Wasatch Dirt Thread

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Originally Posted by Canada1

And that is the point. The organizations can’t build the true single track trail. Rogue parties do, but occasionally step over to stupid in the amount of damage they do. It’s tough and will only get tougher as Heber and summit county build out more homes and more users come to the networks.

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The contractors are perfectly capable of building steep tech stuff but for whatever reason it just never gets built here in the Wasatch...maybe its not the trail builders to blame but the City?... theres not much you can do if your hands are tied. ....Heard stories of contractors(who ride) wanting to build rowdy trails and they were told they had to tone it down, like way down...kinda sad.

So my point is the contractors and cities have the ability to build steep technical trails and big jump lines they just choose not to. I cringe every time a new trail is built here because its a multi directional brown sidewalk.

I mean we still have an absolutely amazing place to ride with great trails, I love it here... its not a total bitch fest. haha.

Pahvant trails in Richfield are great. Lots of potential with new stuff being cut. Up kiln’it to highline down cairn’age. So far so good, exited to see what the finished product is, they are putting some new stuff in on cairn. Long drive from SLC for a shortish ride we got in 10 miles, but the kiln to cairn loop is only about 7/8. Worth a stop if you are headed that way/passing through, etc.
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Nice! We've been wanting to get down there.

I've done a Richfield and Ephraim twofer coming back from a climbing trip around Bryce last year, it's a nice combo. A couple of 10 to 15 milers separated by an hour in the car and it doesn't add too much time compared to raging back up I-15. I suppose you could throw in some Panguitch or Cedar City riding if you were intent on making it a big day.

Rode Payson Canyon yesterday for the first time and got pretty lost in the lower canyon spaghetti bowl. Fun trails but my limited venture higher up on the pipeline made it clear the $$ riding is at the end of the canyon. I usually have a plan when visiting new areas but didn't plant on hitting Payson and showed up with 0 beta (other than trailforks which isn't great for on the fly planning). What's the best loop people do down there?? Something around 25-30 miles would justify the drive from SLC.

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Originally Posted by Boissal

What's the best loop people do down there?? Something around 25-30 miles would justify the drive from SLC.

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The best upper canyon ride I've figured out over the years is the following figure 8:

Park at the Grotto. Up the road to Shram Creek, then Shram Creek->Rock Springs->Sheepherder Cutoff/Kuntz Flat->Sheepherder. Grab the little cutoff trail back to Shram, then back up Shram->Rock Springs->Rock Springs East (#101)->Blackhawk Connector->Blackhawk->Loafer->Bennie Creek->Beer.

Other cool trails in the area that are worth checking out and working in somehow are Frank Young and Jones Ranch. Lizard Lake was deadfall city the one time I tried it with a lot of the downed trees appearing to have been there for years. Don’t bother with anything south of the road, especially Holman. That’s just IMHO, but I’m a bit of an adventure ride connoisseur and still had no desire to venture that way again. Koholowo seems like it might be worth doing.

The other ride to do is the HAB adventure up to Santaquin Peak. Up is a sufferfest, the down is pretty sweet, as is standing alone on a summit with yer bike. IMO, it’s worth parking at the Grotto and spinning up the road to Loafer so that you can finish the descent with Bennie Creek.

I haven't ridden down there since the big fire in 2018. Late May thru mid/late-June is the best time to be there. Mule's Ear fields on Blackhawk are fully popped and the cows haven't been out yet (usually). I went in late July once and the cows had absolutely murdered the place. I've been meaning to try it in fall when the aspens are popping and the dirt is moist again but have never made it happen.

A lot of the trail signs only have the trail #. Not a huge issue now with TF, but made for some very confusing navigation in the past at times.

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

The best upper canyon ride I've figured out over the years is the following figure 8:

Park at the Grotto. Up the road to Shram Creek, then Shram Creek->Rock Springs->Sheepherder Cutoff/Kuntz Flat->Sheepherder. Grab the little cutoff trail back to Shram, then back up Shram->Rock Springs->Rock Springs East (#101)->Blackhawk Connector->Blackhawk->Loafer->Bennie Creek->Beer.

Other cool trails in the area that are worth checking out and working in somehow are Frank Young and Jones Ranch. Lizard Lake was deadfall city the one time I tried it with a lot of the downed trees appearing to have been there for years. Don’t bother with anything south of the road, especially Holman. That’s just IMHO, but I’m a bit of an adventure ride connoisseur and still had no desire to venture that way again. Koholowo seems like it might be worth doing.

The other ride to do is the HAB adventure up to Santaquin Peak. Up is a sufferfest, the down is pretty sweet, as is standing alone on a summit with yer bike. IMO, it’s worth parking at the Grotto and spinning up the road to Loafer so that you can finish the descent with Bennie Creek.

I haven't ridden down there since the big fire in 2018. Late May thru mid/late-June is the best time to be there. Mule's Ear fields on Blackhawk are fully popped and the cows haven't been out yet (usually). I went in late July once and the cows had absolutely murdered the place. I've been meaning to try it in fall when the aspens are popping and the dirt is moist again but have never made it happen.

A lot of the trail signs only have the trail #. Not a huge issue now with TF, but made for some very confusing navigation in the past at times.

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Thanks, solid beta!! I know a couple of guys who ride down there a lot and apparently there are some seriously gnar DH trails all over.
I rode through the burn on the lower W side of the canyon, it's really cool. I think it was the edge of the fire because the damage isn't extensive. It's basically a bright green carpet of flowers that are starting to pop and the occasional burned tree but the bulk of the tall pines are OK.

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Hooolllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeee shit.
You guys are maniacs

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Originally Posted by Boissal

Hooolllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeee shit.
You guys are maniacs

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Umm yeah

High-T is a riot too LOL

I'm gonna have to pass on that.

FYI if you go ride flying dog via bad apple, hit dropout DH on the exit...the new berms and jumps are pretty sweet. Prob the most fun I've had on a bike in a while.

Anyone know what happened on bobsled tonight? Access closed due to an accident.

delete

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Originally Posted by Dshack89

FYI if you go ride flying dog via bad apple, hit dropout DH on the exit...the new berms and jumps are pretty sweet. Prob the most fun I've had on a bike in a while.

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Yeah Basinrec did a nice job with rebuilding Dropout, pre fun.

but....A jump line thats a bit bigger like "Cedar Dust" at Bellingham or "Buckwild" at Spokane (for example) would be amazeballs in the Basin Rec vicinity....would be a warm welcome and nice addition to a trail system outside of bike parks.

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Originally Posted by snowaddict91

Anyone know what happened on bobsled tonight? Access closed due to an accident.

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52 year old died of a head injury.

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Originally Posted by altabird92

52 year old died of a head injury.

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Oh geez. Really sorry to hear that.

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Originally Posted by SJG

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Dude, nice.
Take it all the way thru the whodunnit road and powderbirds?

New entrance to the quarry from Tanners. Just upstream of the creek. Look for the orange flag. New reroute since the new spring runoff line is the entire top part of the trail. Pretty fast and fun. Other than a small creek section, it's all ripping.

#dontdropoutantfarm

I like dropout a lot, I really like ant farm. hopefully they don't turn every trail up there into the same bermy manicured stuff.

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Originally Posted by Phall

#dontdropoutantfarm

I like dropout a lot, I really like ant farm. hopefully they don't turn every trail up there into the same bermy manicured stuff.

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Actually heard rumors of some steep technical trails and big jump lines coming soon. be worried... very worried. #rampagethewasatch

Might just be hype but sounds like there is some rowdy stuff about to open out at Herriman.

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Originally Posted by dfinn

Might just be hype but sounds like there is some rowdy stuff about to open out at Herriman.

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Purdy! ...would be cool. More cowbell.

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Originally Posted by dfinn

Might just be hype but sounds like there is some rowdy stuff about to open out at Herriman.

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I saw a short video today. Looked fun. If I go check it out I'll report back.

It does look fun and I’ve liked everything else that Derek has built around here. He usually does a good job of leaving rocks on the trail. I bet it will be cool. I also liked the little bit of other trails I’ve ridden in that area too.

In other news this has got to be the best time of the year for riding in PC. A beautiful Saturday evening and only 5 cars in the lot. Obviously it’s because there’s nothing to ride and it’s all covered in snow.

52 cars at a local trailhead at 8am today. I used to groan when there were more than a handful of cars there. I'm ready for the mo's to go back to church.

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Originally Posted by dfinn

...the lot.

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Enjoy that while it lasts. Not the number of cars, the actual parking lot. Vail sold the main PCMR parking lot to developers last year and it's slated to become condos or something.

The police did come monitoring and 2/3 of the cars at PC trail heads were from the valley. I was really surprised by that. That said, I haven’t driven to a local ride this year, so maybe that skews the numbers?

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Enjoy that while it lasts. Not the number of cars, the actual parking lot. Vail sold the main PCMR parking lot to developers last year and it's slated to become condos or something.

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WTF?? It's definitely going to help in the winter with all the parking available around PC...

Speaking of trails covered in snow, I got a bit too excited yesterday and went for a loop that is going to need a few more weeks of high temps to be worth a visit. By then the brush will have fully taken it over and it will be a different battle. Got to eat shit and slide down snowfields which trying to kick steps with the bike on my back, good times... Nice recon though, scenic as hell, fun adventure riding with lots of jank and no people. Kinda brutal on the up, it convinced me to try a smaller chainring instead of pushing too many teeth spinning at 45 rpms. And yes, I did try to ride across that pond and it went just about as well as you'd expect.

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Originally Posted by Boissal

WTF?? It's definitely going to help in the winter with all the parking available around PC...

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Park Record article from last year: https://www.parkrecord.com/news/vail...ovo-developer/

In Vail's defense, this has been in the works for decades. It will be interesting to see what the proposed “improved access to public parking” entails.

Nice shots. GWT in the Big Mtn Pass area?

Flying dog is now directional, which explains some dirty looks I've received having no idea this was the case until now.

Thank Dog! CCW I hope?

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Originally Posted by Canada1

Flying dog is now directional, which explains some dirty looks I've received having no idea this was the case until now.

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That sign over the weekend was fake FYI. It is still two way. Although I'd like to see it be one way. I'd be content with alternating direction based on the day of the week, as well.

Damn it. If something is too good to be true....

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Park Record article from last year: https://www.parkrecord.com/news/vail...ovo-developer/

In Vail's defense, this has been in the works for decades. It will be interesting to see what the proposed “improved access to public parking” entails.

Nice shots. GWT in the Big Mtn Pass area?

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Crazy. Getting rid of the main lot at the base of the resort seems like a giant clusterfuck in the making.

Yes, GWT from the top of MoPi, made it most of the way around the ridgeline to the E facing slopes below Lookout and decided to spare myself the 4 miles of postholing to get back to what I call Cat o' nine tail ridge and back to the summit of Emigration.

Re: Flying Dog, I love the idea of alternating directions of travel based on days of the week. It's a rad downhill but it doesn't suck to climb back up it either.

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Originally Posted by Boissal

Re: Flying Dog, I love the idea of alternating directions of travel based on days of the week.

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Ya'll have more faith in the intelligence of the average rider than I. I'm pretty sure this would lead to near-daily deaths :D

Every PC trail should be one-way. Phil's World model scaled up. CC, too.

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Ya'll have more faith in the intelligence of the average rider than I. I'm pretty sure this would lead to near-daily deaths :D

Every PC trail should be one-way. Phil's World model scaled up. CC, too.

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The alternating days of travel work in other places, but yeah. I've also seen hiker/horses allowed odd days and bike even days work well in other spots, but again, little faith.

Sardine trail (the location of the aforementioned 50+ cars in the lot) is a natural for one way traffic, and the locals have been screaming for it on social media. But the FS and the local trail group is anti for some reason. My personal rumor mill theory is so that they can get enough negative trail interactions to close it to bikes completely.

Checked out the new trail over in Herriman today. Pretty fun but also pretty short. But nice to have something relatively close that cant be ridden easily on a gravel bike. Crazy wind on the ridges.

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Ya'll have more faith in the intelligence of the average rider than I. I'm pretty sure this would lead to near-daily deaths :D

Every PC trail should be one-way. Phil's World model scaled up. CC, too.

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To be fair I still can't get the Millcreek bike days straight. Is odd day OK to ride or off leash? Even the mnemonics fail me...
I ended up poaching the canyon on a weekday last summer, didn't see anyone until I started climbing back up from the parking lot to Dog Lake so there wasn't any speed involved and everyone was really nice about it. People like me need large signs at every possible access points to make sure their stupidity doesn't prevail.

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Originally Posted by Dshack89

Crazy wind on the ridges.

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I felt like a drunk on the Big Mtn ridgeline yesterday, it was blowing so hard I kept getting pushed across the double track into the grass. I could feel the wind lift my helmet a bit. Carrying the bike across snowfields in the middle of the big gusts was sporty AF...

For Millcreek I always remember that 'hikers are odd'. Now do I always remember what the date is when I'm riding? No, especially if I end up on the Crest and want to just descend all the way home (which is mainly how I ride Millcreek, I find the trails there hard to justify riding on their own...)

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Originally Posted by zion zig zag

The alternating days of travel work in other places, but yeah. I've also seen hiker/horses allowed odd days and bike even days work well in other spots, but again, little faith.

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Originally Posted by Boissal

To be fair I still can't get the Millcreek bike days straight. Is odd day OK to ride or off leash? Even the mnemonics fail me...
I ended up poaching the canyon on a weekday last summer, didn't see anyone until I started climbing back up from the parking lot to Dog Lake so there wasn't any speed involved and everyone was really nice about it. People like me need large signs at every possible access points to make sure their stupidity doesn't prevail.

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Odd/even seems to work OK for bikes/no bikes (though I have no idea how often the Millcreek policy is willfully or mistakenly violated), but that's a pretty B&W divide and I just don't see the relative subtlety of different directions on different days working out well.