White Rim from Moab via Potash Road Day 2 April 24th 2017

DAY 2 Monday April 24th, 2017

Waking up to a zillion stars is not so bad--plenty of satellites zipping by and darn hard to pick out the constellations. Hey and wait a minute...no wind?  Really, turns out the wind had died off sometime around midnight which let me get at least 6 or so hours of sleep.  More would have been nice as that was two nights in a row plus some sort of ride yesterday which had made me a little tired.  Jumped up though and got dressed, packed sleeping gear up and was back on the bike riding by 6:30am.  Potato Bottom campsite was just down the road so that  made an easy pit stop, eat breakfast, stretch, and get some sun screen on.  

The only thing that I missed was my Cashews.  I forgot to put them away while cooking dinner and left them in the side of my pack.  The little furry critters got in them and eat the whole dang bag.  That was a whole half can of nice salted cashews...did they eat well or what.  Knew I was going to miss the protein hit throughout the day of those--one of my favorite treats!  HA!  

 Sun coming up over the canyon.  Started out sunny but then cloud cover moved in and the temps stayed in the 60's most of the day, maybe up to low 70s which made for excellent riding temps.

 Descent down from Bivy to Potato Bottom

 Then the White Rim flattens out and you get some nice rolling pedaling over the rim and the views open up.  Towers all around in every direction. 

 Candlestick tower in the middle--looks like a bday candle to me. 

 This group caught up with me and were doing the white rim road (100 miles) in a day which I have done several times before.  You go light and hammer out the miles.  Nice way to do it but you cannot look around much or take too many pics.  They passed me fast but then slowed way down and I ended up ridign with them for almost 9 miles.  Riders were from Grand Junction and they had started around 4am from Mineral Bottom road.  The White Rim then started a steady climb for about a mile and the one guy fell back fast so I rode with him but then he slowed more and I had to keep my pace up.  The group stopped and I never saw them again for the day--hope they enjoyed themselves. 

 Candlestick Campsite--my original destination for the night--very exposed and very windy. 

 A quick refuel here and back on the bike. 

 Today is full of short steep climbs over many bluffs--some you have to walk to save the legs, some are able to be ridden.  Hardly saw anyone on the trail though--very quiet. 

 This is Murphy Hogback climb--the route weaves up the left side of the bluff and there is a campground at the top.  One of the last tough climbs of the day--at least I kept telling my legs that!  I actually walked most of this due to the steepness and knowing I had a long day ahead--probably almost 100 miles today. 

 Nearing the top

 Road below where I came from and the white rim actually went around that tower in the distance too. 

 This is a guided group that I ran into--they had a buffet spread out and making sandwiches/drinks/etc.  I rode by ringing my bike bell and asking one of the guides if I could  jump in--free all you can eat buffet?   He laughed and wished me a good trip.  

   

Getting in to the Airport tower area--flatter here again but the road winds through a lot of small canyons and you can see down in them along the way.  The wind picked up a bit at this point and stuck with me for the day. 

 The only cactus bloom I saw on the ride.  I actually railed by it and finally it registered that was a real cactus in bloom so I turned around and went back for a quick pic. 

 Airport area camping--very popular area--4 sites here that each hold 30 people. 

 I am pointing here to a bench just below that tower in the distance.  That is the Potash road river overlook that I took the Panorama picture at the day before.  That is where I will be in a few hours on the way back. 

 Mussleman Arch side track--cool arch that is in a lot of pics...

 Finally, the turn back to Potash Road.   Ahead was the Shafer climb again--glad I do not have to pedal up that again. 

 Only 32 more miles from here but it is 5:30pm...and I still need to find my water stash and refuel.  Pedal pedal!

 Look what I found hiding in the rocks?  I had stashed 2L of water here the day before. 

 And good thing I did--only about a 8oz left in my camel back.  Those 2L were going to get me back to Moab. 

 I stopped a mile down the Potash Road at the Shafer Camp for a pitstop/refuel.  I had earned reward at this point so out came the Peanut M&Ms. 

 The Shafer canyon is really cool to ride through and descends steeply back towards Moab

 Another climb up and back up to the river viewpoint from yesterday. 

 Remember these views of the mountains?  Brought a smile back for sure but the light was fading fast. 

 In the mine area there is a balance rock which was cool. 

 To get to this point the road rolls up and down several times and the legs were talking to me.  I kept up with the salt pills so at least there was no cramping--just had to keep moving and stop/stretch each hour.  I also had my stop watch timer going for an hourly alarm--this was I would make sure to eat/drink even though I was getting real tired. Below you can see one of the large ore buildings to the right side.

 And there it is--19 miles of pavement back to town.  This was the hardest part of the day--head wind of course, tired legs and all sitting/spinning.  You realize how tired you are nad how sore your sit bones are when you have to spin with a heavy bike into the wind for 19 miles.  I would ride from mile marker to mile marker with the next one my only goal at that time.  Rode some standing miles too just to give the toosh a break!   

 The sun started to set on me so out came the lights--front and rear for as much visibility as possible.  . 

 Amasa Back area.  There is a campsite here and I considered stopping for the night--had some extra food and could easily get up in the morning and finish.  Turns out there was a boy scout group camp going on--I am sure they would have taken me in and probably could have had a killer dinner! 

 After miles and miles I finally came to mile 15 marker and turned onto the Moab bike path.  Solid dark at this point and was spitting rain.  The nice part was that as soon as I hit the bike path, the wind was finally at my back and at 25+mph it blew me into town with light pedaling for the final 4.5 miles back to the car.  

I even was able to sneak in a smile as I neared the car! 

 And the car was still there in tact--a concern of mine after leaving it for a night and Moab having such strict rules about cars in town.  A quick removal of the bags, turn the phone on and call home that all is well.  Then off to Denny's for a French Toast Slam, Oreo Shake, and Omelette for recovery meal.  The rain picked up and so I drove on to Fruita that night--that was a tough drive being tired for an hour and a half but made it and crashed at the Super 8 to make the drive home easier the next morning.  I actually had the windows open some to keep me awake--nothing like lonely desert highway at 11pm at night! 

 And I thought I had a tan!  Lots of dirt instead.  I used the Pearl sun legs/sleeves and they were great for not having to use much sun screen and staying cleaner overall.  They do not cover this one section of my legs though.  At night I just use a wet wipe to clean them and also get sunscreen off my face/neck/ears. 

 Final numbers....96.5 for today and another 5K+climbing.  

 Onto the next adventure, now where is my red staples button--that sure was easy!  Just kidding....I am nuked from the two days--it was quite the epic and worn me down both physically and mentally with all the wind, water carry, and rough trail.  It was truly a character building event with challenges every hour and I did not have many miles in me before doing this ride.  Amy told me I was crazy for doing this "off the couch".  Based on that,  we can always prepare more and better on anything but, I pushed my self and made it happen.  Had a lot of fun along the way, saw an amazing place in the country and I still want to ride my bike again (well, at least not for the next week my sit bones tell me!)  Next time though, looking forward to company--who is in?! We have several more adventures of overnight bike packing planned for this summer so hopefully we can get this posted up later on. 

And added this pic--shows most of my trash from food on the trip that I emptied out of bags/pockets.  The only thing missing was Sunday dinner of tuna/garlic beef stick/Ramen, recovery drink, and some more skratch labs single mix packets.  The data shows me that I burned 8000 calories on the trip but I only had 6000cals with me.  I ate two burritos Sunday morning before I left and had that Denny's meal when I got back.  Figure I will still be hungry for the next month...

Day 1 White Rim

Prep

White Rim from Moab via Potash Road...Day 1 April 23rd 2017

Left late on Saturday to head to Moab after Lyla was down an out with double ear infections--what a bad show for her.  By the time I got to Dewey Bridge all camping was full for the night so I drove back out to BLM and camped with the cows.  In bed by 11pm after mounting my cassette/chain and crank set on the bike along with some chain lube.  The alarm went off at 5:30am which came all way to fast...I packed the tent and sleeping stuff quickly and made my way into town after a 40 minute drive along the Colorado river.  Being a bit behind from the homestead duties Saturday had me still to finish loading the bike with all the bags/gear and then start pedaling.  

DAY 1 Sunday April 23rd, 2017

Started from Moab South at the Chili Pepper Bike shop where I had permission to leave my car--a bit further away and made the ride a few more miles but by taking Kane Creek and 500 West through the back side of town, I avoided all the traffic.  Did not start until almost 9am but I had the whole day ahead of me to get there--easy right?   and so the EPIC begins.  :)    

 Riding the Bike path in town over to Potash Road

 Crossing the Colorado on the new bike path bridge--you can see the canyon walls ahead

 Riding South on the Colorado river now until the Potash mine plant.  Lots to see and look at while I spin the miles away.  This first 19 miles were paved roads until you reach the Mine where it turns to dirt. 

 Quick Bathroom stop at Poison Spider Mesa Trail head--you can see the bike here loaded up.  Weighs 45 lbs here with 5.5 Liters of water and all my gear for two days including food.  I will get more water later in the trip and also make a stash for the end of the trip. 

 Some more pics along the river...the great part here is the rock walls to look at--I just kept picking out crack after crack to come back and climb one day. 

 Finally to the mine and where the pavement ends.  Another bathroom stop as I get ready to start climbing and leave the river bed. 

 A map posted showing the State, NP, and mine property boundaries and where you can/cannot camp.

 Only 19 more miles to the visitor center in Canyon Lands National park.  This is about half way for the total day to get to the Candlestick Campground. 

 View from the last of the Colorado River for a while and the picnic area I just left from. 

 A view above the cooling ponds of the mine--crystal blue color--that just cannot be good?!  The La Sal mountains are in the back ground with the snow on them. 

 Made it over a pass of some sort and then you drop down in to a dry canyon and climb back up to the next pass...rinse and repeat!  The scenery just never stops though...

 Top of the next climb and not to far now from the National Park Entrance.  Last time I will see the Colorado river until my return the next day when I back track this section of the route. 

 Still in good spirits even though the bike was heavy and slow climbing

 Panorama of the River point--lots of car commercials are filmed here.

  And I finally made it to the National Park Entrance.  You climb a small canyon to connect in with the White Rim on Shafer Road here.  This is about 11 miles from the last picnic area and 2 miles to the White Rim road proper.

Now just past the Shafer Campground and onto the White Rim road.  6.5 miles to the visitor center from here--piece of cake right?  Sure, I did drop 2L of water in the rocks so I am 5lbs lighter..oh wait there is a slight climb between me and the visitor center....

 Say whaaaaat?  Yep, 15% grade or steeper in places, and 4miles/1500ft of climbing goodness.  The red line shows the road as it is hard to see. 

 First stop to let some jeeps by and give the legs a little stretch--stay the course! 

 Almost there--you can see a motorcycle and a car below me there like little ants.

 Finally on top--a few more miles to the visitor center now. 

 Reading this sign does not entice one to take the road down. 

Visitor Center in site! 

 Water re-supply!  This is the only one on the trip except for the green river which is very silty and not the best to filter from.  So, I loaded up a 4L dromedary bag and another 3L in my camel back.  Heaviest my bike will be the entire trip but lots of the riding from here is down hill--or so I made my self believe! 

Off riding again and there happened to be a little headwind, little at 25mph and gusting to 43mph.  Hmmm, looks like my downhill theory was going to be more mental--yes, its windy but hey, its downhill! Right?  You actually exit the National Park on this road and then tie back in later in the day.  Below is the turn off to Dead Horse Point State Park.  I take a left just after this on dirt to connect over to Mineral Bottom Road.

Almost done with the connector trail and found a poor mans hot tub-otherwise known as livestock watering hole.  Turned out the connector was about 1/2 sand this time--had to walk a bit.  Then Mineral bottom road turned straight into the wind for the next 11 miles--with the bike fully loaded down this proved to be quite the character building few hours--including getting knocked over once at a 40 gust that ripped through.  Fun still?  YES, of course 

After some serious mental focus I made to it to the top of the Mineral Bottom switchbacks which connect you down to the Green River and the White Rim road.  Some smiles for me at this point and a family was finishing up a four day trek with 8 kids on the White Rim.  The kids were bombing down the road and back up over and over.  I soaked up the energy from them and started my descent. 

Approaching the Green River

Split off from Mineral Bottom to the boat ramp but left takes me to the White Rim road and back into the National Park.  The wind was much less down here in the bottom of the canyon--10 to 15mph felt like a ride in the park!  ;) 

After a nice flat roll in less wind I hit the National Park entrance again.  I had my parks pass and permit for camping which includes a day permit (now required on the White Rim) so I was good to go for it.  My only concern was how long it took me to get here and still having about 20 miles to get to camp.  Pedal pedal! 

Tired but happy--this is such an amazing and magical place to visit.  The wind picked back up again as I moved further around to the South.  Just had to keep pedaling!

Along the Green River.  The White Rim road gets close and you could filter water if you had too but it is very silty.  This section also floods when the water levels rise--next month evidently is what the staff tells me. 

The one and only creek crossing--tons of sand on the tires and in the shoes! 

First flowers I saw that had bloomed.  Crossing over a bluff here--several small but steep climbs you have to go up and over every few miles.  The climbing is most steady/consistent through the white rim proper. 

Crossing another bluff over to Potato bottom camp ground which is still 11 miles from my designated camp site and the light is fading quick. 

The campsite was way to windy out on a bluff so I was able to get some inside info on a place to bivy in a rock gully out of most of the wind.  It was just about dark so I first got food going.  Using an ESBIT stove to head water--very simple stuff.  Had Ramen/Garlic beef/sweet potato and a tuna packet for dinner. 

 This gives you the perspective of the darkness without a flash on the camera--for me this situation is comfortable--I enjoy it and making things work like just getting the stove lit in the wind is a challenge but something that warms my heart every time.  While the food cooked, I stretched and started to relax some.  I put on my wind vest, hat, and down sweater to stay warm until bed. 

 And oh boy, Ramen noodles with garlic beef!  The salt hit was really nice and I also hydrated as much as possible with recovery drink and another bottle of Skratch drink mix.  I cleaned everything up, restocked my water in the camel back and bottle, organized my food and restocked the food in my top tube bag.  This allowed me to get up early and get moving without fussing around and some time to let my body calm down to move to sleep mode. 

 Tonight's bed...the rocks were giving nice shelter to the wind but no way I could setup the tarp so opted instead to just sleep on the rock in this little canyon.  I setup about 30 feet from where I cooked to keep the critters away.  The hard part was having everything prepped--could not lay the ground sheet down until I had a pile of rocks to weigh it down.  Then wrap the sleeping pad in my tarp for extra protection and then pull out the sleeping bag.  I took this photo and a gust of wind grabbed my sleeping bad and pad but I quickly pounced on them--I crawled in and then the stars came out--what a reward from a tough day.  Seemed like a challenge around every corner today but it all came together with patience, persistence and again, character building. 

Here was Day 1....5K of climbing with most of it in the middle of the ride.  A nice kicker at the end towards camp though let my legs know how things were! 

 Route from the firs day and put in 75 miles--a bit short of what I was aiming for with the Bivy location but the morning will start out flat and be a nice warm up.  Until the morning!  

Day 2 White Rim Trip