The White Rim 2008 - Day 2

I woke up Saturday morning after a night of deep sleep. It was one of the best tent sleeping nights I can remember. It also was my first opportunity to try out the new Selk Sleeping Bag Suit I picked up for the trip. When David agreed to come on the trip, I made a commitment to get up in the middle of the night and assist him if he needed use the bathroom. I had been wanting a Selk Bag for some time and being able to get up and help David without ever getting out of my sleeping bag was all the justification I needed. The bag worked great, I was always warm and enjoyed being able to spread out and not be constricted like in a normal sleeping. Some how I never managed to get a picture of the Selk Bag in action, but here is what it looks like.

The Selk Bag



The campsite was alive with activity by the time I shed the Selk Bag for normal clothes Saturday morning. Breakfast was already being cooked and most people were up so there wasn't much to do other than light the propane burner. The morning sun lit up Airport Tower in brilliant shades of brown and orange. The moon was getting low in the sky above it and I made a mental note to snap off a shot when it just above the horizon. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal, bagels, and coffee. The group mood was delirious and happy as we all sat around talking about the day ahead and making fun of Jon's pants.

The View Out of the Tent



Morning at Camp



David, Ben, and Mike







Coffee in a Nalgene
(yummy BPA)



Jon's Pants
(these have been on the Lee-Side before)



Alex Sugaring Coffee



It's a Toilet and Table



The plan was to be on the trail by 10am so it was all business packing up camp and getting ready to ride after breakfast. Josh and I were the bike mechanics for the trip, so we spread word around camp to come to my truck if anyone's bike needed adjustments. The bikes were slightly dusty, but in good shape from the day's ride before. It only took a few adjustments to get everyone dialed. The Yakama Quickstand that plugged into my rack was awesome. The head wasn't as ergonomic as my regular stand, but having it right there on the truck was super convenient. When I was down to just my bike remaining I remembered the moon which was about to set behind Airport Tower. I grabbed my camera and got shot of it just above the horizon to the right of the tower. I also nabbed a good shot of the layered canyons on the other side of the Colorado River. When I got back to camp people were already leaving. I quickly cleaned my bike and loaded up the truck with Jo who was going to drive with David. We were the last ones out of the camp.

The Moon Setting (HDR)

Layered Canyons (HDR)



The Group Almost Ready To Ride



Ben and Nick



Conan



My plan for the day was to be a runner, riding from the back to the front of the group as necessary. The group had a good head start on me so I pedaled hard to catch them, but I quickly went anaerobic because I didn't warm up. My mental image of the White Rim Trail from above is the shape of a giant starfish with many legs. It follows the White Rim in an endless pattern of rocky "points" and "coves" from which canyons begin below. Generally when the trail is heading to a point it climbs slightly and when heading to a cove it descends slightly. In past rides I would always go from feeling like a rockstar on the descents to a gaper on the climbs until I realized the subtle gradient patterns of the trail. Once I was warmed up I put in a sustained effort and eventually caught Ben and Grant. Comfortable about where the group was I turned back and made a few laps between Jo and Chris who were still well behind me. I stopped along the way to take a picture of the Superfly below Monster Tower. A picture here has become a tradition over the years and it reminded me of riding the Superlight on past rides.

Jo and David



The Superfly Below Monster Tower



Chris in his Syncro



As I pushed on Chris eventually caught and passed me in the Sycnro, demonstrating how capable its 4x4 abilities are. Well done Volkswagen! After another sustained effort I caught the group who had all stopped at Buck Canyon to take in the view. The group and Chris moved on, but lacking a radio, I hung back to see if Jo and David were okay. Once I checked in with them I was off again putting down a sustained effort to catch the group. It was like I was riding my own little race against time and the group. This time it took a while, but I eventually caught Ben, Amy, and Chris in the Sycnro. We rode the rest of the way to our lunch spot together.

Jacki and Ben



Josh



The group stopped for lunch of peanut butter and jelly on tortillas and sausage at Monument Basin. Monument Basin is one of the most scenic areas in Canyonlands. It's a deep basin filled with monument like rock structures below a very defined area of White Rim slick rock. The most prominent of these is a tall circular spire named the Totem Pole. Our lunch spot had a perfect view of this framed by White Rim rock on both sides.

Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Sausage on a Tortilla



Lunch



Monument Basin Arch (HDR)



Totem Pole (HDR)



After lunch we wandered down to the edge to take in the view. The rock that framed the left side of the Totem Pole was a huge band of slick rock that led out to giant mushroom shaped island. It was about 300 feet tall and separated by a crack that was about 6 feet wide at the top, but opened up to more than 20 feet wide near the bottom. It was calling me. I made my own trail on the slick rock, carefully avoiding patches of cryptobiotic soil, out to the crack. The wavy surface was good fun and challenged my tech skills. When I got there I studied the crack briefly and impulsively jumped across with no problem. This was a bad decision in two respects. The first was the I was wearing my hard-soled cycling shoes which had the same traction as tap dancing shoes on ice. The second was that I was in view of people on the trip and was setting a bad example. This was especially true with David who later thought it would be funny to give us all heart attacks by walking near the edge with his walker. Back to problem one, after enjoying my own private mesa for a few minutes I found myself stuck. I hadn't studied the crack enough before I jumped to notice that the tops were not even. Now I had to make the 6-foot jump back to the other side which was about 1 foot higher than the side I was on. After a couple of test runs I decided that my cycling shoes didn't give me enough traction to make a running leap. The next best option was to hurl myself across from a stand still and use my momentum to parachute roll up the slope if I landed low. It worked; I landed low, but had enough momentum to make it up the short upslope without rolling. Humbled, I rode back to the group with a commitment to be more responsible than if I were alone.

Slickrock



The Crack



Stuck on the Island



David and Grant Scaring Me



After lunch Jon switched driving duties with Jo so she could ride. We rode together floating through the group until finally settling up front with Nick and Patty. This was the longest day of riding and our group consisted of seasoned cyclists to beginners. As the miles ticked on everybody rode strong and I didn't once hear any complaints, it was great company to enjoy the White Rim with. We rode past Junction Butte, the Twins Basin, and Vertigo Void. After a short switchback climb the trail made a sharp righthand turn into a long descent and Murphy's Hog back came into view.

Nick and Patty



Ben in Front of the Twins



Todd, Dan, Jo and Nick



J & A



The Murphy's Hogback climb looked super intimidating, but it wasn't that hard of a climb. It consists of a series of steep ramps followed by short flat sections. You can't really settle into a consistent rhythm on it, you just have to power through the bumps and recover as much as possible on the flats. Jo, Nick, Patty, and I stopped at the bottom of the final steep ramp as the top of Murphy's Hogback loomed above us. It started with a steep sandy section with a slight lefthand turn. Then the trail pointed skyward in the steepest pitch of the White Rim Trail going straight up the side of the hogback. Nick went first, followed by me, then Jo and Patti. We all made it without stopping, which was a first for me in all of my previous years rides. Our campground was at the top so with no further to ride we stopped to enjoy the view of the Orange Cliffs and Junction Butte in the fading sunlight. We could see the rest of the group spread out along the trail below and when the first people approached the bottom decided to descend back down see everyone got up okay.

Nick and Jo Climbing Murphy's Hogback





We watched the riders ascend the climb one by one and soon a crowd formed at the top to cheer the next person up. As more people finished the crowd grew larger and the cheers got louder, it was a great example of the quality and character of the people who came on the trip. When everyone was up the four of us rode back up and were greeted with cheers and applause at the top. The support vehicles came last and got the loudest cheers of all. Jon and Jacki pranked me good by putting dirt on my hand glider bag and saying they accidentally rammed it against the rocky wall. Once we were all on top we paused to admire the view and for a couple of group shots.

Mike, Chris, Alex, and Ben Climbing Murphy's Hogback









Amy and Josh



Group Photo Timer Attempt 1



Group Photo Timer Attempt 2



The campground on top of Murphy’s Hogback sported the best views and coldest temps of the trip. As we set up camp on our island in the sky, we were treated to another stunning sunset as the sun dipped behind the Orange Cliffs to the west. Pasta was for dinner and desert was more of Cristi’s delicious oatmeal cookies that we had been eating since day one. She made enough to fill an entire gear bin and even with our collective nibbling, there were still a few extras left over by the end of the trip. Smiles and stories of the day’s ride surrounded our propane fire followed by cards and a game that involved rolling tiny pigs in the Syncro - don't ask.

Murphy's Camp



Junction Butte



Grant Got the Best Spot



The Orange Cliffs below an Orange Sky



Enjoying the View

The stars were bright against a backdrop unpolluted by any man made light. I set my camera up on the North Star for a 45 minute exposure before the moon rose, but the battery died after about 20 minutes. I got some descent trails, but the camera shut off before I could get full circles. It was so cold that night that I doubled up and put my normal sleeping bag on top of the Selk Bag and never overheated.

Star Trails