Typically, when you go to Moab, you want to stay at least a full weekend, but sometimes, schedules don't allow for that, so what do you do? You get up at the BC of D and drive yourself down there. leaving draper at 6 AM we got to the trail around 10 all the while braving UHP (sorry about the ticket Wade) and 13 degree temps...yes. 13...F. By the time we rolled into the parking lot it had warmed up considerably and it was almost 40!
we were one of about a dozen cars in the parking lot that was full by the time we were off the trail at around 130.
Yup, plenty of walking around space.
This was Petro's first time on slickrock, though not his first time to Moab. This has been a year of firsts for Petro on his new bike and he has learned rapidly. Though Slickrock, it turns out, was going to be a big step forward in earning his technical chops.
I always forget how technical and physically demanding this trail is until we take someone new. Last time it was mike, and he broke his wrist about 1.5 miles in. Petro did much better than that by wisely taking it slow and walking a lot of the hills until he eventually got the hang of the undulating petro-fied dunes (see what i did there).
It wasn't just Petro walking the hills either, We all had to do some walking. At least Wade is happy about it.
Finally on top, and it feels so right.
I never realized how much vertical Gain the entire Slickrock trail is until we measured it with our phones. nearly 2000 vertical feet! But the upside to uphill, is the downhill.
About 3/4 the way through, we stopped for a break on the edge of this cliff overlooking the Colorado river.
After this point we were all pretty well toasted, but at least the weather was nice, it was up to 60 and perfect for hard riding. Let me be clear about something, Slickrock isn't the hardest trail I've done, butits always harder, and longer than i think it is. So after about 3/4 the way through it, i am always kind of looking forward foe it to be nearing completion.
After a good hearty ride we enjoyed a good hearty Wendy's lunch and drove home. We got back to draper around 515 and from there i went right to an excellent Halloween party at Siddoways. If you would like to see more, check out the video above. or watch in in HD on youtube
