Day 8: The Loop, near Hurricane, Utah

Day 8: "The Loop" near Hurricane, Utah

This ride is a very cool one and one that has evolved over the years. The ride referred to as "The Loop" consists of three trails that were built in stages by Americorps between 2000 and 2003. The first part of the loop is the newest. Gould's rim starts with a 1.8 mile fireroad climb that is honestly the only reason why you might not want to ride this trail on a single speed. If you warm up quickly and don't mind a long stop to the top of the ridge, You'll love the rest of the ride on your single speed.

Gould's Rim follows along the rim of a 70' deep arroyo. At times you're only a few feet from the edge, at others you're back 10 or 15 feet from certain death. Eventually the trail turns away from the rim and heads back in towards the base of Gooseberry Mesa. The ride is mostly uphill, but it is fairly gradual. There are some fun ups and downs as you get close to the corral. There is tons of wildlife around. We saw road runners, jack rabbits, lizards, hawks and plenty of other stuff.

The JEM Trail is really amazing. The best way I can describe it is that the JEM trail is a 6 mile long BMX track. There's one section of steeps that drops down into an arroyo. It has a few switchbacks and plenty of rocks. It was fun though.

Down lower on the trail, there are a few rock gardens that are suprises. I pinch flatted on two of them. I survived the third. I was just having too much fun and couldn't slow down fast enough.

Hurricane Rim is a great trail that mixes rocky sections and buff singletrack as it climbs along the edge of the Virgin River back to the trailhead. There are some great views along the deep valley to the river below.

Enough talk. Lets get to the photos: