TR - Hurricane StG Fall 2017

[evdog]

The list of road trip destinations is ever-expanding. Which can make it hard to get back to some of the past favorites. Aside from a brief stopover at Thanksgiving last year, it had been a couple years since I'd done a proper Gooseberry/StGeorge road trip.

Schillingsworth had gone for the first time last spring and his stoke got me amped to go back, so we agreed a return trip this fall would be in order. Basil would join me from SD and Sam would join John coming from Phx. Hurricane is conveniently an equal distance for each of us so this is likely not the last meetup. It would be Basil and Sam's first time riding here.

We all got in late on Thursday night, the others getting a campsite and Basil and I showing up an hour later.

There was no early waking time for day one and given we were camped on the mesa, a ride at Gooseberry made sense for the first day.


Rolling along the Windmill loop



Sam dropping in



The plan was to hit Hidden canyon and Secret Tr plus whatever else to connect them. We played around a bit but generally kept moving



At the start of Hidden Canyon we'd see the only "big" group for the day, a group of 5. Just a few pairs and individual riders besides that.



Schillingsworth in the hidden canyon



Window into the soul...but Schillingsworth has a singular focus



Hidden Canyon was fun as always, and then it was on to Secret Tr. I still have trouble finding the correct entrance each time, but soon enough we were on it.



Sand wasn't as bad as it has been in the past, but was still thick enough to bring you to a stop in spots



Half the people I take on this trail don't like it. Maybe doing this trail early in the ride rather than after the whole north and south rim is the ticket.



Schillingsworth dropping in on the backside



motoring along



I love the diversity of rock features on this trail.



Climbing up one of the tougher slabs. I think we were only 2 for 4 making it up this. There were some sketchy burnouts as tires lost traction at the transition



Final climb out of the bathtub was tricky too



Cruising some nice open slickrock connecting back to South rim



Schillingsworth dropping down one of the few "sustained" descents on the mesa



We made our way back to camp after that needing a refreshment but undecided on what to do with the rest of the day. Wire mesa would be easy but we had plans to hit that with some friends the next day. After a couple beers we decided to roll back out and try to hit the rest of north rim before sunset. John and Sam decided to peel off and take North Rim back to camp. Basil and I rode on to see if we could hit the point before dark.

We made it out there with the sun still up and got to enjoy some killer golden hour light



Chasing the last rays down from the point



I was able to goad Basil into riding the south rim all the way back. Better than the fire road!



Fun times as always and we made it back to the road before we needed to turn on lights. Cool part of the night was discovering we were camped next to Ryan Leech, and getting the invite over to share campfire since our spot didn't have a ring.

[evdog]

For Day 2 the plan was not settled except to meet up with Scott and Eszter at Wire Mesa, and then head into St George.

Scott and Eszter live and work remotely out of a Scamp trailer and travel all over the west riding and adventuring. They were nearby to ride and hike in Zion, and we were able to meet up for a ride.

We opted to ride clockwise, and added on an out and back connector to the road that was pretty fun.



Turning back onto the main trail we continued on



Taking in a great view of Zion from an overlook



Going the way we did there were a couple techy chutes then some random rocky sections the rest of the way, getting harder as we got back to the trailhead



Scott goes back for an optional line, with a view



Then shows us how to clean a punchy double step up move



Tasty burger at the Chevron near the turnoff for Gooseberry




For an afternoon ride everything was up for discussion. Options suggested were Barrel Roll/Suicidal Tendencies/Sidewinder, Zen, R&B, KLC. All fun options and all new to some or all of us, or it was time to hit them again. In the end we opted to hit a short one first, Kentucky Lucky Chicken then see what else we could fit in.

After stopping briefly to help an elderly hiker who was dehydrated we headed off clockwise



There was some fairly mellow switchback climbing with occasional tech builts to keep it interesting



Almost at the top near the radio towers



Then it was mostly descent on the way back, with a few short climbs to keep us honest. Fun trail, and it felt longer than the 4 miles this trail is listed at - in a good way.

KLC is similar to the Barrel Roll area trails - really and fun moderately techy. Considering the similarity and having just a couple daylight hours left, it made sense to ride Zen next.



Zen is a much tougher trail. I remembered some parts but forgot how steep the climb up was



Schillingsworth climbing up a slab overlooking the 5 fingers of death on Bearclaw Poppy



Basil and Schillingsworth descend another fun section



Riding into the light



Every good ride has some HAB...



Checking out the view from up top



It was a fun descent back down. We got turned around at one spot but managed to get out. Last time I rode this 6-7 yrs ago we missed a turn and had to take powerline back. No such misfortune today, we found the turnoff and finished on singletrack back to the trailhead just at last light. 3 rides - great day on the bike!

[evdog]

For Day 3, Little Creek Mesa was a unanimous choice. Close to camp and central to where everyone had to leave from. I generally like Gooseberry a lot better but it had been five years since I'd last ridden Little Creek, so it was time for a visit.



Again the plan was to head towards a corner of the trail system that Schillingsworth had missed on his last trip. Soon enough we were at the waterfall and some sessioning ensued





Sam cruising along the North Point loop



Schllingsworth riding the rock bridge



We headed back on a couple of the alternate loops to the south of Magic Carpet Ride



None of the trails offer a direct path of course, so at times we rode east, west, north and south all on the same trail



The color in some of the rock is impressive and is not done justice at all in the photos



Basil cresting a tough climb



back through the Waterfall and the tough climb out of it to the south





Then some more zigging and zagging



And some more climbing to get out



Schillingsworth and Sam opted to duck out to the car and make their way home when we got close to the road. Thanks as always for some fun rides!

Basil and I continued on for one more loop on the western loop via Magic Carpet Ride



I'd never ridden this loop counter clockwise but it rode well, and could be best that direction given the flow on Magic Carpet Ride.



The loop rode fast and took less than 90 mins before we were on the road ourselves. After one more stop at the Chevron for a burger, that is...

Another fun road trip in the books...

[mntlion]

fun times. good TR (I was riding in that area end of Oct) such fun riding.

[smmokan]

Gooseberry and Little Creek (and Hurricane Rim/Cliffs, I guess) are the big ticket items down there, but I personally like Suicidal/Barrel Roll/Sidewinder and Zen/Barrel better. The terrain over there is SUPER fun, the views are just as good, and the trails are always empty.

Nice write-up!

[jono]

Nice timing for this TR, just when fall was starting to feel like some distant memory. Love those rides!

[evdog]

Gooseberry and Little Creek (and Hurricane Rim/Cliffs, I guess) are the big ticket items down there, but I personally like Suicidal/Barrel Roll/Sidewinder and Zen/Barrel better. The terrain over there is SUPER fun, the views are just as good, and the trails are always empty.

Agreed. I always have a hard time twisting arms to go over there though, everyone always wants to ride Goose/LC/JEM. I'm always in for Goose and Guac but try to ride at least one day in StG each trip. KLC was similar riding to Barrel Roll system but in a much smaller package. JEM system = yawn, even with all the new stuff. Need to ride Zen more often. Last time I rode the Barrel Roll system was when Suicidal Tendencies was under construction. Was hoping to ride there this trip but we could only squeeze in so much in 3 days...

[jono]

Schillingsworth dropping down one of the few "sustained" descents on the mesa

That spot is one of my favorite techy climbs. I guess that says something about why "sustained" requires the quotes.

[smmokan]

Was hoping to ride there this trip but we could only squeeze in so much in 3 days...

Suicidal Tendencies kicks ass... combine that with the other stuff out there, and it's a great 2+ hour ride (less if you're cruising). If I lived in that area, I would definitely ride that stuff over in Santa Clara more than the Hurricane mesa trails.

By the way, I can't believe this video somehow has almost half a million views:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsfodMu30zs&t=1s

[406]

Such a fun area. Good you found the trail at the bottom of Zen, we missed it at first last year and had to back track, well worth finding.

[BFD]

Rode lcm today guess i will check out suicidal tendacies tomorrow. Timely thread

[Groomer Gambler]

Looks like a great time thank you for sharing!

[robnow]

What, no Grafton??? By far my favourite riding there.

[BFD]

Do you think they used a backhoe to build the entrance to ST. Those are some big rocks to move around. Probably was above my skill level in the canyon. Back to the mesas.