captain ahab

We spent the long Presidents' Day holiday weekend in Moab with absolutely stunning weather - into the 50s and sunny, so it felt even warmer - but we were not alone.  It was pretty busy (seemingly all of Colorado was there, judging by the license plates) with folks eager to get out on the trails.  Timing was everything too, as several storm systems moved in starting on Monday, bringing much needed snow across the state.  So we took advantage of the nice weather and got some new-ish hikes in, including one on Friday: Captain Ahab.

"let'sgolet'sgolet'sgolet'sgo"

Everytime we've gone to Amasa Back and hiked Hymasa, we've seen the signs for Captain Ahab, an advanced, technical, one-way downhill MTB trail.  We figured that February would be a good time to check it out before the hordes arrived in the spring.  Indeed, there were just a few vehicles in the Amasa Back lot when we got there; we ended up seeing around ten MTBers and just a couple of hikers/trail runners - it was practically deserted.

We were framed!

As before, we hiked up Hymasa and then, at the overlook - views of Dead Horse Point State Park, Jackson's Hole and the Cliffhanger 4x4 trail - we went left, continuing up on Captain Ahab.  We'd assumed that the trail would be mostly downhill but there's still a fair amount of climbing involved before you really start to go down.  There were a couple of patches of snow in the shaded sections but for the most part it was dry.

That view tho'

The blue-blazed trail is very pretty with great views, crossing sandstone domes and ledges, winding through rock gardens, picking its way along cliff edges, nearly circumnavigating Whale Rock.  (Get it?  Captain Ahab goes around Whale Rock).  Once we got around WR, we looked down into the Kane Creek canyon (new hike idea: wade Kane Creek) and continued along the canyon rim.  The trail was descending in earnest now, at a level below where we'd hiked up on Hymasa.  There were some narrow  spots and a couple of turns you really wanted to make, and then it opened up and rejoined the main 4x4 road not too far above the cattle gate.

Turn left.  No, really. TURN LEFT.

I very much preferred the Captain Ahab portion to descending from the overlook via the 4x4 road, although the 4x4 road does often have entertainment opportunities - watching the off-roaders make their way over obstacles.  I wouldn't recommend hiking Captain Ahab at any time other than the winter, however, because it could be dangerous for both hikers and MTBers who are coming down quickly.  But on this day, with that amount of traffic, it was lots of fun.

Hike stats:  8.53 miles; 2:57 hours / 2.9 m.p.h. moving; 3:11 / 2.7 overall; 1,420 feet of elevation