Hurricane

jfsh

Member
We spent last weekend in Hurricane. Good times were had by all. Our trail lineup was JEM, Gooseberry, Grafton, Guacamole, Quail Ridge. Great stuff. I have to say Grafton is still my favorite but Guacamole is my new second favorite.


 
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Cool! But you want us to watch 25 minutes of video? That's a tall order. I'll watch one. Which should I watch?
 
ChrisPBacon said:
herzalot said:
Cool! But you want us to watch 25 minutes of video? That's a tall order. I'll watch one. Which should I watch?

Redo your math there professor.... :D

23:24 my bad.... I estimated. I would expect Varaxis to call me out on that, but not you! :clap:
 
herzalot said:
ChrisPBacon said:
herzalot said:
Cool! But you want us to watch 25 minutes of video? That's a tall order. I'll watch one. Which should I watch?

Redo your math there professor.... :D

23:24 my bad.... I estimated. I would expect Varaxis to call me out on that, but not you! :clap:

There is only 2 vids..... 1 set of lesser quality and another of better.
 
I did the embed thing then put the direct links if you wanted to watch in better quality. The site stuck those other 2 embeds there. I only want you to watch what you want to watch. I had too much footage for one movie so I made 2 parts. The first is Goose and Grafton. The second is Guacamole and Quail ridge. Hopefully now you have enough info to decide what to watch.
 
Well done! Grafton has been on my short list for a while now and your video and words just pushed me over the top. Time for a S. Utah trip!
 
Great videos. I never did do Grafton, but I want to! Thanks for posting!

Here's a little video from days gone by at the same location featuring yours truly (on Yeti with white sleeves and black/white shorts) and my friend Kevin (in the Pivot jersey). Filmed and edited by NBS News producer and buddy Gene Choo. This was back in 2007 or 08 before today's great video equipment and GoPros. Quite tame for us MtB-ers, but something to behold for the rest of the population.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3032619/vp/30368791#30368791
 
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I was in Virgin at the beginning of this month. I had a blast. Watching your videos sure makes me miss it.

I didn't get to ride Grafton. Looks like a great ride. Something to look into for next time.
 
Dean, I would recommend doing Guacamole. It would be a good substitute for Gooseberry. They are similar but I would say Guac is a bit smoother and easier. The proximity to Zion makes for great photo ops.
 
Jfsh,

How long (time/mi) was your Grafton Mesa ride? How are the logistics of shuttling? Where did you start and finish?

The only other video I've seen of Grafton was of guys on DH bikes with full faces on. The stuff you posted looks doable and fun. Was it all like that?
 
SoCal_Rider, I want to say Grafton takes about 2 hours and is around 6-8 miles. You could certainly do it faster if you didn't stop at the features and take video. Full face helmets and DH bikes would work for this ride as there is not really any climbing but it is not necessary. We all had the standard knee pad xc helmet setup and 5-7 inch bikes. I was wearing a full face helmet but mostly because it works much better for taking helmet cam footage. Some of the steeper rollers have ride arounds but not all of them do. The last mile or 2 is very rocky and technical. I would say a person would need expert descending skills to be able to ride and clean everything. An person with advanced descending skills could do most things a walk a few spots. A person with intermediate skills would be walking a fair amount.

The shuttle is a bit of a bear. It is not very long but the road is in terrible shape. I had to put my truck into 4 wheel drive to make it up some sections of the road. You basically use the road which is the North entrance to Gooseberry. I know where to start and stop but I would have a hard time explaining it to you. If you stop in to the bike shop in Hurricane they can line you out with directions and a map. It is well worth the effort in my opinion. It is my favorite Hurricane/St George area ride hands down.
 
I know the road you're talking about. A couple of years ago we took it from Zion to Gooseberry. It looked good on paper. Needless to say my friend in the minivan wasn't too happy. Haha
 
Forget the shuttle. It is ridden better as a loop. Easily my favorite up there. I would drive out just to do that ride!
Thanks Jeff.
 
A little late, but better than never....

Sweet vids Jeff, thanks for putting those together! I am glad you got some good footage at Guacamole. It isn't the easiest system to capture in pics.

Thanks to Dell as well for setting that trip up! We had been going to Sedona a lot the last few years but it has turned into a bit of a circus, now that all the trails have been adopted and signed they are overrun with hikers. So it was nice to get back to Hurricane where there were pretty much no hikers on any of the trails. Plus they are constantly building new trail...and it is fun/techy new trail.

First day we did Hurricane Cliffs system. There are a bunch of new trails since my last visit so we explored some of those.


A few of us did a quick lap while waiting for everyone else to show up. Top of JEM was up first. The upper part is now downhill only

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A little ways down JEM we turned R onto Goosebumps. Pretty fun trail, lots of undulation and G-outs with a few alternate lines. It sort of hugs the bottom of the cliffs below Gooseberry.

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At the bottom we got a little lost as the trails aren't all marked and there are a few alternate social endings. We found the bottom of Dead Ringer and climbed that all the way back to the trailhead.

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Dead ringer is pretty cool. It hugs the side of some steep canyons. Little room to pass if you meet other riders. The bike shop recommended this trail for climbing only.

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By the time we got up top most of the group was there and Dell's vehicle was just a few mins out. Not long after that we were back off down the trail for another loop.

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Started with top of JEM again, and then crossed over to descend Dead Ringer. That trail has some smallish jumps on it, and climbing it meant we were going the wrong way on our first lap. None of them were really that fun, mostly a bit awkward.

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We rode DR and Cryptobionic all the way down to Hurricane Rim and took that trail back over to JEM. From there it was JEM - Crypto - Goosebumps- DR back to the top.

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Most of the group had done More Cowbell while waiting for others to show up. Gil, Rob and I did a quick lap on it at the end. Its a ~2mi trail with maybe 100ft total gain/loss, but has some awesome views. Looking down over Goosebumps:

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Trail follows the edge of a mesa for a while

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A few were done for the day, others wanted a bit more. A few descended Dead Ringer down the the next road crossing. Gil and I decided to ride Goulds Rim back into town instead. I had never ridden it that way before and it would be mostly downhill. It is definitely more fun riding it back toward town!

Great views

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We checked out a new connector trail near the bottom that would cut off the final bit of the ride on Hwy back into town.

We found a super primitive trail along the top of the cliffs, heading south. It was actually hard to follow

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Then, it finally ended. We searched around for a bit trying to figure where it went. When we looked over the edge we spotted freshly built switchbacks down below, and a line of pin flags going up the hillside. So, the trail is so new it is not even done yet! Should be a good one when it is done, it will mean riding singletrack right from town!

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Awesome you guys!!! Going there the end of the month! Never been and can't wait!
Thanks for the most excellent vids and pics. Great ride report...
 
Pics from Day 2, Gooseberry Mesa:

For me Gooseberry is the main must-do ride in the area. I like it a lot better than Little Creek.

We started at South rim TH. I have actually never started from there before, there is a massive new TH and parking area. We got right into the meat of the system

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Being a few years since I've been to Goose, some of the lines were forgotten. Some, like this one, always stand out

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After S Rim we headed up Hidden Canyon

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Lots of time was spent playing around

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Then over to the point

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Some are braver than others
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Next it was back on South Rim along the south side of the mesa

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The group split soon after. Some had already gone back from the point. Some continued on Hidden Canyon and some continued onto a secret trail

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I have always liked this one as it is tougher and much less ridden than everything else. Lots of deep sand this year made it more work and less fun than usual.

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Our group got really spread out, and Jfsh and I ended up waiting a few mins for Danno and the other Evan to catch up. The rest of our group who were ahead, didn't wait.

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Ending of Secret Tr

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Everyone was pretty much done so we took the fire road back to the TH to waiting beers!

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I'm so jacked!
The pics are awesome!
Going there for the first time the end of the month!
Thanks for posting these my brothah!
-Mikie
 
Thanks Jeff I did Guacamole for the first time and I do like it better than Gooseberry....the road to Guac is not very nice either. That said I still like the newer stuff up at the top of Jem trail that Evan posted, more the type of riding for this old man. Had not been to Hurricane for 3 years and the new stuff they have opened up is excellent they have turned a good riding designation into a great destination.

Dean
 
Here's some more!

For Day 3 people were looking for some "easier" miles so we started with Grafton. Jay offered to run the shuttle for us as he didn't feel like riding, so it was 2 trips up in Jeff's truck to get everyone to the top.

Within minutes of rolling we were in sessioning mode. No pressure!

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Gnarly run out

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Jeff pioneered a lower line which seemed smoother and more direct

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Mike takes the original upper line, required a quick turn at the bottom

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Nice view to the right, but don't take your eyes off the trail for long

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Andy dropping in at the larger roll

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Rob takes it with a bit of speed

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The other evan on a nice air

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One of the most recognizable features on grafton

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This used to be a nice, mandatory huck. Hard to see but there is now a ramp built right to the top. Boo!

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Bryan hits the double roll

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Not a bad view

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Gil rolls the top of Grafton descent

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Jeff followed me down

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One of my favorite sections of trail anywhere...

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Andy near the bottom of the rocky section

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The background landscape is almost mesmerizing

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Aaron rides out the bottom rocks

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Final descent

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Final air

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OK...one more

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Tom the Bomb said:
Forget the shuttle. It is ridden better as a loop. Easily my favorite up there. I would drive out just to do that ride!
Thanks Jeff.
There are a lot better things to ride out there than the climb back up Crybaby hill. Like Guacamole....!

The group split up after Grafton. I think some went to hike in Zion, some were done for the day. Jeff piled in with Gil and Rob and me and we headed over to Guacamole. This is one of the most fun trail systems in the area. It is somewhat of a lollipop, with a main route out, and then a few alternate loops you can do toward the south end of the mesa. They seem to be building new stuff each year so it is always worth going back.

Lots of petrified wood. A lot of the trail cairns are made from this stuff. Some nice big pieces seem to lie all over the place.

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Typical view off the side of the mesa as we ride out

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Then it is onto slickrock

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It is more of an open canvas than Gooseberry and you have to watch for cairns at times

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The area burned ~10 years ago and is still coming back

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Tons of optional lines, as hard as you want. Not always as easy as you might want, though

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But its fun as you get to use your imagination

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We check out a loop that is new since my last trip

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This one is the best loop out there by far IMO

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Tons of good rollers, techy bits and variety, and gets all the way out to the east and south ends of the mesa

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We eventually start running out of light and need to head back

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But a few more features to play on, on the ride back

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We get going at a nice pace but have to stop to check this guy out, trailside. First time I've seen a rattler in UT. Nice colors!

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Definitely put Guac on your ride list if you have the time during a trip.
 
Grafton then Guacamole. Now that looks like a fun day. I wish it was just a bit closer because that would make for an awesome weekend trip.
 
Wow!!! Evdog - those Grafton pics look awesome! It looks hard in the photos, which means it's 5x that hard in real life, complete with more intimidation. Nice job and great photos! I even spy one of the best "chunk" handling bikes on the market - the Knolly Chilcotin, although it looks like everybody had capable equipment and the Juevos to make it work. :thumbup:
 
I love the pic of the guy with the front row seat. Man your guys reports couldn't have been timed better for the stoke meter! I just hope it's not to warm in a couple of weeks?
 
Great RR evdog !!! for some of us that cannot go to these beautiful trails, these reports and pics draws a big smile in our faces, a big thank you.
 
jfsh said:
SoCal_Rider, I want to say Grafton takes about 2 hours and is around 6-8 miles. You could certainly do it faster if you didn't stop at the features and take video. Full face helmets and DH bikes would work for this ride as there is not really any climbing but it is not necessary. We all had the standard knee pad xc helmet setup and 5-7 inch bikes. I was wearing a full face helmet but mostly because it works much better for taking helmet cam footage. Some of the steeper rollers have ride arounds but not all of them do. The last mile or 2 is very rocky and technical. I would say a person would need expert descending skills to be able to ride and clean everything. An person with advanced descending skills could do most things a walk a few spots. A person with intermediate skills would be walking a fair amount.

The shuttle is a bit of a bear. It is not very long but the road is in terrible shape. I had to put my truck into 4 wheel drive to make it up some sections of the road. You basically use the road which is the North entrance to Gooseberry. I know where to start and stop but I would have a hard time explaining it to you. If you stop in to the bike shop in Hurricane they can line you out with directions and a map. It is well worth the effort in my opinion. It is my favorite Hurricane/St George area ride hands down.

Umm excuse me Sir but I do believe your ride leader must have super powers for descending Grafton on the HT. I'm eager to go out and give it a try on my Taro and we talked about it at length after you guys got back. Very nice coverage, so sad I missed it
 
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