White Rim Advice

[EWG]

Sweet all, thanks. We've got like 8 people supported by a Jeep GC so space is at a premium.

And if anyone has a decent campsite to gather at the night before, let me know where if you don't mind. PM is fine if you don't want to give away your secret spot. Usually we all just crash randomly on the side of the road somewhere and then meet up in the morning at the visitor center but this year we have a bunch of newbies and they all want to camp together the night before night.

[Danno]

Some in my group once camped down this side road, right near the start of the mineral bottom descent: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uwihQV2GZdkRVSbw9

Pretty decent, and a few options, no idea how likely there will be space

Edit: we usually just get hotels in fruita the night before

[muted reborn]

There will be space somewhere on Mineral. I had a dispersed designated campground to myself in April, 8 miles down Mineral with a bit of a view, on the edge of North fork Of Mineral (right side of the road heading to the river). There's other options too on that road too.




I may regret sharing this, but if you all have pickups or are comfortable driving something like an outback on a dirt road looks hard but isn't if you go slow, for a short stretch, this site can't be beat.

[EWG]

Great stuff all. Really appreciate it. One last question. I've done this a bunch of times but I've never used my own vehicle. Do you guys air down your tires or not? If yes, what pressure are you running? I'm on stock Goodyear Wrangler AT wheels, no bead seals.

[grabtindy]

Depends on the tire size and how heavy your vehicle is, but IME you can drop your pressure by at least 50% before you need to start worrying about rolling a bead. I would do it for a stretch that long.

[EWG]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm thinking of running around 25-28. I think the highway pressure is like 37. So it won't be plush, but it'll be a lot plusher than 37.

[jummo]

The only significant sand was between Hardscrabble and Labyrinth, where it is always deep. The road is in excellent condition and we didn't air down and had no trouble whatsoever in a Tundra.

[Danno]

I've never aired down. :shrug:

[EWG]

Mini TR with answers to my own questions:

6 people with 1 vehicle - that's about the limit. Would have been tight (but maybe just possible) to fit in a 7th. But 6 was really the practical limit. Opted to meet at a BLM spot on the outskirts just to make it easy for everyone to congregate without cell service.

Kuat trailer hitch worked fine. Road was in great shape - not as sandy as some years past. Hardscrabble was worse than Murphy's for 4x4 but my lovely wife's off road rig handled both without breaking a sweat. I aired down from 40 psi to 30 psi and I could immediate tell the difference. Good idea. When you only have one vehicle the margin for error is smaller which was something I hadn't considered - always had more than one support vehicle in the past. Also had 4 newbies out of 6 and I turned into outfitter/tour guide which was also kinda different with less room for error.

Some small issues - broken chain but I had a spare (which was fun to fix in the wind), pretty gusty here and there, etc. Last night out we had 60+ mph gusts which trashed the large, high profile tent I had even though it's a quite nice one, forcing my aforementioned lovely wife and I to drop the tent and sleep in the front seats of the vehicle. The two other tents, both extremely light 2 person backpacking tents, made it through fine. Gooseberry and Airport are pretty damn exposed to wind. I know better than to take a high profile tent into the desert when high winds are predicted so I feel dumb, but it was just a blip in an otherwise perfect trip.

Saw a stock Mazda CX-5 and a Mercedes Unimog based thing (maybe a Rise) both at Mussleman Arch, which was fucking hilarious in juxtaposition.

The last day was overcast and we saw a single guy and a separate team of two absolutely cranking, obviously shooting for 1 day PRs. The single guy was flying. We gave him a pickle chip handup which he greatly enjoyed as he grabbed it on full gas. Schafer, as always, is a helluva sight at the end of 3 days and a super satisfying climb at the end. I guarantee that I was much slower up it than the 1 day PR guys, but still feels good at the top.

Great trip. Went as well as you could possibly hope for it to go.

[Danno]

Just got back. More of a driving trip than a biking trip, 8 people in 3 cars with only 2 nights on the rim. It was a blast. I did learn that 50 miles is too much to drive in a day, oof.

[Toddball]

Anyone know how dry the lower parts of the loop are? Hoping to ride it in a day in two weeks if the weather is okay and I can convince myself that ski touring instead of riding my bicycle has been a great training decision 🙃

[MakersTeleMark]

Anyone know how dry the lower parts of the loop are? Hoping to ride it in a day in two weeks if the weather is okay and I can convince myself that ski touring instead of riding my bicycle has been a great training decision [emoji854]

A 2 week weather prediction in March? JFC.

[Toddball]

A 2 week weather prediction in March? JFC.

I mean dry right now, not dry in two weeks.

[Canada1]

I usually ride in the first week of April. Last year had to delay for one mud section. Call the ranger desk at island in the sky. They are knowledgeable and friendly has been my experience,

[Danno]

Anyone been this Fall? Leave in a week, just wondering what kind of shape the road is in right now.

[sfotex]

Anyone been this Fall? Leave in a week, just wondering what kind of shape the road is in right now.

I was just down in Moab, but not on White Rim, and it's been hot and dry (surprise!) , lots of sand and dust on everything. They received a lot of damage from the monsoons this summer, but that was lot of hot days ago..

[BFD]

Put in at mineral bottom three weeks ago. There were some washout but everything was repaired to driveable.

[alpinevibes]

Anyone been this Fall? Leave in a week, just wondering what kind of shape the road is in right now.

Nice, we're headed out next Thursday and starting down Shafer Friday morning, coming out Sunday

Pro cyclist Russ Finsterwald just tried an FKT attempt on the White Rim yesterday. His notes said "the sand on Hardscrabble was fucked"

[NuMexJoe]

Anyone been this Fall? Leave in a week, just wondering what kind of shape the road is in right now.

Maybe take a look here:
https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/m...e-rim.1760779/
Sounds like conditions are less than stellar.

[Danno]

Nice, we're headed out next Thursday and starting down Shafer Friday morning, coming out Sunday

Pro cyclist Russ Finsterwald just tried an FKT attempt on the White Rim yesterday. His notes said "the sand on Hardscrabble was fucked"

Good to know re Hardscrabble, we're going up the sandy side, which is better IMO then going down it. Driving down it a few years ago when it was bad was sketch AF, the car felt like it was surfing.

I think we'll pass each other, we go down Mineral Bottom Thu the 10th and come out Shafer on Sunday. If you see a white Sequoia with an old rocketbox and single tray on top, one up rack on the back, ask for change (though it is possible I won't be driving).

[Canada1]

It always cracks me up when someone passes me running on hard scrabble. I just don't have that sort of dedication to a time. Some of you have a whole other level of fitness than me.

[alpinevibes]

Good to know re Hardscrabble, we're going up the sandy side, which is better IMO then going down it. Driving down it a few years ago when it was bad was sketch AF, the car felt like it was surfing.

I think we'll pass each other, we go down Mineral Bottom Thu the 10th and come out Shafer on Sunday. If you see a white Sequoia with an old rocketbox and single tray on top, one up rack on the back, ask for change (though it is possible I won't be driving).

Right on right on! We've got 11 adults and three kids; a white and a blue/gray Tacoma. My twins are 5 and are hoping to spin as many flatish miles as they can and we're bringing tow straps for them. I won't be able to ride the whole thing with kid management, but I'm hoping to at least knock out the Murphy, Hardscrabble and Mineral Bottom climbs

[Danno]

Yeah, I never do the climbs or descents because I'm always driving my truck (I dig the 4wd sections and also not crazy about having someone else drive my rig on them).

[Name Redacted]

Maybe take a look here:
https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/m...e-rim.1760779/
Sounds like conditions are less than stellar.

Good to know. We were maybe gonna dirt bike it next week. That doesn't sounds as fun as other options.

[sfotex]

Nice, we're headed out next Thursday and starting down Shafer Friday morning, coming out Sunday

Pro cyclist Russ Finsterwald just tried an FKT attempt on the White Rim yesterday. His notes said "the sand on Hardscrabble was fucked"

I don't know why anyone would try a FKT right now. The heat, sand, dust, and traffic aren't going to be in your favor....