Objective: ride a 200+ mile loop through scenic areas of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument using the two unpaved roads that cross the monument. (A third unpaved route, the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, also crosses the monument but dead ends.)

Circumstances made it necessary for Billy Aller of Montrose Colorado (DL650 V-Strom) and Verle Nelson of Cedaredge Colorado (KLR650) to do this trip in 2 days. The plan was to get there by the quickest route, ride the Smoky Mountain Road in the afternoon, ride Cottonwood Canyon the next morning and then, if all went well, return to Colorado by a scenic route including the Burr Trail. This ride went exactly as planned every mile of the way. Verle tell's the story:

Sunday April 13, 430 miles: Montrose to Page AZ, via Smoky Mountain Road through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument:

We met in Delta, CO at 7:00AM, stopped in Green River, UT for fuel at 9:00AM, then rode through Hanksville to Torrey, UT, over Boulder Mountain on UT12 to the town of Boulder and on west to Escalante, arriving by 12:00 noon. Our first stop in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument area was the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center. This joint effort of government agencies, housed in a beautiful, large and very expensive-looking new complex, would be a valuable source of information on the Smoky Mountain Road which neither of us had ridden before. Well, no. Neither employee on duty had ever been on the Smoky Mountain Road and only knew what their computer told them: the road was open; 4WD was required for sand and maybe a steep, rocky ascent and maybe other places. They gave us a pretty nice little map.

Billy spotted a guided tour business near by and suggested we inquire about our route there. The tour guide was out touring and the wife had never been on the Smoky Mountain Road (it started about 2 blocks from their business). She had some opinions, mostly vague and vaguely negative. She thought the Cottonwood Canyon Road might be muddy but maybe not. We thanked her and rode off to fill our fuel tanks. There really was no decision to make. It seemed the Smoky Mountain Road required 4wd. That might mean it was too rough for us (me) or it might not but we did not ride 335 miles before lunch to turn back on shaky local opinion.

The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to the Smoky Mountain Road, 80 miles from Escalante to Big Water. The first few miles were nervous concern for me as I wallowed around in soft sand and powdered dirt with Billy long gone. The road followed the bottom of a canyon for miles. We knew the canyon would end, the road would climb and the sand would lessen. It did just that although soft sand and powdered dirt remained a constant consideration throughout most of the 80 miles. It rarely created significant directional problems after that first long canyon. Other obstacles presented themselves; the challenges were met, even enjoyed. There were a few steep climbs and switchbacks. There was a steep ascent up rocky ledges strewn with large rocks and small boulders. Most alarming, though, was coming around a sharp corner in the bottom of a canyon to see our primitive road disappear into a stream bed. We dismounted and walked about, deciding the road went down the stream for a ways, then climbed up a soft, sandy bank, barely to be seen on the other side. We both crossed without incident. It was only later that I realized there were no vehicle tracks in the sand and therefore no recent vehicles before us. Granted, tracks in the sand had become obliterated by cattle but that didn't happen overnight. We were 40 miles from civilization in either direction. Should one ride this road alone and break down out there it might be a long time before help came by. Maybe you could ride a cow out if you could learn to steer it.

Back on top a high plateau, on a well-defined one-lane road, we eventually came to an unmarked fork with seemingly equal evidence of use on either choice. Our map highlighted the road to the right. I knew from a tilted view on Google Earth, before we left home, I wanted to go left, eventually to travel just below the rim of cliffs towering surely 1000 feet above a distant Lake Powell. We knew more or less where we were; a clear view of Navajo Mountain established direction. The road to the left was a good choice; the view was stunning and we stopped for a while to enjoy it.

After descending a precipitous, twisty road down from the high plateau to the desert floor below, we celebrated a truly memorable experience with a very fast ride over several miles of graded gravel that curved and swerved, dipped though gullies and popped over ridges. Billy led, setting a fast pace. On the occasional straights we hit speeds of 80MPH. It was a good feeling and both the DL650 and KLR650 performed well, the gentle waggling in the deeper gravel more like dance than danger. (Little did we know that Billy had forgot his iPod charger and would have no music for the next day's dance.)

From Big Water we rode on to Page, AZ for the night. Although it's prudent to have camping gear when traveling remote areas and we had ours, we chose hot showers and a patio room for a relaxed evening of conversation. Bench racing requires fuel too. Billy had an excellent 12 year old Single Malt Scotch and I had a bottle of modest but acceptable Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. With such good fare at hand we chose to discard our coupons for complimentary drinks at the bar. We also skipped the restaurant and nibbled the food we had carried from home. It was a great evening, reliving the highlights of our ride, marveling at how well it had gone.

Monday April 14, 561 miles: from Page AZ to Cottonwood Canyon Road, north through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument again, east on UT12 through Escalante to Boulder, then southeast on the Burr Trail to Tickaboo, Hite, Blanding, Monticello in Utah and Naturita, Norwood, Ridgway, Montrose in Colorado.

I woke up at 4:00AM, got up at 5:40, dressed and prepared for our complementary breakfast at 6:00. Billy and I hiked the longish distance to the lobby and breakfast area only to discover Page is not on daylight saving time and their clock said a little after 5:00AM. If we waited for breakfast we would be an hour behind schedule so we helped ourself to some coffee, checked out and hiked back to our room to pack.

On the road again by 7:00AM, our time, we headed back to Utah and on past Big Water a few miles to the Cottonwood Canyon road. This 50-mile road had recent work and was freshly graded and prepped but still consisted mostly of soft powdered dirt or sand. Most of this soft stuff wasn't too deep although occasionally there would be a surprise area of deep soft dirt or sand. The road first followed the Paria river upstream for several miles through barren adobe desert before branching up a side canyon and climbing high into piñon and juniper country. The sand persisted. It was quite different from the road the day before but equally fun and pretty in it's own way. Given that this was a graded and groomed car road, albeit a little soft at times, it was a fast road and we made good time with Billy again disappearing into the distance if not stopped and waiting. At Cannonville we turned east on UT12, headed for Escalante and Boulder. We arrived in Boulder at 10:30AM, stopping at the Hell's Backbone Grill for a very good late breakfast.

After breakfast we refueled and set off on the Burr Trail, a favorite ride of mine described elsewhere on this web site. This led to Ticaboo and a fuel top-up as it was over 100 miles on to Blanding. About 35 miles from Blanding I stopped for a break and a drink of water. I was tired and my butt was weary. Four hours from home, it seemed like a long way yet to go. Back on the road I remembered: on previous KLR's, it was necessary to put my feet on the passenger footpegs from time to time on long rides. This rotates my body and transfers some weight to my thighs. It helped and I was actually feeling better when I got home to Cedaredge at 7:20PM.

It was a great trip, a memorable trip, one of the truly exceptional trips.

Undoubtedly, some who read this will be wanting a better description of what riders and bikes these roads are suited for. I'll attempt to be more specific with the understanding it's the riders experience and ability that determines success, more than the machine. Cottonwood Canyon is easy, the only negative being some soft stuff. A novice off-pavement rider on a heavy motorcycle should be able to handle this with reasonable caution. The Smoky Mountain Road is not all easy but neither should it be termed difficult. Nevertheless, a novice rider on a heavy motorcycle runs a great risk of damaging machine and/or body here. Any dual sport or adventure touring motorcycle can do this ride if the rider is experienced enough to pick a good line when approaching a gnarly section, skilled enough to stay on the line, confident enough to keep the power on and mentally quick enough to alter the line if the original line is lost. Most adventure touring bikes and dual sports suitable for touring are heavy. The heavier the bike, the greater the consequences of stalling on a steep, rocky climb. And of course, there is always that pesky soft dirt and sand. This probably intimidates more riders on big, heavy motorcycles than any other one thing. If you are a rider uncomfortable with such a surface, you must first understand what happens: the the front tire sinks, moving the contact patch forward, reducing trail and causing the front wheel to become a caster being pushed the wrong way. The front wheel now wants to turn around and trail. This is normal, not a fault of the motorcycle or tire. The easiest way to overcome this problem is power and weight transfer to lighten the front. The experienced, confident rider will stand on the pegs, butt back, power on and use body-English to greatly quicken steering response. If you are new to such riding, the results of this technique will seem like magic. But don't practice this on your new GS. Experience comes from trial and error. Getting off the power in soft stuff can be disastrous and may put you over the handlebars. The only alternative is to go slow and use your feet to keep the bike upright. This works okay for occasional soft stuff but for miles and miles of soft stuff it's a bit slow and tiring.

One more thing: if you are new to the desert, then be aware this is a remote and dangerous place. In the summer it can be deadly. Many people have died in the desert because they weren't prepared for the unexpected. Time and time again, desert survival experts caution that a summer desert traveler needs a gallon of water each day. A gallon of water is a lot to carry on a motorcycle and what if you break down? Be prepared and don't ride alone. And remember, your cell phone isn't likely to work out there.