The Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks reopened in October. It had been closed for more than two years in the aftermath of the Pipeline Fire. That fire occurred in the same area as the Schultz Fire (2010) and managed to burn what had been spared by the earlier fire. After two years of work, the Waterline Road was safe for the general public to use again.
View of the burned mountainside along Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks. New growth is already sprouting.Riding on Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks. We’ve finally left the burn scar and have entered the aspen groves.Aspen trees starting to show autumn colors along Waterline Road.One of the few gaps in trees along the road allows a view down into Lockett Meadow. The hill on the far right was burned by the Pipeline Fire but is beginning to recover.
We rode our mountain bikes up the road and were saddened–but not surprised–by the destruction of the fire. There had been a lot of new growth after the 2010 fire–especially with new aspen trees already attaining heights of 10 to 20 feet. All this burned in 2022. Once again, new growth is taking place but most of it is still quite small.
A view into the Inner Basin from above shows colorful aspens.A stand of aspen along Waterline Road with the high peaks surrounding the Inner Basin visible in the distance.Biking back down the Waterline Road. It’s about 9 miles of downhill. Easy!
The Inner Basin, however, was mostly spared by the 2022 fire and here were many aspen trees in full autumn colors. Along the road there are a few locations where you can get a wider view of the trees and the mountains but mostly the only view along the road…is the road.
It’s great that one can do all three of these in the winter. Ski in Flagstaff; run and mountain bike in the deserts. We have done all three this winter with the emphasis on running. Here are a collection of photos from this winter.
Group of runners stand around pools of water (01/20/2024).X-C skiing at Fort Tuthill (02/09/2024).X-C skiing at Fort Tuthill (02/09/2024).Trail run on Sketch Trail, Sedona (02/13/2024).Snowy run on Schultz Pass Road (02/15/2024).Trail run on Margs Draw, Sedona (02/17/2024).Mountain biking on Little Rock Trail, Sedona (02/20/2024).Trail run on Lower Chimney Trail, Flagstaff (02/22/2024).Trail run on Woods Canyon Trail, Sedona (03/02/2024).Trail run on Woods Canyon Trail, Sedona (03/02/2024).
Bonus photo from last year’s epic winter. Yeah, untracked powder!
Preparing to descend Flying Dutchman chute, Mt. Humphreys (01/18/2023).
It was mid-October and that made it a good time to head to southwest Utah for some autumn mountain biking.
We left Flagstaff around 8:30 a.m. and arrived at the Wire Mesa Trailhead on Gooseberry Mesa about 4 hours later. After a quick lunch, we jumped on the Wire Mesa trail. Good news! They are upgrading the parking lot with a fence and possibly other amenities.
Riding the Wire Mesa Trail. That’s Zion N.P. in the distance.The view towards the southeast from Wire Mesa Trail.
This was our first time on Wire Mesa Trail. It’s a nice loop with some great views of Zion National Park and the cliffs of Gooseberry Mesa.
View over the edge of Gooseberry Mesa.
The next day we visited the Gooseberry Mesa trails, starting on Windmill, then North Rim and out to the west end of the mesa. This route wanders between the edge and then through ramps, chutes, small hills, all on a high-traction surface. The geologic name for this rock is Shinarump Conglomerate.
North Rim Trail, Gooseberry Mesa.Just follow the dots!Practice Trail, Gooseberry Mesa.
The return to the trail head included a quick jaunt on Yellow Trail. Great fun! We then returned to North Rim and connected with Practice Trail. The photos shown here are very similar to photos taken on earlier trips to this mountain biking area. See, for example, the trip reports for April 2015 and October 2016.
Amazing terrain on Gooseberry Mesa with Zion NP in the distance
We had planned on a third day of riding but instead opted to do some hiking in Zion National Park.
Amazing scenery and hoodoos along the Thunder Mountain Trail.
The Thunder Mountain Trail (TMT), near Bryce Canyon National Park, has been on our To-Do list for a long time. We’ve driven by the trail many times while crossing that portion of Utah. We even did some mountain biking on the nearby Cassidy Trail many years ago but didn’t include TMT.
Several times this spring we were ready to head out to Utah to ride TMT only to be thwarted by inclement weather. This has been a cool and wet spring across the southwest and many trails remained muddy or even snow covered through April. Again and again we postponed the trip.
Finally there was a break in the weather. It was expected to be warm and dry enough to dry the trails but not too hot as to make the ride uncomfortable. We also planned on riding a section of the Arizona Trail near Jacob Lake on our drive day. This would give us a few hours out of the car and on the bikes. Nothing too spectacular about the views on this section of trail as you are in the trees the entire time. Still, riding around at ~8000 feet elevation is something you notice.
We finished the day with food and lodging in Kanab, Utah. I have to tell you about our meal at Sego Restaurant in Kanab. They specialize in small plates and suggested that for two people we order 3–5 items. We went with five amazing dishes. Each was very different but with wonderful flavors and aromas. Worth doing again!
The next day was cool with overcast skies. This was unfortunate because it resulted in very muted colors and landscapes in a land where color defines the landscape.
We opted to park at the bottom of the mountain and ride up the paved bike trail to the gravel Forest Road and then, finally, to the Thunder Mountain trailhead.
Finally reaching the trailhead after climbing the paved bike path and the gravel roadStill a lot of snow at the higher elevations.First of many hoodoos on this trail.Some big descents and switchbacks ahead.Amazing rock formations everywhere.More amazing rock formations and a few wildflowers.Once in awhile I can get her to shoot some photos of me.Hoodoos and ridge-line trail.The final major descent. Yep, that’s the trail down there in the lower left.
And now it’s snowing, again, on Thunder Mountain Trail. Looks like we timed it just about right.
It’s March and the days are getting longer and warmer. The recent epic snow in Sedona has melted and most of the mud is gone to be replaced by perfect trail conditions. Melting snow from the higher terrain continues to flow down Dry Creek and Oak Creek and the runoff in the creeks is impressive.
Crossing Dry Creek on the new Outer Limits Trail.High water flows down Dry Creek as seen from the recently rerouted Girdner Trail.Bridges can be useful when the water is this high.Footprints.Massive tube blowout!
