Wallsburg to Vivian...It's an adventure.

Some time ago we read or heard about, I forget which, a trail that begins in Wallsburg Utah and ends at Vivian park in Provo canyon. We tried riding it from Vivian, but the trail was steep and ridiculously rocky and loose. We don't mind Hike-a-bikes, but that was too much and too far. After some research we were finally able to find and connect the trails, from Wallsburg to Vivian, and the result was amazing views and  beautiful singletrack all culminating in a long loose and rocky descent.

Climbing up from Wallsburg, the trail was over grown and rough in places. This trail is frequented more by motorcycles than bicycles. We loved the remote feeling it offered. The climb is shaded and nice.

The views on the way up are amazing. After some climbing we came to the spot we thought was the top. There was a great view, as well as a great place to stop and re-fuel. We were dead wrong. After relaxing we began to pedal and within 100 feet saw the trail climb steeply in front of us. Later the gps tracks would show it was about a 1700 vert feet hike a bike. I mean, sure those who are in super shape could ride parts of it but for a heavier-out-of-shape rider, it was a hike a bike. After some frustration, we reached another summit, which finally lead to the downhill.

 

There are no pictures of this downhill ride. Partly because Guthrie was a head of me, mostly because it is a rough, baby-head filled, hand jarring long descent. Don't get me wrong, we loved it, but the entire ride took concentration and muscle to not fly off the trail into the bushes, which, although much effort was exhausted to prevent, occurred quite frequently.  The descent is what makes it an adventure trail, the ride is fantastic, overgrown, and rocky and loose at the end, but we will definitely do it again as we keep on exploring one trail at a time.

 

Wallsburg to Vivian Park

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Provo, Utah

Relentless and Rewarding

Someone once told me, regarding mountain bike racing, that if you ever got off your bike you should be instantly disqualified. I responded by suggesting that if you never got off your bike, you probably were not riding difficult enough trails. Whether my statement is true or not, lately it has seemed that the relentlessly steep trails seem to lead to some of the most rewarding areas and riding.

For some time we have been wanting to try and ride to Cascade Saddle from Big Springs. We heard it was steep, knew it was a popular motorcycle trail and had ridden the first 3 miles where it did indeed get steep, but could not find any gps tracks or much about it after that. Supposedly it is 5 or 6 miles to the pass.  Saturday we decided to give it a try.

Miles 1-2 are normal riding, scenic, nice trail, kosher stuff, 2-3 get steeper with some hike-a-bike,  3-4 the riding stops and the pushing and carrying begins. But this is not your momma's hike a bike. These are steep, loose chutes, that climb straight up the mountain in places.  But, the views, the views were incredible.

In the end, we didn't make it all the way to the top. Snow began to cover the trail in a lot of places and a huge avalanche, above, blocked the path entirely. We hiked over it for sometime, but not knowing what to expect and needing to get home for a city carnival we promised to take our kids to forced us to turn around.

The views were fantastic, the climb was even fun, but descending this trail is pure bliss. The top is a hang back, super steep, baby head filled, rocky chute decent, followed my mellow rough trail riding and finally smooth cruising.

After it was all said and done, we ended up climbing 3,100 feet in 4.1 miles. The ride able part is about 15% grade and after that I have no idea. It took us about an hour and a half up and 20 minutes down, but it is worth every second. We heard that you can access the top of this trail from a ride in Wallsburg, the plans are already in place...finding new rides, one trail at a time.

Las Vegas - A Different Perspective

This past weekend we packed the family up for a trip to Vegas.  The in-laws bought a townhome down there, so we wanted to take a few days and do some fun stuff outside.  Our typical Vegas trip is walk on the strip, go to a buffet or show.  This time was all about getting outside away from how we typically experience Vegas from a different point of view.

 

The first day, I woke up early and headed to Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City.  The plan was do ride part of the Banzai enduro course to experience what Bootleg has to offer.  After some research, I was going to take a shuttle up and ride.  However, I arrived well before any shuttle would come.  Another mtn biker came down and I asked him about the trails.  He said to pedal up the road to boy scout and only ride the front side unless I had body armor and a DH bike.  I typically follow locals’ advice, but decided to pedal up Girl Scout to caldera since nobody was out yet.

Girl Scout was a nice easy climb and then I decided to do inner caldera.  It was fun.  When I hit the road again, I went up to boy scout and I remembered what the local said.  “Only ride the front trails if you have body armor and a DH bike” I didn't have a DH bike or body armor, but decided it could be fun to try.  After all, I could just walk down if it was too crazy.  I went up to where the DH tracks start and did Armageddon, Snakeback, BC to the bike park area.  It was a blast!  It has been a bit since I felt nervous on a bike, but with the rocks, loose dirt around off camber corners and steep sections kept me on my toes.  The local wasn't kidding that if you ate it without body armor, it would not be good.  The rocks are jacked.  It made for a fun/different ride.  Then I pedaled back up to the top of boyscout and came down to the car via boyscout, girl scout, and another trail.  It was a good ride and it was off for some hiking with the family.

The next day I went over and did the cowboy trails.  I knew little about these trails, but saw a youtube video of one called kibbles and bits.  They said it was more challenging than it looked, so I thought I would give it a go.  Kibbles and bits was a super fun trail and offered some good views of red rock canyon area.  It was a bit more technical, but nothing an intermediate rider couldn’t clear.  I made my way up to the top and I don’t remember all the different trail names, but I made my way to an “expert” level rated trail called bomb voyage.  This trail was amazing!  It was loose, rocky, steep, included a few drops and technical bits.  I really enjoyed riding it.

 

The cowboy trails were different than bootleg and I actually enjoyed them more.  It was a really good weekend and hope to make it down there a bit more during the cold months here in Utah.