Kokopelli Trail run at end of March?

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Hi all,

Not sure if anyone is interested in coming along but I am planning a Kokopelli Trail run in late March 09.

I know it is kind of early to think about but I have the hall pass locked, so I am looking for dates that do not conflict with any RS events, etc..

Matt/Subzali are there any scheduled RS events the last week of March?

I haven't done this yet and want to check it off the list of to do's before I venture on to other trails in that area.

I think Robbie and the TTT folks did this trail about the same time this year?

 

[Red_Chili]

I kinda like doing it on two wheels (cuz I like that, and cuz otherwise it is LOOOOOONG). Tends to be supa easy, but very scenic. There is some singletrack that greatly adds to the challenge and interest. You starting in Rabbit Valley?

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Yep Fruita, right?. I may be bringing my mtn bike also and splitting driving time with a buddy.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I did it end-to-end on mountain bike in 2007. Fun trip, particularly since we had vehicle SAG to carry stuff and provide lunch stops each day. Start point was the Loma exit trailhead and finished in Moab. Camps were at Westwater and Fisher Valley, support stops were Rabbit Valley, Yellowjacket Canyon and Castle Valley. This was the second week of May and it was definitely none too cold, that's for sure. March may be hit or miss from Fisher Valley over to Porcupine depending on how much snow the La Sals get, that's the only variable. If you have space to carry a tent and pack for me, I'd love to pedal along with ya. Our trip was 3 full days and that was a comfortable, slightly slower than race pace for me.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Dave, this was one of the topics I was thinking of bringing up over our potential happy our beer.

I will have room to carry your gear, no worries.

I have a bunch of mtn bike buddies that may want the same sherpa benefits.

I would like to drive and ride certain sections. Not totally sure how that will all shake out.

I have a buddy that just had hip surgery this spring and he may not want to ride but would be someon I trust driving the FJ. So if he can make I can ride a bunch of sections also.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Just FWIW, doing it from Fruita to Moab is about 140 miles and roughly 6,500 feet of climbing. It's not a death march by any stretch (unless done in one day), but certainly more than doable by a relatively fit cyclist. Also depends on the number of days. Two days will be two all day rides, three days gives you a chance to watch sunsets with a beer. Four days would allow for camp fires, very late nights and beer.

Driving wise, the only spot I would feel uncomfortable letting someone drive my truck who is not familiar with it would be the Rose Garden not long before Fisher Valley. Nothing harder than what we saw on the Rubicon (in fact it's pretty tame compared to the 'Con), but could be a pucker for someone not comfortable driving off road since it's loose.

 

[Red_Chili]

I kinda like doing it on two wheels (cuz I like that, and cuz otherwise it is LOOOOOONG). Tends to be supa easy, but very scenic. There is some singletrack that greatly adds to the challenge and interest. You starting in Rabbit Valley?

Guess I should have clarified... two wheels with 650cc and 50hp... knees couldn't handle biopropulsion.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Guess I should have clarified... two wheels with 650cc and 50hp... knees couldn't handle biopropulsion.

I've never personally ever ridden a motorcycle, but Kokopelli did strike me like it would be a fun trail to ride with the help of Mr. Combustion Cycle. It would be super laid back overnight I bet on a dirt bike.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Bill motorcycles are welcome to join.....

I will most likely want to drive the Rose Garden section.

I pinged my mountain biker buddies and they are all geeked up for it, sounds like it is on.

 

[Red_Chili]

The whole thing is one day on a motorcycle. I could do it three or four times in the time it takes a bike! Need gas drops though.

We usually run it around St. Paddy's in March. With a group, we do Rabbit Valley to Big Bend or so, and forgo the part after Rose Garden. It's iffy mid-March anyway. Kinda boring when it's not iffy.

Leaves more time for frolicking in camp anywho.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The whole thing is one day on a motorcycle. I could do it three or four times in the time it takes a bike! Need gas drops though.

We usually run it around St. Paddy's in March. With a group, we do Rabbit Valley to Big Bend or so, and forgo the part after Rose Garden. It's iffy mid-March anyway. Kinda boring when it's not iffy.

Leaves more time for frolicking in camp anywho.

Makes sense, I figured it would be doable in a day. Just struck me that riding from Loma to about Dewey Bridge (RIP) one day, camping by the river and finishing the next day would be a chill trip. Sort of like the White Rim can be driven in a day, but doing an overnight lets you slow down and relax.

The Fisher Valley to Castle Valley section I could see being boring on a moto compared to the first ~95 miles, but there are some terrific views along the way.

The section from Castle Valley to the top of Porcupine is pavement and really nothing special. Other than being on the bike, I can't say I enjoyed that in the least. But going down Porcupine and Sand Flats Road, that makes the dullness worthwhile!

BTW, forgot to put this link in from the Bikerpelli trip.

http://www.armbrusterweb.com/tripsfolder/biketripsfolder/07bikerpellifolder/07bikerpellipage.html

 

[Red_Chili]

Sort of like the White Rim can be driven in a day, but doing an overnight lets you slow down and relax.

Slow down and relax indeed. The White Rim can be covered in four hours. On an XR650R. Even taking in the sights.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Slow down and relax indeed. The White Rim can be covered in four hours. On an XR650R. Even taking in the sights.

But being there for the sunrises and sunsets, oh my gawd.

 

[leiniesred]

Great images, Dave. Did you scan in one of those 5-fold postcard sets from the visitor's center? J/K.

Really nice job capturing the colors and distances. I can almost taste the breakfast coffee.

 

[Red_Chili]

I call Photoshop.










J/K

 

[DaveInDenver]

I call Photoshop.










J/K

I know you're just fooling. ;-)

But in case anyone is wondering...

The middle one did take a lot of Photoshop work, that's the vertical one that looks like a painting. It was handheld and the whole picture was very underexposed. But the film (Provia 100) held detail and I was able to recover quite a bit from it. It would never pass muster on anything bigger than 8x10, it's really soft because of the wide aperture and no tripod. But it turned out pretty cool.

The others, very little work since I took more time to expose them. Amazing what a graduated ND and a tripod can do. The one showing our camp at Potato Bottom was too wide of a difference and I only carry a +3 ND, so I had to pull some shadow detail since the shot that got the Orange Cliffs right left the foreground a couple of stops underexposed. Without the grad ND, the foreground would have been completely dark. But the rest are just scans and color balanced for the web, although I did use graduated ND filters in some cases.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Bump.

My buddy Steve and I were talking about this trip. Is it still on? We're considering putting in a permit request for the Maze District for a few day trip in the spring if this doesn't happen.

We'd rather let someone else doing the driving and Kokopelli would be fun, so as of right now we're committed to whatever happens here, but just need to know.

Main question is how many days you were thinking of being on the trail, Chris. Three days is really a minimum and four days would be nice. But four days is pretty chill in a motorized mode of transport. But getting a lazy start on the first day would give an approximate schedule like follows.

Day 1
Loma exit trailhead start, trails through Rabbit Valley and Western Rim, camping at Westwater or probably more like Bitter Creek.

Day 2
Westwater down to Cisco, Yellowjacket Canyon and camping at or near Dewey Bridge (RIP). This could be the BLM campground right on UT128 or maybe up the Cowskin CG.

Day 3
Top of the World to Fisher Tower and Onion Creek. Thinking camps could be Hideout Canyon or Bull Draw.

Day 4
Through the La Sals to Moab on Porcupine or Sand Flats.

Days 2, 3 and 4 could be compressed into Westwater to around Fisher Valley, not sure how to break that up camping wise because the obvious stop is on private land. Have to think about. We'd achieve Moab on Day 3, beat silly, though.

 

[Caribou Sandstorm]

Hi Dave, I ended up going this fall with Toyota Trail Teams, so I am not planning on doing this again in the spring, The opportunity came up almost a week after I posted this originally, so this is all yours..

I would like to try to join you for the Maze. Have to see if I can pull it off. Beef Basin to Elephant hill is also on my list.