After deciding that the Tour of Idaho (http://pastredline.posthaven.com/ignoring-good-advice-the-tour-of-idaho) was becoming more miserable, rather than more enjoyable, my riding buddy Tony and I decided to reroute mid-trip. There is a group of riders that produces tracks called the "Backcountry Discovery Routes" (BDRs) These are free-to-download sets of GPS tracks from one end of a state to the other, primarily on dirt roads. A couple of years back, we had ridden a significant portion of the Colorado BDR and thoroughly enjoyed the route. We had both previously read about the Utah BDR and, having already experienced a couple of smaller sections of Utah, knew that the scenery would be amazing.

Late at night, in Ketchum, ID, we reserved a U-Haul truck at a location about 30 minutes ride south of us. The plan was to pick up the U-Haul, load the bikes, and drive down to the bottom of Utah. Riding two 690's down a long straight stretch of freeway would not be very enjoyable. And to compound the problem, after our "gearing down" experiment in the middle of the Tour of Idaho, both of our bikes were set to cruise comfortably at about 60mph. It would have been a long trip down through Utah. As it happened, the route from Ketchum down to the bottom of Utah drove us right through Twin Falls, ID, where our truck was parked. We decided to pick up the truck and caravan down to Logan, UT to drop the truck off. This way, when we were done with the Utah BDR, we would only be about an hour away from our truck. On the way to pick up the U-Haul, we stopped at a local powersports store to buy some tie downs and a paper map of the Utah BDR. Just as we were pulling into the town of Bellevue to pick up our U-Haul, a bee stung me right in the middle of the neck. One last parting shot from Idaho before we got out of there.

When we arrived in Twin Falls with the U-Haul, before picking up the truck, we went to the local Best Buy to buy a small computer. As it turns out, getting tracks onto our GPS devices without a computer had proved near impossible. They had a couple of small laptop deals for around $200. Tony purchased one (to be later repurposed for his daughter) and we went to a local Starbucks to download the tracks to our GPS's.

From Twin Falls, we drove both the truck and the U-Haul down to Logan, UT, to drop the truck off at the local airport (we had discovered that parking in the long term lots of local airports was a pretty convenient place to leave the truck). With that accomplished, we continued the long drive down to the bottom of Utah. The closest drop-off U-haul was in Blanding, UT, which is about an hour and a half's drive north of the Utah/Arizona border where the BDR tracks officially begin. Since the beginning of the BDR is a (basically pavement) tour through "Valley of the Gods" and Tony and I had previously ridden through that area, we decided to ride about 45 minutes south of Blanding to pick up the BDR at the first real off-road part of the tour.

Dinner along that drive put us in Salt Lake City, and a quick google search showed a restaurant called the "Red Iguana" had awesome ratings. We pulled off the freeway and were greeted with the news that it would be a 45 minute wait - at 8pm. Turns out, everyone else already knew this place was great. We decided to wait and were not disappointed. Great atmosphere and delicious, unique dishes - this place was a hit.

After dinner, we continued southbound over a couple of mountain passes, ending up in Green River, UT to catch a few hours sleep (It was probably around 1am when we got in). Our planning showed that it should only be a couple more hours down to Blanding - hopefully, we could get in before noon and start the BDR only slightly delayed.

Unfortunately, our planning failed to account for numerous road work stops and the hour+ delay in returning the truck. We unloaded the bikes, gifted the tie downs we had bought to "the next person who needed them" and pulled on our gear. Around 2 pm, we were on our bikes, heading south to intercept the BDR tracks on a completely different adventure than we had started with - about 26 hours after picking up a U-Haul in Bellevue, ID and less than 40 hours after our original decision to try to recover our vacation.

UTBDR Section 1 - Rocky Trails to Aspen Groves

Utah is beautiful. There's just no argument about this. However, I had previously only experienced one aspect of the Utah backcountry - the rocky structures worn down by wind until they have a beautiful and unique structure. They're staggeringly impressive and something everyone should see at some point. If you're not hooked on the commercial appeal of "Monument Valley", the nearby "Valley of the Gods" is free, allows you to wind through in your own 4x4 or dirt bike. In good conditions with a motivated driver, you could probably even get a passenger car through that route. This picture is from a previous trip we had done a few years ago, since we elected to skip this part.

Even without getting all the way down to Valley of the Gods, we would have to cover about 195 miles this afternoon to complete the first section of the BDR. On primarily dirt roads, this can be an impressive distance in one afternoon. However, we made the agreement early on that we didn't want to skip any parts of the BDR. Rather than take pavement to link up the sections (as we had been having to do in Idaho), we would simply make it as far as we could each day. If it took us a couple of extra days, that wouldn't be an issue - we had some extra time since this route was shorter than what we had originally planned.

After about an hour of driving down on freeways, we intercepted our tracks at "Snow Flat Road". After some driving, rerouting, and surrounded by a landscape that looked nothing like the area we had left, we were finally back where we wanted to be - on dirt trails in the backcountry.

Snow Flat road winds through the bottom of Utah. It's mostly graded dirt road with a few minor patches of rocky sections or sand and we were flying through it.The red rocks in Utah, and the sweeping views are just incredbile. One thing of note is how much Utah landscape changes and how quickly. You can be standing in a completely red rock section and looking over at whitewashed mountains only a few miles down the road.

After a few hours of the red rocks landscape, our track started climbing. We headed up into what became a forest. The temperatures cooled quickly, and the landscape changed dramatically.

While we stopped to take pictures and wound through our track, the sun started to set on us. Riding at night, on a forest road, with tinted goggles is somewhat akin to those old math problems from elementary school. Kyle and Tony are riding at 40mph and they have 25 miles of track left. However, as the sun sets, Kyle and Tony's speed reduces by X mph for each half hour they are out, since they can't see as far. Will Kyle and Tony ever reach the end of their track?

Passing over a 10k foot pass, on the dirt, in the dark, with a cliff off to one side of the road was an unforgettable experience. Maybe not one I'd like to do again, but still unforgettable. Eventually, we wound down a set of switchbacks, past a few Jeeps in the dark, and then popped out in Monticello, a little before 9pm. Unfortunately, Monticello is a small town and everything closes up at about 9pm. We ended up grabbing a few snacks at a gas station and a room in a local motel. Even starting in the afternoon, we had still managed to finish section 1. Beautiful views and some fun riding.

UTBDR Section 2 - Rocky Passes, Moab, and Slickrock

The start of section 2 was a bit of pavement out of town, and past a set of petroglyphs called "Newspaper Rock". Although we were in good spirits, Tony and I discussed that the doing the BDR after not being able to complete the Tour of Idaho was a bit like being bumped all the way back to the kids table. The views were amazing, but thus far, the riding had not been very technical. There had to be challenges that were harder than what we were on, but still not as out of reach as the tour. We were looking forward to seeing what Section 2 of the BDR had in store for us. Our morning section was about 78 miles of trail heading into Moab, UT. This particular section was marked "Experts Only" (Alternately, you could take a bypass that would have taken us through some forest roads similar to what we had seen the day before). After the pavement section, we turned off on to this section and were excited to see if it would offer a challenge.

The expert section in Section 2 of the BDR passes through Lockhart Basin and then Hurrah Pass. Lockhart Basin starts out as an easy winding dirt road, but pretty quickly picks up in rock content. In addition, the trail has been washed out at several points and it can be necessary to hop the bike up around obstacles or ride through silty, sandy riverbeds to connect little parts of the trail. Overall, the riding is a blast and I would say that an intermediate rider, even on a bigger bike (like an F800GS) would have no major issues. The scenery that you're riding in (not near, but in) is nothing short of spectacular.

As you turn into the second part of this stretch, you enter Hurrah Pass. Stickers on the road signs themselves start to become a little more ominous - the classic "Black Diamond" starts to appear, and there's a sudden lack of any kinds of tracks except a dirt bike here and there. The scenery is no less amazing, but as we went through this trail, it became obvious that there were some serious washouts that had never been fixed. Sections of the trail required using momentum and a little bit of throttle to jump down off rock structures that were a couple of feet above the following section of trails. There were even areas of rock steps that had clearly been through a flash flood, with boulders throughout the trail.

It was great riding - and the best part was that there wasn't anyone out there the whole time we were riding through. We saw traces of other dirt bikers, but this particular area seemed to be off limits to any of the ATV's and side by sides that seemed to be everywhere in Utah - likely the terrain was just a little too aggressive when you're trying to find a place to put all four wheels. As we started to come out of the pass, we started to see a large number of side by side vehicles, most likely rented out of Moab. The trail was much more developed in this section, including a relatively sandy section with jumps in the middle of it. We cruised through, feeling like heroes as the mighty 690's found their happy place - in this terrain, their weight was unnoticeable and the incredible power available had them sailing through the trail and off of any jumps we could find.

This trail wound all the way into Moab, UT. Although many towns across the US claim to be "adventure destinations", Moab seems to be unique in what it offers. You can rent anything, from mountain bikes to dirt bikes, atvs, side by sides, and even full size jeeps to take on the surrounding trails. Food in town is excellent (we ate at "Zax"), and the surrounding terrain seems to be made for exploring.

We topped up on gas, and headed over to the local KTM dealer - we were both down just a little bit on oil and the stuff our bikes take is hard to find at the local gas station. I also tried to get a replacement shift lever to no avail (Mine came loose and was damaged when we were back in Idaho). Instead, I tightened my existing one up again (it had come loose over the rocks this morning), and we hit the trail.

As we wound out of Moab, we started to see signs for the famous "Slickrock Bike Trail" - it became evident that the BDR would take us right through Slickrock park. Although the BDR itself did not actually go out on any of the slickrock trails, there was no way we could pass this close and not try out these world famous trails.

Slickrock is a fascinating surface to ride on. In the dry, the traction is remarkable - only comparable to riding around on Velcro. It takes some getting used to but in general, the bikes will not slip. This allows them to mark the track up and over some amazingly steep rocks, or to put you on the side of some slopes that logic tells you the bike will not stay up on. Because of the traction, the only real threat is stalling the bike - since nothing slips and the angles can be terrifyingly extreme, if you were to stall the bike, you would fall - hard and oftentimes a fair distance, onto abrasive and unyielding rock. As always, video makes everything look flat, but the excitement of the extreme angles on the slickrock are impressive.

Since we had a fair number of miles still to cover in section 2 and since we were completely new to slickrock, we elected to do only the "Practice Loop", which is a 2 mile loop at the beginning of the famous "Slickrock Bike Trail". However, what we only discovered after reading later was that the practice loop is actually no easier than the trail itself - just shorter. Probably explains why I was so nervous climbing some of those near vertical sections of rock - feathering the clutch and praying I wouldn't drop the bike. Also explains why the actual slickrock trails are not on the BDR - that section would be flat out dangerous for a newer rider on a larger bike.

Grins on our faces after the practice loop, we headed back out onto the dirt and out of the park. This afternoon's riding out of Moab was spectactular - including some two track and even some rocky trails that were clearly used by mountain bikers. One impressive part of the area surrounding Moab is that almost every trail we encountered was a true multi-use trail. In California, trails are often divided heavily by sport and of course, often prohibited for "evil" dirt bikers. In Moab - everyone seems to get along well - slowing down for each other and sharing the trails with a smile. Maybe, with enough outreach, we can start to reclaim some of our public lands in other areas for this kind of use.

The end of BDR Section 2 turned out not be in a city called "Dewey Bridge" as we had assumed from our quick read of the route description, but rather in the middle of nowhere at a site where there actually used to be a bridge. As it happened, however, we were only about 30 miles outside of Moab using the pavement (the dirt trails had wound back and forth so much that they accounted for another 60 miles or so more on the way out. Since Moab had been such a great area, we decided to go back, get a hotel room there and enjoy more of their delicious food (washed down with a few local brews).

An enjoyable end to an amazing day:

UTBDR Section 3 - The Desert Floor, Patches of Sand, and Old Railway Tracks

Leaving Moab in the morning, we gassed up, topped off with water and I managed to get one more picture of the local art. Definitely a town we'll be revisiting in the future with our families.

Todays tracks would be warm. Likely above triple digits in places, we would be winding through some dirt roads and sandy patches through the desert floor. One of the nice things about riding smaller bikes rather than adventure bikes (whose trails we saw along the way) is the ease with which the 690's floated over the sandy patches. Although we could see tracks where the larger bikes had significant trouble (including a few topple overs in the sand), our bikes stayed up and picked their way through the short, sometimes deep sandy spots with ease.

After the sandy sections, we started following some old railroad paths through the flat terrain. The railroad paths were easy to spot, especially when they went through some of the washed out areas. Although typically a railroad path is about twice as wide as a motorcycle, there were areas where most of the trail had been washed out, leaving about a tire's width worth of trail with a pretty significant drop to either side. The sections were short and easy to ride over once scouted out, but they were a reminder that out here, there's no guarantee there will be trail around the corner. Riding through the terrain with wide open throttle was a sure way to end up down a ditch.

Although this section was relatively simple, it was nice to get into the end gate of Wellington early enough to be able to do some laundry (we only had a couple of pairs of baselayers since we had been packed as light as possible for the Idaho trip). On the suggestion of the BDR guidebook, we headed a few miles north to Price, UT to find a few hotels, some fast food, and a laundromat. Price may not be a large city, but it had a lot more options than the single gas station and single motel available in Wellington.

While waiting for a pizza to be delivered, Tony and I downloaded the video of the Utah BDR. Although we had completed about half the sections already, we were curious to see what the video had to say about the trip we were on. It was while watching this video that we started to understand that the sections themselves might not have been divided up on a "day by day" basis. We had been starting relatively early in the day, moving fast, and still finishing near nightfall. We were curious how larger groups on larger bikes had been doing with that kind of pace - until we watched the movie. They were often camping for the day before we had even reached our lunch spot. Near the end of the video, they suggested that 8-9 days under ideal conditions was probably reasonable for this trip. We had completed 3 sections in 3 days, with only 3 sections to go.

UTBDR Sections 4,5,6 - Dirt Roads and Stuck Vans

Before leaving Price, we stopped at the local grocery store for some breakfast and coffee. While there, we encountered a couple of other riders who were excited to chat with us about where we were headed and what we were doing. They let us know they were disappointed we had not let them know ahead of time, so they could join us :) It's always fun to run into like minded people when doing a trip like this. Chatting about previous experiences is always fun with someone who shares your passion.

We had planned to complete the last three sections in three days, and we started out section 3 at a very mellow pace, enjoying the scenery and planning on only having about a hundred miles to complete that day. However, these last sections would turn out to be mostly dirt roads with only a section or two of rockiness along the way so, despite our best intentions, the sections combined only turned out to take about a day and a half.

Even through the dirt roads, these sections offered the scenery that we had come to expect from Utah - beautiful, rocky views in every direction.

At about 2pm, we ended up completing section 3 of the BDR. Since we had wanted to camp at least one night, we decided to continue ahead to a track on the BDR called "Out to Camping" - it appeared to be about halfway through Section 4, but that should be just about right for arriving to a campsite, relaxing with a fire, and having plenty of time to relax. The beginning of section 4 wound through "Currant Creek" on some of the worst road we had encountered. It wasn't challenging but it was gravelly, with almost constant, terrible washboard from the trucks and ATV's that had been through the area. By the time we got through that section, our bikes, our hands, and our brains were numb from the constant vibration over the bumps.

Luckily, the section "Out to Camping" turned out to be an excellent little road. Dirt and rock, with relatively steep climbs - it was great fun, and ended up at a beautiful campsite.

We hadn't been at our campsite long when a young looking guy wandered up. "Uh, hey guys, could I get a little help?" It turned out, Michael had tried to explore the road coming up to the campsite in his Nissan van. Luckily he had realized when he hit a particularly rocky section that the van was not going to be able to traverse it. Unluckily, he had stopped just a little too late. He tried to turn the van around in the rocks and it promptly got stuck. In two wheel drive vehicles with an open differential (most passenger cars), as soon as one drive wheel has no grip, all the power will go to that wheel. We walked down to where Michael's van was and met his wife and two small children to assess the situation. We were able to get the van freed by digging out the spinning rear wheel and then laying down sticks and rocks to ramp the van out. However, we were only able to get the van about another four feet backwards before it became obvious that backing up under its own power was not going to be a solution. There were rocks that the van couldn't clear so it had to be navigated carefully, but it kept losing grip. Even after I jumped in the drivers seat for a bit (Michael had no real experience getting vehicles unstuck), progress was being measured in inches. This just wouldn't work.

Tony hopped on his bike to go scouting for a 4x4 with some recovery gear. It took a few tries (amazing how many people don't even have a recovery strap), but eventually he found Jeremy, who came back and used his truck to pull the van out of the rocky section. It's always reassuring to encounter the kind of people who are quick to jump to aid. "You need help? Where at, I'm on my way" is amazingly reassuring, even when you're not actually the ones who are stuck.

Michael and his family were much relieved and could continue back to their campsite after a quick picture.

The next morning, we packed up our camping gear and hit the tracks again, figuring we'd probably finish the tracks today. An interesting note about the bivy sacks that we had bought is that they collect a fair amount of moisture inside. We had noticed this problem during a test trip a couple of months back, but it was seriously confirmed this night in Utah, as our sleeping bags were soaked at the bottom. They work great as an emergency backup in foul weather, but they're definitely not something I would want to be camping in day after day.

Today's riding was easy - mostly dirt roads. However, near the end of the trip, we decided to solve two problems at once - the dust on the roads had gotten bad and they were so wide as to not be all that interesting. For a good section of the roads, Tony and I travelled side by side, only falling in line when needed to pass people or deal with oncoming traffic. The dust fell harmlessly behind us, and the challenge was increased now that you only had about half the trail available to solve terrain issues as they popped up. It was nice easy riding.

We were almost done with the riding and encountered a highway which would take us to the final city when we noticed that the track itself actually didn't end there - rather it continued up an ATV trail for another couple of miles. We spun the bikes around and continued through the dirt underpass we hadn't even noticed before. It was rocky and slightly steep, giving us one last little challenge for the trip. Unexpected trails right at the end of a trip are always the most enjoyable - just when you think everything is over, you get a last little enjoyable to section to wind out the motorcycle on. 10 days since we left our truck (originally), multiple states, some challenges that were over our heads, and some of the most enjoyable riding we've done, and our trip was complete for now. Although we had a short ride to finish off the BDR and then an hour or so of pavement back to the truck, this was the conclusion of our dirt riding. We took a quick "selfie" style picture just to match the one we had taken all that time ago at the beginning of the Tour of Idaho. Slightly more worn and possibly a little wiser.