Poison Spider Bicycles

The switchbacks of the Horsethief Trail have always been an amazing sight, seemingly hanging by magic to the cliff band, and somewhat dismaying when viewed, from below, from the saddle of your mountain bike.  How did they build that road?  And do I really have to climb it on this bike?  I don’t have enough gears…  But now, due to a recent flash flood, the Mineral Bottom end of the White Rim Trail near Moab is going to be a lonesome place for awhile.

A couple days of thunderstorms, and an overfilled stock pond which blew out at the top of the switchbacks, caused a true “gully washer”.  The flash flood cut through the upper switchbacks, carrying the road and all the land underneath it to the bajada below.  The cuts are increasingly deeper and wider, 10, 25, 40 feet, with each switchback the water bashed through, using boulders from above to chew through the steep terrain.

This is a county road on Bureau of Land Management property, just outside Canyonlands National Park.  It accesses a popular river trip take-out for Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River.  In the spring and fall it is used by hundreds of mountain bikers and their support vehicles, doing the 3 to 4-day ride and camping adventure known as the White Rim Trail.  It is the signature Moab trip offered by local mountain bike outfitters.  It is also on the life-list for those super-fit cross country cyclists to do the “Lap” in one day.

Now the question is, how will they rebuild this road?  This will be a massive job, most likely exceeding the county’s budget for back road emergency repairs in the near future.  Currently, there is no estimate as to how or when the road will be repaired. According to the National Park Service website, they have closed the White Rim Trail to all users beyond Potato Bottom inside the Canyonlands National Park boundary.

Out and back trips on the White Rim are a possibility, limited by permitted campsite availability on the Colorado River side.  All vehicle traffic will need to have enough fuel on board to backtrack to the Shafer Trail.  If you have a private White Rim permit for this fall, call the National Park service at 435-259-4351.  Contact your outfitter if you have reservations on a commercial trip.