For the Youtube GoPro video of the Wasatch Crest Trail click here:
Adventure 2015: Episode 4: Park City, UT
For the Youtube GoPro video of the lower Park City trails click here:
Adventure 2015: Episode 5: PCMR, UT
After taking a few weeks off to both mend my dislocated clavicle and also serve as a counselor at a middle school Christian camp back in Colorado, I hit the road again. My first impression of Park City was that it was very confusing. I couldn't seem to find the base area and felt like the signage could be a little more clear. It took a couple days, but I eventually got the hang of the layout. My second impression of Park City was that it is very cramped. I didn't realize just how small the Wasatch mountains are. Deer Valley, Park City, Canyons, Brighton, Solitude, Alta, and Snowbird are right next to each other. DV, PC, and Canyons practically share ski area boundaries! Due to the cramped nature of the area I found only one fee based campsite on the opposite side of Guardsman Pass, and it was full! Not to be deterred, I found a pull-off near the top of the pass, parked my car, and just slept in my car for the week. Despite the camping situation, I was excited to start sampling the ~200 miles of singletrack in the area. My first day I decided to tackle the Wasatch Crest Trail. A 30 mile endeavor which I was slightly nervous about considering it would be my first ride after the dislocated clavicle. The first mile went well, some minor soreness near the sternum, but nothing big, so I started to let the brakes go a little more. The Wasatch Crest Trail is very pretty. You can see down in to Park City and all the way to Salt Lake City at points. Salt Lake was much closer than I
expected! I dropped off the crest and in to the Canyons resort where I met up with the Mid-Mountain Trail, which extends all the way from Canyons (and beyond!) to Deer Valley. The trail crosses through the middle of the Canyons bike park, so I got to take one run down on the intermediate trail. It was filled with mid-sized table jumps and was really fun. I found myself a little to heavy on the brakes and not quite clearing some of the tables, but it was good to get the feel of air back under me again. I stopped for a quick snack and for some reason unbeknownst to me, my rear brake quit working! I was debating riding all the way down in to town or just continuing on Mid-Mountain until I could met a trail that climbed back up to Guardsman Pass. With the brake development I decided to ride into town, replace the brakes, buy a trail map, and then deal with the 10 mile climb. I found a shop that had a rear brake in stock and went to get a more substantial lunch while I waited. I got a call while at Subway from the bike shop and apparently at some point in time my top tube had cracked about half way around! I can only assume this happened in Virgin. I quickly decided that I would have them just finish the brake job and I could probably limp along for the next few rides before I bought a new bike. New brake installed, tummy filled, trail map in hand, I began the climb. The first three miles or so went well and I made it back up to the Mid-Mountain trail; then calamity. I clipped a rock perfectly with my rear derailleur and snapped it in half. I pulled off the derailleur, shortened the chain, and tried to continue for awhile with a make-shift single speed. This proved ineffective since the chain kept either bouncing down and getting so much slack I couldn't pedal, or bouncing up and getting so taut I was worried the chain was going to snap. Finally I just grit my teeth and started hiking. It was a long seven mile hike pushing my bike along and I made it to my car at around 8pm! I estimate that I left my car at about 10am that morning so it was quite a long day for my first day back on my bike after such a traumatic injury! It just so happened that one of the local bike shops was sponsoring a free bike demo the very next day. So, counting my lucky stars, I rode Specialized, Rocky Mountain, and Trek enduro style bicycles around the lower mountain trails and decided that I couldn't decide between them. They were all excellent and all major upgrades over my beaten down Trek. The trails I rode weren't much to write about. I headed to the library the next day and did a considerable amount of online research on the various enduro style bikes and, after having demo'd so many the day before, as well as a Giant Reign in Moab, I decided just to buy the best deal. I found a Giant Reign in Park City and a Trek Slash in Salt Lake that were both about $3k. The Giant was a little more, but came with a dropper post. I liked the Reign when I rode it in Moab, and I really didn't want to drive an hour a half round trip to Salt Lake so I just decided to buy the Giant. My wallet was now $3,500 lighter and I was starting to feel a little down about the whole road trip idea. After sleeping in my car on the side of the road for a week, coupled with the fact that my funds were dwindling much more rapidly than I had planned, I was starting to feel like scrapping the whole rest of the trip and just head home. It was about a seven hour drive home, or an eleven hour drive to my next planned stop in Yosemite. This also contributed to my lack of enthusiasm for continuing on. I called a couple of friends to vent my frustrations and feelings and they inspired me enough to get me off my butt and on my way to Yosemite. The road trip continues. Of all the fifty miles or so of trails I rode in the Park City area they were all fun, but all very smooth and mellow. I can't say I am itching to get back there and explore more, but it was worth the trip. I am now in Lake Tahoe and very happy that I decided to continue on. Lake Tahoe is SUT (or really, really, super excellent for those other than Frosty)! Trip report to continue in a few days from here!
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