Red Canyon Fall Trip

So another successful bike trip to Red Canyon just outside of Panguitch, Utah. I call it successful when one comes back in one piece. After doing an "endo" on my last trip to Moab, I am all too aware of the perils of mountain biking.

This trip was with my Sister and husband Jan and Jim, and my niece and husband, Lisa and JJ with their two very cute daughters. Also Jim's grandson CJ was with us. Heidi was not with me as she was enjoying a "Painting with the Masters" trip to Colorado with some friends. Again we camped au natural in a BLM campsite away from the established campgrounds. A beautiful view of the canyons and surrounding valley where Panguitch is located. I had my VW camper which worked out great except I found my auxiliary battery was dead and needs replacing. The first night we enjoyed a great foil dinner, cooked in the coals. A hardy breakfast the next morning (made by moi) was french toast, bacon and eggs...a good hardy meal for what lay ahead.

What lay ahead was Thunder Mounting which lay at the beginning of Hwy 12 as you head toward Bryce Canyon. It is a little jewel which contains within its bowels and miniature Bryce Canyon. Since one cannot ride a bike in Bryce Canyon (a far less destructive mode of transport) this is a great proxy for Bryce. We parted at the end of the trail and took a paved bike path up Hwy 12 about 4 miles. This then cuts off on dirt road and leads to the beginning of the trail up the mountain. It winds through Ponderosa forests, rocks and boulders and a narrow trail...sometime with precarious drop offs. It tops out with a fabulous view of the whole region where Bryce Canyon is found and then drops into a bowl similar to Bryce. On one ridge and fell off on both side making it all that more important to not do too much sight seeing along the way. As we went into the bowl, the trail was quite hairy and technical and one had to really be on their toes. The final 1/4 of the trail was a rolling race to the bottom that one could really open up on. The ride took about 2 1/2 hours with spectacular views and a great trail.

That afternoon we just chilled at camp recovering. Mtn biking is very anaerobic and really can take it out of you so the break was very welcome. Dinner that night was courtesy of Lisa which was marinated pork loin, rosemary potato, pears and asparagus. This was topped off with a homemade peach cobbler. You could not have found better in a fine restaurant.

The next morning we headed back to Red Canyon and the Cassidy trail. This is a big loop that goes over to Loosee Canyon with plateaus and lookouts. At my ripe old age I huffed and puffed but was not too far behind the pace setter, JJ. You can tell what 14 years less in age can do. Anyway the views were again spectacular and again the trail had some great cruisers and enough technical spots to keep you awake and watchful. The ride was about 2 hours and a great way to cap off the trip.

Overall I like this area as much is not more than Moab. It has higher elevation, thus cooler temps, trees (did you know that Ponderosa Pines, if the bark is pealed back, smell like vanilla) and wonderful hoodoos and rock canyons. Unfortunately the season is shorter due to elevation, but a great destination.

My Recent Adventures--Red Rock Canyon

Well, mother had left for the Philippines and memorial weekend was upon us. I had been invited to join Aunt Jan and Jim camping and biking down at Red Rock Canyon which is five miles east of Panguitch, UT and about 15 miles due west of Bryce Canyon NP.

Jan and Jim are great people to go camping with. They have been everywhere and know all the best places, especially places where it seems no one else is around. Can you imagine memorial weekend and not seeing another soul? Well it can be done if you do "primitive" camping on BLM land...which is another way of saying that you and the bears will have somthing in common. A small price to pay for solitude and privacy. So we go to this place which is about five miles east of Panguitch in the cedars at the base of these red cliffs with a view of the whole valley that Panguitch sits in (see pic). Really nice.


Along with Jan and Jim was Moshe and four friends from his college days including Rob (his school bud), Rob's wife Sophia, Tim and Sophia's father. Sophia and Arie are Russian and all from New York. Needless to say, I am sure that camping was a new experience for all but Arie (the father). To add to the challenge they were vegetarians, which if well planned can work out ok but looks like alot more work than just throwing a chicken into the dutch oven.


Anyway, this place is a biking paradise. There are two canyons within biking of our campground called Loosee and Casto Canyon. Jim and I went on a ride up Casto Canyon. This is what I would term my maiden voyage on my bike (I bought a used bike in March). It initially was two track meaning ATV's had access, but we never ran into anyone else up the canyon (on memorial weekend no less). This was like a mini Bryce Canyon in RED, mixed with a stream bed and trees. I didn't have a camera (mom had it) and so missed some truely fantastic scenery, but I have borrowed a photo or two from Sophie and Rob. Anyway the canyon goes on up to a mesa with a great roller coaster single track trail and view. The trail goes over to Loosee Canyon, but due to a blowout on Jim' s bike due to bad tread and an impending storm (the weather was lousy all weekend), we headed down the way we came. Needless to say, I was hooked on mountain biking.














On Saturday it was threatening weather so we decided biking was out and went to Bryce Canyon. It is truely challenging to hike Bryce in the rain. Hiking poles for both hands are a really good idea as the mud is super slippery and the trail quite narrow. But the rain brings out the colors so vividly.




So, there are many wonderful rides down by Bryce. It is totally different from Moab, but with alot of great trails and scenery (and cooler, our camp was about 7000 ft). Anyway, I look forward to doing it again. I just got back from Moab on the 16th of June and will write about it soon.