2011 Dixie 200 Planning

[DesertDog]

I am torn on those final miles.  The marathon "trail" is more dirt road/double track than trail, but it does have some interesting spots and an awesome descent into Navajo.  Finishing on the VRRT west of Navajo is a treat too.  

That said, the lure of a techy singletrack descent is strong....your guess is close with Blowhard being the key element.  It drops about 3,300' in 6.9 miles.  It also starts out at ~ 10.7k' and is likely to be under 15' of snow June 25.

When you are in the area I highly recommend checking out the Paunsaugunt section of the route.  The stuff from Pole Canyon to Red Canyon is a blast and super scenic, one of my favorite areas anywhere to ride a bike.

Marathon does have some rocky sections that will keep you entertained.  Some nice open meadow areas to go thru too.  Just pretty much the way it has to be, unless you would turn this into a late-summer event.

I may make a 2 day, 90 mile loop of the Pauns area.  Start at the lower Thunder Mtn TH and ride down route 89 to connect into the Southern plateau routing.  I've never ridden the area south of the reservoir.  Thought about it for a while; may just be time to do it!  And, it allows for a finish that will give me my Thunder Mountain fix for the season.

[DaveH]

So it is greenhouse gasses.  Stop idling!

DesertDog, the Virgin basin is nearly 300% of normal snowpack right now with many sites reading well over 300%.  By definition that is not normal.  About 1/2 of the years in the last 10 everything has been open by June 25. So the route will never be 100% locked in but what route is?  The Grand Loop I guess... 

Also, have you seen this http://2-epic.com/maps/311map.html?map=Pauns_enduro_96.kml&index=7 ?  That is the route for the Paunsaugunt enduro long route from http://2-epic.com/?page_id=815 . 

[DesertDog]

I had forgotten about the Paunsaugunt Enduro loops.  After looking at the Enduro tracks, I came up with this, just under 97 miles.  Sort of a mashup of the Lite, 200 and Enduro course, with a little bit of road thrown in. 

Using 89 down to Hatch, then using the Lite climb up to the ridge will bypass the hiking on the lower section of Grandview.  Then you get to continue on Grandview for some ridgeline views above the cliffs until you join up with the 200 course.  Should make a nice start to a 3 1/2 week road trip!

[DaveH]

That will be a great ride for sure!  You've also selected the 200 route along the southern edge of the Paunsaugunt - that is a good thing since the old enduro 96 route stuck to the Grandview even along a tree littered mudslide.  Maybe I was tired when I hucked my way over/through that mess during the enduro, but it surpassed even my tolerance for trees and mud and hiking to the point I thought it became a safety concern.  It was clipped out of all subsequent routes along the southern Paunsaugunt.

Just below the rim where your route and the 200 route meet:

[DesertDog]

Riding the cliffs there should give the feel of, without the pain of, riding the VRRT. 

Thought there might have been a good reason you changed up the route in the SE corner of the Pauns, so I just went with the 200 routing.

[bmattingly]

what are good weather months to ride the dixie 200 as a tour.  I can't do the race in 2 weeks.  Does the area get much monsoon rain in July/August??  Any info is appreciated

[DaveH]

I'd say mid-June through early October is the window of opportunity for this route, generally speaking, with a bit of risk at either end.  There is more monsoonal activity in mid-July-August, but I wouldn't say it's enough to be a showstopper.  If you get caught in a big downpour on certain sections you'd need to stay put until things dried out a little, but that doesn't usually take very long.

[bmattingly]

Cool, thanks for the information.  A friend and I are thinking about doing it the weekend after 4th of July.  My girlfriend and I are coming up for a camping trip to the Dixie Wilderness Labor Day.  I've done alot of rockclimbing in Zion but not mtn. biked in the area.  Looking forward to it.  Thanks for the beta. 

[FranB]

SS gearing selection for the 200 33/20 i was thinking, any advise Dave?

Hope to make it there..i need a vacation! work ;(

any other tips?

Fran

[DaveH]

Awesome Fran!

You definitely want your "mountain" gearing for the 200.  I generally prefer a 21 or 22 out back for much of the route.  There is plenty of climbing. I'd go 33.22. 

Other tips...sunscreen.  Elevations are between 7k and 10k and it's quite sunny this time of year.

Tires: choose durability over weight.  Also, a wider tire will be appreciated on the Paunsaugunt.  Rampages are a great SS option.

Hope you can make it!

[dbclimb]

Dave,
This looks like a great race. I hope Fran and I can make it. The last time I was near Zion.  I was aid climbing and sleeping on all the big walls!
Now its bike time. Wow, this place looks insane!!!
Cheers,
Dave

[dbclimb]

Dave,
How is the new Osprey pack working for you?
Cheers,
Dave

[DaveH]

Super, both Bach brothers are Dixie bound!

The Osprey (I have a Talon 22  like most bikepackers) is great.  Comfy, long lasting, plenty of room.  I also have Manta 20 that I would NOT recommend - too many compartments make it's volume a lot less usable than the Talon's, and it's heavier.

I bought a new Talon this year to replace one that was 5 years old and beat to death.  It's hard to believe it lasted 5 years!

[DaveH]

There is still a little bit of snow on some parts of the course.  I'll scout it out this weekend to determine how much and where - at this point I expect there to be 2 reroutes and some singletrack added in the Red Canyon area.  The goal is to keep the distance roughly similar while avoiding prolonged postholing sessions.

Stay tuned - I hope to have the final route gpx uploaded by late Sunday or early Monday of next week.

[dbclimb]

Dave,
Thanks for all the advice! I am really looking forward to this adventure for myself. The racing part will come in time. This will be a big learning curve for me! I just plan on having fun and enjoying every minute of pain!
Dave Bach

[DaveH]

OK y'all, moment of truth:  there is still significant snow remaining over the section of the route from the Spruce trail (NW corner of route) to Navajo lake.  It might melt in time, might not - but regardless, it will be either a sloppy mess, post holing session, or more likely a combination of both. 

IOW, we get to do some detours just like that other big race going on right now

I have 2 options in mind and they are vastly different.  I'm open to opinions/votes on your preferences.

Option 1:  roughly 30 miles of pavement.  It's a very nice back road, little used and scenic.  Still pavement tho. 

Option 2:  includes a piece of the Grandview trail not currently part of the route, and part of last year's lite route near Cub Spring (where LW actually saw a cub!).  It's "rustic", we used it in the enduro events and most found it quite fun - but that was at hour 1 or 2, not day 2...there are several short hike a bike sections.  This section would come right after Thunder Mountain.

Let's take a vote.  What's yer preference?

[dbclimb]

I would say option 2. It sounds great, and the farther I get away from civilization the better! 

[DesertDog]

Well, I'm not out of doing this yet!

Here is something that would do pretty easily (and probably pretty close to option #1).  A little 143, then the road to Duck Creek.  After DC, take the ATV trails to FRs to  Navajo Lake, then just do the North side of Navajo back to the VRRT downhill.  Alternate routing is in red.  Only lose 3 miles, less, I'm sure, after elevation gets put pack into the routing.


I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do next week.  Just really can't find the interest to go to the Kaibab and Flagstaff now.  So, thinking maybe do a 3-day trip (Wed - Fri) around the end of the TransUtah route, starting at Pine Lake to Boulder, then take 12 to Escalante, then up the canyons and back to Pine Lake.  Never did get to doing that last Fall.  Snow isn't bad, just have to see if the FS knows about trail conditions/tree downage (don't want to go thru what was on the '09 TU route up there!)

Then, I could head back towards Cedar City and do the 200 over 3 or 4 days.  Finish up with a day at Three Peaks and a day at 'The Goose', before heading back to Vegas?


Weather is causing havoc in so many ways.  Looking to push my main travel plans back to mid-July.  They are starting to shut down the forests in New Mexico.  So, wait a bit and just do 2+ good weeks in Colorado or Idaho a bit later than planned!  Gives things in CO time to finish melting and maybe ID and SLC will be thawed by then?  Then again, if it gives it enough time, maybe I can get up to Oregon and do the first run of the COR 350 course? 

Thanks for the link Dave!  I download the snowpack data and overlay it on all the travel scenario rides every couple days.  I won't make the call on the big trip until as late as I can.

[LyndaW]

Well, I'm not out of doing this yet!
 thinking maybe do a 3-day trip (Wed - Fri) around the end of the TransUtah route, starting at Pine Lake to Boulder, then take 12 to Escalante, then up the canyons and back to Pine Lake.  Never did get to doing that last Fall.  Snow isn't bad, just have to see if the FS knows about trail conditions/tree downage (don't want to go thru what was on the '09 TU route up there!)

More snow than we expected on the Markagunt and more downed trees than ever this winter. There are still snow piles on the wide dirt road around Navajo and the trail signs are still in piles of snow!  One ranger we talked with yesterday told us they just cut out 200 trees from a 1/4 mile section of trail. I can't even visualize that and wonder if there are even any trees left standing - or the ranger was exaggerating a tad???  I am guessing the TU route Pine Lake to Boulder will be total lumbertrack right now. There was no snow around Pine Lake yesterday.

[DaveH]

Route scouting yesterday revealed an impassable Virgin River rim trail.  Think 6+ feet of snow in spots and lots of trees to hurdle.  A lot of that 450% of normal snowpack remains on the Markagunt.  They finally got the road to Cedar Breaks open, and the most popular activity right now is snowshoe tours!

Since the VRRT was the main access to the Markagunt - and the primary reason to be on the Markagunt - I've taken it out of the route and made something even better for 2011.  It's a good thing I've got literally thousands of miles of GPX exploration tracks to fall back on.  Plan B was fun to put together, and I think it flows great.

The Dixie now starts at the Thunder Mountain trailhead - same time, same date:  Sat, June 25 8AM.

Neutral roll out for a couple miles up a sweet bikepath, then we get on the Cassidy trail to shred some red singletrack.

The 2nd half of the course is more challenging, and more remote.  It will roll much slower once you are on the Grandview.  Plan accordingly.

Water is plentiful.

The out and back to Powell Point is optional.  If you choose to do it (and make it to the point) you get a 10 hour time bonus.  The snow models show it as clear but no guarantees on that part   It's about a 3-4 hour trip in good conditions, but will complicate any refuel strategy in Tropic the first night.  The views from the top are top notch - looking down to Bryce and all of southern Utah.



Anyone using a SPOT for this and want a tracker?  Shoot me an email or PM if interested and I'll get it setup.

Full details and files here:  http://2-epic.com/events/dixie200.html

Fire away with any questions.  I'm tentatively planning to camp at Red Canyon Campground (about 1 mile from the start) on Friday and will save room for anyone that asks.  Parking for the event is right at the trailhead - that was the ranger recommendation.