Mountain biking in the Zion National Park - Gooseberry Mesa Trail

Here's a report from another of our roving riders, Rob

Part 1 (read Part 2)

After a 3 hour drive from Las Vegas I arrived at Springdale in Zion National Park- a fantastic place if you like the outdoor life. I had pre-booked a Trek Fuel EX for $60 from Fred at Zion Cycles. He was a top bloke who went to great lengths to ensure my bike was how I wanted it, adjusting the air pressure in both shocks and even swapping the saddle out and fitting my own SPD's. Whilst I was at the shop I met 3 guys from the UK who had also come from Vegas for the local trails here. They were planning to do the Gooseberry Mesa trail too so we agreed to meet up the following morning, ensuring our watches were synchronized as we had crossed a time zone coming from Nevada into Utah!

A "Mesa" is a plateau at the top of a mountain and this one sat at 5200ft. The journey there was an adventure in itself requiring a 4x4 vehicle and a degree of driving skill to negotiate ruts, boulders and gulleys.

Once at the summit it was cold and windy but the bright blue skies dominated for most of the day. Mike, Craig, another Rob and I set off from the car park to the trail head giving us a chance to fettle with gears and suspension settings........then we were off!

This ride was totally different to anything at home kicking off with a lovely stretch of dusty singletrack before hitting the slickrock sections which included step downs, small drop offs and short sharp power climbs.

The surrounding vegetation included juniper bushes and species of cacti which were hazardous to tyres and feet alike! Craig got a cactus spine through his shoe which involved a painful removal - thankfully no punctures though as my bike was equipped with Stans No Tubes (it was actually done by Stan himself as he had hired the bike a few days before!).

Passing down the trail we negotiated massive boulders acting as walls and pause numerous times to take in the amazing scenery along the way - it is truly breathtaking.

More singletrack and grippy slickrock spat us out onto the very edge of the mesa giving us an extraordinary view of the land 5000ft below us, cars and trucks looking like insects crawling up the highway.

From here a one more power climb where I lose my balance and perform my quickest ever clip out - I jumped 10ft down a rock to my right and luckily land on my feet. Rob and Mike comment on the speed of my dismount!

The final leg takes us down some fun double track with a few mild drops and jumps, our speed hampered by the odd sand trap before reaching the cars a mile or so past the trail head. A fantastic 3 hour loop with a variety of trails encountered and back to the bike shop in town in time for some burgers and beer!

My next ride would be in Moab - maybe I'll meet some other people there to ride with...............to be continued

see the Gooseberry Mesa trail pictures here or check out a you toob vid below:

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