back to pipe dream

We've hiked Pipe Dream a number of times, in various iterations, but we've never MTBed it.  It doesn't have the notoriety or glamor of many of the other well-known Moab area rides, like the Whole Enchilada, Slickrock, Mag 7 or Captain Ahab, but it is deceptively difficult for a little trail that runs at the bottom of the cliffs, rather than along the top of them.  I've hiked it enough to know that it's too tough for me to attempt on a MTB; H wanted to try it.

Trail dog

The recommended way to ride Pipe Dream is south to north (apparently north-to-south doesn't flow at all) so he set off on his MTB, riding south on 191 to the Hidden Valley trailhead.  That road portion is not particularly pleasant this time of year: too much traffic, too many trucks.  And then it's a climb up to the trailhead so by the time he got to the start of the trail, cumulative fatigue from the days prior was already kicking in.  The whole trail is singletrack and starts with a climb from the parking lot.  From there it's up and down on sometimes very narrow singletrack, with technical switchbacks, chunky sections and some sideslope stretches that are no-fall zones.  It's not that it's cliffy but that the downhill falls away immediately from the trail and there's just nowhere to put your foot down.

Such a good photo subject

H rode it to the Jackson Street entrance/exit and got out there (8.56 miles), having walked more of the technical bits than he would have liked.  We both ride with clipped-in pedals and while H vastly prefers those to flat pedals, he conceded that he might have had more confidence to ride the trickier bits if he knew he could just put his foot down without hesitation if he needed to.  I could tell that he was already thinking about the next time he'd give Pipe Dream a try.

"Imma need a minute"

While all this was going on, Milton and I were also on Pipe Dream: we walked to the Jackson Street entrance and did the north part from there as an out and back.  I could tell that even the dog was getting cumulative fatigue as he stuck to the trail fairly near me, only running off after some critter once or twice.