To the Canyon

We left Flagstaff, bypassing the Elden/Peaks area since we had ridden it yesterday. So after a few miles of pavement we turned off onto the “closed” Hart Praire RD. Everyone in Flag had warned us that it would be an impassable muddy mess, and that even the lower desert could be trouble, so we were prepared for the worst.

There was a short section, maybe 2-3 miles long, where the snow drifts were impressively high. A few large trees were down as well, so the road was, indeed, closed as the sign indicated. But the mountain bike proved its versatility once again. We just hopped off, climbed over the trees and were on our way. Once descending to the north side of the San Francisco peaks the roads dried up and it was very smooth sailing.

At the Kelly Tank area we found constructed AZT — singletrack. After a few downed trees Lee hopped the fence back to the dirt road that paralled the trail. For the next 3 miles we rode together, always within 100 feet or so, but Lee on the road and me on the trail. It was a little slow at first, mostly due to trees down, but some sections were actually really fun to ride. After a while Lee rejoined and at about the same time the trail disappeared. No trail? No problem, just keep it pointed north and you’ll see AZT signs again.

We thus began a very long section of dirt roads, of varying quality, that are the official AZT. To be a hiker on this section would indeed be tedious. For us, it felt like retribution — finally, after all the hiking and suffering, our bikes were pulling their weight. We flew. And we loved it.

The trail goes through Babbit Ranch, which I assume is the reason there is no singletrack. They must not want it. But I wasn’t crying too badly at the nice Great Divide style roads we were on. We got to see all kinds of scenery, and if you didn’t currently like the views, just wait 15 minutes to see something new. We saw packs of Antelopes, foxes and the occasional deer.

At the other side of Babbit Ranch singletrack resumes. It felt extremely slow because of all the lose dirt on top. 3 mph slow, in fact. I knew Lee was grumbling, but the trail was short to the Moqui Stage Stop where we took a little rest.

Fortunately the trail didn’t continue to be so slow, so we were able to stick to it without and differences in “standards.” It was definitely slower than other dirt roads in the area, but Russel wash was a pleasant place to be. The tank, or Lake as I’d call it, was an idyllic spot. At the precise moment we reached it my front tire went flat. So while I pumped my tire Lee pumped water from the Lake. It would be great place to camp, but daylight remained so we rolled on.

As the sun began setting we reached the Coconino Rim. Evenings always my favorite time to ride. The wind often calms, the shadows grow and a rhythm is established as you think of all you have traveled across earlier in the day. I’ve had some great evenings on the trail, but this one stands out. The trail was just perfect for mountain biking. Trees, pine needle covered soft trails and excellent views of !!the grand canyon!! and towards the northeast. The pedal strokes were effortless, even though we were approaching 90 miles for the day. As the sun set I didn’t want to the riding to end, so we kept rolling with our LED lights. Now I was really having a blast. I felt like I could ride to the canyon, hike it and continue on. It was awesome.

We camped near the Grandview lookout — about 2 miles from the Grand Canyon Boundary. But my first real view of the canyon would wait until the next morning when we rode the remaining trail and then climbed the tower. Pretty cool.

Our difference in standards emerged again on the Tusyan bike trail. I wanted to take dirt into the park while Lee suggested the park highway. We were not up early in the morning, so I really didn’t want to dodge cars, besides a dirt approach, on bikes, to the canyon is such a cool idea.

So we had a little on trail discussion about it, and worked it out. We ended up following stubborn Scott’s will. That is, the planned route of the Tusyan path. It’s really the only thing we dont’ see eye to eye on, and the difference is not great. The partnership as worked very well so far, and it is one of the many unique things about this trip and one of the many things I’m thankful for. Still, as has been apparent in this log, we do occasionally disagree on the choice of route. I’m very strict about staying on the trail and the route that we layed out in the begining, but perhaps I could have been more flexible with it. We just have slightly different goals for the trip, I suppose.

Anyway, we ate lunch in Tusayan before returning to dirt to ride into the Park. We managed to link up old 2-tracks all the way to the South Rim Village. It was very cool to approach the canyon, on bike, on dirt and after riding the stellar 13 mile Coconino Rim trail. I got my first view off the rim. Pretty impressive; but my thoughts were on the trail, so we went to take a look at it as well.

What followed was some confusing dealings with the bureacracy that comes with a park that receives so many million visitors. It was difficult to come up with a workable plan. Difficult enough that the thought occured to just head off the rim and start hiking — see what happens — or just keep hiking out.

But in the end we were able to get some very nice stuff set up, thanks to the efforts and contacts of Lee. We’ve got a place at Phatom Ranch, including some food, and the permission to carry our bikes through, then continue riding north from the north rim.

There are a few things that could get interesting. One is Wall Creek, which has been flooding. At last report it was knee deep, but very weather dependent. They wouldn’t issue us a permit for the campsite beyond the creek until we insisted we were on the AZT and going through. The other is that the north rim is not open yet, and the trail has rock slides on it. Apaprently the slides are not a big deal, but the snow on the other side is. We will be cycling the pavement, unfortunately, instead of the lovely trail over there. We will try to pick it up as soon as we descend enough to get out of the snow.

I’m very excited to head down into the canyon to see it up close. It’s going to be a very unique part of this trip, if a difficult one. Our strength is high, but the ability to take the pounding of the downhill might be another story. I always love a good challenge, though.