The Maze district of the Canyonlands is across the river and a little south from the White Rim. It's rougher and more remote than the White Rim, and sees far less traffic, and very little bike traffic. We were originally going to do it with car support, then opted to drag all our shit on BOB trailers and go for the sufferfest. This ride isn't a loop, it's a point to point.
This would be the theme of the first day. Fucking sand, sand, and more sand.
Tom was the only one of five of us who went without a trailer. He brought two gallons of water for two days in 80+ temps over 100 miles. No way I could survive with that little water. It worked though, because he was working far less to get through the sand.
By mile two we were already pushing our bikes through endless sand. Me, Alex, and Ryan had four gallons total. The BOB trailers literally felt like boat anchors in the sand. Ryan actually asked if his BOB wheel had locked up, because that's how damn hard it was to ride or push them through the sand.
The first day was largely uphill, very gradually, from the start to the Flint Trail (30+ miles). As a bonus, we had a nice headwind.
Hans Flat Ranger station.
Stoy, psyched to be off the sand for 10 feet.
Stoy overlooking the long descent into the Maze.
These switchbacks were similar to the Schafer on the White Rim, only much steeper and looser. No big deal with an unloaded bike, but with heavy BOB trailers and sand, they were kinda interesting.
