Untitled Document

January 13, 2002
Canyon country
Adventure cyclists tame the 'beast' on White Rim Trail
By Jan and Pat Rastall
For the Coloradoan
Somewhere around mile 27 first day biking on the White Rim...
Jan: "I can't figure out if this road is made

Courtesy Jan and Pat Rastall

Ride on: Jan and Pat Rastall covered the 100-mile White Rim Trail in five days.

up of dust or sand.''
    Pat: "All I know is this hill is way steep."
    Jan: "Double pushing these things sucks."
    Pat: "At least we aren't doing it in the dark."
    The White Rim Trail is four-wheel drive road that circles the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. It's 100 miles of dirt, sand, desert, rock, canyon rims and beautiful vistas. It is very remote. There is no food, no water, basic outhouses and no emergency services of any kind.
    Most groups doing the White Rim make reservations (435) 259-4351and take from two to four days to complete the round trip. Sag Wagons (4x4 vehicles carrying food, water and camping equipment) are used by most biking groups. These "sags" allow for luxuries like beer and barbecues.
    We fancied the idea of bare bones travel, doing it self-supported. We would carry all our food, water and equipment with us, no sag wagon. We considered side mounted gear bags but.... I knew when I first saw a "BOB" (Beast of Burden) single track mountain bike trailer, I had found the key to a classic adventure on the

Courtesy Jan and Pat Rastall

Not good: Pat Rastall pushes his bike along the White Rim Trail.

White Rim. All good adventures need a little risk, uncertain outcomes, and a bit of potential suffering. It was all right there in front of me. We purchased two "BOB's" committing ourselves to the venture. We would be like dessert turtle's.
    Water weighs approximately 8 pounds a gallon; we needed to carry 10 gallons minimum for the four days we planned to complete the circle. With tent, sleeping bags, food and other gear our fully loaded trailers weighed nearly 80 pounds. We planned the trip for early November so the temperature would be cool. The departure date arrived. We loaded the "BOB's" hooked them to our bikes and off we went. At first the "BOBS" seemed to control all our movements, but we soon adjusted.
    Pavement changed to dirt road. We careened down toward Mineral Bottoms until the steep switchbacks dropping 1,200 feet to the Green River. We crept slowly downhill, testing our brakes. Where were the run away bike ramps?
    At the bottom we let out a sigh and continued riding. It would be our longest day and we needed to get to our campsite at Potato Bottom by dark. We passed one camping area and then later in the afternoon another. Then in front of us appeared our first uphill test. We named it the "hill of dust or sand". We ended up having to team up and push each rig together for much of this hill. It was tough going. At the top we were rewarded with a beautiful high traverse over to our camp area for the night.

Courtesy Jan and Pat Rastall

Rest stop: Jan Rastall relaxes at camp before another day of riding the White Rim Trail.

    The next morning we walked out to the river and knew why we carried all our water. It's called the Green River for a reason. After repacking we were off biking through stunning vistas. It's hard to stay on the road. We saw other groups of bikers who for the most part seemed to wonder why we were choosing this difficult mode of transportation. Some looked at us like we were crazy others cheered us on our way.
    By late afternoon we were confronted with the climb to the top of Murphy's Hogback. The condition of the road was better and we surprised ourselves by single handedly pushing our rigs all the way to the top, except for the last 20 feet.
    Camping on top of Murphy's was spectacular. Canyon Country is a special place. It's almost scary. The quiet is hard to describe. I felt very humbled by all of it. We felt very small and insignificant. We also felt lucky to be there. I remembered a favorite quote and how appropriate it seemed: "I'm smack in the middle of where I want to be."
    The third day we biked to our next camping spot, White Crack, the one considered to be the most beautiful on the trail. Along the way we took a short break and carefully walked out on some slick rock to peer down into a canyon. We immediately spotted a small herd of bighorn sheep. Out came our one pair of binoculars. We watched them and an hour passed before we knew it.
    Spending a night at White Crack is spectacular. The park only allows one party to camp there

Courtesy Jan and Pat Rastall

From a distance: Jan Rastall scans a view of the White Rim Trail, which contains 100 miles of dirt, sand, desert and rock in Utah's Canyonlands National Park.

overnight. We had it all to ourselves. The view from the rock promontory, facing to the south, is beyond description. We could see for at least 70 miles.
    Our fourth day took us along the rims of many unnamed canyons. We were down to our last three gallons of water. The "BOB's" were much lighter. That night at the Airport Tower campsite we saw these weird red clouds off to the north and guessed they might be reflections of the northern lights.
    Our last day challenged us with the climb up the Shafer Switchbacks. These tight hairpin turns climb up what appears to be a vertical rock wall. At the top we caught our breath and turned back to look from where we came. We knew the ranger station and our car were only 30 minutes away. We got back on our bikes and seemed to cross through some invisible barrier back to our "other" lives. Just like that it was all over.
    A biking adventure on the White Rim is highly recommended. Going self-supported adds to the difficulty but also the feeling of simplicity and accomplishment. After all nothing ventured, nothing gained.
    Jan and Pat Rastall are avid adventurers who live in Fort Collins. Jan works for Experience Plus! Speciality Tours and Pat is the associate director of housing at Colorado State University.

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