Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Kokopelli Trail - Fruita, CO to Moab, UT

Well I am finally posting about my trip on the Kokopelli Trail, September 27th-29th 2007. The trip is put on by Bikerpelli Sports and is a 3 day, 150 mile adventure. Day 1 was a very technical and rocky section as we had to carry and push our bikes quite a bit. But the scenery was awesome and a great day of single track was the best way to start the trip. My companions were Bryan Holloway, Mike Masters and Terry Mathison, as well as 16 other riders and 5 support staff. We seemed to be the only full lycra wearing people on the ride, and looking resplendent in our Cycleworks kits! Each day consisted of a ride briefing with a hand drawn map to illustrate different sections and turns to watch out for. They were broken up into two sections with a SAG stop for lunch in between. We would pile up our bags for the cargo van to take to our camp that evening so all we had to worry about was RIDING! A full Camelbak, a few Cliff bars and we were off. The first day was about 36 miles total but we didn't get in until 4:00 or so.
Trailhead
Ride briefing with Alex & Brenda The 4 Stooges - Day 1 (Mike, Bryan, Brian, Terry)
Colorado River
Mike and Bryan


This is what the trail looked like from atop Bryan's head!!! (Hit the play button to watch the video)
Camp #1 Dinner with a view. Alex, Brenda and Durango (the dog)

Day #2
This day was our "high mileage" day. I think it was about 51 miles. Although fairly scenic, it mainly consisted of gravel roads and a small bit of pavement and finally one epic decent. The first decent from camp was the most fun of the day, and FAST! Unfortunately one guy fell and broke his hand on the same decent. He thumbed it to the SAG and then went to the hospital. Other than a few flats, Mike taking a spill into the briars and Terry losing two spokes, our trip was less eventful, fortunately.

Dewey Bridge


This section was called the 'Rose Garden'. But it looked more like a ROCK garden instead. I know that a few guys actually rode the whole thing, but a walked the majority of it. It was crazy! It was hard to imagine even the Jeeps decending or climbing it.









Here is a view looking back at the 'Rose Garden' and what we just came down.









Camp #2

Day #3


Today's "stage" would start off with a 17 mile climb on gravel roads and Jeep trails. It was very scenic until the SAG stop. After that it became really technical as we finally found the infamous Porcupine Rim trail. Then we knew we were close to Moab and the end of our trip. I am not a great decender on a mountain bike, but after getting a feel for the rocks I felt more comfortable to just let go of the brakes and bomb it! Towards the end of the trail it started to lightning, then rain, then HAIL on us. So we took cover for a little while and then finished the ride on the pavement to the final camp. All in all it was a great trip and I think we all had a memorable time.



Porcupine Rim

Watch out for the edge Bry!
Day #4 - Canyonlands National Park

After 3 days of riding most of us were sore and tired. My butt hurt so badly that the bones were aching as much as my bum. So we opted to rent a Jeep and take a little ride. Bryan and I finished off the day doing some real Jeep riding and crawled around some really cool slick rocks. The next day we loaded up the rental car and headed back to Grand Junction to fly home.
Musselman Arch

Island in the Sky National Park
Mesa Arch Rock crawling on Fins and Things Jeep Trail

Hang on Bry, it's going to be a DROP!

6 comments:

Traveling Bells said...

Wow, you finally got the 'construction' done! Loved seeing the pics and reading about the trip. Smooch...Mom

Joy said...

I've missed reading about your adventures so I'm glad to see the "construction" signs gone, too! The pictures were great!
Love, Joy

Haley D. said...

WOW- amazing trip with pictures to boot!!! Thanks for sharing.

Skybob said...

Very cool. We love Moab!
Drop by our blog if you would like.
MyBlazeOfGlory.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Adventurous trip ! Pictures are amzaing

Bernel Sawyer, Henryetta said...

Good report
, Thanks