Tuesday October 14th, 2014
Total Miles: 124

From one of the worst days to one of the best days on the bike.  In the morning we met some cool guys in the hotel parking lot from Colorado who were checking out our bike.  Quick stop for coffee and a muffin at the Love Muffin Cafe and we are off.

We took blacktop up the canyon to Onion Creek.  So glad we had a chance to see this road. It follows the river up which creates the natural boundary of Arches National Park.

Onion Creek was big bike friendly unlike what we went through on Day 3.  A number of water crossings so make sure you have on waterproof boots and pants.

Beauty at every turn.  Minimal washouts and wasn’t so jarring.  Turned left and was delighted that this trail too was big bike friendly.  A couple technical uphills and one steep downhill but that just adds some excitement to the day.

At the vista point notated on the map we came across 6 Jeeps all the guys were parked and out taking pictures.  We pulled over and asked if they would take our picture.  Jason took my camera one of the other guys took Galen’s phone.  We were grateful and headed on so we could get in front of the group.

Later in the morning we were pulled over at a bridge taking a photo and the jeeps had caught up to us.  Jason jumped out and offered to take our photo.  Turns out he was the groups guide and lives in Moab.

Galen was asking Jason about other big bike friendly trails.  Turns out Jason’s company provided the chase vehicle for the making of the video for the Utah Back Country Discovery Route.
If you ever need a guide in Moab I highly recommend him.  Just ask for Jason Taylor at Canyon Lands Jeep Adventures.
He mentioned that he was taking his group into the town of Gateway, Colorado for lunch and that ride was great.  We decided we would meet them there.  Well worth the detour.  Here was my view from the backseat.

The guy who started the Discovery Channel built this fantastic resort in Gateway, CO called Gateway Canyons Resort.  Lunch was fantastic and we got a chance to enjoy a great IPA on draft brewed in Grand Junction, CO.

The group in the Jeeps were enjoying a reward trip for their top sales employees and their top dealers from the company US AutoForce.  Mainly from the Midwest the guys were from WI, IL, and MO.
We were so grateful that these guys took time to take our photos and chat.  We hope to see them when they have their Tradeshow in Wisconsin Dells in February.

Jason told Galen a great way to get back and we enjoyed abundant sunshine and spectacular fall colors.  As the sun hit the aspens it was almost fluorescent color.

We found Two Mile Road.  Just a few miles before we joined the Utah Back Country Discovery Route tracks we found a great little spot to set up camp for the night.  It is a gravel road that was signed for Dark Canyon Lake.  We were heading for the lake but it was going to be an additional 12 more miles and we were losing daylight.  We saw a dirt road on the right with some grass and trees.  Turns out we traveled just a little ways and found a level spot and the remnants of a fire ring and some cut up wood.  Perfect spot to set up camp for the night.  We were excited to try out our new camp chairs from Chad at Adventure Designs and found they were the perfect addition to our camp gear.  We boiled some water in the camp stove and had beef stroganoff for dinner.  We camped at 8,220 ft elevation.  It got cold that night Galen told me it would dip to the lower 40’s.  Lots of layers.  So grateful we packed our stocking caps.

Moab was completely under discussed in the Back Country Discovery Route video.  I think staying an extra night in this area would have been awesome.  Looks like we will add Moab to the places we will return to and explore further.

Tip: Remember the temperature has only been in the 50’s but the sun is intense at these higher elevations.  Make sure to pack and apply sunscreen.
Day 3 Galen and I both got a little sun and wind burned on our faces. Galen got sunburned on the back of his neck.  I also pack a small bottle of aloe which feels great on a burnt face.