Dixie 200 updates, post Brian Head fire

[DaveH]

...or the 190 miles in the legs!

[evdog]

True!  Though I was riding more climbs on VRRT than I had on Thunder Mtn the day before.  Had to push up most of the climbs on the upper part there. 

[alex-henson]

When does this route usually become rideable in the year? Seems like the race was late summer, but can it be ridden earlier like late Spring or early summer?

[evdog]

The Dixie 200 used to run in late June.  Unless it's a low snow year, any time earlier than that would likely have too much snow and mud in places.  You can keep an eye on snow levels on Snotel or NOAA sites for various areas nearby.  The other problem is downed trees.  The Forest Service seems to do a good job of clearing the more popular trails but it does take a while, so if you go in right away after the snow melts you may have your work cut out for you.  I came across two trail crews cutting out trees on Spruce Tr and Dark Hollow a few years ago.   I did the Dixie this year again in August and most of the trails were in great shape, the main exception being the one that climbs out of Navajo Lake (might be part of Marathon Trail?).  Some parts of Grandview were interesting too due to erosion.  But that's normal.

[alex-henson]

Thanks evdog I appreciate it.

I guess that about what I suspected. I hadn't thought about the downed tree issue. I bet that would be enough of a pain to support a later ride date. I'll probably look towards another ride since my window is more like April/May.

[youngmason]

I did most of Grandview in late April 2018, there was no snow and barely any down trees. That was an historically low snow year.

[DaveH]

I did most of Grandview in late April 2018, there was no snow and barely any down trees. That was an historically low snow year.

Did you ride the southern section from Robinson to Mill? How about Crawford Pass trail?

[youngmason]

I missed Crawford and the eastern section of Grandview, my report is in this thread:
https://forums.mtbr.com/utah/grandview-loop-over-3-nights-near-bryce-1074532.html

[DaveH]

2020 date has been set: Sep 5, 7am. Deets here: http://2-epic.com/the-dixie-200/

[Jeff Z]

Dave,
Is it true that only 2 finished this year?

I'll say that day 1 was harder than I expected. Nancy and I bailed (well, it was more me than her) at Panguitch Lake. I was not in the condition I needed to be for this.

[Dana Ernst]

Jeff, yep, just me and Bob Saffel finished. Such a great route!


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[AZTtripper]

This place looks amazing, I need to ride something there. My main riding partner will be 77 next year so we'll be truck or van camping, bikepacking came 30 years too late for some. We will have a shuttle driver, looks like VRRT can easily be cut up into smaller sections and shuttled. We've done the Whole Enchilada and this summer we did the full Cannell Plunge. Looking at the course you guys ride and then the trail forks map I think we can find plenty of day riding. Other then the VRRT is there another must do trail section?

Thanks Tim

[bmattingly]

Hi Tim,

Thunder Mountain Trail is super fantastic.  Fast and flowy on a beautiful setting.  Best to ride it East to West and end at the highway small trailhead parking.  You have to drive a few miles down forest service road to get to start.

Love the comment about age and backpacking.  I often wonder what it would have been like in twenties or thirties.

Cheers,

Brad M

[evdog]

I'm reviving this thread as I've been doing some scheming....

A couple years ago I did some exploring up in the Tushars and found some excellent trails that were entirely clear of deadfall and very rideable.  Not to mention very scenic.  Trip report is here: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/336466-TR-Beaver.  

When I got home I pieced together a 40-mile loop from what I'd ridden.  Another rider took the bait and guinea-pigged the loop, giving it big thumbs up.  I was finally able to ride it last summer after CTR during a break in the smoke.  I'm slow so it was a much longer day for me than had been for him.  But what an awesome day it was.   I haven't put a TR together for the loop ride yet, but pics for it are here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/qHUuZ5MkLU6pLcEEA.  Got a bit of go pro version as well dropping down to Blue Lake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbOWeejZ2os and down Boullion Canyon/Corner Pocket as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzOqCr2LSR0.  Pretty stunning singletrack back there.

This is the Tushars loop for anyone interested.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34172763  It's a late summer route.  Snow takes a long time to clear up there, and deadfall isn't cleared until August from what I can tell.  There was a bit of deadfall when I did the loop, but not terrible.  


I knew the north end of the Dixie 311 went through this same area but didn't realize until later that the southern end of my loop IS the northern end of the Dixie 311.  The current 311 route will need updating anyway if it is ever to be ridden again since parts of it on the Paunsaugaunt are heavily damaged.  So I figured I'd see what it looked like combining the current Bristlecone 200 with the Dixie 311 and my northern loop.  

It actually came out pretty close at 304 miles.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39354647  I left the track clockwise like the 200 though it might be better to go same way as the 311 if that route rides better CCW.  Would just need a bit of tinkering at places like Thunder Mtn to optimize.  Also need to find an extra 7 miles : )

Dave, have you ridden these trails in the Tushars?  They are all on Trailforks now.  If you haven't checked them out, try to get up there when you can.  I think they would be a killer addition to the route, especially Blue Lake and Boullion/Pocket/Poison Cr.  I'd probably swap in Jim Reed/Duncan Creek over Jim Reed/Lousy Jim.  Could also start the route at bottom of Dark Hollow again now that trail is back open - and probably better for bikepacking.

Anyone ridden the sections of the 311 route north of the Bristlecone 200 recently?  Interested to hear what shape things are in.   I'm tempted to give it a go late summer if I can find the time for it.  

[DaveH]

Just in case anyone is still following this thread - Moose Knuckler (aka Lukas Brinkerhoff) and John Taylor have stepped in to manage the event. They are picking up the slack from my waning motivation. Funny thing is, I never felt quite right about hitting the event while managing it, now I can give it a good go. More details at https://mooseknuckleralliance.org/2023/08/bristlecone-200/

[evdog]

Just in case anyone is still following this thread - Moose Knuckler (aka Lukas Brinkerhoff) and John Taylor have stepped in to manage the event. They are picking up the slack from my waning motivation. Funny thing is, I never felt quite right about hitting the event while managing it, now I can give it a good go. More details at https://mooseknuckleralliance.org/2023/08/bristlecone-200/

Dave with all your newfound free time then, maybe I can interest you in an updated 311 route?   : )    Thanks for all the work you put in on these routes!

Same as what I posted last year but I changed the start/end back to 2nd Left Hand Canyon.  Comes out to 310.7 miles!   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44275429

I want to give this a go if I can track down some beta on trail conditions for Spruces and other trails north of the 200 route.

[DaveH]

The 311! You're on your own on that one. All I can say is there may or may not be trails remaining going over the top of the Sevier, and the trails in the Tushars may also be non-existant...or maybe buff singletrack. I haven't seen either in a decade, and both are highly variable. Do it and let us know! It will be a grand adventure.

[evdog]

Hahaha!  Let's see what I can find out about Spruces and the Sevier Plateau in the next couple days.  

Stuff up in the Tushars is good to go, found a guy that rode the loop up there this weekend.  Did you see my trip report from the Tushars Dave?  Link is just a few posts back.  When I did the initial explore there were zero trees down.  A couple years later there were just a few over 40 miles.  Guy who rode it this weekend said the same.

[evdog]

All I can say is there may or may not be trails remaining going over the top of the Sevier, and the trails in the Tushars may also be non-existant...or maybe buff singletrack.

I called both the Cedar City and Powell Ranger Districts about trail conditions. 

The trail guy in Cedar City said Spruce Trail has not been cleared this year and he didn't know when it was cleared last.  It definitely was in 2015, since I ran into the crew as I exited the trail lol.  And I found an IG post back in 2018 by a guy saying he was part of a trail crew that logged out 14 miles of Spruce and did tread work on 10 miles.  Guessing that was the last time it saw work.  The Ranger also said Willow Creek Trail north of there is probably in bad shape with washouts and lots of deadfall. Those are the main singletracks I think.

I asked Powell District about West Hunt Trail and Hancock Trail, and Mt Dutton Trail as an alternate.  Lady I talked to hadn't heard any bad reports from those trails.  I asked if that's because no one uses them, or because people use them and there has been nothing wrong with them.  That got a chuckle, but she still didn't know.  Guessing those ones could be a bit "wild". 

I'm going to look into some roads as bailout options.   

[evdog]

Well I am in for the 311, starting Monday.  Scott is going to add a line for it to Trackleaders.  Wish me luck!

I did find a blog post from May 22 saying the Snowbank trail was in good shape.  So there's that.  https://www.stavislost.com/hikes/trail/mount-dutton-via-snowbank-trail

I have mapped out work-arounds to Spruce, Willow Creek and West Hunt/Hancock if those trails get outrageous.  You never know...