The day started out perfect. Comfortable temperatures and blue sky with white fluffy clouds.
The Ridge Trail has some popular sections and some rarely used sections. This was normally the later, but not today. We stopped here to rest and enjoy the view when we noticed some "hikers" coming through. One of them looked like death the other pretty happy and fresh. After a few more of these "hikers" - we realized it was a race, the Wasatch Front 100 mile endurance run, they were on their last 15 miles. The death looking ones were the racers, the happy and fresh looking ones were the pacers. Our nice quiet section wasn't going to be so quiet.
One reward for having to stop every 30 seconds to let a runner pass, was this aid station. We got there just a few minutes before the runner cutoff time for that point. They were getting ready to close up shop and offered to let us eat and drink as much as we wanted. The trail that starts just behind the cars in the picture is Dry Fork - one of the unknown parts of our route. We would soon find out there was a reason I couldn't find any information about riding this section of trail. The extra calories from the aid station were going to come in handy.
I never was able to take a picture that did justice for this section. One way to describe it. Even the two motorcycles who passed us, at one point got off their bikes and pushed up the hill (albeit power assisted in their case). It was steep. It was miserable slow work: push bike forward, apply brakes, walk up to near your handlebar, repeat. But the scenery was stunning so we didn't really complain. I take that back. I did complain about one thing. The stupid five pound tent strapped to my handlebar. A little background. I don't like tents. I pretty much only sleep in one as a last resort. They are stuffy. They are annoying to put up and take down. They block your view of the night sky. But. This was a test run and like them or not I realize sometimes they are necessary so I borrowed one for the trip.
My victory pose at the top of Dry Fork! Now for some fun! We dropped down into Albion Basin past all the confused hikers wondering what we were doing and where we had come from.
The downhill seemed all too brief and soon enough we were once again climbing. This time up the Germania Pass road. I was pretty blown from the Dry Fork workout.
Mineral Basin! Only one more climb left and we'd be in Mary Ellen Gulch, our final destination before dropping back down to Tibble Fork. But the clouds were getting rather dark and the temperature was dropping fast. The forecast had looked good, but afternoon thunderstorms certainly aren't uncommon. We made a call to drop down Mineral Basin to a stand of trees and kind of see what happened with the weather.
There was a good camping spot there and we were pretty tired. So we decided to set up camp and make the final climb over to Mary Ellen the next morning. Just as we got camp set, it started raining. Then down pouring. For three hours. Now I was actually pretty glad for that five pound tent.
The rain stopped and we emerged from our shelters. Again pictures don't do justice. There was a mist and a silence that was just amazing. It didn't last long. It started raining again and would do so off and on for the rest of the trip.
The next morning we decided against climbing over to Mary Ellen Gulch. With all the rain and mud, the steep climb would be very sketchy and maybe not even possible. And once on the other side we didn't know how bad the mud would be. The upper part of the Mineral Basin road is barely rideable because its so rocky, but that also meant it should handle the rain. We decided for the Mineral Basin road option. The first two miles or so were rough and with all the water it was kind of like riding down a small stream bed. We soon got to the main dirt road and it was smooth, fast riding from there.
Tired. Soaked. Happy.
It turned out overnight there had been multiple rock slides in AF canyon. By the time we were heading out they had cleared a path so that people could leave. All in all, things really couldn't have gone any better. Well, we could have made it to Mary Ellen Gulch...and not been caught in a huge rainstorm. But there were no injuries, no bike problems, and everyone had a good time.
Oh. And none of us want to take a bike up Dry Fork again. Ever.
Trip Totals: 30.54 miles, 7346 feet of climbing, 6202 min elevation, 10491 max elevation
