A short ride through Arches National Park and Riding with Bob and Steve

 Monday, April 18

I wanted to confirm a hazy memory I had from a ride years ago, which led one to a side entrance into Arches N.P.  I had been part of a group of sidecar riders and so hadn't really been paying attention at the time.

A little map recce and today I was able to confirm that BLM 378 aka Willow Springs Road leads to and within Arches N.P.  The terrain is definitely something you should seriously consider a dual sport motorcycle or a 4x4 vehicle.  Lots of slick rock, loose sand, rocks and some steep washes as well.

Still, Yagi, my TW200 did it all with the usual élan.  I reached the main park road system near the Balanced Rock site.

Now before you say I didn't pay for the entrance fee by using this route, I've got an Interagency Pass so entrance into all national parks is free for me.  What using this route allowed me to do is bypass the congestion of the main entrance and the recently instituted requirement that you must have a reservation.

The way I figure it, if the NPS really wanted to lock things down, they'd have done so.  It would be very expensive of course.

The crowds weren't bad at all, probably a function of the reservation requirement.  I figure one little motorcycle, whose rider actively shuns crowds, wouldn't cause crowding issues.

I cruised about for a bit, but the sun wasn't right for a lot of the formations and I avoided the really popular sites.

One of the Courthouse Towers

A good angle the other Courthouse Tower

and the Three Gossips

The Three Gossips

I think this is the Double Arch area

That's it for Arches pics for today.  I cruised out of the park using the main entrance, the line of cars was perhaps 3/10ths of a mile long.

I went into town for gas and then headed on back to the campsite for some rest and small chores.  Bob W. from the neighborhood and Steve from Chicago (both UAL pilots) joined me in the evening for a few days of camping/riding.

Tuesday, April 19

Today I sort of guided both Bob and Steve as we all three rode our motorcycles first through the back portion of the Dalton Wells area to allow the guys "to get a feel" for the terrain.

This all went well so we progressed steadily during the day to more and more technical riding conditions.

One of the first stops for pictures was at the viewpoint where I showed them Tower Arch.  The plan is to go hiking to the arch later this week.

After checking out the views on the Copper Ridge Jeep Safari Route, we went back to the US191 highway near Klondike Bluffs camping area and made our way to Mill Canyon Road.

We made our way, slowly because I managed to pick the route with the most loose sand conditions, to the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes for pics and a break.

This pano is from the opposite side of the buttes

From the M&M, as the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes are known.  We ended up on the Seven Mile Rim road on the way to the Uranium Arch.  I didn't take them the most expeditious route but it turned out to be worth it as it produced a couple of sites with great views of the valley below:

I've been trying for the below view and spot for as long as I've been coming to the Moab area to ride.  It's atop the mesa that overlooks the junction of US191 and UT313.  Now, I know how to get there, and it's quite a workout in terms of lots of slickrock maneuvers, sand, more rocks and lots of dips and more slickrock.

The bikes at the viewpoint.

So, we were on the Seven Mile Rim Road mostly by mistake on my part as I mentioned, it was basically the long and roughest way to get to Uranium Arch!  Still, the guys did very well and didn't seem miffed at the challenges presented.

We got to the Uranium Arch eventually and cooled off from the tough riding conditions for a bit.

Bob, atop the Uranium Arch

Hanging out in the cool shade of the cavern

behind the arch

Once we were rested, it was time for me to this time find the right and least challenging route back towards Courthouse Rock.  Still some slickrock and sand to be negotiated but by this point, everyone was more confident of their riding in such conditions.

We all made it back to camp with no issues and just rested the rest of the day away as the winds picked up and howled outside the VRRV.  We're under another wind advisory until 9PM tonight.

Solving the Cave Mystery with a Hike into Arches N.P.

 I set out this morning for the Klondike Bluffs Trailhead, thinking that would get me within walking distance of the "cave" I'd seen yesterday, and to confirm or deny thereof.

From the Klondike Bluffs parking lot, there was still almost 5 miles of sometimes very technical dirt road/slick rock.  I'm happy to announce I didn't drop Yagi at all, though there was some "outrigger" actions at times!

Still, she got me within a 1/4 mile of a narrow trail which led to the Arches N.P. boundary fence.  The trail climbs to the top of the bluffs, which was basically one very large area of slick rock.

I walked towards the target rock formations and realized two things.  Klondike Bluffs weren't them and you can't get there from the bluffs, there's a bit of a gap and I found no way to descend down from the bluffs.

A bit dissapointed, I returned to Yagi, my TW200 Dual Sport and pondered the map some more.  I retraced my way through the arduous Klondike Bluffs Trail safely and then followed directions to CR26 which is also known as Copper Ridge Jeep Safari Route.

This turned out to lead me back to the same viewpoint I'd been on yesterday when I'd spotted what I thought was a mysterious cave.  Turns out, the light and shadows of the day fooled me, it was actually an arch!  Tower Arch to be precise.

I proceeded on CR26 till I reached the slick rock fields that border the Arches National Park.  I parked Yagi and then set out on foot the estimated 1.5 miles to the arch itself.

The weather was warm and sunny, so the hiking went fine, though I regretted leaving my water bottle with Yagi.  Oh well.  There were several rock formations and such to get past before one approached the arch:

Finally, I spotted the arch!

There was an older couple there when I arrived, but they paid me no mind as I took pictures and they were soon gone.

The Tower for which the arch is named

Two Panos came out ok, I was so close to the arch that the other panos didn't pan out.

Shot this with my back against the back wall 

By the time I was done with pictures, another couple showed up and I left the arch to them.

One last look back at Tower Arch

On the way back, spotted and took a pic of the backside

of the rock formation known as Marching Men

I made it back to Yagi with no issues and drank all the water in the bottle I carried in the saddlebag!  Suitably refreshed, I got back on Yagi and headed back on CR26.  Eventually, I made it to the Long Valley dispersed camping area along BLM 142 and from there, the US191 highway.

Got back to camp sometime around 2:30 PM I think.  I rested the rest of the afternoon away, though I hiked less than 5 miles perhaps, I felt very tired from all the walking on slick rock and up and down rough terrain.

Tomorrow, a neighborhood friend: Bob W. a retired UAL Pilot and his friend Steve from Chicago are joining me here in Moab.  Steve is riding his BMW GS motorcycle from Chicago and Bob is bringing his small camper with his truck.  Bob will also have his dual sport motorcycle with him, I think it's a Honda CRX but not sure.

The plan is to do some riding with these guys over the next few days, I'm not sure how long they're staying.  I'm thinking of leaving by the end of the week, and drive on home if the weather is good at the mountain passes on I-70.  We shall see.

T-Dub'ing to Uranium Arch via the Seven Mile Rim Road and Exploring Near the Camp Area.

 Today was forecasted to be mostly overcast and very windy.  There was perhaps a two hour window when there might be some sun before the wind warnings took effect at noon; and so Yagi and I headed out to check out the 7 Mile Rim Trail.

The trail isn't bad at all, though there's parts where rock ledges can make life a bit too exciting:

I ended up bypassing this one....

It didn't take long before I arrived at Uranium Arch, at first I had the place to myself...

You are apparently allowed to walk across the arch,

I saw no signs prohibiting it, so I did.

And then, a large group of Jeeps showed up....

Can you see the Jeeps arriving?

Yep, Yagi was trapped.

After a few minutes, there didn't seem to be any movement for the Jeep people to get back into their Jeeps and drive off.  I found the ride leader, a nice older gent, and asked for his assistance in clearing a path out for Yagi.

Turns out, only two Jeeps needed to be moved.  I snaked Yagi out of there and headed towards the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes which were nearby.

Monitor Butte

Merrimac Butte

Can you spot Yagi in the middle?  Slight off center...

As you can see, the clouds had moved in and it threatened rain along with increasingly stronger winds.  We were in fact under a Red Flag Warning/Wind Advisory till 8PM!  So I found my way back to Mill Canyon Road, stopping once for a picture of another rock formation:

After a late lunch, the sun broke through the clouds and I headed out once more to explore the back portion of Dalton Wells Road (went all the way to right next to the boundary with Arches NP.  Found lots more campers out back, some interesting trails, and some cool rock formations:

At first view of this trio, I thought the rock on the

left looked like a knight chess piece....

I like the back side of the previous rocks, and then

saw the interesting rock formation wall behind them.

I followed trails, with the goal of getting closer to the wall of rock shown above...finally after a bit of riding, found a spot near a hill top strewn with large rocks which made riding "exciting" at times.

Though the rock wall and columns looked cool, I then noticed an interesting feature a bit further to the left of the columns shown above.

Is that cool or what?  I'm tempted to go back and hopefully find a 

way to hike towards that cave, and see how far in it goes....

I've been fooled by the way light and shadow show

up on film and to the naked eye....still, I wonder....

After some more map and satellite photo reconnaissance I get the feeling the above rock formation is Klondike Bluffs within the Arches National Park, oh well.

As I type this, the VRRV has been moving and shaking a lot, the winds have really picked up and at times visibility was basically a brown cloud.  

Update: April 17: Cave was not a cave...more in the next post.