Area Gooseberry (Day Three)

It was windy.

Not breezy, not blustery... but flat out super windy.

A large gray head wall of menacing clouds looked to be moving in from the distant peaks and the heat felt over the last couple of days was all but gone.  Today was going to be a gamble.  A best guess scenario as to where and when to ride to avoid the eminent weather.  The decision was made to stick to the plan and drive over to St. George to ride the famous ZEN Trail.

Andooke had decided to pass with concerns of Emma foremost in their mind.  I was hopeful a second ride could be had later in the afternoon around parts of Gooseberry if the weather held, but only time would tell.

This would be a new trail for us, but we were familiar with the parking area.  A few years ago we had made an attempt to ride it. But once we arrived, the location seemed so unappealing and the temps high enough that my grump module was activated.  We literally drove there, I cracked the window and then made the call to head back to Gooseberry. Unfortunately, the grump module can not be deactivated easily.

This day as the drive progressed we passed through the small town of Hurricane and then through St. George.  Along the way Micki got a text from Brooke.  Evidently the total contentment Taylor's tiny dog Apple had been showing enthralled with her bone in the tent before we drove off was a brilliant act of deception.  Moments later, Apple had chewed through the tent screen and wandered over to Andooke's trailer to say hello.  Crafty little sucker.  

Soon enough we were back at the visually forsaken trailhead once again.  The start just looks terrible.  A waste of desert converted into humps and berms by millions of fossil powered quads, side by sides and heavily sprung moto-scooters.  There were some grinding around the nothingness even upon our arrival.  Reminded me of the wasteland from Road Warrior, except this guy wasn't there. Well, as far as I could tell at least.

"Just walk away....":

Anyways... the scenery and terrain almost had to get better simply by the laws of proportion and chance (whatever the hell those are). The clouds were distant enough to risk leaving rain gear in the car, but the wind was flat our vicious.  At times it was difficult to stand and letting go of anything lighter than a pair of shoes was sure to lead to a frustrating game of chase. How come objects loose in the wind always require ninja like reflexes to track down?

Legend stated that this trail had some angry sections, so we divvied up what armor could be found amongst the bags of gear and tried to figure out where the trail actually did start.  The map suggested a clockwise direction and after some scouting the initial singletrack was found.  But, Micki's magnificent sense of gnar told her otherwise.  I must admit, the only visible descent that would seem to make this ride a loop did appear just to be a boring dirt road back to the parking lot.  I caved, and asked a fellow rider who just showed up for his impression of the route and worse yet... even consulted him for directions.

Oh, the shame....

Anyways, I was so glad we did.  For he told a tale of a clockwise loop that basically sucked.  He proclaimed a majority of the fun tech stuff to be climbing, and after he had struggled to earn the summit his only reward was that of a forgotten yet steep jeep road.  Counter clockwise it was to be then.  Disaster thwarted! Although, that boring dirt road now loomed down upon us with a steep aggression that did not bode well for my heavy slung Slayer.

Quick release open, seat up to max line, 32/34.... engage!!

The hill actually wasn't that bad, but the massive and relentless headwind made keeping tires pointed where you wanted to end up a monumental task.  Large gusts tossed us from side to side and I am sure to the casual observer it would have appeared as if a group of four very drunk individuals were attempting to work off their overindulgence with a stiff workout.  Eventually the rough road turned to double track, and then singletrack, and then slickrock intermixed with boulders intermixed with drops.  In other words, shit started to get goooood.

Crushing some vert gain once again:

You definitely have to work to keep things moving on this trail.  It arduous, but very rewarding.  Those familiar with heading up National would have felt right at home as each conquered challenge kept leading to the next more difficult problem to solve.  Eventually the trail turns away from the edge of the mesa and with that shift we were now carving through larger rocks on either side, finally offering a small break from the wind... and even a descent or two thrown in as well.

Swoopy:

Droppy:

The trail remained technical at this point with a few options wandering off here and there.  Not sure where they all went, but some looked very promising indeed.  Being our first time around the loop we decided to stay on the main route. Next time however, the unknown will be discovered. 

Taylor passing through:

Brandon follows suit:

With the parking lot obscured and far below, we finally made the top.  The view was amazing!  The somewhat threatening rows of clouds looked far more appealing as their shadows danced across the valley floor below.

Vistariffic:

We could see the next section of trail and understood most of the climbing was now behind us.  The raging wind would surely make any air time prohibitive, so everyone made sure pads were strapped and seats dropped.  It was impossible to resist every drop just for the fear of errant gusts so I gripped the bars a little harder and threw caution to the wind... literally.  It felt good to give the terrain a what for after months of tip toeing along on my 29'r.  Not that I don't love the hardtail, but ripping unabashedly through the big stuff every once in a while can be very satisfying.

Micki bombing:

Taylor enjoying Weagle's design work:

Formation:

From here the speed picked up and flow just happened.  The occasional square apex or hearty drop kept our focus tight, but ZEN was living up to it's reputation as a windy technical challenge with a bias towards those with an appreciation for gravity at their backs.  Out in front, I slowed to take notice of a few cairns stacked on the slickrock to my left.  "Intersting" I though to myself as I wondered why such meaningless scupltures might have been placed in the middle of nowhere.  Screaming down and down again we dumped onto a dirt road.  I then checked the GPS in my pack and realized the mistake... we missed a turn.

Seats up, pads loose.... 32/34 engaged once more.

We then stopped for a snack and Micki answered her phone in the middle of nowhere.  Technology, amazing or cursed for it, I am not sure.  Brandon and I started to scout a track of cairns over the slickrock horizon and now with a better route understood, we rolled.  Up and down, back and forth, traction was thick and extra rubber was left on the sandpaper like surface with every heavy turn of the pedals.  Eventually we were lead to the entrance of a wash and recognized the spot from some video footage we had found before we left.  Funny, it didn't look that hard online.

The first part:

The tricky corner:

Of course, our pictures do little justice to the section as well but take my word... it's a thinker.  The ZEN loop is pretty short, around 6 miles total but at this point energy was starting to wain.  It's a very technical area and slinging ones bike around at almost every moment for the last few hours does begin to wear.  Plus, my cheeks were getting sore from smiling so much.

Hole shot:

We found a grouping of tents in the next valley, and were caught by a trio of riders over the next mesa.  One guy was rocking a 29'r SS rigid and even though I have plenty of fun on mine, I don't think ZEN would be as nearly enjoyable as it is on board a nice big and juicy FS bike.  But, this guy seemed to roll along very nicely without complaint.  

Almost back to the car a we ran through a sudden wall of chilled air.  It was like a curtain and brought with it the sweet smell of rain.  A little nervous and knowing our lack of preparedness should our luck with the weather run out, we picked it up a gear and found the car just a little faster than anticipated.  Packing up quickly, the skies relaxed and we were driving away free and clear.  Perfect timing for an amazing trail.

Fast forward... gas in Hurricane... food at camp... afternoon solidifies....

The mood was set.  Micki, Brooke, Taylor and Brandon had setup some sort of card game within the "Andoondo" and Andy met me outside equipped only with his Greenbay sweatshirt and a will to follow.  We set off and found the Practice Loop, then Bowls to the North Rim to the Connector where Brooke had split off the day before.  We crossed over to make a run at Hidden Canyon in the opposite direction, making a left at the end this time and following South Rim to the end.

I... was on a mission.  No dabs, no stops, no do overs. Andy's mission was the same, although he may not have been aware of it before we started the ride.  We did well however and found the trail to have an exceptional feel.  Perhaps I'd even dare to say a "speed" to it that allowed pace to stay high.  There may have been a point where Andy had some doubts but as we crossed a large slickrock mesa the fading sun was illuminating the cliffs of Zion like I had never seen them before.  Spectacular, awe inspiring, breath taking.  I just knew once Andy caught sight of this amazing panorama his soul would change forever and joy would fill his heart to the point of tears.  Yes, I expected Andy to be weeping very soon.

"So, how much further man?" was instead the response.  

Humph... was all I could think.  Simply humph.

A few winding back and forth's and the trail lost it's view.  We were now rewarded instead with some great technical features and challenges.  Once back at the main trailhead parking lot we had the wind at our backs for once and were able to actually make some fun on the usual boring dirt back to camp. 

After dinner, the "Andoondo" hosted all 6 of us plus 5 dogs.  Good thing they brought the square footage, although Brooke did have to pull up a small cooler for a chair.  Brave girl made it through untold rounds of cards before her butt fell asleep and we were all ejected for "sleepy time".  By the way, evidently if I particapte in an activity that doesn't require silly shoes with steel cleats affixzed to the bottom I will do very poorly.  Very poorly indeed.  

Regardless, it was a great way to wrap up a long day of trails, that's for sure.

The Stats:

Trail: ZEN 

Riders: Micki, Taylor, Brandon and myself

Distance: 6.5 miles

Elevation: 1525 foot gain

Ride time: maybe 3 hours plus stops for play