Blaze Of Glory Off Road

Eagle Canyon / Devil's Racetrack, San Rafael Swell

2012-04-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of the more popular loops in the San Rafael Swell. The distance is around 50 miles and makes it's way first past Swazey's Cabin, then down Eagle Canyon under the I-70 Bridges and eventually loops back on Devil's Racetrack. Our first stop along the way was at a pictograph called "Lone Warrior". We then made our way to Swazey Cabin where the Eagle Canyon Trail Head is located. There is a sign at the pull off to the cabin and the trail is well marked. Shortly after the trail head sign is a place called the icebox, where food was apparently kept cool at one time. After that, it's a little ways to Eagle Arch which is a nice place to stop again to take in the sites and take a short break. After the arch it's under the I-70 bridges. The bridges are really neat to see and wonder exactly how they were built. At the end of Eagle Canyon, you turn right and head up towards Eva Conover Road. Eva Conover Road wanders generally North towards South Coal Wash, then switches back to the South on North Coal Wash. From North Coal Wash we took the spur to Devil's Racetrack and eventually made our way past Dutchman Arch and back under I-70 to our camp.

Click the "Directions" link for directions from your location to the trail head
View Devil's Racetrack Trail in a larger map

"Lone Warrior"

Swasey Cabbin

Swasey Cabin

"Ice Box" area

Eagle Arch

I-70 Bridges

Eva Conover Rd

Overlook, Eva Conover Rd

Eva Conover Rd

Camp

Special thanks to gardinerfamilyadventures.wordpress.com for helping us plan this trip! Be sure to check out this site for more great trip reports!!

Five Miles Of Hell Dirt Bike Trail, San Rafael Swell

2012-04-11T23:33:00.000-07:00

The Five Miles Of Hell Trail has been on my to do list for a while now. Of course the name makes it intriguing, and anyone who rides it will tell you it's a challenge. I hadn't planned on doing it this weekend, but the stars were aligned and I ended up running into a couple of great guys on the Devil's Racetrack Trail that happened to be running it the next day. When they mentioned this to me I was wide eyed and eager to go along but a little unaware of the challenge that lay ahead. Even though the trail says five miles of hell, it's been said it's more like 7. The total distance of the loop is about 20 miles and we traveled it in 6 hours. It's hard to say how much is total hell, but it's at least 5 miles!! This was a fairly constant pace, but not rushed and we took plenty of breaks. With any kind of a group, 6 hours is a good window..but better to leave more time on this trail as there are many places that can eat up time, especially with a larger group. We traveled the loop counter clockwise and did not take any of the three possible bail outs along the trail. This trail is the real deal! It is extremely challenging, remember this and be patient. Towards the middle I made some stupid mistakes thinking we were past the hard stuff. After I re-focused, it started to be fun again!

Getting ready to hit the trail

Click on the "Directions" link for directions to the trail head from your location

MOBILE MAP, (link to google map)

-Trail Head 38-7889, -110.70963
-Fork R 38-7872, -110.69188
-5MOH- Fork hard left (white dashes) at sign 38.763121,-110.669929
-5MOH-1Bailout Bailout #1 38.77348, -110.66148
-5MOH-2Bailout Bailout #2 38.7657, -110.65665
-5MOH-3Bailout Bailout #3 38.76305, -110.64993
-5MOH-Trailbox Trail Box 38.753464,-110.615982

It's best to do this trail when it's not hot. The day we did the trail it may have reached 80, but it felt much warmer. Also, it was extremely dry and dusty making some of the sections more difficult with the dry sand on slickrock. A good rain the day before could have made it better as well. TAKE PLENTY OF WATER! I think we all ran out of water on our camelbaks by the end of the trail, this trail really takes it out of you.

Success!! We were so ready to see this spot!
This is where the trail box is and where the return route begins.

Cherry Creek Dirt Bike Trails

2012-03-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

Cherry Creek is awesome, and having some nice weather this weekend made it even better! As I've said before, this is a good place to get lost if you're not careful. This is also part of what makes this place such a good place to ride. There are so many options, I find something new every time I go out. It's like a one of those stories where you pick the ending, each turn takes you on a new path. I tried to piece some of my favorite trails together this time as you'll see on the map below the video. The orange is a trail we did as a family and is the easiest and widest of what I mapped. Most of the other stuff is narrow single track type riding. Even if your style is just to see where your bike takes you it's a good idea to have a gps and a place to start. As always you can zoom in and/or click the icons on the map for more detailed info. All of these could be ridden in a day, it's a fun place to just ride and explore.
View Cherry Creek March 2012 in a larger map, or go to MOBILE MAP

Family ride in wider wash shown in orange on map.
this is a short ride, but there are many spurs that we took
along the way as well.

Five Mile Pass Ride, Rattlesnake Jeep Trail

2012-03-14T12:34:00.002-07:00

This past Saturday was just too nice of a day to not get out and ride. My boys and I decided to head out to Five Mile Pass West of Lehi. This area has never been on the top of my list, perhaps because of the crowds, but it is one of the closest areas to us and we actually had a few really good rides and had a great time. There are a good number of trails out here, but as I mentioned the main areas can get crowded. Once out on the trails it has never seemed too crowded however, and we found some new trails along with a couple of play areas that the boys had a blast playing on for a while. When I first visited this area years ago, we came out with our jeep club and ran the rattlesnake trail. We decided to work our way over to it and then ran it down and back up. It has changed a lot and doesn't seem nearly as long on a bike. It's just a short trail that we use to have fun on in the rock buggy, but it's one where you have to find the hard lines or it's not much of a challenge. This was a fun trip and the first time out with the new SX head upgrade for my KTM 250XC. The head upgrade was definitely an improvement and had no downside to it at all. It ran tighter and stronger and was more fun to ride. My current jetting with the head worked well and did not need to be changed. The rattlesnake trail can be seen on the map as well as where we parked. There are a few large parking areas at 5 mile pass and many areas to camp. Enjoy the video!

View 5MP in a larger map

KTM 250SX Head Upgrade For The 2010 250XC

2012-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

KTM has always been a company that has offered options and filled niches in the market. The 250XC is an off road oriented race bike while the 250SX is a Motocross bike.
Also offered is the 250XC-w which is said to have a wider ratio transmission and be the most mellow version of the three. While these bikes differ in more ways than one, the head is an area where KTM can easily change the characteristics of one bike compared to the other. Altering the compression of an engine can do a lot to the power of an engine. The SX has higher compression than the XC, and the XC higher than the XC-w. Higher compression generally makes more power, but can also make an engine less reliable and/or less rideable if not done properly or kept in check. Elevation gain actually lowers compression, so the compression an engine makes will tend to be more of an issue for those that ride at higher elevations. Having these heads that are interchangeable factory options made a nice easy and safe way to give my 2010 KTM 250XC a power boost. I picked the head up for $164, add new o-rings for under ten bucks and some shipping and I was ready to go. The part numbers are almost identical, but do vary with one number. The 250 xc # is 54830106300, 250 sx # 54830106400, and the 250 xc-w # is 54830106200. This really is an easy swap, just unbolt the old head and re-bolt and re-torque the new head. Be sure to get new o-rings any time you remove the head.

Here you can see the difference in the heads. XC head on the left, SX on the right.
The shallow bowl of the SX head makes more compression.

Top view. The SX head on the right has a deeper hole for the plug because of the shallow bowl.
The casting is identical, just differences in machining.

As I said, this was a really easy swap. My initial impressions of the bike is that the low to mid power of the bike has been improved while the top is pretty much unchanged. In reading what others have said, this is pretty much what can be expected. It should not alter the top end performance or change the reliability of the bike. The first wheelie I pulled off a curb almost resulted in going over so I know there is a boost there! The mid pulls stronger as well and still has a smooth consistent pull throughout. I'm anticipating having to use more throttle control in some cases, but I am definitely happy so far with the feel of the bike. I'm not anticipating switching back, but this is always an option since the stock head is not modified. This is a great upgrade that gives a big boost to low-end and mid-range performance and torque.

Mary's Trail White Wash Sand Dunes, Moab UT

2012-02-26T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sunday evening after the snow storm I was able to get out and ride. The water from the melting snow created some pretty good runoff in the wash making for some fun and somewhat tricky riding there. Since the soil here is mostly sand and rock it doesn't turn very slick and/or muddy. I've heard that you do have to watch out for sink holes or "quicksand" but have yet to experience anything too serious myself. You do of course have to be careful not to get your front end sucked in when the sand is saturated in some spots. I decided that I wanted to do the entire Mary's Trail starting at the North West side, something that I had not done. This is a fairly short moderately difficult trail. The spots of snow made it hard to make out the white lines in some spots, but once you're on the trail it seems very well marked and easy to follow. The trail head is only a short distance from White Wash Sand Dunes where we were camped. Below the video is an excerpt from the Full Trail Map with key gps points. The red dots designate slickrock single track. The "slickrock start" point on the map is where the slickrock starts from the South side of Brian's Trail.

Brian's Trail To Dead Cow Wash Loop, White Wash Dunes

2012-02-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite areas is White Wash Sand Dunes between Moab and Green River Utah. It seems to be a really good place to visit this time of year within a reasonable distance as compared to other options.

We have been there at least twice in less than optimal conditions and this area has seemed to fare pretty well. I don't know what it is, maybe a little luck, maybe elevation or just location in general, but when the snow flies this area seems to be one of the least affected and it's much closer to us than St George, which would be warmer by a bit. It snowed one day while we were there and it melted off quickly and never became unrideable. Having a lot of sand and rock helps tremendously with this. The conditions on this trip were actually very nice excluding the one day of snow. Temps were around 50, and it was sunny and generally dry. The water in the washes really adds to the fun and the moisture in the sand keeps it more firm this time of year especially.. although there was some ice in the luge and tubes, later in the year would be much better for these sections. We made a 4 day weekend out of our regular holiday weekend, but the rest of our group just came down for the day on Saturday to ride. Having some new to the area we wanted to start out with something to warm up then hit some of the best there is to offer here. Dead Cow Wash and The Tubes has always been a favorite so the decision was to start out on Brian's and then take the Red Rim Trail to Dead Cow Wash, also known as "The Luge". Instead of looping on the tubes and luge, we backtracked trough this section to do it twice. This entire loop totaled around 28 miles and took our group just over 3 hours to complete. The map below the video shows the our route along with some points of interest. I ran Mary's trail the following day so there are a few points relating to that trail as well which intersects this loop. Check out the video below! Apologies for the dusty lens in the Tubes section and the shaky footage at times.

Click the "Directions" link on the map below for detailed directions from your location to the White Wash Dunes area where we camped.

View Brian's, Dead Cow Loop in a larger map

Full Printable White Wash Area Trail Map

Loop Distance: Approx 28 miles total as mapped above

Key GPS Points:(red pins on map)
-Camp, Start/Finish:(green tent icon on map) 38.803765,-110.033033
-Junction with Mary's towards end of Brian's: 38.768903,-110.012694
-Start Red Rim Trail: 38.763596,-110.039127
-Red Gate: 38.760785,-110.059914
-Dead Cow Wash Start: 38.738005,-110.068256
-Tubes Start: 38.725061,-110.108532

See All White Wash Area Trip Reports!

Favorite Utah Off Road Trails of 2011, Year In Review Video

2012-01-21T21:37:00.000-08:00

In a year when we updated our trailer and each one of us updated our bikes, 2011 was an eventful year for sure. Looking back on our trips and rides this time of year not only gives us a chance to reflect, but lets us look forward to trips to come as the snow falls outside. Here's a list of the places on the video for reference. I couldn't include everything, but here's some of our favorite areas this year off roading and trail riding in Utah.

-Knolls
-Dead Cow Wash/The Tubes(White Wash Sand Dunes AKA "GFR")
-Mary's Trail(White Wash Sand Dunes)
-Brian's Trail(White Wash Sand Dunes)
-Cherry Creek
-San Rafael(Near Goblin Valley)
-Little Moab(Eureka)
-Ephraim Canyon
-Ben Lomond(Ogden)
-Willard Peak
-Mtn. View WY
-Cottonwood Wash Hike, Capitol Reef
-Caineville(AKA "Swingarm City")
-Logan Canyon
-Cinder Hills AZ

Enjoy The Video!

Warner Valley Dirt Biking New Years Weekend

2012-01-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

This was our first trip to Warner Valley. Warner Valley is located South of Sand Hollow State Park near St George Utah. The main draw here is the fact that the temps are very mild throughout the winter months. We rode in January without a jacket, and really enjoyed the warm sun while hanging at camp as well. The drive for us is a real killer though to make it down very often. There are many other places with as good or better riding 2 or even 3 hours closer. The riding here really is pretty good however, and the option for the kids to ride around camp is a big plus. There are a few really good camp areas with tracks and trails within easy reach for the kids to play on. The kids liked this area as good or maybe better than other areas we've camped at. This time we stayed at moon rocks, but hung out a little at another spot too(marked by the red pin on the map). We met up with a few other families/riders to camp, party, and ride. It was great to have the company and some folks willing to show us around a bit. We stayed up and rung in the new year watching world record jumps via satellite tv near the camp fire and guitar hero inside the trailer. During our stay we basically did three loops which I have mapped below. I'm unsure of the official names, but the first one we did included part of the Fort Pierce Trail(red track), the second was Cactus something(blue track) so I called it the Cactus Loop, and the third has been referred to as the "Dino" Single Track Trail(orange track) since it is near the dinosaur tracks(marked by the green pin marker). Click "directions" on the map below to get to moon rocks from your location, or click the other markers for the same. Be aware that if you are hauling a trailer, at the time we went down we had to come in from the Hurricane(East) side because of a section of deep sand on the road from Washington/St George. This section is easily passable with 4wd, but hauling a trailer would have been a good chance at getting stuck. Conditions of this section change daily

View GOOGLE or MOBILE MAP

--Download GPX File For GPS Navigation--

San Rafael Swell Dirt Biking Orange, Red, Blue Trails

2011-12-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

The San Rafael Swell trails offer unbelievable scenery, technical obstacles, fast washes and a great variety of terrain. This ride was an adventure to be remembered. We started our day early in order to make the 4 hour drive to the trail head situated just off the pavement at the turn off to Goblin Valley State Park.

Here I am coming out of the ravine on the South facing slope, Red Trail,
snow in the background not knowing we would return.

We rolled in with little fuel to spare in the tow rig and unloaded the bikes. It was cool, but we soon warmed up as we headed North up Temple Wash towards the Orange Trail Head. By the time we stopped for lunch near the end of the Orange Trail we were shedding jackets to cool off with the warmth of the sun in the mid day. There was a little snow at this point, but most of this trail was dry and the going easy and fun! Upon completing the Orange Trail, we came to the Trail Head to the Red Trail. We quickly made the plan to head out the Red Trail in hopes of Looping back on the blue and running the Orange in reverse to get back to the truck. As we traveled North we noticed that all the North facing slopes were covered in snow, no problem, all the North facing slopes go down heading North, tenuous, but not too bad. A few miles into a trail that none of us had ever been on we realized we were running out of time. We had a couple hours of daylight, but the trail was difficult and the going slow. If we kept going we would run the risk of the unknown and could be caught out after dark with only one headlight between us and freezing temps. If we turned around we would have to tackle snow covered ledges, but we would be assured of escape knowing the route and knowing we could make it in time. We turned around and battled the slick uphill ledges until we reached the top. At this point we decided to take the sure Route of the Blue and back to the road knowing there were a few snowy climbs on the orange to negotiate as well. The ride back to the truck was COLD with the dipping sun, sweaty from the work of hurling bikes up ledges, with the wind racing down the road to make it back to the truck. What a ride though! Can not wait to go back, preferably without snow!

View in Google/Mobile Maps
Above is a map of our route showing where we parked, then our Route up Temple Wash,
the Orange Trail, then our attempt at the Red Trail. The green thumbtack is where
we decided to turn around and backtrack to the Blue Trail. Total mileage was 40 miles.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW!!

Here's some bonus footage, for whatever reason I couldn't get the format to work with my editing software, enjoy!!

Cherry Creek December 2011

2011-12-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

It gets hard to get out and ride this time of year. First you have the cold temps, snow, and short days. Then you have the holidays that take so much time and money, but it's because of these same reasons that it becomes necessary to make the added effort to get out if only for a short ride. Some friends and I were able to get out on such and outing this past Saturday. We debated on where to go but ended up going to Cherry Creek, the North side. This was a new staging area for me since we've always driven the extra miles to the South. The loop we made actually came within a mile of previous loops I have ridden from the South side and the terrain was similar, but this was all new ground for me. There were not many places to camp out here, but the shorter drive time gave us more time on the trail. The morning started fairly cold, and the dirt road we started our ride on was snow packed making it tenuous. Once we got going however, the haze lifted, the sun came out, and we found that the minimal amount of snow on the trails wasn't that big of a deal. I think we were all over dressed. I had a couple of light layers under my riding jacket. It was nice to feel the warm sun and have a nice ride. Here is a map of the 30 mile loop we did and a video highlighting our ride. Click the "Directions" link for directions from you location to the staging area.

--Download GPX File For GPS Navigation--

Key GPS points
Parking: 39.9149, -112.22308
Start of Trail:39.897506,-112.223496
Start of Wash: 39.82303, -112.24031

Cinder Hills Youtube Video

2011-12-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

I had so much footage from Cinder Hills OHV area that I had to make another video. This place is fun. Sorry for the shakiness. I got the bike dialed pretty good by the last day, check it out!

Want to know more?..here ya go. --Cinder Hills OHV area information--

Cinder Hills OHV Flagstaff AZ Dirt Bike and ATV Trails

2011-11-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

The best way for me to describe this place is a ski resort for dirt bikes. Some differences of course are that instead of mogul fields you have whoops, and instead of going down the runs, you go up them...instead of snow, volcanic cinders.

Looking down on top of one of the craters of "Double
Crater" This thing is huge, and yes you can play here!

There are also deep bowls that resemble powder bowls, trails that resemble cat tracks and the ability to play on the entire mountain. The cinders are much like riding in sand, but at the same time it's not fair to say this is just another dune area. The depth and consistency of the cinders vary making it possible to play in most areas without the use of a paddle tire. The cinders and trees also tend to offer more trails and obstacles in many areas rather than just dune hills. On a few of the bigger climbs a paddle tire seemed necessary, but having a paddle would limit you in other areas. A knobby made for loose sandy terrain would probably be the best choice here. The secret to riding here is to not ride it half assed. Once you commit to riding at speed with a good amount of throttle you will realize that there is a pretty good amount of control and traction to be had. Slow down and start worrying about hitting a tree or sinking the front tire and you probably will. However, there are a few areas that I show on the map below(green markers, light area) where slower less experienced or less aggressive riders can also ride and still have fun. If you have a more trail friendly, heavier mellow powered bike, you may want to consider these areas as well. I loved it all, but it wasn't till I dialed my bike in to hit harder and stay in the power band did I really enjoy myself here. At the time we arrived, the main access was closed due to flooding damage. I accessed the area by driving down Sunset Blvd. just South of this road as shown by the flag on the map.

-Cinder hills is located 12 miles Northeast of Flagstaff AZ and consists of approximately 13,500 acres of terrain. The cost to use the area is nothing. Click the "directions link" on the map below for directions from your location or use your mobile device and the link to the right.

Cinder Hills Rough Area Boundary. Lighter area seems more trail friendly with green markers marking a few trail heads, intersections etc. Red pin markers are more extreme play areas.

View Cinder Hills OHV Area in google maps

Watch The Video!

Staging area from Sunset Blvd.

Brayden getting ready to go ride.

A view of the crater at "Double Crater"

Halfway down into one of the craters at "Double Crater"

Yet another view of the crater and surrounding area.

Cinder Flats Area. This area is much easier to ride in, very beautiful with the trees etc.

The "pipeline trail" continues beyond the cinder hills boundary. (Shown by a green line on map above.)

Cinder Flats

Pines and Cinders, intermediate area

Lift Handle 04-10 KTM 250XC

2011-11-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

One of the issues with the 2004 to 2010 KTM XC's is the lack of a solid lift point on the rear of the bike. It is possible to lift with the fender,
but it's a little awkward and is not real solid. I saw this design online and liked the concept. The machined aluminum piece I saw online was nice, but at $75 I thought I might could make one that was just as strong and not pay too much of a penalty in weight. I made this from about $2.00 worth of steel, and it took maybe a couple hours to build although the time could be cut down with less finish work and knowing ahead of time the design details. The handle itself is 3/4" strap. The standouts are actually old bearing spacers from the swingarm of my old bike, but they are basically 1/2" inside dia pipe/tubing. These worked well because the get bigger at the base making it more stable, but something similar could be done with simple 1/2" pipe. I made the standouts first, then bolted them onto the bike. Once this was done I covered up the bodywork to protect it and spot welded the bent strap to the standouts. I then removed the handle to finish weld, sand, paint etc. Now I have a solid handle right where I need it.

I bent the strap to allow room to grab, then welded it to the standouts

I welded washers to the ends, the stock bolts work to hold it on

I heated the metal and quenched it in oil to harden the handle before paint

Bolt on over exhaust leaving all stock pieces intact
I used the stock bolts, but removed the stock washers allowing the bolts to thread down all the way

The finished product. Very stout, and right where I need a handle for yanking the bike around.

Cherry Creek Dirt Biking

2011-11-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

A friend and I went out to Cherry Creek this past Saturday to ride. The forecast was a little iffy but regardless it was going to be a good day riding. We were prepared for anything, but were rewarded with a dry day and partly cloudy skies.

The sun peeked through at times during the day
The rain never came

Cherry Creek is a great place to ride, although it is a bit further of a drive for most of us to get out there than some of the other places. It's big and has a lot of different terrain. You will most likely get lost, at least for a time without a gps. Below is some video footage I shot from our rides. My friend was on my old bike, so you'll see that we switched at one point during the ride. It's fun to see the comparison between the two. I really started to appreciate my new bike on this trip. The bike rides higher and feels bigger. The suspension is more set up for this kind of stuff as opposed to motocross and it really shined through. It's also made to make power smoother and get traction where my old bike is more instant power. I still have fun on my old bike as it jumps around more, but the new KTM 250XC is just smooth!

2010 KTM 250 XC Overview, Impressions, Initial Tuning

2011-11-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

I've never bought a new bike. I tend to like to tinker anyways and it hasn't been in the budget. We finally got to the point where we could justify it, and I finally was able to make myself buy an orange bike.
I've ridden Hondas all my life so this was a big thing. For some reason, I just like 2-strokes and there is no bigger player in the 2-stroke off road market than KTM. My old CR250 has been an awesome bike and still is, but riding a MX bike off road can be a callenge. Add age into the equation and having a bike that lets me ride less aggressive at times just makes it more enjoyable, especially with the amount of riding I do now with my wife and kids. The KTM 250 XC fits right in there. It is not a slouch, but it can be ridden slow and can be easily tuned from mx zip to bog-o-matic depending on how you like to ride. It's a fast bike, but my first impression of the bike was that it was hard to get going, it had kind of a delay in power and it was hard to keep in the power. As soon as I let off the throttle, it took more time than I liked to get back on the power and harder to maintain speed up steep windy trails etc. I remember from some research I had done, that it had 2 ignition maps and one was more aggressive. I was sure I was not in the aggressive mode, so I had to find this and test it out. This video shows exactly where to find the wire. I have ordered a switch so I can easily switch it on and off, but simply disconnecting the wire will put it in aggressive mode. The less aggressive mode makes it easier to get traction in really slippery conditions, while the more aggressive mode gives it more snap and pull down low making it easier to break the tire loose, wheelie over logs etc. Switching between the two on the fly could be a big advantage depending on conditions.

Besides disconnecting this wire, I also looked up the jetting specs for my altitude and temperature and found that I needed to drop the needle one clip to lean it out a bit. I also backed off the pre-load off the power valve spring by one turn. This is done via the square bronze hole below the water pump with a tool like the one offered from Enduro Engineering as shown to the right(you can make one in a pinch like I did). Turn in for more pre-load and out for less. This will make the power valve open sooner. There are also 3 choices of springs that can be changed out to make it open quicker. This is done by loosening the 2 bolts on either side of the square hole, taking the cap off, and changing the center spring. I still have the medium, yellow spring. Red will make it even more aggressive. Check out this video footage I shot. It's very easy to see the difference. For me, on this trail, it was so much easier to ride with the more aggressive setting.

What a bike!! Below is the remaining footage of the trail I ran with the adjustments. As you can see, it chugs and pulls way down low and has a nice rip all the way through the rpm range. It's just a blast to ride. This has to by my favorite type of riding, fast, aggressive trail riding...this bike is perfect for it. This trail is nastier than it looks on camera, steep and rough.

Millville Canyon, Logan Peak, Dry Canyon Singletrack

2011-11-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

First official ride on the new bike! This area has changed so much since I went up there last. There is an entirely new road up to Logan Peak! I'm not sure of the logic here, but..it's there and there are even more of the old routes closed including providence canyon! Providence Canyon has been closed due to flood damage, but now talk is that they may never open it back up. I really hope that's not the case, so many trails have been taken already. In the meantime, however there are still a number of really good 4x4 routes and trails to enjoy. This time we took Millville Canyon to Logan Peak, then took dry canyon singletrack(tracked in orange on the map) to the point where they have closed it to motorized access and turned around. There was a bit of snow and some cold hands on this trip, along with a bit of bike trouble but it was a great day of riding nonetheless. I have to say I am really happy with the new bike, but it has taken some tuning to get it nailed after this initial break in. luckily tuning the power on this bike is very easy to do. More to come on this later. Our route is shown on the map below. Click the icons for pictures and more info about each point. Be sure to check out the video footage below the map as well!

View View In Google Maps!

--Download GPX File For GPS Navigation--

Little Wild Horse Canyon 2011

2011-11-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is our second time up this canyon and it was enjoyed more by everyone this time than the first I think. This is a very popular slot canyon in the San Rafael Swell near Goblin Valley State Park. This time we focused just on the best part of the hike instead of completing the entire loop which seemed to be way too long for all of us. We started at the bottom and turned back just after the tight slot ended. It's best to do this hike on a non popular weekend as it will likely be crowded. Click here for directions to the trail head along gps waypoints, map, and more pics from our last trip. This hike is relatively easy with mostly flat ground to walk on making it accessible to many hikers. There is a difficult boulder crawl early on, but this can be bypassed by hiking high to the left. Once the slot is reached, you mainly just wander back and forth through the winding sandstone slot canyon. It's always cool in the canyon it seems, and there is normally not water since it drains quickly. Do not hike this canyon if rain is in the forecast however, it can fill up quickly and flash flood danger is real here. Here are some pics from our hike, enjoy!

--More info. on the Little Wild Horse Trail

Caineville , Swingarm City Oct 2011

2011-11-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Caineville is a great place to get away for us. There is riding for the kids close to camp, and all kinds of riding beyond. With the San Rafael Swell close by, the riding opportunities are nearly endless, not to mention all the great hikes and sites available off the bikes.

Brayden really made a jump in his riding abilities after
stepping up to the 85cc 2-stroke bike.

Being creative really helps to have fun riding in the Swingarm City area. Riding around with the boys gave us all a chance to spot different lines, jumps, trails etc. Sometimes they would find the best lines that I would never have seen. The San Rafael area is totally different. There are single track trails where you are required to stay on the trail, both are awesome and require a different style. Sometimes I like the open area riding, and sometimes I prefer the trail rides. It's all good, and it's really about challenging yourself and spending time with family and friends. Of course just kicking back in places like this is awesome too. Check out the video to see the contrast in riding areas, most is Caineville, with the waterfall trail(San Rafael Swell) thrown in between.
-Swingarm City Information
-San Rafael Trails

The weather was really awesome the whole time, we couldn't have had any better!

Owen is a little bit crazy...
Even in the buggy, below.

Brayden has skills

How did we get 5 kids?? Having fun with the panoramic mode...Hannah and Owen are fast.

Shelly loves her new bike, it took her a bit to get use to the soil here.

Cottonwood Wash Slot Canyon, Capitol Reef

2011-10-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

This hike was one that we tried before in the spring and couldn't make very far because of the large amounts of water that hide in the bottom of the canyon. This time we figured it would be drier, and it was, but just enough to allow us past our previous sticking point.

Travel under this
bouldler, fun!

This canyon is rugged and takes a lot of work to negotiate once it tightens up. There are a number of boulder crawls that require effort and skill to get past. Although our hike was short, we felt like we accomplished a lot, but we were let down that we couldn't continue further up the wash. The water was just too cold, and the canyon too tight to chance getting too far in without a wet suit, warmer water, and/or someone that had been through there before. It may be a while before we attempt this one again, and it may have to be a mid summer hike. On the map below, you will see where the turn off to the trail is from the main "notom bullfrog road". We parked shortly after turning off at the green arrow, but we soon realized that further travel would have been possible in our vehicle. There seems to be nothing stopping vehicle travel until you reach the yellow pin marker. With young kids, a lot of gear, or otherwise, it may be prudent to drive the extra mile, although some parts will be slow going. Route finding is easy if you follow the few points listed below the map. Click the "Directions" link below to get directions from your location to the turn off. Notice that the line stops where we stopped(see pic on map), but you may continue onward up the wash.

View Cottonwood Wash in google maps

Download GPX FILE for navigation.

GPS Points of interest:

CW 1: 38.165259,-111.088783 Turn off from Road

CW 2: 38.165681,-111.104071 Side Canyon, Stay Left

CW 3: 38.159839,-111.113003 Side Canyon, Stay Right

CW 4: 38.151378,-111.128431 40 Foot Dryfall, turnaround point for most.

Here's where we had to turn around. This water was bitter cold!! and DEEP.

This was interesting..looking down the
hole we need to descend.

Diving into the cold! No room for whimps...
unless your under 12 apparantly...

This is the section that stopped us the first time! It was 2 feet deeper before...I
figured I was already numbed after getting in the first time, I crossed a total of 16 times!

Cherry Creek October 2011

2011-10-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

Warm and dry for a trip in early October, but much better than the alternative. We met some friends for the weekend at Cherry Creek and it seemed as though everyone had a great time.
Cherry Creek is located near Little Sahara sand dunes, but offers a much different experience than the dunes.(click here for directions) The Cherry Creek area is huge and can accommodate a lot of people. We say many trailers coming out Friday evening, but saw very little traffic on the trails. Most seemed to stay near camp to ride, while occasionally hitting the trails. It's a good place to take kids depending on your camp location of choice. Be aware that if you camp or ride in the trees it becomes very easy to loose your direction. Our location allowed our kids to ride around camp without getting lost and allowing us to keep an occasional eye on them. The terrain varies from soft sand to hard rock, double track to single track, rolling hills to steep technical climbs. If you can't find something to ride here, you may need help. Everyone in our group found something they loved to ride from challenging to mellow, fast to slow. Click to see all of our cherry creek trip reports. So far, my favorite area to ride here is the area Northeast of the dunes. The trails in this area are steeper travel into some of the higher elevations. The washes are a flat out blast to burn through, and the technical single track trails should challenge most anyone. Sunday morning I decided to go out and make a loop in the area. As you can see on the map(zoom in), there are so many options. Had I chose a left instead of a right or right instead of a left I could have ended up doing a totally different set of trails. However, Over the few rides I've done, this one was the best I've done so far.

View in Google Maps

Download GPX FILE for gps navigation

I traveled the trail in a counter clockwise direction starting at the flag and returning via the road to camp. Total mileage was around 23 miles, leave yourself 2 hours to complete the ride including stops. Elevation gain is 2, 220 feet.

Exit this wooded area and enter the wash
(yellow pin marker)

immediately after reaching the wash at the yellow pin marker, exit here.
You may also travel up the wash, but this time I chose this route
to make a larger loop.

Looking back down nearing the top

Looking towards the highest point of the trail

This is the highest point of the trail, looking down towards Little Sahara
Very rocky and narrow before and after this point.
(red rocky icon on the map)

The trail grows faint as you travel
along the high faces.

Looking down towards Little Sahara and the main Cherry Creek Area
Look close and you can see Cherry Creek Res.
At this point I could see the road, but not how to get to it!

After picking my way through the faint singletrack I merged into a more distinct trail
(blue marker on map), then I dropped into this wash for a nice, although not
direct ride, back to the road.

Washing the bikes after a weekend of fun!!

Willard Peak To Ben Lomond Dirt Bike Singletrack

2011-08-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Although a good portion of this ride is on a dirt road, the sections of trail that are accessed here are worth taking the time to ride. The highlight of this ride is the upper section of singletrack that leads from Willard Peak Road to Ben Lomond Peak. It is very narrow in sections and the views are amazing. We even saw a heard of mountain goats along the way in the rugged terrain above the trail. This same section of trail can be reached by riding the Ben Lomond Peak Trail as well, although this route is easier for less experienced riders. My 9 year old rode all but the last set of switchbacks up to the peak with minimal help. There is also a good section of double wide atv trail near the bottom that cuts some of the road travel off the trip(designated by the purple line and red thumbtacks on the map below). This ride took us around 3 hours to complete and we traveled roughly 25 miles including a short spur to a lookout along the way. We stopped for a good rest at a place overlooking Willard Bay as well as taking some time on Ben Lomond before heading back down. The singletrack is designated by the red line and the motorbike icon on the map below. Be sure to also check out the video below the map.
Click the "Directions" link on the map below for detailed directions from your location to the parking area. The first parking area is much larger, but the second one cuts out a section of paved road.

Download GPX FILE for gps navigation

Key GPS Points:
Parking area: 41.46905,-111.94244
ATV trail head(lower): 41.461897,-111.941111
ATV trail head(upper): 41.4477,-111.941867
Y in road, stay right: 41.447323,-111.941612
Singletrack trail head: 41.39134,-111.97833

Ben Lomond Peak SingleTrack Ride

2011-08-08T06:47:00.001-07:00

Ben Lomond Peak, just North of Ogden Utah is probably the most famous of the peaks in the northern portion of the Wasatch Mountains. There are a couple different trails that lead to the final climb to the peak. The trail I rode started in the North Ogden Divide and climbed North towards Ben Lomond Peak(seen from a distance to the right). The trail is very narrow single track and there are many tight switchbacks. It is open to hikers, mtn. bikers, horses, and dirt bikes so be prepared to share the trail. I encountered mainly hikers this time, all of which were very willing to yield. I didn't see any horses this time which usually require shutting down the bike and getting off the trail to let them by. I didn't get an accurate distance measurement, but by adding up a few routes on my gps the total mileage round trip looks to be just under 20 miles. Most of the trail is moderate to easy, but the last climb to the peak is difficult reaching nearly 10,000 feet. The rocky switchbacks require good technical ability and all of your attention to negotiate. This was my first time and I had 3 or 4 falls. Unfortunately there was still snow on the very upper portion of the trail which stopped my progress just before reaching the tip. I really enjoyed this trail. It had a good mix of switchbacks before it opened up on the top for a bit, then it gave it all to you with the challenging climb to the peak.
Click the "Directions" link on the map below for detailed directions from your location to the trail head.

Download GPX FILE for gps navigation

Mtn View July 2011

2011-07-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

For the holiday weekend of the 24th we traveled to Mtn. View WY to do some riding, camping, and even a few fireworks. Mtn. View is a decent place to go this time of year because it is a little higher in elavation. The temps while we were there topped out just above 80 most days and there was always a light breeze. We were prepared to run the air conditioner in the trailer, but we never turned it on. It stayed really pleasant in the shade and inside the trailer the whole time. This is also a fun place to go because you can pick up fireworks on the way nearby to light including those that are illegal in Utah. The boys really got into the firecrackers and bottle rockets. I liked the big booming aerials. We were the only ones camped there all weekend although there were a few people that came out Sunday and Monday to ride during the day. We had a great time riding around, it was also fun introducing the girls to riding..on their newly acquired bikes. Here's a video and some pics from the weekend.

See more info about Mtn. View
See all Mtn. View Trip Reports

Willow Creek Loop Trail

2011-07-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

This is a loop we explored over the 4th of July weekend in Ephraim Canyon. Having an especially wet year made getting to the top questionable, but they had just opened the road days before we got there. We found a nice spot near the top to park the trailer and make camp for the weekend. It was chilly at times, but warmed up nice during the days as well. The snow was melting quick making many of the trails messy, and many impassable. This loop was a little lower in elevation and really has some fun terrain to traverse. There are a few remote ponds along the way and this time I saw a few small waterfalls as well. A couple sections required skirting around the mud and water holes to get through. As you can see by the picture, I misjudged one and ended up stuck pretty good. The mud was so soft here that I would sink my feet in trying to pull up on my bike. I had to lay a log across to give me something to walk on giving me a way to work my bike out of the muck. The distance of this loop is around 11 or 12 miles, and it's moderate in difficulty on a drier day. The extra water made it difficult and the deep water crossings in some areas were very interesting. I first traveled the trail in a clockwise direction(from the top down) and did the outer loop. The 2nd day, we all completed the shorter, inner loop from the bottom starting on Willow Creek RD and going up. The trail consists of dirt road and 4 wheeler doubletrack. Click the "Directions" link on the map below for detailed directions from your location to the trail head.

Download GPX FILE for gps navigation