Popular Post dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Popular Post Share #1 Posted June 28, 2021 Six days, five nights, approx. 200 miles, 17k of elevation gain. Single track, gravel, dirt, double track, and some pavement. Amazing ride! 6 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Author Popular Post Share #2 Posted June 28, 2021 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Share #3 Posted June 28, 2021 Are you the right age for that ride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Author Popular Post Share #4 Posted June 28, 2021 Hell's Backbone and Grand Staircase Escalante 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Author Popular Post Share #5 Posted June 28, 2021 Grand Staircase 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Author Popular Post Share #6 Posted June 28, 2021 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted June 28, 2021 Share #7 Posted June 28, 2021 Wow looks spectacular! Where is that trail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share #8 Posted June 28, 2021 Just now, ChrisL said: Wow looks spectacular! Where is that trail? Brian Head to Escalante, Utah. https://aquariustrail.com/trail-map/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted June 28, 2021 Share #9 Posted June 28, 2021 Looking at those pictures made me suddenly realize that a whole new world of cycling has opened up to me now that I've got a 'fat' bike. I guess I need to start looking for new adventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Share #10 Posted June 28, 2021 10 minutes ago, denniS said: Brian Head to Escalante, Utah. https://aquariustrail.com/trail-map/ Beautiful part of the world. Probably a scorcher, though, last week? We drove through St George on our way to Vail, and dropped into Zion. It was a day or two ahead of the heat, and even then it was already warming up too much for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share #11 Posted June 28, 2021 Just now, Razors Edge said: Beautiful part of the world. Probably a scorcher, though, last week? We drove through St George on our way to Vail, and dropped into Zion. It was a day or two ahead of the heat, and even then it was already warming up too much for fun. Days one and six were hot. The others were pretty nice. We were between 8-11,000 ft so it is cooler up high. We started riding at 7:30 am most days. We had some hail at 10,000 ft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted June 28, 2021 Share #12 Posted June 28, 2021 31 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said: Looking at those pictures made me suddenly realize that a whole new world of cycling has opened up to me now that I've got a 'fat' bike. I guess I need to start looking for new adventures. If the tires are fat enough you can ride upstream to the falls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 29, 2021 Share #13 Posted June 29, 2021 How big was your group? And I assume bikepacking with no or minimal support? 30-40 miles per day? Get up, ride, relax? Or Get up, ride a little, relax a little, ride some more??? Good re-stocking points along the route, or did you carry everything you needed from the start? Any new wisdom to pass on about equipment, the route, or just funny stories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share #14 Posted June 29, 2021 17 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: How big was your group? And I assume bikepacking with no or minimal support? 30-40 miles per day? Get up, ride, relax? Or Get up, ride a little, relax a little, ride some more??? Good re-stocking points along the route, or did you carry everything you needed from the start? Any new wisdom to pass on about equipment, the route, or just funny stories? We had 12 people so the huts were all ours. If you have a smaller group, you could be sharing the sleeping hut and kitchen. 30-43 miles a day. Lots of climbing. Some climbs were 8-10 miles long. The huts are fully stocked with food so you arrive, refuel, and relax. They even have showers. We heated water to make the showers warm. We shared cooking and cleaning duties. Each hut has a menu to follow and is stocked with snacks and beer if you pay for it(I did). You have to pack a lunch each morning. We usually rolled out at 7:30 am to beat the heat. Riding was 5-9 hours a day. We would break up into groups depending on the difficulty of the day. The route is a mix of terrain with options. You have to carry your food and water as well as jackets and clothes for the hut. You also carry a sleep sheet and pillow case that they provide. My packing sucked, I kind of blew it. I ended making a handlebar bag out of a garbage bag, gorilla tape and two straps. Everyone rode FS mt. bikes. You could do it on a hardtail or e-bike too. The e-bike route varies some. Most people do it as a guided tour, but we did not. I loved it and would definitely do it again. The riding was amazing, some of the best I have ever encountered. Thunder Mountain is off the charts cool. The descent from Brian Head peak is one of the top 10 in the U.S. I think these will become really popular and book fast. We were one of the first trips this season. The snow just melted out two weeks before we started. - 18% paved (mostly towards the end of the route) - 22% graded dirt road - 20% non-graded dirt road - 19% double-track - 21% single-track 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 29, 2021 Share #15 Posted June 29, 2021 Super jealous. It seems AWESOME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share #16 Posted June 29, 2021 4 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: Super jealous. It seems AWESOME. You should do it. I'd say it was the trip of a lifetime. I think it was about $750/person. It was civilized bikepacking since you do not have to carry a sleep system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted June 29, 2021 Share #17 Posted June 29, 2021 1 minute ago, denniS said: You should do it. I'd say it was the trip of a lifetime. I think it was about $750/person. It was civilized bikepacking since you do not have to carry a sleep system. It's has been added to my "Bike Travel" shortcuts. Sadly, that's a growing list! Happily, retirement is approaching faster. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share #18 Posted June 30, 2021 5 hours ago, Razors Edge said: It's has been added to my "Bike Travel" shortcuts. Sadly, that's a growing list! Happily, retirement is approaching faster. We'll see. Some in our group were retired. Two were 67 and grandparents. Both were badass. Two had never really ridden mt bikes. I think that would be hard. The first trail is black diamond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomguy Posted June 30, 2021 Share #19 Posted June 30, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 12:42 PM, denniS said: Brian Head to Escalante, Utah. I knew those hoodoos looked familiar! I love that area, and have spent a few weeks in total riding out there. It has been a while, though, and I had never heard of the Aquarius Trail before. Beautiful pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share #20 Posted June 30, 2021 14 minutes ago, Randomguy said: I knew those hoodoos looked familiar! I love that area, and have spent a few weeks in total riding out there. It has been a while, though, and I had never heard of the Aquarius Trail before. Beautiful pics! The hoodoos are on Thunder Mountain just outside of Bryce Canyon NP. The Aquarius Hut trail is new. It just opened in the fall of 2020. It's just a bunch of routes connecting Brian Head to Escalante. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomguy Posted June 30, 2021 Share #21 Posted June 30, 2021 17 minutes ago, denniS said: The hoodoos are on Thunder Mountain just outside of Bryce Canyon NP. The Aquarius Hut trail is new. It just opened in the fall of 2020. It's just a bunch of routes connecting Brian Head to Escalante. Thunder Mountain is a blast, I have ridden it a few times. I love the rollery-coastery downhill run at the end. Panquitch was always were I stocked up for that ride for some reason. Camping near Brian Head is great, too. I have camped up top in a dry pond a few times up above the town and down below, too, where it is warmer at night, but I bet the whole area has taken off since I was last there in around 2003. I am jealous now, it looks like a great trip! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share #22 Posted June 30, 2021 30 minutes ago, Randomguy said: Thunder Mountain is a blast, I have ridden it a few times. I love the rollery-coastery downhill run at the end. Panquitch was always were I stocked up for that ride for some reason. Camping near Brian Head is great, too. I have camped up top in a dry pond a few times up above the town and down below, too, where it is warmer at night, but I bet the whole area has taken off since I was last there in around 2003. I am jealous now, it looks like a great trip! Thunder Mountain was definitely the high point of the entire trip. That downhill at the end was amazing. My GF loved it. You can loop Thunder, parking at the end and take the bike path to the start and avoid all of the car traffic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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