xZvBI/AAAAAAAAo34/V2a1MfR-_t4/s640/IMG_7284.JPG


Rainbow
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fUqMZcAnnmo/VAvGH8ylKXI/AAAAAAAAo4A/KMeFkx8VurE/s640/IMG_7285.JPG




We cruised out to the Wedge and had dull gray skies for most of the drive. One of the best camp spots at the Wedge Overlook was empty so we grabbed it and then hopped on our mountain bikes for a ride along the rim of the Little Grand Canyon. The sun poked out of the clouds near the horizon and lit everything up nicely. Another rainbow appeared to the east shortly before it rained on us. We hurried back to the camp spot but when we got there the rain had pretty much stopped.




Ready for a short ride at the Wedge Overlook
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-AFN4uZH4o0Y/VAvGM3Wi8PI/AAAAAAAAo4I/A6JEP9KPCD4/s640/IMG_7287.JPG


Little Grand Canyon
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-eSYuKNKBJY0/VAvGQsjkhfI/AAAAAAAAo4Q/HUXeH-E8Mg8/s640/IMG_7289.JPG


Wedge panorama
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6psfWbQbZFg/VAvGTdXj18I/AAAAAAAAo4Y/d3WapQG0560/s640/IMG_7290_stitch.jpg


Rainbow at the Wedge Overlook
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A_oBxAlFeNA/VAvGZSvvcYI/AAAAAAAAo4g/vuRwBsZRstA/s640/IMG_7307.JPG


Sunset
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FK0BAjvBM-8/VAvGc1Lj_WI/AAAAAAAAo4o/tEuLz-8JE9Q/s640/IMG_7311.JPG




Around a campfire we ate, drank, bullshitted, and occasionally walked a short distance to the canyon rim for some night photos. There was lightning far off on the south horizon but, to our disappointment, it never got close enough to photograph. It was around 11:00 when we started setting up tents and midnight when we turned in for the night.




Little Grand Canyon
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dZ6oHIH81K4/VAvGm7NWbdI/AAAAAAAAo44/BII1weFomqo/s640/IMG_7316.JPG


Bill taking a photo
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D_PC48XWSvY/VAvGsNdF2LI/AAAAAAAAo5I/vUIMkHD_Ulw/s640/IMG_7323.JPG


No Camping
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AmuD4cIefQU/VAvGuVZHouI/AAAAAAAAo5Q/KZCKmgYIOlI/s640/IMG_7336.JPG




A little after 7:00AM we rose and slowly packed up camp while eating breakfast. By 9:00 we were riding east on the gravel road toward the singletrack that winds around the rim of Good Water Canyon. The trail had recently had some work done on it, and it was very similar in difficulty to the trails I'm used to riding near Price. The dogs had no problem keeping up. With Torrey's propensity toward alwaying being in the lead, I rarely saw her for much of the ride because I was bringing up the rear.




Morning at the Wedge Overlook
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FFPlrXiFl34/VAvGzunSEpI/AAAAAAAAo5Y/1BC9GhglZMo/s640/IMG_7339.JPG


Little Grand Canyon morning
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-LE6sDvZOlPI/VAvG3Ky8lSI/AAAAAAAAo5g/eVVcgCu0QNU/s640/IMG_7341.JPG


Riding toward the start of the singletrack
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-t6iSG5CqKHw/VAvG8VdyORI/AAAAAAAAo5o/-BnXSox0s9Q/s640/IMG_7344.JPG


Good Water Rim Trail
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--R1yFoqu_UU/VAvHDpeYLKI/AAAAAAAAo5w/C97JVC_v3Ts/s640/IMG_7346.JPG


Little Grand Canyon
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j5h75WWNbUc/VAvHQ3HVCtI/AAAAAAAAo6A/LQDBOPMBXp8/s640/IMG_7348.JPG


Good Water Canyon
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uCzb5_sHFco/VAvHV0AsfFI/AAAAAAAAo6I/O28SCx1udTI/s640/IMG_7350.JPG


Good Water Canyon
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DG4pfk9rmpg/VAvHmFoysvI/AAAAAAAAo6Y/i5A7bSGiSAE/s640/IMG_7355.JPG




We rode about seven miles of singletrack, then jumped on the main gravel road and followed it back to camp for a total of about 10 miles. For such a short trip--I was only gone from home for about 20 hours--it was packed with fun.




Stopped to let the doggies rest
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UMd2n73Focw/VAvHuJDDzxI/AAAAAAAAo6g/jotNjzHKX4E/s640/IMG_7357.JPG


Bill
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CoV78pLTq5I/VAvHzZOvSsI/AAAAAAAAo6o/NIKjBT3GRPI/s640/IMG_7358.JPG


Good Water Canyon
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h0S93HOR8Yk/VAvH_skaTaI/AAAAAAAAo64/ZI3IBBhbGE4/s640/IMG_7362.JPG


Good Water Canyon
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jFOkLuGWtdg/VAvIHP_bIQI/AAAAAAAAo7A/a174lxw36I4/s640/IMG_7365.JPG





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlYdOILC5yY




Riding the road back to the Wedge Overlook
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-G6obpYRMbx0/VAvITKLliTI/AAAAAAAAo7Q/IS9vnbpN3LI/s640/IMG_7370.JPG


Back at the Wedge Overlook
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c9suZWbwsCE/VAvIaLIWHWI/AAAAAAAAo7Y/Srbv5UJ6vgc/s640/IMG_7376.JPG


Seepage from where a tree reached out and got me
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yLalDL1FBDw/VAvIc-8JB-I/AAAAAAAAo7g/R7U6s2Plqqk/s640/IMG_7378.JPG




Photo Gallery: Good Water Rim @ the Wedge (https://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/GoodWaterRimTheWedge)
GPS Tracklog and Photo Waypoints:
[Google Earth KMZ (http://udink.org/geo/GoodWaterRim@theWedge.kmz)] [Google Maps (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:%2F%2Fudink.org%2Fgeo%2FGoodWaterRim%4 0theWedge.kmz&hl=en&sll=39.60063,-110.806334&sspn=0.082137,0.169086&t=h&z=14)] [Gmap4 Topo (http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=39.105152,-110.751331&z=14&t=t4&q=http://udink.org/geo/GoodWaterRim@theWedge.kmz)]

[tallsteve]

Nice report. I've only ridden this trail once and one of the two guys I was with couldn't be away from home all day so we rode pretty fast. I kept wanting to stop and look over the edges and do some exploring but he kept pushing us along. Kind of a disappointing trip because of it. The biggest reason to ride this trail is for the views as the trail itself is kinda meh.

[Udink]

The biggest reason to ride this trail is for the views as the trail itself is kinda meh.
Completely agreed. :) I should have stopped more along the trail, but I've explored all around the rim and inside Good Water Canyon on previous trips so it wasn't much of a disappointment not stopping this time.

[tallsteve]

Completely agreed. :) I should have stopped more along the trail, but I've explored all around the rim and inside Good Water Canyon on previous trips so it wasn't much of a disappointment not stopping this time.

Understandable. My only ride there 2 years ago was also my first time there. I remember doing about 18 miles or so. I need to go back and spend time exploring. Well worth the trip!

[Sun Dance]

I've been meaning to get out and do this one. Heard good things about it. Sounds like it's not as strenuous as the Timp Foothill trails.

[tallsteve]

Elevation gain for the trail overall is only a couple hundred feet. It's pretty flat. That being said, the trail is really bumpy with lots of loose and embedded rock. I remember being pretty beat up from riding it on my hardtail.