4 days of mud, rocks, rain & adventure in Utah. 10/10

This is long.. all 4 days strung together. I posted it in parts over on adv, and almost didn't bother posting it here, since it seems few people read the adventure reports. But i thought there might be someone who would like to see it in all one piece.

We finally decided to get up to Utah for some riding. We'd talked about it a lot, but getting everyone's schedule together is no easy task. Kim wanted to trailer the bikes up.. too much riding up for him. Ok with me, too. So Brian, Kim, Tom & i met at Kim's early monday morning, 10/4/10 to head up to Moab. Kim's Avalanche was an easy ride.. smooth & comfortable. We checked in to our hotel & decided we had time for a short ride. We thought Gemini bridges would be close, so hopped on our bikes with minimal gear & was on the trail before 4pm.

It was a nice climb up the switchbacks.. great views, & a rough road to whet our appetites. As we got closer, the skies darkened. I stopped several times to ask if everyone still wanted to continue. We were having fun on the ride & no one wanted to turn back. Then big drops of rain began to pelt us. "Forward!" was the cry, so forward we went. Then hail came down, & rivers began to cross the trail. 'Maybe we should head back,' Tom reluctantly conceded. By now it was a serious summer monsoon.. cats & dogs. Big hailstones. No one had brought a rain jacket. Everyone was drenched.




We eventually got back on the pavement & made our way to the protection of the motel. We wrung out our clothes the best we could, hung them up anywhere we could, & changed into some dry clothes to go to dinner. We walked to a nearby sports bar/restaurant & had a nice if pricey meal. Back to the rooms, we zonked out early.. get some rest for the next big day's ride: White Rim Trail.

I've limited my videos in this report.. i got a lot more, but decided to just have a few to show the terrain & riding conditions better. They are all in HD, so you can click on the HD button on the youtube link to change the resolution.


Day 2. The White Rim Trail.

We had heard that the white rim trail had gotten washed out by mineral bottom road, & was no longer a loop. That was very disappointing, but we figured we could still ride one of the classic western dual sport rides in the country. We would go out by the potash ponds, go as far as our fuel would allow, then come back. We'd get most of it.

First a group shot: Kim, Brian, Scotty, Tom.



With all the recent rains, we counted on wet conditions, as well as more rain on the ride. Rain jackets were packed, & our delicate finery was left in the rooms for another time.

Kim & Brian were on kawasaki klx 250's, Tom brought his honda 650xrl, & i was on the lone yamaha wr250x. All of them fine bikes for the white rim. The ride takes about 20 miles of pavement to start, but along the colorado river.. great scenery & an easy ride. Then it hits dirt & starts to wind through rocks & washes.



It came out on a nice overlook above the colorado river.



It was a great day.. we could see clouds forming in the distant mountains, but we had a sunny start. ..not too much water in the washes we crossed, either.



Every turn had spectacular views & fun, rocky riding.





Unfortunately, Tom's honda began to give him trouble. It was sputtering & stalling when he'd open the throttle. It only ran ok with full throttle. He was not confident it would make the ride, so opted to turn back. It started, & he turned back.. missing the white rim ride. We all wept briefly for him, then hopped on our bikes & continued the ride.

An early stop along the way was musselman's arch. Kim is an old utah native, & can remember when they used to ride motorcycles across it.. before it became more restricted. He was happy to just walk across it this time, though. I figured when he first saw it, it hadn't eroded underneath it, yet, so was an easy ride across.. plus the motorcycles then were just driven by feet & had stone wheels..





It was fun for me to ride the trail the other way around.. i had ridden it from mineral bottom road in June. It still has the usual scenery to die for.



The trail winds along the rim of a huge canyon. The rocks are very light colored near the rim. Hence, 'white rim'. The road is pretty rough.. lots of rocks. But it is no trouble for our monster dirt bikes.



The trail follows the rim fairly close. Sometimes it goes right up to the edge. ..makes a good photo op.



The clouds were beginning to pile up on us, but it just made the sky more interesting for picture taking.



The klx's were very pretty.. but neither the riders nor the bikes wanted to go very fast. That was fine to me.. it gave me more time to stop & take pictures while i waited for them to catch up. My 'mad max' wrx wasn't very pretty, but it was a great adventure bike.. as over 1000 miles of riding it on this trip would prove.







There's not a lot to say.. the vistas were spectacular, the riding was fun & had some challenging spots. We passed a lot of bicycles & their support vehicles, but no other motorcycles. It was a tuesday with rain in the forecast.








It wasn't long before big drops began to fall.. with some nice wind & cooler weather. It rained on us climbing up murphy's hogback, a steep & rocky climb up to more spectacular views. When it's dry, the trail is very loose, with deep powder to run through. The rain settled that down, & it wasn't a hard climb.. but it's not for beginners. There were more than a couple of spots that surprised us.. some high steps we had to climb up.. no time to think about it, just twist the throttle & jump over it! No major mishaps.. a drop or 2 was all for the three of us.



Here's Bryan climbing up the last part of murphy's hogback.



We decided to make this our halfway point. We stopped a lot on the way, oohing & ahhing & snapping pictures like tourists. But our fuel was about at the halfway point, even though i had brought an extra 2g. in my rotopax.






So now we had the long descent.. still a beautiful ride along some amazing rim rocks. You can see Kim & Bryan coming down.







This spot had a big step going down.. i skipped my skidplate on it going over. I'd still rather go down these kind of steep sections than up them.



We rode through more scattered showers, but didn't stop as much for picture taking. Now we were getting hungry & thirsty.. home beckoned!

We made it back before dark, greeted Tom who had been troubleshooting his bike, & called out for a pizza.. i picked it up on the bike, along with a sixpack of polygamy porters. We did under 200 miles, total. About 50 of it was paved. It was a fun ride, amazing views, & interesting situations.. not a lot of nasty mud or steep, stepped rocks. That would be later.

end of day 2.

Day 3. Tom's birthday ride. Kane Creek.

Not many people are still riding motorcycles at 70 years old. It takes a man with grit, determination, & demetia to keep pushing & ride through every obstacle that comes up in life. It takes guts & real manliness.. like John Wayne turning his back on Bruce Dern in The Cowboys. It takes a man who sneers at death, scoffs at injury, & considers danger among his mosts intimate friends. Tom is such a man. His physical fitness level far eclipses that of much younger men. His mental toughness is an inspiration to all who ride with him. He does not give up, wear out, or break down under the most grueling conditions.. conditions that convince most riders to take up knitting or switch to quads. So on his 70th birthday, what kind of ride could we do to celebrate such a monumental event for this milestone in his life?

It had rained most of the night. It was still sprinkling & cloudy when we walked next door for a fast food breakfast. We were planning a short ride in the morning, then trailering the bikes & heading for Hanksville, our next riding destination. With the rain, it looked like we might be missing the ride this morning. But after we bought Tom a hearty breakfast.. a $1 muffin sandwich & a coffee.. no expenses spared for this special day.. the skies began to clear! We might get a ride in after all! We figured we had about a 3 hour window. Kim & Brian wanted to ride to arches & look at the rocks. Tom wanted to do some dirt & see how his bike was running. I thought we could do the Kane Creek trail. It was a longer loop, but we could just cut it short & return, or there was a shorter turn off that cut over to highway 191 for a 30 mile loop back to moab. We checked out of the rooms, leaving our stuff in Kim's truck. We wouldn't need lunch or much water.. just going on a short, easy ride!

The sun was shining brightly as we headed out on Kane Creek road.. a wide, graded road with stunning views.



We passed a few cars, a couple of motorcycles, but it was not busy, & we had the road to ourselves most of the time. Tom & I were both dazzled by the majestic beauty of the canyons & rock formations, & we stopped several times to take it in, & take pictures.



We hadn't gone far, & Tom realized his bike was still not running right. He would later find out the accelerator diaphragm had a hole in it, & was causing the bike to run rich. It would stall under acceleration, cough & sputter when starting, & it smelled very rich following him.. too much gas going through the engine unburned. It would start very hard when it died.

After a few miles, we came to a crossroad. There was an unimproved road heading to the east, which on the map reconnected with Hwy 191 & would take us back to moab. Or we could continue on the improved road for another hour or so, then turn back to meet Kim & Brian.

Tom's bike wasn't running very well, but he thought we could ride the easy loop back to moab.. it was only about 20 miles or so.



The first part was fun.. had a lot of ups & downs, wash crossings, rocks.. nothing too hard, but still challenging enough to be a fun ride. Tom could keep his momentum up, so the bike didn't stall.





But it was still running rough.. Tom wanted to stop again to look at it. He tinkered with it for a bit, & was a little worried about it overheating.





He messed with it a bit, but it wasn't running any better.. so we had to decide whether to keep riding or turn back for the easier road. We had gone about 10 miles into this ride, & while it had some challenging spots, it wasn't too bad & Tom was not having too much of a problem with it. ..only 10 more miles or so, we could finish this out & be back at Kim's truck early.. maybe we'd go over to Arches, too & meet them.

The last picture of the riders with color in their faces..


Then we ran into a narrow, rocky section. The honda stalled, so Tom had to get off & manhandle it through the narrow slot. I helped a little, getting the back up over some rocks.



I followed, & got through the narrow part, but stalled on the hill.



Now the trail began to follow the creek.. sometimes right down the middle of the water. Other times, it wound around in the sand. There were other tire tracks, so we figured it was passable.. at least some other unfortunate souls had come this way, too.

We got through another long section along the rocky edge, & got into sand & water crossings. Would the honda have what it takes to make it through the sand? ..got to keep up the momentum & keep the wheel driving in that stuff..



More later..

Here we start into the water.. right away there's a small crossing with a steep sandy bank. Tom get partway up, but the honda stalls & buries the back tire.







I decide to continue along the creek.. not really any better, just different.



About this time, my bike starts to act up, too. It won't start unless it's in neutral. I suspect the kickstand switch is the culprit, since i had disabled it & put a jumper in it. That has happened before. So now when i stall, i can't just pull the clutch & restart, i have to shift to neutral, then start, then shift back to 1st.





We wrestle with the bikes for 4 or 5 drops in the sand.. lifting them up, getting the rear tire some traction. It's a lot of work, but it looks like we've only got a few miles to go. More sand washes. More following the creek. Then we get to a section with a narrow ledge with about a 3' drop down to the creek. Branches are sticking out with dense undergrowth. No room for error, have to ride the 12" ledge. I start looking for another way, but Tom goes ahead. Then i hear some yelling. Tom's bike has slid down the drop & pinned him against the bank. I walk over & help lift the bike off. Now it is in the creek, so he gets it started again, then follows the creek for a bit until the trail crosses again. I decide to go down a 2' drop & follow the creek. I make it down the drop ok, but get into some deep sand again & drop it.

My video card is full, & i don't take any pictures of the next mile or so, but it is more of the same: a few more drops in deep sand, some boucing around in the river bed, & a couple of deep pools we ran fairly fast to cross. They covered us with a sheet of water.



I only brought a small water bottle. It is gone by now, with the added physical exertion. I had a small bag of trail mix, but neither of us wanted to eat. Tom had his camelback, & gave me a cup. Fortunately, it wasn't hot.. it was warm enough with the work we were doing, but a 90* day would have done us in.

The road starts to climb up away from the creek bed. We think we must be coming out. But now the road gets narrower.. hardly big enough for a bike, much less a quad. We finally come to a sign.. this is a 'more difficult' trail.. glad we know that, now. There were no signs when we came in.



We considered turning back. But the trail we had come on was pretty tough already, & we didn't really want to go back through it. So we pressed on, hoping it would get easier. It didn't.

Some of the hill we had to climb..






This section had some metal tracks for going over some big steps. I'm not sure why. There were other bigger steps we had already been on & would come to that were bigger. But they were nice for getting down to the creek.



I managed to get through the water ok, then had to gun it to get up the sandy bank. But i did finally make it up. I then watched as Tom followed. He decided to go a different way across the creek, but he eventually made it, too. We then rode through the creek for a few hundred yards, with not a few tense moments to add to the increasing drama.







No sooner across this obstacle, than we met a gnarly uphill, steep, & stepped section. We got off the bikes & walked it.. trying to decide whether to go on or turn back & ride through everything we'd already done. I picked out a line, & i thought if i could keep my momentum, i could keep the line & make it up. I had also put in another memory card in my video camera.. i figured if we were both going to die in fiery crashes in this canyon, i would at least get it on video. But i didn't turn it on, so intent was i on plotting this section.

I backed the bike up a bit, then hit the throttle & raced up the hill. You can see the start of it at the end of the last video. Somehow i managed to actually keep the line i wanted to take & got up the hill in just a few seconds! I was euphoric! I was very stressed in anticipation of this climb, and making it was a great relief.

Now it was Tom's turn. He also gunned it & started up. I could see him boucing up the big steps & he made it almost all the way up before the ornery honda stalled again. Fortunately, there was only a short section to finish up. We wrestled the bike up & rested for a bit before continuing the journey.

The trail we were on was not on my gps. But i could see on the gps that the highway was only a few miles away.. as the crow flies. Tom wondered how far if the crows had to walk out, pushing broken up dirt bikes..

We were both getting a little tired & stressed from the constant challenges at every turn. We knew it would be much later for us getting back, if we did at all. It was about 3pm, local time, & we were supposed to meet Kim & Brian at 1pm for the trip to Hanksville. It was also starting to cloud up again.. like it did the first day. The skies were getting very dark, & we could hear distant rumbling. We fully expected to have torrential downpours added to our list of obstacles.



We tried to keep moving if we could.. didn't want to stop for anything, since we were already late, & we figured Kim & Brian would assume we were dead & go on to Hanksville without us. I checked for a cell phone signal several times.. nope.. Not in these canyons.

We rode along for another few hundred yards, when we came upon another creek crossing with a steep, rocky climb afterwards. The rocks had slick moss on them under the water, & this was the hardest section, yet. How many more can there be? Each one was harder than the previous one.. was this trail ever going to end?







It was getting darker & darker.. loud crashes of thunder followed the bright flashes in the sky. We were going to get hammered by the rain, & did not want to spend any more time in this canyon. We walked up the trail to see what was on the other side... another creek crossing & a sandy bank. It looked easy compared to what we had to do first. I was feeling very weak.. the stress, the work of wrestling the bikes, & the lack of water was taking it's toll. I began to look at some of the rock shelves around, thinking we could huddle under one of them & spend the night. Going back would be even more impossible.. we knew what lie behind, & would rather take our chances on hopefully fewer challenges ahead.

I stretched out on a flat rock for a bit. I drank a cup or 2 of water out of the creek. This was a critical survival situation for us, & i needed to be clear minded & positive. Tom could sense my dispair, & exhorted me to press on. The skies continued to darken & large drops began to fall. He was feeling very threatened by the rain, feeling it would make our exit from this canyon even more difficult, not to mention flash flood possibilities. So Tom didn't wait for me to go first, but hopped on the honda & motored up the hill. This next pic shows some of the terrain, though as usual does not capture the steepness or the step size. The big step he was about 15' from stalled him & he dropped on the right side. I ran up & we pulled the bike upright, & tried to get the wheels in a good slot for climbing the rest of the way.



We got it up & the wind began to gust extremely hard. I looked down & my bike had fallen over! The wind had blown it off the side stand & it lay there, whimpering on its side. I stood it up & began to psyche myself up for the climb. You can tell by the light's visibility in the pics & video how dark it was getting. At the beginning of my climb, you can also see the rocks dotted with big raindrops. Maybe there was more ahead, but we had to get out of this, now. I straightened up my handguards & took off up the hill.



I dumped it in the same spot as Tom, falling on my right side. My new radiator guard was installed just in time.. this ride tested it out. We wrestled my bike up the hill, mounted up & kept going.. the rain was falling harder, & we did not know what was ahead.

More later..

The rain was starting to fall harder.. it was dark, as you can tell by seeing the headlights on the trail in the videos. We made it up the most difficult climb we had up to this time, & were hoping to get back to Moab before dark. It was about 4pm by now. Bryan & Kim must think we'd fallen off the edge of the world. We thought that, too, on some parts of the trail.

Here was my bike before the previous climb. A fierce gust of wind just toppled it.





We were still running along the creek.. in the creek for a lot of it. Sorry about the raindrops on the camera lens.. it fuzzies out some of the terrain.. makes it look nice & soft. But it wasn't. It was sharp & had an edge.



The trail followed the creek for a bit more, then started up another rocky then sandy/muddy climb. We didn't stop to check it out, but just twisted the throttle & climbed up. After all, we were advanced riders, now. I was very relieved to see we were at the top, following a wide road, & heading away from the creek. In a few miles, the road came upon a gate, which opened up onto hwy 191 which took us into moab. We were very happy to be riding in the rain on pavement, and it wasn't far. It was nearly 6. We were 4 hours late. We were very happy to see our loyal comrades Kim & Bryan waiting in the parking lot, bikes already loaded. We loaded our bikes into Kim's trailer, then took Tom out for his Birthday dinner. Tom & I went on and on, boring Kim & Bryan with our tales of danger & brushes with death. They were mostly amused, but patiently listened. They told us they had to cross a trickle of water on the pavement in Arches, & the blow dryer was out in the men's restroom, so they had some pretty grueling experiences, too. But we all survived to ride another day. We drove to Hanksville & made it to the hotel by 9pm. It was wet & muddy there, too. More fun tomorrow!

Tom admitted this would be a very memorable birthday ride.. one he wouldn't forget soon, & would retell many times in therapy. I told him God must have a twisted sense of humor to let him do this ride on his 70th birthday, & why did i have to go, too?

Adversity brings out the best & worst in people. I learned a lot about Tom & myself on this ride. Tom is a man with dogged determination. There was no whining, no regrets about what we should have done, or blame. It was all about what we needed to do, next.. what we had to do to get through this. Even though we both knew we were in over our heads, Tom kept our focus on the problem of the moment, & how we would solve it. We both knew we were very close to spending the night outside in the rain, with no relief until morning. It was not a pleasant prospect. We were on the edge.. very close to a meltdown. I felt a mixture of anxiety & anger. ..a little afraid, since injury seemed very possible, as well as exposure if we broke down with even a minor injury. I was angry with myself for not looking into this ride & finding out what it was.. assuming a line on the map was a normal navigable road. But it was spilt milk to Tom, & he pressed us to keep going & not give up. I will remember this life lesson for my next adventure: Competition Knitting.

End of day 3.

Day 4. No joy in Mudville.

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the mudville 4 this day.
Tom was staying home so only 3 of us would play.
But since Bryan was a newbie, & Kim & i were lame,
The sticky mud would be the only winner of this game.

Tom's ribs were pretty sore after the last drop on the right side from the day before. He found out later he had cracked them. But he did not complain, just rode the bike out of the most difficult riding i had ever done. But that minor inconvenience, with the flakey running of the honda convinced him to stay at the hotel this day. So after a hearty breakfast at Blondies.. & i do mean hearty.. they do not serve a stingy breakfast.. we gassed up & headed for the surrounding hills. An easy dirt ride to Goblin valley, then a loop around. This was some of Kim's old riding grounds. We were all looking forward to riding after he had regaled us with tales of derring do in his long lost youth. Kim's gps was too small or his eyes too dim for him to see it, & Bryan didn't cotton to that sort of thing, so i defaulted into riding point.

The 'dirt' road into Goblin Valley.


We crossed a few puddles.. a reminder of the past few days steady rains, though the early part was reasonably dry. But after a few miles we came upon a longer wetter crossing. I saw it coming up, and tried to pick up momentum to get through, hoping i would find solid ground underneath the wet mud. I soon found out why i was appointed to ride in the lead.





I buried it to the axles. I got off & the bike stood up by itself.. no kickstand. I walked around it some, looking wistfully back at my riding companions. Have you seen nature shows where a lion catches a gazelle or water buffalo & the rest of the herd watches at a distance as their hapless friend is eaten? I was the gazelle in the lion's claws.





I tried several times to walk it out, but only moved a few feet, & sunk it deeper. I went for a walk to see where the nearest exit point might be. It was at least a hundred yards in any direction.

I was about in the middle of the mud patch. It was a low spot where all the drainage from the rains had collected. The mud was deep & consistent. Finally, Brian & Kim came out to help. We picked out a spot that headed toward some high ground. Bryan pulled with a tow strap he had thoughtfully brought, Kim pushed, & i walked beside the bike spinning the rear tire. We started to move! First a few inches.. then it picked up some momentum.. finally when it got in some grass clumps it caught & took off. I jumped on it while the back was still spinning, & rode it onto high ground.

This was the brown mud challenge.



Kim & Bryan were walking around by my mud road entrance to find a drier, easier way to cross. Kim did not want to get his jersey muddy.

I yelled across to them that i would ride some more & see if i could find where the road continued. If it was more of the same, i would have to come back. I went up more, & could see something that kinda looked like a road.. but it was very rutted. I gave the signal that there was a road ahead.. one long blast on my fog horn.. then walked over where i could see them. They must have debated the merits of trying to cross for a long time. ..or maybe they were eating lunch. ..or telling old stories of when they got stuck in the mud.. or wondering if they left me if i would hunt them down like Clint Eastwood in Hang 'em High. They stayed there for a while, then finally, i see them turn around & drive back the other way!

Right. It's not like i could run into any trouble on this easy trail.. and i certainly was not going to turn back & cross the mud field alone. So my only option was to press on. Tom was not there to inspire & motivate me, & i could only imagine the maniacal laughter fading over the hill as Kim & Bryan disappeared from view.

OK. Abandoned by my closest friends, I turned to the one who could get me out of this jam.. one who could be relied on in every situation, to not care about mud, rocks, rain, or unsteady companions. ..who is strong & reliable & can be trusted in a tough situation to keep their cool. My trusty motorcycle. It had already taken me through some severe riding conditions the day before. This was just another routine challenge for the wrx.

A little muddy, but ready to ride!




I walked back to the bike & surveyed the terrain ahead.. not much of a road.. lots of washed out ruts.. some too deep to cross. I started out trying to follow the road, but it disappeared every so often. I kept near where it was supposed to be by watching the gps. I got on the wrong side of some washout ruts & had to backtrack to keep on the road. There were also occasional puddles in the road.. puddles i didn't want to go through, considering what they can be like, & that i was alone to fend for myself. I comforted myself in the hope that Kim & Bryan would at least call search & rescue in a few days if i didn't show up.



But at last i made it to a park boundary gate! The road was pretty muddy & i still did not trust it. But after opening the gate, i walked on the road & it felt firm under a thin top layer of mud. If i could keep moving, i should not sink. So i sling shot myself back on the road & followed it to the pavement. This was near the entrance to Goblin Valley state park, where we were planning on turning north to another loop. Kim & Bryan should be back this way in an hour or so. They would have gone back on the dirt to hwy 24, then taken it north to the paved Goblin Valley turnoff. I had taken the scenic route & the shortcut.



This was my last video of the day... i don't know if the card was full, the battery low, or a bad connection in the switch. But i retired it for the day. I had gotten enough on video.

I waited for almost an hour. I got to fill up on fluids.. take plenty of pictures.. ponder life's mysteries, & rest up for the remaining ride. They eventually showed up.



I think Kim was upset there was mud on his bike..


I don't know how, but they convinced me that i should go first, again. We were on an easy gravel road, now, so i did. It wasn't long before i no longer saw anyone in my rearview mirror. I waited a bit, then turned back. Kim & Bryan were watching some antelope on the hillside. Bryan's sharp hunter eye had spotted them in the distance.



Then the easy gravel road ended, & we were riding in a wash. It was wide & firm. It ran through a bit of water, but nothing too deep. Mud was thin & was in small patches. Fun riding.



There was ease in scotty's manner as he climbed upon his ride.
There was pride in scotty's bearing & his beaming smile was wide.
The mud might claim a lesser man, but scotty would prevail.
He'd roll through every obstacle on every hill and dale.

But after a few miles, we climbed up out of the wash & rode along a semi-muddy road.. it was mostly drained off, but had some spots. I got through everything by keeping my momentum up & power to the wheel. Then we got to the grey mud. This was the bentonite Kim spoke of in somber tones. It would stick to the tires, jamb up the chain & sprockets, & cripple the bike. He told us of many poor souls who had burned out clutches, slid off roads, or gotten lost & never heard from again. It was the utah bentonite that did it.. lying in wait.. looking innocently easy when dry, only to seize it's victims after a rain, never to release them from it's sticky clutches. We rode into a section that looked like it had a thin layer we could roll through.



Several spots we cruised through.. sliding around some, but getting through it. But then we got into a longer section.. i was fishtailing through it, trying to keep moving. But i couldn't keep it up & went down in the mud. I picked the bike up, but before i could remount, Bryan came along & tried to pass me. But the mud was not very maneuverable, & he went down & ended up facing the other way. I helped him pick his bike up. Kim approached slowly, riding in our tracks to have better traction. He did not go down.



Let's not turn back.. this is surely just a short section & will end soon. Once we get out of it, it will be easy riding, again.



We mostly stayed out of long stretches of the grey mud, winding along the trail, crossing washes, & avoiding ruts in the road. But then i came over the crest of a hill with a long grey stretch of road before me. There was a few hundred yards going down, making some turns, then climbing back up. I'll keep the wheel driving & my momentum will get me through.

But it didn't. About halfway through i go down again, slipping in the slick mud. It is caked & jammed in the wheel, chain, & sprocket. I had difficulty picking the bike up, as the rear tire would slide in the mud, & my feet didn't have much solid ground, either. It was about a 4" layer of sticky but slick grey mud. I had about 150 yards to go either way. I pushed the bike, spinning the back wheel for a few feet. I was really having to give it throttle to get the wheel to spin, so thick & jammed up was the mud. On the hilltop in the distance, i could see the rest of the herd watching as another one of their own is eaten by lions.

I get the bike to rest on it's stand, then walk ahead to see how the road is. It is slick & muddy the whole way. I am sweating bullets from working the bike, & drink the rest of my sport drink & most of my water. I walk back to the bike, the lucky ones still watching on the hill. I realize if i go on, i will be alone. They will not cross this mud patch. Then what? What if there are miles of grey mud waiting for me over the next hill? I figure i will have to push back through the mud, climb the muddy hill, & get back on the road we came from. Once i got back on the watcher's hill, i would not stop, but keep moving & return home. It was me & the bike. We were on our own.

I turned the bike around & spun it through the mud a few feet at a time. It was a grueling workout. I was fully geared & had to keep the wheel spinning to free it from the mud, but it would fishtail on me, & the front would build up with more mud. My feet would slip & i dropped the bike a few more times. My gloves, grips, seat, boots, & pretty much everything was covered with grey, sticky mud. I had about 100 yards to go through to get to the hill. I didn't know how i was going to climb the hill, but i knew i wasn't going to help anyone on this ride pick up their bike, anymore. I would work for a few minutes, then stop.. my heart pounding & my head spinning like the back tire. I would catch my breath after another few minutes, then go at it again. I was probably at it for 45 minutes before i got to the base of the hill. Then Bryan started down. Why bother, now? I'm almost there. But i probably would not have been able to climb the hill by myself. The mud was too slick & the back just wanted to spin out. We wrestled it about halfway up the hill, then Kim came to help, too. We worked together for a few minutes, & got it on top. I took off my gear & collapsed on the roadside.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the trails are wide & green.
The temperatures are perfect, their gear is nice & clean.
The riders ride with carefree joy, their bikes remain upright.
But scotty, mighty scotty is undone by bentonite.



I did not take any pictures during this ordeal. I would have completely covered the camera with mud. I did see Kim & Bryan taking some on the hill. I doubt they will post any, though. This was the grey mud challenge.

The view down the hill, after i was back on top.


I sat on the side of the road uncharacteristically quiet. I was panting hard, trying to get my vision back, & catch my breath. Kim got a tire iron out of his bag & began digging the mud out of my chain & wheels. I had some trail mix, but couldn't eat after all the exertion. I finally cooled down.. my vision cleared, & my breathing returned to normal. We got on the bikes & headed out. I was going to head out & not wait, but i didn't. I kept my speed up, but would wait to see if they were coming. I cleaned off my gloves, boots, & other parts while waiting.. i tried to stop by a puddle. We eventually got out with no further drama. Back on the main road, i was not going to get on another road that was not gravelled & graded, this day.



Once we got back to the goblin valley pavement, Kim & Bryan wanted to continue the ride. It was about 3pm by now, but we were only about an hour from the rooms. Fine with me. You guys lead the way.



We rode along a nice, scenic gravel road for a few miles. It was starting to get dark & cloudy again.. rumbling in the distance.. plus the temps had dropped quite a bit. I put my rain jacket on because it looked like we would not get back before the rain hit. But we turned back in time, & missed the rain.. only got a few drops.

We got back to the room & i ditched my muddy gear. I washed off my jacket.. it had gotten covered with mud. I cleaned up & we headed over to Blondies for a nice dinner.

End of Day 4.

Beautiful stuff man. Have you considered the clutch switch with your starting issue?? I had the opposite problem and could not start in neutral but could start with the clutch pulled in. I believe the clutch switch is easy to troubleshoot or bypass if needed.

Good on you Scotty ! I would have just lied there and pretended to be a wounded gazelle. * laugh *

Thanks for sharing... On this one, I need the tracks to know where NOT to go !

Man, that terrain never lets up. You guys seriously toughed it out.

Great great post - and thanks. Utah is on my radar for 2012. I'll be sure not to underestimate the challange.

john92 wrote:

Beautiful stuff man. Have you considered the clutch switch with your starting issue?? I had the opposite problem and could not start in neutral but could start with the clutch pulled in. I believe the clutch switch is easy to troubleshoot or bypass if needed.

One of the first things i did was disable the clutch & kickstand switches. I think it is something in the kickstand circuitry. I took it apart when at my daughter's house, but the connections were all good, & it still only starts in neutral. The clutch switch does not override that, iirc. I haven't looked into it since i got home, but i'll tackle it again, soon.

X-Racer wrote:

Good on you Scotty ! I would have just lied there and pretended to be a wounded gazelle. * laugh *

Thanks for sharing... On this one, I need the tracks to know where NOT to go !

I'd probably still be lying there! I know not to ride in the grey layers after a rain, & i know not to ride anything like Kane Creek, poison spider, slick rock, etc. I'll stick with the white rim trail, & other easier scenic rides. At this stage in my life, brushes with death aren't that thrilling. They just wear me out.

Boondocker wrote:

Man, that terrain never lets up. You guys seriously toughed it out.

We kept hoping to find some relief around the next corner, or after the next hill, but it kept going & going, like the energizer bunny.

gatorfan wrote:

Great great post - and thanks. Utah is on my radar for 2012. I'll be sure not to underestimate the challange.

I know many people who have done the Kane Creek ride, but they did the long one.. that goes out on the improved road. I did not know the 'shortcut' was an advanced trail. I consider myself to be a capable intermediate rider.. but i would not ride Kane Creek again, or anything marked as 'advanced.' Perhaps if we did not have the time pressure, & if i had water, & we took our time in the technical spots, it might have been fun. But i think the wrt was more 'fun'. I'm sure it depends on one's age & riding capabilities. I've read many ride reports from guys riding in much gnarlier terrain & who had a blast!

Thanks for this posting. We were in Moab just before you arrived and it was starting to rain and get cooler. Great, I mean Great Videos.

If you are willing to share, what equipment does it take to make the videos?

Also, until this posting, I was under the impression that the smaller front wheel was mainly for street riding. You sure changed that impression. How does a smaller diameter front wheel affect this type of riding? Does the wider tire do better in sand? Rocks? You must have compared a 21" front wheel to this one and decided to use the 19"... comments?

I recognize many of the places in your photos and videos, Kane Cr and WRTr, especially. I guess the talcum powder section of the WRTr was interesting...

Thanks and regards from another "mature" rider.

taoshum wrote:

Does the wider tire do better in sand? .

As a former TW200 owner living on a sand hill the answer is YES. No question about it. Can't speak to the diameter though.

taoshum wrote:

Thanks for this posting. We were in Moab just before you arrived and it was starting to rain and get cooler. Great, I mean Great Videos.

If you are willing to share, what equipment does it take to make the videos?

Also, until this posting, I was under the impression that the smaller front wheel was mainly for street riding. You sure changed that impression. How does a smaller diameter front wheel affect this type of riding? Does the wider tire do better in sand? Rocks? You must have compared a 21" front wheel to this one and decided to use the 19"... comments?

I recognize many of the places in your photos and videos, Kane Cr and WRTr, especially. I guess the talcum powder section of the WRTr was interesting...

Thanks and regards from another "mature" rider.

helmet cam is contour hd.

I got the x because it was there & cheap.. not a lot of selection in N. Az. But i like the bigger front tire. better imo in mud & sand, i can't tell any difference in rocks. I lose some clearance with the lowered x vs my old drz, but i have more control, the weight is also lower & i don't drop it as much.

I've been very happy with the shinko 244 tires.. stiff sidewalls, good wear. I drop the air to 10# or less for off road, & up it to 30+ for long pavement.

The powder part of wrt was wet.. so it wasn't too bad when we went this time. I was on it in june, & it was definitely dry.. and very interesting.

what a great ride report, I was on the edge of my seat reading about the tricky sections. Well done and hope to see many more of these from you in the future.

wow! a once in a lifetime ride! excellent report., i was scared spitless on some sections, where do you get trail maps of this area? i'm sure a careless rider could get lost for ever in some of those canyons i would love to ride there! thanks for sharing, hugs triker

twowheeled wrote:

what a great ride report, I was on the edge of my seat reading about the tricky sections. Well done and hope to see many more of these from you in the future.

Thanks.. i'll probably post more when i ride!

triker wrote:

wow! a once in a lifetime ride! excellent report., i was scared spitless on some sections, where do you get trail maps of this area? i'm sure a careless rider could get lost for ever in some of those canyons i would love to ride there! thanks for sharing, hugs triker

I'm sure there are trail maps, but i just had my gps with the maps in it. Of course, no comments or instructions (or warnings!) are in the gps maps. They also are famous for being inaccurate. I think i will be a little more careful, & assume a little less when going to unknown places.. especially in Moab! People go there expecting impossible riding conditions & near death experiences, so naturally the popular trails fit those criteria.

Ahh, that Utah Mud...
I was making my way up the great Western Trail one day, and my bike just got slower and slower, and eventually, it didn't have enough power to muscle through the mud it had collected between the rear tire and shock. I had to spend 20 minutes just digging the mud out to go on.

It's the only mud/clay that I've ever been in that really sticks to itself. it doesn't just fling away, it gets thicker and thicker...

Awesome report! I watched every video!

I really want to do the same rides in Utah so I will be watching for the muddy conditions

GusinCA wrote:

Ahh, that Utah Mud...
I was making my way up the great Western Trail one day, and my bike just got slower and slower, and eventually, it didn't have enough power to muscle through the mud it had collected between the rear tire and shock. I had to spend 20 minutes just digging the mud out to go on.

It's the only mud/clay that I've ever been in that really sticks to itself. it doesn't just fling away, it gets thicker and thicker...

That's the notorious 'bentonite' in Utah. It is easy to ride on when dry.. even hard packs like pavement.. but when wet it accumulates & builds up until it locks you down.

EnderTheX wrote:

Awesome report! I watched every video!

I really want to do the same rides in Utah so I will be watching for the muddy conditions

Me too.. next time i will avoid any riding in these areas where it has rained in the last week or so!

Thanks for the write up.
Moab Area is my favorite.
Last year couldn't make it and this year I am starting with a new company so will probably miss it again
We did the white rim a couple years ago before the wash out. Awesome trip. We camped at Potato bottom great camp site.