Porcupine Rim
On Friday morning, I left Erin at the camping cabin and went mountain biking in Moab. The trail had been recommended by a good friend, as well as the bike rental place, which happened to be about a block away from the campground. I ended-up renting a Santa Cruz Nomad, which is a 6″, dual-suspension bike.
The trail I picked-out is called Porcupine Rim. It’s normally ridden as a shuttle, which means that you pay a guy to drive you (and your bike) up to the top, then you ride down. The trail has gone through some expansion in recent years, and has several newer sections. When ridden all together, it’s called The Whole Enchilada. My ride would include everything except Burro Pass, so I guess I rode more like 3/4 of the enchilada.
My shuttle driver dropped me off at the beginning of the Hazard County Trail, which stands at 8400 feet elevation. From there, it’s a 500-foot climb to the top of the trail at 8900 feet. After that, it’s mostly downhill, losing about 4500 feet to the Colorado River. Most surprisingly, the trail begins high in the mountains surrounded by aspens and green grass. As you descend, the terrain gets more rugged, rocky, and barren. Slickrock gets more common (which is great to ride on by the way), and the technical sections get more technical.
The riding was a blast. Like most, there were some walking sections (like the entrace to the LPS trail), but I was able to ride most of it with no problem. Big drops, lots of rocky descents with incredible grip, and even uphill sections that looked unridable, but weren’t. We definitely need more sandstone up in the Pacific Northwest.
The whole trail follows the Porcupine ridge, which borders Castle Valley. Here’s a shot of the Castle Valley Spires from the trail. It was about 6 miles of looking off to your right and seeing this. Awful I tell you, just awful.
At the end of the ride, it’s a 6-mile road ride back to town. I had been advised to have Erin pick me up and shuttle me back to the campground, but I ignored that advice and decided to ride back on the road. Boy was that a mistake. The headwind was so strong, I had to pedal to get down hills. I never used my biggest chainring. Upon arriving at the bike shop to drop-off my rental bike, I was exhausted. I went through about 1-1/4 gallons of water, and the ride (including the road ride back to town) took about 4 hours. My hands are covered in blisters, and I got gored by sharp flat pedals both on my shins and calfs. I’d do it again tomorrow if I had the chance.
June 26, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Glad to read that you survived all of this!!!