The first period of 70+F temperatures in the St. George area meant that I have to be there. I took a four day break and rode as much as I could.
On Thursday early morning I drove down and a bit before noon started an exploratory ride in the area southwest of Bloomington. I discovered a rocky but scenic ATV track along Virgin River gorge and a non-existing but mapped road that connects it to roads to the west. Clickable map and fotos are here.
On Friday, I drove to Little Creek Mountain to finally ride there after 2 years of absence. I set up from one of the best campspots in the area and rode the main set of trails in the northwestern part of the mountain. Clickable map and fotos are here.
Then I enjoyed the sunset and Vegas city lights on the horizon.
On Saturday I attempted to ride another set of trails in the southern part of LCM, but, got on the wrong dirt road and ended up riding on jeep roads and doing some hiking after wandering off to slickrock that ended in a deep canyon. There were some nice views from the southern rim but overall this ride is not recommended. Clickable map and fotos are here.
Then I drove to Gooseberry Mesa to meet with Gary and went on to ride with four locals on the familiar and famous slickrock trails. Clickable map and fotos are here.
The cold front that was coming came earlier and we woke up on Gooseberry to a cold northern wind. It was only slightly warmer at the Hurricane Rim trailhead. We rode the Hurricane Rim - JEM - Gould Rim loop in clockwise direction which was quite pleasant, apart from gale force winds on the Hurricane rim. Clickable map and fotos are here.
We were done a bit after 1pm and called it quits and drove home.
U of U / CHPC / Cuma / Travel / English / SW Utah Spring 2005