Dixie 311

[GrizzlyAdam]

And he's done it! Looks like DH finished the 311 at around 6:15 Tuesday night.

[DaveH]

Wow, that was some ride.  Having ridden it all piecemeal at one time or another I knew what to expect.  But to do it all in one go is something else entirely.  It's relentless in both scenic wonder and technical, difficult conditions.  There is nothing quite like creating a massive loop then riding it to get to know full well the lay of your local topography.

And now I get to watch spot dots!

Greg descended a steep brake burner ATV trail out of the Tushars just before noon.  The area of the end of Seg 5/early Seg 6 is a transition area with little water or shade.  Hope he filled up with plenty of fluids at South creek.  Cottonwood canyon in Seg 6 offers lots of shade, a creek and the Willow Creek trails.  That's where I awoke yesterday...lots of flowers right now!



Scott and Chad are into the heart of their Quasi-lite quest.  It looks like they were able to find the entrance to Pole Canyon in the waning light last night, not an easy task even with GPS.  There is no discernible trail for a bit.  Today is slow moving terrain for them.  Chad's comments about the first 100 miles of the 311 not looking so hard must surely be haunting him by now   Pole Canyon, Grandview, Crawford trails all have their challenges.  At least they will have bike tracks for comfort.

They are currently on a re-route of the TU course.  It includes a descent then climb back up over this ridge only to descend the backside to Crawford Pass trail.





Once they reach Crawford Pass it'll be smooth sailing all the way to Red Canyon on what is surely the easiest section of the 311 route.  That will set them up nicely for dinner and a room at Harold's place and a long day tomorrow to wrap it up.

[GrizzlyAdam]

Awesome Dave! Congrats.

[DaveH]

The Circleville crux...

Looking at Greg's progress, he came through Circleville at 3pm yesterday.  With only ~135 miles remaining I wonder how many supplies he chose to purchase?  Those 135 miles though are the Tushars with all the incredible climbing, Willow creek trails, the ascent to the top of Horse Valley Peak at 10,550, and the Spruce trail before hitting faster rolling terrain.  I know I started the Tushars fresh (got a motel and awesome breakfast) and that section still took 13 hours or so.

He is about to arrive at the location of my final camp - took about 12 brutal hours from that point to the end.  My bet is he will camp somewhere again tonight - unless he is out of supplies in which case Cottonwood canyon is the fastest exit to I-15. 

[DaveH]

Houston, we have a problem...

Greg has managed to do some of the most difficult sections in the dark.  West Hunt creek ascent of Adam's Head, the most challenging trail (unnamed) of segment 5, and last night the majority of the Spruce trail. 

When I came through the Spruce trail a few days ago the mosquitoes were in full force.  Only a week prior they were absent...so add that to the difficulties facing Greg last night.  Something pushed him off-route and down to Parowan in the middle of the night.  Mosquitoes, out of food, or just plain beat down...it's hard to say.  The route is damn hard until you reach the end of the Spruce trail and it's tough to estimate needs from Circleville, the final convenient resupply.

Whether or not he gets back on route to finish the beast he's had a fantastic ride.  He is so close - just 90 minutes of spruce trail remain, then the relatively easy cruise of the Marathon and flowy singletrack back to the start remain.  But, there is no easy way back to the Spruce trail...it would take a herculean constitution to simply get back on route.

Meanwhile, the bromancers will soon get a taste of the Spruce trail.

[ScottM]

Whooooo--eeee, I had a great ride out there on the Dixie Quasi-Lite.  Thanks so much to the route master, Mr. Harris, for linking all this up.  It was a real treat to have a legit line to follow and little idea of where it was taking us/me. 

I'll have a lot more to say, but I do wish we had been able to run the full 311.  Sadly it was not in the cards this year.  I am left feeling like I only got a small taste, and that much more remains.  All the more to look forward to.

A few teaser pics (haven't been through them all yet)...





Heading up towards Pole Canyon.  It got headlamp dark *right* as we hit the hardest-to-navigate spot on our route.  Perfect timing! 





Surfin' USA on the Grandview Trail.





Lighting, trail... well, hell, EVERYTHING was perfect on Thunder Mtn.






I hope ya'll didn't miss that choice carving.  Gave me a good chuckle in the middle of the Spruce trail, which by the way, was too short!  I was infinitely bummed when we popped out onto graded road and then proceeded to make *miles*.  Give me a challenge or give me...?  Alls was well when back on the VRRT, a perfect end to three days of head-clearing adventure.  Thanks again Dave.

[DaveH]

Those are some super shots Scott!  I was thinking about you two as it was getting dark just before you hit Pole Canyon.  Way to set yourself up for a challenge

Speaking of challenges - the route is wide open until snow flies, say early October?  So if you really wanted to see the rest...the "northern loop" would also make a good 3 day ride.  It was considerably harder than I expected so it should be right up your alley!  You get a lot more Spruce trail too  and the first part takes you to the top of an exposed mountain with a full 360 view...you can pretty much see all the high points of the 311 from there.

Looking forward to the rest of your pics and thoughts.

[Bikeabout]

Hey!

Mike C and I rode the full 311 and came into the finish at 6:30 pm Saturday June 3. I think I sprinted around him just before the line. What place are we in? Oh wait. We were touring.

Some amazing scenery along the way. I had a smile on my face almost the whole way, but maybe because I don't know any better. I'm thinking that Scott and Chad picked a fine route that capitalized on highlights. The Sevier and much of the Tushars were, er, interesting. I'm pretty much a bike rider and not much of a weight lifter, so hefting my bike over 1,745,339 deadfall logs got to be a bit much. Lots and lots of nice hiking, too.

Virgin River Rim Trail and Grandview trail and Thunder Mountain rocked. And, like I said, great scenery most everywhere. I took a photo or few, and when I finish sorting (like, next month) I'll post something. Mike might have taken a pic or two along the way, too.

I haven't done anything quite like that before, and was glad that my stuffsack-and-strap method of packing was good enough to get me by. (With a seatbag borrowed from Mike.) And that my semi-experimental food choices were effective.

We lost Lee B somewhere along the way. His tracks turned off route on the Horse Valley climb. I'd guess that he could be finished by now. The only other rider we saw was Greg B who passed the three of us where we were camped for our second night -- near the beginning of Crawford Pass, I think. We followed his fading tracks for days.

Overall, a grand adventure that my weary body and sore knees are glad to be finished with. My hat is off to those who rode so fast for so long. Our naps-in-meadows, photo-frenzy, and lounge-in-the-shade-while-Mike-fished pace was plenty fast for me.

--Greg L

[MikeC]

Yup, finished.


And it was good.


And it was *hard*.


And there was much rejoicing.


And...


...well...


...more later.

MC

[DaveH]

Stellar work MC and Greg. 

Greg, did I understand correctly that you are new to this???  Wow, a crash course on self-supported sadistic routes.  And way to take the sprint!

[gbach]

Well all, I made it in, but not on the route.  Had a really great time, challenging, interesting.  Did I really do ALL the hard parts in the dark?  Really needed more food so decided to go look for some.  After that adventure I then realized that going back on route would be too interesting.  So, instead climbed back up through Brian Head and over cedar breaks and down to the finish.  Must say I'm still processing it all... fantastic experience!

[Bikeabout]

Ah, the memories!

Here are a few pics from the week.

>












Hey Dave!

I'm not new to bikepacking, just to this style of bikepacking. Previous Major Travels have leaned toward phater gear. I used to call it mountain bike touring.

--Greg

[DaveH]

Greg!

Holy moly, I didn't connect the dots at the start.  A buddy turned me on to your bikeabout site about a month ago and I got lost in your pics and stories for longer than I care to admit.  I was really taken by your ride of the Grand Loop...didn't you lose a crank bolt or something like that?

Nice shots.  It looks like ya'll were either horizontal or climbing trees?

[wookieone]

OMG! Those pictures are wicked!!! So gorgeous, can't believe I miss it, too much work. Anyways thanks for sharing the photos,  love the human log! Jefe

[Lee Blackwell]

It was the Dixie 271 for me as I finished at Horse Valley Road. What a ride, what a route! I learned more about southwest Utah than most locals learn in a lifetime. I'll have good memories of that week forever.

Lee

[Bikeabout]

Cool, Lee!

I'd wondered where you'd gone. It certainly was interesting, eh? I don't think I'll need another go of it.

I posted more of my pics on my Blog, here: http://dirtanddogs.blogspot.com/2010/07/dixie-311-bikepacking-tour.html, if you want to check them out.

--Greg

[ScottM]

Nice shots, Greg and MC.  I like how there isn't a single pic of MC riding... he must have hike-a-bike'd the whole thing.

[Bikeabout]

Nice shots, Greg and MC.  I like how there isn't a single pic of MC riding... he must have hike-a-bike'd the whole thing.

New coffee table book?

[MikeC]

New coffee table book?

So much for that t-shirt idea...

[Chad B]

Great pictures guys...I look forward to seeing them all compiled. The route truly is a perfect blend of colors.

Green....pink....orange...green...repeat.

I have Day 1 up that you can peruse...click on the link below.