TR -- Broken Mesa Rim Trail

Printable View

08-17-2005, 12:00 PM
accadacca

27 Attachment(s)

TR -- Broken Mesa Rim Trail

When the trail advertised 7 miles downhill!!! Well I thought it was for me. :ne_nau: I tried to hit this trail the night before. A nasty storm rolled in and I decided that the loop was not worth it anyway. I would suggest a full susser and an appetite for destruction to hit this trail. :nod: I would not ride it again. :nono: It took me 2 hours of torture to complete. It had a couple decent 100 yard sections of trail. But most of it was hardly rid-able. You can see that their was a recent fire. Also with all the rain this year the trail is severely washed out. Going over the handlebars is a serious possibility on this trail. I was lucky to stay on two wheels and I got picked up at the bottom in Washington. :cool2: I would not attempt the loop. :eek2:

Trail info: http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/broken.htm
08-17-2005, 01:36 PM
eddy1911

Holy Crap! That trail looks nasty! Hope you didn't get hurt.

Eddy
08-17-2005, 02:22 PM
Sombeech

Wow, so no go on a second ride, huh? Yeah, that does look pretty rocky and rough. But, now we know.

Looks like it's got good views though, and would be cool to see a tortoise.

That road really flooded fast! I wonder if trail conditions are better on average?
08-29-2005, 05:15 PM
SprungShoulders

Hmmm... Sorry for being a little late on this one, but Broken Mesa is a favorite of mine in the greater St. George area. When I can't ride Little Creek or Gooseberry, Mesa is usually my next choice. Riding up the road (so it's loop-able without a shuttle) and up that first mile or so of trail bites, but once you crest the mesa and begin the more-or-less consistent descent, it all sweetness, IMHO. The last section down the side of the mesa rocks (pun intended). Only the hump back to the car on that sandy double-track at the bottom of the mesa puts a damper on the ride end-game.

Nice moonscape as a result of the fire. Must have been a hot and fast moving blaze!

Broken isn't an easy trail, certainly. Full suspension helps. There's a fair amount of climbing, but the much-touted downhill is indeed fun, especially if you're of a mind to go fast and hard and use suspension - or at least an all-mountain travel fork - to it's fullest. I've found the key to smoothing the rockiest sections is similar to that of riding a DH race course: go fast, ride relaxed, and let the bike do the work it was designed to. If you fight the terrain, it'll generally make you pay. :twisted:

Impressive flash flood pictures, BTW!
08-29-2005, 08:03 PM
Sombeech

Quote:

Originally Posted by SprungShoulders

When I can't ride Little Creek or Gooseberry, Mesa is usually my next choice.

So, you've riden Little Creek, huh? A few of us have been wanting to do that, but can't get any real directions to the trailhead 'cause it's "under construction".

Is it pretty much like Gooseberry?

BTW, welcome to the site.
08-30-2005, 11:43 AM
SprungShoulders

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sombeech

So, you've riden Little Creek, huh? A few of us have been wanting to do that, but can't get any real directions to the trailhead 'cause it's "under construction".

Is it pretty much like Gooseberry?

BTW, welcome to the site.

Thanks for the welcome. :mrgreen:

Yup, Little creek Can be a bit hard to find. There's several areas where you can start, and a maze of trails that can be confusing. The best way to learn where to start and what to ride is to hook up with Shuntavi (Doug Wilson) from MTBR on (most) Saturday mornings at Chums in Hurricane, 7am. They do group rides on Goose and Little Creek. His kids are fantastic riders. Mike Wilson - before he went on his mission - was invited to the Red Bull Rampage, and I witnessed him stick the Grafton Mesa road gap like it was a curb huck. Amazing. Doug and his family are great (he owns a bike shop near Virgin now).

Little Creek is indeed a lot like Goosberry, just bigger, with more to ride and play on. :2thumbs: I hope that whatever the BLM is doing out there doesn't end up sanitizing and/or otherwise ruining the existing trail system. It would be a huge loss. Perhaps we riders would stand a better chance at preserving Little Creek if we simply filed for some oil drilling permits. The BLM seems to be handing them out by the fist-full these days, without so much as a bribe or environmental impact study required! :roll: