Camp Scotty - Route Track

From my gps track, it's easy to see where I got off track. That little error was probably my 4pm cut off blowout.

Camp Scotty - Spring '09

Wow, where to begin. Nothing like testing out lots of stuff you didn't know needed testing.

So a few years ago, I'd heard of an event connecting some of the classic trails in Moab in one big loop. As usual, some ferret action on the net and a few emails set the stones for giving the route a tackle. Execution would be an entirely different matter.

I left on Thursday morning last week thinking I would easily be able to hit Denver by early Friday morning and then take in some sleep before driving out to Moab with Scott.

Pretty much coasting along until reaching the border of Nebraska/Colorado, I seemed on track to make Denver by midnight/1am Friday morning. Until the car started making these weird noises like when you run over rumble strips, but there were none in the middle of the lane. I could see what looked like rough patch here and there scattered across the roadway, seemingly intensifying as the miles rolled on until it started snowing. Meh. Ice. When I was only able to do ~45 mph, I hit the sidelines for a motel, hoping the roads would clear by morning and if not, at least it would be light enough to see the road better. At the start, it was marginally better, but the roads improved the closer I got to Denver.

Starting out wasn't so bad.














Until the left lane cleared and the right lane was solid ice.














Dear, I'm going to be a little late for dinner.














I made it to Denver about 10 am and after a quick stop at the auto parts store for some wiper blades and Breakfast King for some grub, it was on to pick up Scott and continue on an uneventful drive to Moab, stopping for dinner and a bike shop run in Fruita.

Up at 4am on Saturday to make the 5am pre-ride meeting, we were eventually rolling out of town ~5:45am. Wow, was it cold. Even with my mittens on my fingers were frozen to the bone and I was slightly shaking as we motored up the pavement.

Taking the Old Highway up to the Bar-M trails we tackled Rockin' A and Circle O trails first. In the dark, with painted stencils marking the route on the slickrock, I was sure to keep up with Fred who has experience navigating the area. Once the sun came up, I stopped for a bit to take off my mittens and get a bite to eat. By now it was easier to make out the painted line to follow and I felt better about doing my pace and not getting lost in the dark.

Sunrise on Circle O.














Next up was the Sovereign singletrack. This was a mixture of rough and sand with a good amount of slickrock thrown in for good measure. Here I also started to yo yo with Matt and Cat who had done the ride before. There are a myriad of turns to be taken in this area, so it was nice to have a more guided tour and the opportunity to chat. But that wouldn't last long. Near the end of this section, I had stopped to check out my squeaking front brake as the others rode away. This would be the last time I would see any other riders out on the course.

Going under highway 191 I stopped to remove the rest of my layers and eat a bit more. This is where things went slightly awry. The next section of the course follows Cottermine Road but at the intersections after the highway, I went the wrong way and ended up going ~5 miles and 1500' of climbing on the wrong trail. Heh. I realized this when I reached the peak of the climb and started to head down around the other side of a butte. Finally, I sat down and pulled out my map for the first time. Yep, off course. I could see by my map and gps track where I'd gone. Turning around and heading back, I finally made it to the right road and up to the next section, Seven Mile Rim Rd. Whew, she was a grinder but had nice views from the rim.

Looking at 191.














Where I'm headed, off in the distance: Monitor and Merrimac Buttes














Riding between the buttes. A small sampling of typical trail conditions.















After riding through the buttes, you end up on steep side-angled slickrock and down into Wipe Out Hill, which is also very steep. While still on the slickrock, I decided to finally sit for a few minutes, take a short break and eat some solid food. After getting rolling again, I made another route finding error, which pitted me out at the same area at the end, but I'm sure the normal route was much faster than what I rode/walked through. There were some tire tracks in this section, so I'm sure a few other riders ahead of me made the same mistake or were lucky enough to be riding the same trail that day. I was all too happy to see the pavement at the end of this section, but it was over in a flash as about 50 yards or so up the road was the next turnoff onto more sandy/rocky jeep road. Amazingly my legs were holding strong so far but this section really wore on me mentally. It was really rather grueling as each time you cornered a ridge or reached a crest, there was only more of the same. Looking back, this was my least favorite section.

After finally reaching Gemini Bridges Rd., I was all too happy to let the legs rest as it was a fast downhill into the next section: Metal Masher Jeep Rd. Wow Metal Masher was rough. I don't know if it was from the previous bumpy miles or what, but my wrists started feeling it here. Somewhere along this section I happened to look at my watch- 3:30pm. Hmm... I decided to skip pulling out the map and continued on, knowing eventually I would hit Gemini Bridges Rd. again and could assess the time situation there. I'm bummed I didn't take any pictures from the rim on this section.

Looking back at Monitor and Merrimac somewhere in the Gemini Bridges / Metal Masher area.














After finally reaching Gemini Bridges Road again, I looked at my watch. It was after 4pm, so I decided to take a short break and mull over what was to come: the already passed 4pm cut off and heading up Gold Bar Rim and onto the final section of the course traversing Poison Spider Mesa. After more solid fueling, I loaded up my pack and put it in the big ring.

The final drop to the Gold Bar Rim turnoff is gnarly. Not to say anything less about any of the other sections I'd previously ridden or walked on the course. At 5pm I sat and thought for a minute. But gentleman's rules dictated I continue down (and more up) Gemini Bridges Road and take the bailout route back to town.

Views from Gemini Bridges Road





























If I remember correctly, I rolled into town and got to the finish about 7pm or so and let Fred know I'd made it off the course but had skipped the Poison Spider section. I chatted for a few minutes but the downhill back to town had already started the downward burning up/shiver spiral and without warm enough clothes on, I wanted a warm shower.

Ride Stats (from gps): 87.5 miles - 11hr 25min moving ridetime - 8145' ascent

Ride Profile (that bump between mile 30 and 35 is the off course error)







Not too bad for my first mountain bike ride of the year.

Thanks Fred for putting on a great event!

Sunday we had planned on checking out some of the White Rim, but it was too windy. Scotty decided to tackle Gold Bar Rim and Poison Spider Mesa. I was reluctant due to not knowing the weather patterns for the area other than hot, sunny and dry. 15-20 mph winds are one thing, gusts of 50 are another. So I rode him partway out and then did a loop through and around checking out town and up Sand Flats Road for a bit. Scotty got back after dark after getting lost in the cold, dust and wind without a light or cold weather clothes. We started riding at 11am. Crazy shit for sure.

High winds on the pedestrian path across the Colorado River. Those ripples are going against the flow.














Going up Sand Flats Road. Dust starting to billow up.















Monday morning we packed up, hit the gas station and rolled out of town. Stopping for breakfast in Fruita, Scott notices he can't pay for his food because he doesn't have his wallet. It's ~2hrs away at the gas station back in Moab. Welcome to Camp Scotty.

After driving back to Moab to get the wallet, we were met with serious windy blizzard trucks need chains type action over Vail and Loveland passes. After getting through the mountains and dropping off Scott in Denver, I hightailed it out of town hoping to make good time in the light traffic. The wind was really strong blowing across the road and by the time I was in Nebraska, the semi's were jackknifing all over the e-way once again. One more motel and I was finally home at 1am today, Wed.

Random Observation: Weird, I really love those Clif Bloks. I reached for those first until they were all gone. They need to make one that is 500 calories for one cube. PIA opening those wrappers all the time.