The night before we went down and checked out Springdale which is the little town just outside the entry to Zion and very pleasantly surprised at the feel of the town. It was a great little place and where we had dinner was awesome. The bike shop was small but jam packed with stuff and the staff was incredibly helpful.
Gooseberry was just flat out excellent - all of the riding was totally world class and the way the trail was strung together was outstanding. The riding changed style and feel a few times through the trail but always it was fun and challenging.
The riding was very three dimensional. At times it felt like you were in a huge slick rock skate park - which is probably why one section was called God's Skate Park. The views were also excellent with the entry to Zion being visible at various times.
Lot's of ups and down with many of them being steeper than they look. In many ways it was similar to the Slick rock trail in Moab but with the steeps not being as a long, which in my opinion made them a lot more fun.
The trail meandered in and around rock domes and bowls.
It was very well marked and hard to get lost on. This was the end of a nice section of up and down slick rock.
A good example of how you were in bowls a lot.
Amber doing a step drop into a bowl.
Out on the south rim the feel of the trail switched again with fun flowing singletrack combined with steep slick rock sections.
There was also some fun play sections. This is a fissure you can roll over with a pretty back drop.
One of the slick rock sections on the south rim.
The south rim section of the trail has a small out and back to the viewpoint vista and the riding out there remained excellent as well.
Coming back along the north rim you have the option to take a number of spurs. This is in the Yellow Trail section and again the riding was just straight up good times.
The last section we used was the Bowls and Ledges section - yep it was good times as well.
Overall I would have to say that the ride was one of the most enjoyable rides I have ever done. Lot's of variety, lot's of options to play and a great sense of flow.
We need to go back and do some sections like the Hidden Canyon section and also go back and do some of the other rides in the area - there are a lot of them! We may well end up down there again over the Christmas holiday week.
No comments:
Post a Comment