View of Moab from the top of Portal
Jeff riding the Slickrock practice trail
Jeff, Kristen, and our friend Beth on the Mag 7 trail system
Sunset on the Island in the Sky mesa
The morning after we got engaged, the phone calls and emails started pouring in. We spent the first 3 or 4 hours of the day on the computer and on the phone. After that, we needed a break, so we decided to hike up the infamous Portal Trail (where there is no cell service). Portal is an experts-only mountain bike descent whose first few hundred meters rides along a 2-3ft wide cliff, with a 1000ft drop. People die there every year or two. Which is we decided to hike up it rather than ride down it. But boy was it gorgeous up there. The top of the hike featured a wide view of Moab below, as well as the surrounding mesas and Arches NP. We also got to watch a few people do the descent (and one ride across the cliff!). Afterward, we were drained from the day, so we soaked in the hot tub and ate some Indian packets.
Our energy restored and the congratulatory emails tapering off, we woke up the next day feeling pretty good. We made an ambitious plan to get a good feel for the local MTB scene, headed to Denny’s for breakfast, and hit the trail. We started at the Monitor & Merrimac trail system, which was a dud. It was supposed to offer some of the famous Moab ‘slickrock’ riding, but it turned out not to be the good kind of slickrock. It was bouncy, pock-marked Entrada formation sandstone, which chatters your teeth, shakes loose the bolts on your bike, and most likely would cause Kristen’s herniated disc to flare up. We bailed on the ride half way through.
We had next planned to ride up Klondike Bluffs, but found out it also featured Entrada sandstone, so we decided to go back to the Moab Brands trails and ride the stuff we hadn’t yet been to (primarily the Bar B trail). Afterward, Kristen could tell I was antsy. I had read earlier that the famous Slickrock Trail (featuring swoopy and smooth Navajo formation sandstone) had a 2-mile practice loop. We had already decided we were not going to ride the Slickrock Trail since it was supposed to be very difficult, but this offered us a low-risk way to check it out! So she humored me and we went, and rode until the daylight failed. I have to say, Slickrock is really not that hard. It has insanely steep sections that burn the legs, but in all it’s not super ‘technical’ – far different that we had expected. I rode the entire practice loop and put my foot down only once!
We planned to leave Moab the night of the 27th. But our friend Beth called to say she was coming in on the 28th, and would be bringing her mountain bike. Naturally, we extended our campground reservation.
We met up with Beth and her two friends Carlos and Eunice. Carlos suggested we ride the Gemini Bridges trails, which was a fantastic idea. Gemini Bridges is an old Jeep road with a network of singletrack running through it. Anyone who didn’t want to ride the singletrack (namely Carlos and Eunice) could just drop down the road. Beth, Kristen, and I all took the singletrack. It was pretty technical and very fun. Beth had only been riding a few times before, and we were worried it was beyond her ability. Nope. She’s so athletic and such a daredevil, her early spills only encouraged her, and by the end of the ride she was popping her bike over logs and rocks like a pro.
The ride was long (20+ miles), and we finished around sunset. The temperature started to drop, and Carlos/Eunice were not yet at the car. We thought we might have to stage a rescue, so we went back to the top to get our Expedition (which was the only car we had that could handle the jeep road). Turns out it was unnecessary – by the time we got back down the hill, Carlos/Eunice were already finished. We all ate some sandwiches, had a celebratory beer, and headed back to the campsite to pass out.
