UTMA FALL 2003 SAN
RAFAEL RIDE REPORT
By Bradley Zane
Fall greetings
from Scott Jacobson, Tory Thoen, and Bradley Zane. On October 10th and 11th the Fall edition of the bi-annual UTMA San Rafael Ride took
place. Fifteen UTMA members along with
two guests met at Cane Wash for several days of outstanding riding and
touring.
This year, given
the growing popularity of the ride, Scott, Tory, and I officially expanded the
riding to include Friday. Scott and I
also rode Thursday, exploring the possibility of adding an additional day of
riding to the event using the Color, Bear Hollow, and Waterfall trail, over 110
miles of combined trails and bladed road.
As it turned out
there was enough interest in the southern trails that Brook Sessions, along
with several other riders spent Sunday riding the Color and Bear Hollow trails.
We had a great group, with riders from
California, Colorado, and Utah participating.
Also arriving for the ride were four riders from Tennessee who were
forced to depart early due to illness, mechanical
problems, and a little foul play (see “Thanks...” below). UTMA Board members Brook Sessions and Clark
Peterson joined us and we were once again honored with the presence of long
time UTMA member David Durtschi. Also
joining the group from Park City was 58-year-old John Miller, a former enduro
racer along with his son, Don, currently a class “A” enduro racer from Boulder,
Colorado.
This year all but
one person camped at Cane Wash, which made the event even better. The mark of a good time and good group is
everyone busy visiting and enjoying each other’s company. That seemed to be the theme of Saturday’s
tour. Whether having lunch under the cottonwoods
or just stopping to enjoy the scenery, every stop was a talkfest. A great group and great mix of people.
Weather wise the
temperature was perfect; Little wind, blue skies, cool days, warm afternoons
and evenings, and a full moon. In fact
the moon was so bright that Bradley was spotted wearing sunglasses around the
camp at night (moon tan lotion a must
for the Spring Ride).
The Ride
The Saturday tour
of the Swell went off very nicely. The
group maintained a leisurely pace and experienced a lot of nature to see and
admire. Arches, pinnacles, slot canyons,
pictographs, and red slick rock were the
order for the day. The leaves in the
ancient Cottonwood trees in Coal Wash were starting to turn colors, which provided a beautiful
canopy for lunch.
The riding
conditions were pretty good. Bradley,
who led Saturday’s ride, claimed that he didn’t experience any dust. However, according to the other riders there
was dust, a point everyone else, including
this years sweep – Scott Jacobson, was quick to confirm.
The good news is
that once again, due to skilled group of riders, good maintenance, and perhaps
a little luck, there were no accidents or breakdowns to report or make fun
of. Unless, of course we want to
consider Clark Peterson. Poor Clark lost
the bolt for his Bark Buster about two minutes before dumping his bike on its
clutch level. That new blue bike of
Clarks was so pretty…
Speaking of pretty
bikes, my, my, how times change. For the
past three years the UTMA San Rafael ride has been awash with new shiny blue
bikes. This Fall it’s very different. Fashion, suspension, and perhaps the Fall
season have dictated that pumpkin is now the “in” color. We had one Yamaha XT, two ever-dependable
Honda XR’s, two KX’s, and only three Blue WR’s.
There were no less then eight KTM’s along for the ride. Are there pumpkin colored fenders available
for the WR’s, yet? Better check with
your local dealer soon, before the waiting list develops.
And, oh yeah, for
the first time in eleven years fashion mister Scott Jacobson arrived without
his “sweet” ‘92 WR500 in tow. In its place, a pumpkin colored 2000 KTM 380 EXC with an odd
oversized, bulbous tank that looked to be suffering from goiters. I suspect word of this monumental change
will quickly spread across the desert, but what’s with that tank, Scott? A trip over the bars with that tank would
not be good for your dangling participles
Finally. The BLM has contracted with the Emery County
Sheriff’s Department to patrol the North San Rafael Swell. We got a chance to meet the officer in charge;
Ray Jeffs is a nice guy and is firmly in favor of motorized access and
trails.
We were amazed
when Officer Ray informed us that the “Tread Lightly” and “Stay on Trail”
programs in the area have gone so well that consideration is being given to reopening
some trails that had long been closed.
He also thanked the UTMA for our work in the area.
He requested help
reporting anyone, be it wilderness activists or motorized users, abusing the
area or damaging signs. The Sheriff is a
friend and supporter. We urge everyone
in the UTMA organization to assist the Emery County Sheriff’s Department. They can be reached by cell phone in the
field at 435-748-1727 or the office at 435-381-2404
Wouldn’t it be
just our luck that SUWA was hosting a San Rafael Camp Ground event about 11
miles from Cane Wash? By coincidence
several key UTMA signs directing riders to our base camp were twice torn down
and moved. One sign was relocated as to
direct drivers into a dead end sand wash.
Sadly, this
confused the riders from Tennessee and they were unable to find base camp
Thursday night. I cannot understate just
how mean and thoughtless these malicious actions were. Perhaps one day these well meaning wilderness
advocates will themselves journey half way across the country only to find
themselves lost, up some creek with out a paddle. Ah, Deliverance.
We reported the
sign vandalisms to Sheriff Ray, adding that by moving the signs to point into a
wash people could have been placed in jeopardy.
Obviously with no smoking gun little could be done. At least there is now official recognition of
the harassment of motorized users in the Swell and a Sheriff’s visit to the
SUWA encampment as a result. Yep, that’s
more like it! OHV users in the Swell now
have support out there in addition to BLM Agent Don Lum, the Emery County
Sheriff’s Department.
Check the UTMA WEB site for next years San Rafael Swell Ride schedule and
other scheduled UTMA riding events.
See you on the next ride.