Day 3 Murphy’s Hogback to Hardscrabble A

May 25, 2022

As we headed out of the campsite at our usual time of 9:00 ish this morning. There was a gopher snake slithering across the road. It looked like a big rattlesnake without the rattle and I t freaked a few of us out….

Then as we descended off of Murphy’s Hogback we had a steep descent at the beginning. We walked some if it but then enjoyed the exhilaration of the downhill. Most miles today were “cruising” as Bobby would say which means flowy with short ups and downs. Lots of sand. And very deep in some places.

Also we had lots of rocky steps to go down during the day.

Steep ascent up hardscrabble hill and then a descent at the end down to the green river. We saw other bikers on the last climb and drop.

We learned The ancient Pueblens (Anasazi) who had farmed there in the green river valley. They built granaries in the cliffs to store seed and farming implements.

It seemed like we saw more dirt bikers and jeeps or 4wheel trucks today than we had before . On the hardscrabble hill descent a truck going up tried to go past two jeeps coming down. The jeeps coming down had to get off the road precariously close to the edge of the cliff.

Stopped at the white rim slick rock overlook to see green river. We had to cross a gap in the sandstone to get to best views. Some of us needed the guide’s assistance to cross the abyss. The crack we jumped over was very deep and certainly large enough to swallow a person. Pretty scary.We learned The ancient Pueblens (Anasazi) who had farmed there in the green river valley. They built granaries in the cliffs to store seed and farming implements.

Down by the green river there is verdant green growth which provides a beautiful contrast to the red rock of the cliffs. This is the first time we have seen verdant green since we began this trip. At this location the white rim came down to the green river and went under the layer of reddish rock. We will now have a different color of rock to follow -primarily red.

It was very hot as we faced the lengthy climb up hardscrabble hill and the descent down to our campground. This was our first campground down at river level. Unfortunately the river was flowing too fast so we couldn’t swim.

Dinner was veggie eggrolls for appetizer and chicken and veggies with curry seasoning. Brownies with whipped cream for desert.

The steep hills and just as steep descents with rocks and sand have been very challenging. Our guide continued to urge us to ride within our means. Don’t try anything that was too hard for us. He said “you aren’t mountain biking if you aren’t hiking”

Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 519 miles (835 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0