Such a fun route with a very interesting history...Boulder seems odd that Boulder got mail by mule in 1924, musta been hard to make it big on the “gram” there...
...but, WATCH OUT for poison ivy along the river, I plowed through a bunch and paid the price (yay, plant illiteracy).
Anyhow...
Fun exposed slabby descents and ascents, always triggers a smile for me
Abundant cairn following, a new one always appears as you arrive at the one you’ve been chasing
River Crossings, so. Much. Poison. Ivy. Ugh.
Soul-sucking sand slogs, you either laugh or cuss.
Old telegraph wires transporting your memories to the history you learned in grade school.
And all-in-all, a hell of a day out!
(Photos in Garmin)
I am sure locals can find shorter lines that avoid the deep sand sections and shortcut across some of the slabs, but I felt with the history of this route I should follow as close to the original GPX file and cairns as possible. Even though it is cairned open terrain, It seemed like it wasn’t about just getting from Boulder to Escalante but rather more about following the historic line.
Gear:
Ultimate Direction Adventure Vest 5.0 - this thing has been through so many rad adventures at this point :) thanks, UD!
Ultimate Direction Hydroskin shorts
Tailwind Nutrition: 500 calories in 1.5 liters
Salomon Sense 6s - at the end of all this Utah sandstone, they basically have no tread left, yay! Road flats.
Athletic Brewing: “Free Way” NA double hopped IPA at the finish (well, after the bike ride back up to Boulder)