The Hermosa Creek Milestone

Each year I think about and notice a handful of milestones marking seasonal change. Some that come to mind: the scrub oak blooming between mid to late May (happening now!!), just the opposite in early November, those little white flowers blooming in the Gulch or when the snow sticks to Engineer Mountain marking winter is here to stay.

But one that always strikes me is the first time I ride Hermosa Creek Trail in spring. Hermosa Creek represents the gateway to the backcountry to me. Dry Fork/Junction Creek, The Gulch, Phil's World, Overend Mountain Park and Animas Mountain are all great....but Hermosa Creek is the first trail to open where I feel I'm "getting away". The pine smell is stronger, the views are bigger and the roaring creek sounds primal.

So here's to mountain bike "season" officially opening to me...

Constructing a Mountain Bike Tour

Cedar Mesa - Constructing a Mountain Bike Tour

Over the past year or so I've been researching new areas/destinations for mountain bike tours that follow the model of the White Rim and The Maze in Canyonlands and even the Kokopelli Trail from Fruita to Moab - a beautiful tour on mellower terrain appropriate for fit beginners and intermediate riders....and even advanced riders wanting a relaxed tour with some amazing scenery.

Dating back a year ago, Hermosa Tours supported a single day event in Valley of the Gods in SE Utah in the Cedar Mesa region. I was struck immediately - how had this area not been discovered for a wonderful mountain bike tour?? Well, as beautiful as Valley of the Gods is, it represented 17 miles...not quite eough for 5 days of riding. :)

So began the 12-month recon for linking together 4 more days of tour goodness. It really ramped up last fall when Lisa Lieb (HT guide) and I spent 4 or 5 days driving the area and riding a bit despite rapidly descending temps! This time was worth while - collecting a great section of road here, a view point there and overall a great sense of the lay of the land.

At the end of that trip we had the makings of a nice trip, but we were left with a gap between the Tables of the Sun area and Cedar Mesa/Valley of the Gods. There seemed to be a little "ditch" in the way of connecting this tour - Grand Gulch. Hmmmm....

How about a mid-tour hike into one of the most special places on earth?? That'll do just fine! It was set (in my mind)...the Cedar Mesa tour. The only thing left to do was go ride and hike the route to get it all dialed for great tour....camp sites, areas of interest, etc. We're recently back from this trip and here is the report and some photos....

Day one we bit off A LOT of recon - after a 10-mile road traverse, we dropped into Valley of the Gods via the "Moki Dugway":

Truth be told the picture above is from 2009. The cloud cover during this trip didn't make for nice photography, so I didn't spend much time fooling about taking shots.

Some of these are out of order, but here is a classic shot giving some perspective to Cedar Mesa. we were actually CLIMBING the road the tour would go DOWN...ugh! The rock you see is the "edge" of Cedar Mesa itself as we climb up from Comb Ridge, pictured next to the right of the rider.


I laugh when I see this picture of Howard (who runs our Arkansas Tours) riding with Comb Ridge to his right. We were feeling quite high on life at this point, thinking we had maybe and hour and a half to go. Hahaha! 3 hours later we reached the car....BEAT. Unbelievable views, including the title shot at the beginning of this post above.


Day two we hiked down into Grand Gulch. What a different world and what serendipity that this will be part of the tour. What once was a "problem" in the route is now arguably the highlight...


The "keyhole", which actually meant we had missed our turn into Grand Gulch from Collins Canyon. Well, that's what recon is for and what it takes to dial a tour in properly...


That wrong turn did lead us to an interesting side hike, the "Family" rock art from the ancient Anasazi...




Day three was our circumnavigation of Red Canyon....and of course we were doing it backwords...aka the "hard way"!!! Don't ask. Just be glad we learned the hard way and you get the fun, "right" way. :)


Howard peeking into an old, abandoned mine....


Like most photos, these shots really don't give you the full understanding of the beauty and scale of these side canyon views. I was pretty awe struck. I wish I'd had more time to just sit and soak it in.


Endless views open up around this part of the route. Here's Howard cruisin' for a glamour shot...


Some Paintbrush at our campsite....


After I get done scoping a whole tour route/experience I always ask myself, "am I comfortable charging money for this and would I want to come on this tour?" I can say unequivocally - YES. :) Check it out....first dates start this fall: http://www.hermosatours.net/cedar_mesa.html

Hermosa Radio - Episode #1 Podcast

Episode #1 Podcast of Hermosa Radio is now available for listening! Our first guest is Mary Monroe of Trails 2000 (trails200o.org). Mary updates us on the various goings on of trails around the Durango area.

Download Hermosa Tours - Episode 1

Thanks...

Matt

Osprey Packs - 2010 Sales Meeting - Moab

This past weekend we hosted the gang from Osprey Packs for their annual sales meeting - this time for a little mountain biking in Moab. Everyone had on their new Raptor series packs - a pretty amazing entry into the hydraulic pack market for Osprey.

As per usual in Moab; a Polaris side-by-side dumping it on a section of Pritchett Canyon...


Here we are on day one riding Behind the Rocks. This group hung tough all day....pretty damn burly for a "corporate group"!!!


The highlight of day one - Stephen Barnes cracking his bike on a ledge drop. He was right behind me when it happened when I heard the "CRRRRRACK!". Oh man.....that sounded bad!


Little group photo on Porcupine Rim on day two...



Good times and an adventurous, tough group!

Mountain Bike Tourism - NE Washington

Hermosa Tours was approached by a government working group made up of various land managers in NE Washington to help strategize a coherent recreation tourism vision for the region. NE Washington is often referred to as the "forgotten corner" of the state. In particular we were asked to comment on mountain bike tourism and how they might attract more of it. Hermosa Tours operates a 5-day tour in NE Washington, our Kettle Crest Tour. 5 quality days of riding is hard to find in any destination, but it definitely exists in the Kettle Mountains and Colville National Forest. Here's a quick trail video I shot last summer on "Stickpin Trail":

Kettle Crest Tour - Stickpin from Matt McFee on Vimeo.

This is just a taste of the riding there! Anyway, we discussed many things, but I offered up a handful of suggestions:

- Do NOT allow the area to become Wilderness. This area has been highly sought after as a Wilderness area for many years now. If it goes Wilderness, mountain biking is done there. Alternate designations such as National Scenic Area could protect the region just as well without banning legitimate, historical recreation.

- Smart trail connections, rehab existing/neglected trails and conduct trail maintenance with mountain bikers in mind. In particular, I'm interested in a few trail connections that would really open up the trail network and create some terrific loops.

- The need for a conveniently-located bike shop. The small 'burgs around the Kettle Mountains are without a bike shop. We actually pack in extra spare parts for tours as we are 2 hours from the closest shop.

- Publicity in the form of grass roots message boards and industry publications. I tried to step out of my Hermosa Tours' shoes for a minute and try to remember - how did I discover new destinations when I road-tripped as a regular mountain biker? Internet "ride reports" with great pictures or destination pieces in MTB publications.

I was very pleased to get this phone call and to be able to lend some ideas. Opportunities like this are far and few between and I hope my continued involvement has an impact on shaping mountain biking policy in that area. Whether with Hermosa Tours or not, I encourage you to plan a trip to the area. It's very much a hidden gem.

Tour group on the Kettle Crest last summer....

Mountain Biking & Wilderness

Recently there has been a very lively (and quite useful) debate on mtbr.com regarding the ban on mountain bikes in Wilderness areas:

The Wilderness Debate

Putting the "Wilderness Act" in perspective

I put myself, not necessarily Hermosa Tours, squarely on the pro-mountain bike side of the debate. I make that distinction to separate any ideas of financial gain from my personal desire to ride my mountain bike in our beautiful Wilderness areas. One particular post I found important was the "by the Act of 1964" definition of Wilderness:

DEFINITION OF WILDERNESS

(c) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.

I think it raises an important point - do mountain bikes fundamentally alter the properties of Wilderness? I don't think so. Given the numerous studies/statements finding mountain biking to be on par with HIKING from an impact standpoint, I think a great wool has been pulled over our eyes.

There has always been a question of the "spirit" of the Act as well. A quote from Frank Church (the namesake of the large Wilderness area in Idaho) popped up that I thought profound:

"As the floor manager of the 1964 Wilderness Act, I recall quite clearly what we were tying to accomplish by setting up the National Wilderness Preservation System. It was never the intent of Congress that wilderness be managed in so "pure" a fashion as to needlessly restrict customary public use and enjoyment. Quite the contrary, Congress fully intended that wilderness should be managed to allow its use by a wide spectrum of Americans."

"I believe, and many citizens agree with me, that the agencies are applying provisions of the Wilderness Act too strictly and thus misconstruing the intent of Congress as to how these areas should be managed."

Some interesting resources on the subject:

Bicycling & Wilderness

Mountain Biking in Wilderness

New Hermosa Shwag!

Coming to a tour near you...