If you’ve heard anyone speak of mountain biking in Moab, Utah, you’ve probably heard them mention two trail systems - Slickrock and The Whole Enchilada. Since my husband and I were only planning on staying in Moab for a day or two, we didn’t bother researching other trails to ride and went right for the gusto, booking a shuttle to take us to the trailhead for The Whole Enchilada (WE). Unless you have buddies that can help shuttle you to the trailhead, or you’re a masochist who wants to ride up to the trailhead, the easiest way to start the ride is to hire a shuttle. While we drove from Park City, Utah to Arches National Park near Moab, our crappy AT&T cellular coverage miraculously worked long enough for Jay to find out that there were 3 spots remaining for the 7 a.m. shuttle the next day through The Whole Enchilada Shuttle Co. and we went ahead and booked our spots.
I didn’t really know much about the ride except that it’s a big ride and a long day on the bike and the views are supposed to be phenomenal. Normally, with the knowledge of a big mountain bike ride in my immediate future, especially one where I wasn’t familiar with the terrain or what to expect, I would be feeling the gray clouds of uncertainty moving in over my confidence on the bike, despite the fact I’ve been riding for 20+ years. I would bury myself in self doubt and work myself into a frenzy of nervous anxiety which would result in some sort of intestinal distress. But, for whatever reason, maybe because it was balls hot in Utah and after spending the past two months in the cool 70 degree weather in the Pacific Northwest, this east coast girl, who is normally used to living in satan’s lair of hot summers, otherwise known as Virginia, had lost her ability to handle the heat which had possibly restricted my normal overactive sense of doom. I was probably a bit dehydrated as well and my brain receptors weren’t firing on all cylinders.
With our plans cemented for the next day, we spent a few hours driving through Arches National Park and taking a couple of short hikes while downing more water and electrolyte tablets than I probably had all year. Arches is beautiful by the way. The sand dune arch (not its official name) was one of my favorites because it reminded me of some Indiana Jones movie (and it was in the shade).
In all honesty, and really, why would I lie about this, the only concerns I had about the ride at that point were the heat, whether we could carry enough water and the early wake up call. Since starting our mid life crisis/temporary retirement from the working world, we haven’t had to set an alarm for over 3 months and neither Jay nor I were looking forward to a super early morning. I know. I’m an asshole, but you get used to what you get used to and for the moment, we’re not used to getting up before 7 a.m. anymore, (or even 8 a.m.), let alone having all of our bike shit together and at a set location by that time.
The next morning, we managed to pull ourselves together and arrived at the rendezvous point by 6:45 a.m., thus totally winning at life at that moment. From my understanding, and what I read after the fact, the shuttle will take you to Burro Pass Trailhead or Hazard Trailhead, depending on road conditions. We were sitting in the back of the van, so I didn’t hear the whole conversation but I did hear the driver mention that because of some poor road conditions, we couldn’t make it to the Burro trailhead and he was going to drop us off at Hazard. From Burro, you’re looking at a 32 mile ride, starting at 11,600 feet of elevation and a 8,000 foot descent and from Hazard, it was about a 27 mile ride, starting at about 9,500 feet of elevation with a 5,000 foot descent. I think that math works out. That knocked 5 miles from our ride which was totally a relief to me.
It took about an hour for the van to ascend the road to Hazard Trailhead. I still wasn’t too concerned about what was in store for the day for 3 reasons. First, the bike ride was mostly a descent, which yes, could be a total disaster filled, white knuckled, brake pad busting ride, but I didn’t feel like that was going to be the case. Second, despite opting to stay in a Super 8 hotel the night before in lieu of baking in the van, I unfortunately slept really poorly in the beautifully air conditioned room and I used the hour drive to try and catch up on some rest. Third, I kept repeating positive mantras to myself about how I was fortunate to have even woken up that day and to have the opportunity to ride something new and have this experience in general and that I was basically a rock star and totally capable of riding this trail all the way back to the Super 8 where a real shower waited for me with real shampoo.
We pull up to the trailhead passing grazing cows and their calves and watched a mamma and her calf trot/gallop/run through tall grasses as if auditioning for a western movie or maybe a Hallmark Channel movie, which I much prefer. I was able to focus on that idyllic scene instead of the anticipatory vibes of a long day on the bike that was going through the 9 of us that booked the shuttle that morning.
After gearing up, Jay and I were the last to leave the parking lot trailhead which is my preference. I didn’t know what the climb was going to look like and I hate having people behind me cursing because I’m such a slow and technically deficient rider, especially on uphill sections. I try and pump up my enthusiasm for what’s ahead of us and let out a fist shaking “Let’s Do This Shit!” to Jay who is still fidgeting with his gear. We start on the trail which is dry and rocky and begin the ascent which in terms of gradient isn’t too bad but there are rocks everywhere and I suck at any type of climbing that isn’t smooth and under ideal conditions. I hit my pedal on something and fall over in one of those slow speed falls. We’re about .3 miles into the ride. Let’s Do This Shit has been replaced with just “Shit.” I right myself and we continue and thankfully the climb is less than a mile in length before we reach a plateau that gives us our first glimpse of the sweeping valley views that will grace us during the rest of the ride.
It takes a few more miles before I settle into some sort of riding rhythm but I repeat my positive self speak and remember the words of a friend who did a 100 mile bike race once who told me that for long efforts, you just have to bring your lunch box and consider it a work day. You have so many hours you need to put in and you just need to put your head down and do the work. I appreciated this recalled conversation, not because I wanted to treat this ride as a job, but because it was in fact a long day and treating it as anything but and not accepting what was in front of me would make me panic and perform poorly.
Everything anyone has said about the views on the Whole Enchilada is absolutely true. We stopped several times along the rim to take pictures and just take in the valley from different viewpoints as we moved along the ride. The terrain varied from sand to dirt to rocks to slick rocks, rocks at an angle, rock slabs and wall like rides down rocks. At times the trail meandered inches from the side of the cliff, leaving no room for error but I rode most of it and didn’t cower in fear. I walked to the edge of the cliffs and peered at the view below and was brave. I rode over and down rock faces I never would have considered on any other ride. It was a pretty great ride.
And then came mile 19. We had stopped around mile 13 for a quickish lunch break and I still had enough snacks to feel comfortable with finishing the last 8 miles, but I was running out of water. I had filled my 72 ounce water bladder full before we left and had a water bottle on my bike with an electrolyte tab in it. I also had the foresight to throw in a can of fizzy water in my backpack. But by mile 19, I was half way done with my water bottle and all done with my water bladder. It was about 12:30 p.m. and we had been riding for 4 hours. The Moab sun had been beating down on us all day with little opportunities for shade and I was almost out of water. This is when slight panic and the crabbies took over. I was so thirsty, probably moreso knowing my water supply was limited and interestingly and irritatingly enough, the trail became progressively more difficult for the last few miles. Sharp rocks jutted out onto the already narrow trail which left no room for fuck ups on the one side. I ended up walking more and more sections and slowing down to a snail’s pace, in probably a more dramatic fashion than necessary. There was a steep hike a bike section that just added to my increasing irritation.
I kept reminding myself that each step or pedal stroke would bring me that much closer to the end. I concentrated on picking up my speed when I could and by the grace of the universe I rounded a corner and saw a parking lot and the end of the trail. The parking lot wasn’t the one we started from and we still had about a 4 mile road ride back to town but we were off the trail and I could relax a little, plus there was a water fill up station at the parking lot.
The post ride shower at the Super 8 was glorious and I slept well in that air conditioned room that night. Jay and I both commented that if we lived in Moab, we wouldn’t necessarily ride the WE too often or maybe even at all. We were really glad we did it but the logistics of getting to the trail, the total sun exposure and the monotony of the terrain and length of the trail isn’t something I necessarily need out of most of my mountain bike rides. It took us just under 5 hours with a few breaks for pictures and snacks.
Would I recommend it to anyone thinking about it? Yes. Is it a must do? Not necessarily but I’m not sure you can beat the views. Would I do it again? Still thinking about that answer.
The Whole Enchilada Shuttle Co. was great. We arrived 15 minutes early and the shuttle was already in the parking lot loading bikes onto their van. The driver was friendly and open to answering any questions and did a quick check before we left the lot to make sure we all had helmets and water. The cost per person to shuttle to our trailhead was $30, but the price can vary depending on what you’re riding and where you’re being dropped off. They also offer shuttle services to other trailheads. I would highly recommend checking them out if you find yourself in Moab. www.wholeenchiladashuttles.com
Enjoy the views.
Enjoy the views.
No comments:
Post a Comment