Four of us on 1200GS's spent a day (in my case) to two days (in the case of the other three) riding the Utah Canyonlands White Rim Trail in July. Hot? Very. Rough? Yes. Long ride? Yes. Fabulous sights and a great experience? No question.
We began by just riding down the Shafer Trail switchbacks "for the fun of it" the day before embarking on the whole trail. Afterwards, back to Moab via Potash Road. The next day, the NPS closed Shafer for maintenance so we began our counterclockwise loop from the north, which meant descending the Horsethief Trail switchbacks, then finding Upheaval Bottom (sand!), our first real obstacle. It was followed by Hardscrabble Hill (yes, the climb was a hard scrabble, i.e., steep, sharp switchbacks, loose rock). The next big climb was Murphy's Hogback, but going CCW meant we descended the long, steep south side rather than climbing it. My three compadres peeled off about 5:00PM at White Crack for a hot night of camping. I rode on to Shafer Canyon, Potash Road, and Moab, arriving back at the motel about 9:00PM. In total, a 12-hour day for me.
Here are a few mementos:
Free advice:
More free advice:
Additional views of Shafer Trail:
The white strata that gives the White Rim its name:
The back side of Hardscrabble (OK, "easy scrabble"):
About to descend Murphy's Hogback:
We began by just riding down the Shafer Trail switchbacks "for the fun of it" the day before embarking on the whole trail. Afterwards, back to Moab via Potash Road. The next day, the NPS closed Shafer for maintenance so we began our counterclockwise loop from the north, which meant descending the Horsethief Trail switchbacks, then finding Upheaval Bottom (sand!), our first real obstacle. It was followed by Hardscrabble Hill (yes, the climb was a hard scrabble, i.e., steep, sharp switchbacks, loose rock). The next big climb was Murphy's Hogback, but going CCW meant we descended the long, steep south side rather than climbing it. My three compadres peeled off about 5:00PM at White Crack for a hot night of camping. I rode on to Shafer Canyon, Potash Road, and Moab, arriving back at the motel about 9:00PM. In total, a 12-hour day for me.
Here are a few mementos:
Free advice:
More free advice:
Additional views of Shafer Trail:
The white strata that gives the White Rim its name:
The back side of Hardscrabble (OK, "easy scrabble"):
About to descend Murphy's Hogback: