XR650R Dual Sport Project & Travels

White Rim Trail - 2004
Part 1

The White Rim Trail is in Canyon Lands National Monument, which is located at the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers in Utah.  Most of the trail is laid out on the White Rim sandstone, which forms a broad shelf far below the upper level of the park, and far above the level of both rivers.  The non-paved part of the ride was 112 miles long, including the Shafer Trail and a trip down Lathrop Canyon.  I actually started this ride at the Shafer Trail, so read that first for the full story.  Counting repairs to my bike and backtracking to retrieve lost floppy disks, the trip required about 11 hours.  4x4 vehicles usually do it in two days.  Mountain bikers do it in 4 days with a sag wagon.

The on-trail photos are presented in the order they were taken, most of them shot directly from the saddle.  Some overviews were shot a few days earlier during a scouting trip.  If you view them all, you might get a sense of the trail's length, and the incredible vastness of the setting.

The trail begins at Hwy 313 near the park entrance, descending on switchbacks to the White Rim level.  I didn't ride this part.  Distance from the start to the Shafer Canyon Trail, which is where I entered the park, is about 5 miles.		Shafer Canyon in the distance, shot from Island in the Sky.  The yellow rectangle shows where Shafer Canyon Trail dumps into White Rim Trail from the left.  The second photo is with 6x zoom.
The trail often passes close to the edge.  The red thing is my handlebar brush guard.	The road at the edge of the White Rim sandstone.	Coloardo River.	An interesting mosaic with the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Anyone need some hand dumbbells?  Columns capped by White Rim sandstone are common in the park.	Approaching Lathrop Canyon with Airport Tower in the background.  Lathrop is Part 2 of this report.	You never know what you'll find over a crest. Here's what was over this one.
The Washer Woman is just around the bend to the right.	Washer Woman as seen from the trail.	Washer woman through Mesa Arch, shot overlead from Island in the Sky.  The figure next to her is called "Monster".  Airport Tower is behind them.