Passes & Canyons Blog

OK, this is the last of these Examiner Resurrections to focus on great roads in Utah; I’ll move on to other things next time.

The view down into Zion Canyon.

I told you about Kolob Road, the best motorcycle road in Utah that nobody knows exists. Here’s one more that everyone knows, with a twist.

Utah 9 crosses through Zion National Park from just east of Springdale. As soon as you enter the park you reach Zion Canyon Road, which goes up Zion Canyon. This is the main part of the park that all the tourists go to. And you should, too. It’s worth it. This is the Zion that most people know.

During peak season you can’t drive this road any more. It’s a deadend and there used to be hordes of traffic and it was not pretty. Now they put you on free shuttle buses that run frequently, making the the canyon a lot more enjoyable. I’ve got some pictures in the slide show below (sorry, no slide show carried over from Examiner) that gives you an idea of some of what you’ll see.

But that’s not the road I have in mind. What you’re really interested in is Utah 9. If you look at the map you’ll see a bunch of switchbacks followed by broken lines for a bit. This doesn’t mean the road is gravel, it shows that you’re going through a tunnel. A long tunnel. With windows cut out of the rock.

It’s at the east end of the tunnel when things really get interesting, not that the switchbacks weren’t. You come out of the tunnel and there’s a ranger shack and a parking area. Park here.

Then cross to the north side of the road and take the trail you’ll see there. It’s a steep climb right at first, but you don’t climb more than 100 feet or so and then it levels out the rest of the way. This trail takes you back over the saddle of the hill you just came through in the tunnel and the view back into the canyon is spectacular. Again, check the photos in the slide show. It’s awesome. And I mean that in the original sense of that overused word.

Once you’re back to the road, the run on out of the park is still pretty darn scenic. There’s a reason there are so many parks in such a small area. Southern Utah is fabulous. So many roads, so little time.

Biker Quote for Today

Freedom: Getting lost on your motorcycle and enjoying every minute of it.

Through the hills of Utah.

Jeff rode with us from his house outside Boise into town and then we parted ways, with Kevin and me jumping on I-90 briefly just as far as Mountain Home. Then we got off onto US 20 to cross Idaho running roughly parallel to the interstate south of us. It was a great decision because the first half or so went through hilly country that was pretty and fun. The second half was pretty much straight and boring and hot. Just like the interstate would have been all the way.

Past Arco we turned south through Blackfoot and worked our way down into the Pocatello area and beyond. We got off on US 30 and continued east through Lava Hot Springs. This little town of maybe 800 people was boasting a current population probably around 5,000 as the 4th of July weekend got going and people jammed into every parking and camping spot they could find to enjoy the tubing in the creek and the water park features that have made this town a destination.

Up over the ridge and down and we stopped for a break at the old schoolhouse that the OFMC stayed at on a trip in this area in 2009. Great place for a large group. We were both fried and ready to stop but no likely camping spot was presenting itself. I ventured that I would not be opposed to a motel in Soda Springs and Kevin wasn’t either, so we did.

Morning came and it was July 4 and this little town was abustle with preparations for the parade. So much so that there was no place to get breakfast. The grocery store worked. We headed on south through Cokeville to Evanston, Wyoming, and down into Utah over Bald Mountain Pass. That stretch over the pass was some of the best scenery of the trip but the swarms of people were incredible. Quite a bit different than the last time I went that way.

At Kamas we picked up food for dinner and rode east again on Utah 35 over Wolf Creek Summit and our maps showed that at the east base of the summit there was a small road that went up a canyon with campgrounds. The first campground was full so we continued. The road turned to gravel but hey, we were on V-Stroms, so it totally didn’t matter.

We found a site at the second campground and set up, then cruised on up the road further to see where it went. This canyon was incredibly beautiful. The road doesn’t go anywhere or else it would get a lot more traffic than it does. We passed the third campground and splashed on through mud and water and hit some road terrain before the now miserable road gave way to a two-track that went who knows where. We didn’t explore.

This was to be our last night out together and Kevin wanted to get all the way back to Gunnison, so the plan was to get up early and go. At about 5 a.m. it was starting to get light and we both heard rain start pattering lightly on our tents. Guess we’ll sleep a little later and hope it stops. By 6 a.m. it had and we were up, made coffee, ate granola bars and we rolling before 7. There was no recourse but to roll up the tents wet.

The morning was cool and wet and I was glad to have my electric vest. Leading, I took it fairly easy on the highway because I was sure we’d be encountering critters. We actually came across a heck of a lot of open range cattle but did also have opportunity to slow way down for the deer on the road. We hit US 40 at Duchesne and blasted. At Dinosaur, finally back in Colorado, we turned south to Rangely. At Rangely Kevin turned south and I continued toward Meeker. A wave and our ride together was over, though I was still far from home.

We had already come a long way that morning so I was looking forward to a stop in Meeker. I was also keeping an eye on the sky, and so far it was OK. At Meeker, though, I could see that going south toward Rifle I was going to get wet so when I was ready to roll again I was all geared up.

It was only noon or so but it was already a long day so over on I-70 I intended to make a stop in Eagle but by New Castle I had to stop. I was really fried now. I went in a cafe and got a hot bowl of soup and a bunch of crackers, ate it all, and just sat there fatigued for about an hour. Finally ready I rode on to Eagle.

Willie and Jungle live in Eagle and they welcomed me and asked if I’d be spending the night. It was now Sunday on the 4th of July weekend and anyone who lives around here knows what that means about I-70 coming into Denver. Four hours to go 80 miles is typical. I was counting on Willie’s invitation and I accepted it.

Accustomed by now to waking with the sun, I woke this morning at 5 to find I had a killer headache and my stomach was all messed up. I took some drugs but lay there with frequent waves of nausea washing over me and wondered if I would get home today or not. I fell back asleep and woke up feeling perfectly fine. I have no idea what it was but it was gone.

The run from Eagle to Denver was a cat and mouse game with the rain the whole way. I never suited up entirely but when I reached Silverthorne the rain had just passed through and the road was very wet. Tires were throwing up water that was soaking me so I did put on the rain jacket. Although I never saw a single raindrop, we did reach a place where a cloud had come down to earth and riding through it there were just water droplets suspended in the air. My bike and jacket and boots were soaking. Surprisingly, my jeans stayed pretty dry thanks to the deflection from the V-Strom’s body work.

And then I was finally home. This trip was a total of 3,053 miles in 10 days. That’s a lot of riding. And now I need to start getting ready for this year’s OFMC trip. We’re leaving on July 17. Poor, poor me.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride fast, take chances.