Breakfast at Candlestick camp
Let me tell you about a thrill, and not the good kind. On the second night, all bundled up in a mummy sleeping bag and in a small tent, I got a massive cramp in my right hamstring. It was wild. When it happens at home I jump out of bed and try to walk it off. There’s was no jumping out of that damn mummy bag. I was thrashing around in crazy pain. It was quite a sight according to Amelia. I’m surprised I didn’t wake up the entire camp.
I can only speak for myself, but the last day had a sense of sadness to me. This wonderful experience was coming to an end. I was riding slower to savor it and take it all in. It was nothing short of a miracle that this group was able to all get together for three days and two nights. All but two of us are retired, but even in retirement people are busy. There was talk about what we’d all do next. The idea of doing The Maze District in Canyonlands came up, but the guides told us there’s a limit of seven people per trip. We’ll see what the next adventure is, but it’s going to be pretty hard to top this one and this wonderful group of people.
Day Three Stats
- 24.19 miles
- 1,869 ft elevation gain
- A tough climb out
And away we go! The first stop, Holeman Slot, was only a couple miles away.
Entrance to Holeman Slot
A lot of happy people on this trip!
This is as far as I went…
Chris and Amelia manuerving the slot.
The lighting is always so cool in slots.
Ken and Amelia with Chris crawling out.
And we’re off again!
Claret cup cactus
Bill is one strong dude.
This is probably our first close up of the Green River.
A happy Kathy. The next few miles we were riding along side the Green River.
On the last day the group was together more often than the previous days.
A happy Bill Golightly.
Then came Hardscrabble, the first of two difficult climbs. Amelia killed it.
After lunch we rode to a little side hike to see an Ancestral Puebloan granery. They used these small stone structures to store corn, beans, squash, and seeds in alcoves. It’s most likely over a thousand years old.
Lunch break at the Labyrinth Camp.
Mr. & Mrs.
Mineral Bottom Road was the climb to the finish. It was a bitch. That’s Amelia and the Rim Tour truck following her.
The following day we took a day off of the bikes. Tony drove Dianni, Amelia, and me to the overlooks in Canyonlands National Park. We had our binoculars. It was amazing to look down on what we just did. We were able to basically see the entire trail and all the stops we made.
It’s easy to see why it’s called the White Rim. The girls taking one last look at what we accomplished. What a great perspective.