Moab

Porcupine Rim Trail

There are few places that I like to go better than Southern Utah. Moab, of course, is high on the list within the Southern Utah collection. Autumn and I have been trying to get down there to ride the Slickrock trail for the past month. We had originally planned to go late in March, but Grandpa Whitesides funeral was that weekend so we changed plans. We are actually glad we did because the weather was just perfect. It was still cool at night (and even in the day when the wind was blowing), but temperatures were hitting the mid-70's and we were ready to roll.

We (Autumn, her friends Eric and Heather Nord, their two kids, and I) took off just after graduation and arrived a little after midnight. We actually drove around for about an hour trying to find somewhere to camp because all of the campgrounds were completely full! Who would have thought? As far as we know, it was just a typical weekend for Moab, but the camping was a nightmare.

Primitive Campsite - First Night

We ended up crashing somewhere up in the hills just off the road. Our roadside campsite was not particularly flat and not particularly a campsite, but it worked out fine for the first night. The next two night were spend in the Sand Flats campground above Moab near the Slickrock Trail.
On Saturday I took Autumn and Heather on Slickrock and we had a great time. They did very well and Autumn was going down stuff that many people were walking! I think the ladies were a bit surprised about the trail, but very glad they'd done the whole thing. We were all a bit sore on our saddles the next day, but that truly is a spectacular trail.

Sunday we went to church in Moab. In preparation, we went to the Moab Hostel to take a shower. That was my first hostel experience, and for the most part I was pretty impressed. It was dumpy, but I had expected that. It was cheap and functional, so I was fine with a little mold on the tile.

Corona Arch

We took a walk up to Corona Arch. Corona is located about 10 miles down river from Moab towards the Potash plant. It was fun to see. Autumn and I had been there one other time, but we hiked in the dark and didn't really get to see much. That was back when we were dating and just falling in love, so it was fun to return there.
Monday morning dawned warm and sunny (like most days there) and Eric and I decided to try a new trail, Porcupine Rim (see picture above). Porcupine Rim starts about 10 miles from Moab to the Southeast up on the plateau by Slickrock and winds its way up 1000' vertical feet to the summit of a rim overlooking Castle Valley and then back down 2700' to the Colorado River just upriver from Moab. It was a great ride and there were lost of drops that you could jump your bike off. My arms were pretty tired and my hands got blisters from the ride because it was quite technical and there was a lot of maneuvering the bike to be able to ride the cool obstacles. It was a bit like riding up and down sandstone stairs for 15 miles. Fun and a good workout. This was not my favorite trail, but one that you have to do to consider yourself one who has biked Moab.