Another Boring Utah Trip
 

Well, since dan888 didn't want to go this year...again...I just had to go myself and ride and camp by myself nearly the whole trip. It was terrible. Riding all day and not seeing another soul...being in remote canyons and on top remote mesas...it was just horrible. I did get a small respite while hooking up with some of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico buds by getting to meet up and camp with them one night while they did a huge marathon death-march ride loop over a 3-day period...not something I'm interested in doing anymore. Riding a fully loaded bike in harsh terrain...sleeping on the ground...not having any camp luxuries...I am, after all, known as the Candyass Camper.:D

The helmet with the creative manipulation of the Shoei brand belongs to a guy named Chris...RideFreak...over on ADV under the "Rockie" forum. He has some of the best ride videos on the internet IMO, and he is slowly posting them from this big 3 day ride deal they were doing. The whole story is under the title of "Canyonlands Adventure Ride" in the Rockies forum originally posted by COXR650L. It's a lengthy but fun read.

My first stop was 3 days in the San Raphael Swell area. That's where I got to meet up with the crew on their 2nd day of the 3 day marathon. They did a loop that started in Moab, went mostly dirt through all of Canyonlands, to the Lake Powell area, through the Swell, and back through Canyonlands to Moab.

In the Swell, I rode the Waterfall singletrack, Red's Canyon, Temple Mountain area, the Wild Horse area, and many more. You can spend days of non-stop riding in the Swell with rides varying from absolutely difficult to easy cruises. All the scenery is great there.

I next went down to the Lake Powell area towards the Hall's Crossing area. Since the ferry was broken, the amount of traffic on even the main paved road into the area was almost desolate. I saw practically no one out on the jeep roads and trails for 3 days. I went out on the first part of the eastern side of Hole-in-the-Rock trail. This is a killer trail with some really dangerous parts the further out you get. The west side HITR trail in the Escalante area or west side of the lake is mainly a dirt road, but the east side HITR is a challenge. Look up some Youtube videos of jeeps and dirtbikes doing this area, and you'll see why. I went as far as I could/should go, especially riding solo.

On that same day I also did the whole Nokai Dome road that branches off the HITR trail. It's super remote and dead-ends at a huge canyon overlook. I rounded a bend and saw a freaking airplane sitting just off the trail. Turns out it was an older couple in this homebuilt bush plane, a Murphy, who travel around camping at the old, leftover, uranium exploration airstrips that still exist in this part of the country. These are just short dirt strips, and since it's so dry out there, they don't get overgrown like you'd think over time. They are not maintained for the most part. It was a shock to see a plane sitting out there. I saw them take off from a distance a short while later. Pretty neat.

good on ya
 

Great report. Great pics.

Congratulations on not tarnishing your rep as "CandyAss Camper". ;) :D

Next I went down to the area around Hite's Crossing of Lake Powell. I rode the Flint Trail, the Maze, Doll House, Hatch Canyon, and numerous side trails. A good 130 mile day, but no trouble at all with the 3.7 gal. Acerbis tank...didn't even go to reserve.

As I've said before, it's shocking how good the mileage is with the 36mm pumper carb. My worst day was 48 mpg and my best was 62. Even though most of these rides are long mileage days, and they have some pretty darned technical challenges at times, there are still long sections where you're not having to flog the bike...hence, some very good mileage. I kept very close track of my mileage between the calibrated Vapor instrument panel and the graduated marks on my VP fuel can. Gas just wasn't a problem.

I spent my last day's ride on the way back to Texas in the Cloudcroft, New Mexico area. I went up to nearly 10,000 feet elevation trying to see if there was going to be any noticeable performance issue with the pumper carb over the old CV carb...didn't even get a hiccup. I know there will be some effect when I do something like Imogene pass at over 13,000 feet, but every bike is affected to some degree at that extreme operating altitude. I'm just tickled that the pumper carb seems to run as clean as the CV carb as altitude increases.

Here are a few random pics from sights along the trails. Utah is about the best place to do big rides over all kinds of varying terrain. Colorado is nice, but for variety, remoteness, and stark beauty, Utah is tops IMO. You can camp all over the place for free. I didn't spend a penny on camping fees on the whole 2+ week trip. Fuel and a few groceries along the way were the main expenses. I took a solar shower every night and slept like a baby in the van...with a nice, handy portapottie at the ready so that I didn't have to get out of the van at night...LOL!:D

Congrats on the nice trip and sharing.

Thanks for sharing!
I have got to get out there to ride. Looks like too much fun.
Glad you made it back safe and sound.

I can't wait to go mess around at the dry lake bed here in vegas. Great pictures

First of all Whatever!!!! "another boring Utah ride" So sorry you had to put up with that.
Secondly, the first line is "Dan888 didn't want to go" ?? (That's all the farther I read so far) I would love to go, but $500+ just in gas money keeps me out of the deal until I find a buddy to ride out with and share the expense. One of these days I might surprise you. hahahaqhah
OK now I will read what you wrote.