Note: the latest ride updates are on the Paunsaugunt Enduro page.
Wondering what to do mid July and wanting a ~65-100 mile MTB effort? Look no further, this is the best thing going in Utah. It’s a heady route full of big views, sweeping, swooping singletrack that will challenge you. ’nuff said.
Back in February I wrote this post about an endurance event on the Paunsaugunt Plateau.
This will go as planned in the linked post with a slight date change. The ride is Sunday, July 19th with a civilized 6AM start.
The Paunsaugunt Enduro is a self-supported endurance ride. There is no support or entry fee. It is a gathering of friends to ride rarely ridden killer trails and have some time for socializing in camp. You can ride it as fast or as slow as you wish. Some will wish to challenge themselves, while some will come to enjoy. Some may even do both.
Rules are simple: leave no trace, be courteous to all trail users, take care of yourself, follow self-support ITT guidelines. It’s purely an honor system – if you are attending you already know what that means.
**New** ~40 mile option added.
3 route options:
40 miler – Thunder mountain, a little bit of the Grandview, then back to camp. Distance approx, more details coming!
65 miler – 9,000′ climbing. Thunder mountain, Grandview trail along Sunset cliffs, mixed ATV track back to the start. I’d guess 6-9 hours or so for this one.
95 miler – ~15,000′ climbing. The additional 30 miles here doubles the route difficulty (at least), sound familiar DaveC? Same route as above with the addition of the Grandview along the southern end of the Paunsaugunt and more spectacular singletrack in the Crawford pass area just SW of Bryce NP. Little known, remote, committing – and surprisingly buff in places (not so much in others…). The full meal deal, this is an epic and will be a very long day and would also make a great 2 day route. Feel free to start on Sat the 18th if you’d prefer the 2 day option and want some post-ride socializing on Sunday.
Please note that I won’t likely have time to scout the entire route. There is a 13 mile section of the Grandview (south of Red Canyon CG) that I have not yet ridden, and probably won’t before the ride. So come with a sense of adventure, we’ll all be doing some exploring early in the ride. This also means that the mileage, climbing, and duration estimates are just that – estimates.
Date and routes are set. Stay tuned for course descriptions, GPX files, and camp location.
Are you in? Got questions? Just leave a comment so I know what to expect. I’ll bring my BBQ grill again.
Sounds like a fun ride. Can’t make it down. Is any of the ride incorporated into TU? (That, I’m planning on:))
Later,
Dave K
Dave – yep, the southern traverse of the Paunsaugunt Plateau is part of the TU route. It’s one of my favorite sections of the route! You’ll like it, glad to hear you are coming out for it.
Dara and I will be up North riding in the Wasatch… Glad I will get some of this during the TU.
this sounds very tempting. i’ve been looking for a weekend to head to the area to recon the IMSG course. maybe that on saturday and the 65 mile monster on sunday. will navigation of the route require mandatory gps? i will check back for the updates..thanks!!
Luke, that sounds like a big weekend! A good one too – except the IM route will be 105F mid July. If by recon you mean car recon, that could work. The riding here is pretty good early in the day, but by 10AM we all head for the AC.
Navigation should be doable without GPS. Of course having one is better, but the route is not at al contorted, rather straighforward. Most of the trails and ATV track in the area are marked. I’ll have a cue sheet written up prior to the event that should be sufficient if you have a good sense of direction.
Will there be aid stations?
Thanks Chad. Post updated…
Full meal deal! Retribution is at hand!
The course looks too good to pass up plus the timing is perfect! Count me in.
This looks interesting and fun. Will have to see how the schedule goes.
Ed
Do it ED!!!
this deal still going down? thinking about taking your advice with the pre-DRIVE vs. ride on saturday…st. george weather in july looks rough! not without a stop up a brianhead first though…gotta make the gas money worth it ya know. keep me in the loop.
thanks.
Luke – it’s on for sure. I’ll have the final updates to the event page (http://2-epic.com/?page_id=815) soon. There are live maps now that can be viewed in Google Earth, cue sheets to come soon.
Brian Head is heaven on earth this time of year, I’ll be there this weekend.
2-Epic:
I am planning on being there with one other person for the 44 miler. How is the camping situation? We will be two tents and one vehicle. Is the food a group thingy as in sharing/pot luck or is it bring your own for your group type stuff?
Expected temps? I bet it is nice up there right now.
Cool beans.
grannygear
Almost forgot…soil conditions/tire choice? I would like to run the Race Kings (faaast hardpack tire…great rubber) but if there will be a LOT of sand I will go up in tire width. I have ridden Thunder and the Race Kings would be awesome there.
grannygear
Glad to year you’re coming grannygear!
Camping is a no reservations thing and it tends to fill up by mid-day on weekends. Up to 8 folks can use a campsite and one vehicle. Extra vehicles I think are a $5 charge, but you’ve only got one. Sites are $12/night. As far as camping goes it is POSH. Nice sites in ponderosas pines, water, showers ($2 in quarters for 1 shower). I’ll try to reserve a couple sites to cover folks that don’t show before the CG fills. Look for me before you pay for a site…
Food – you’re on your own but my BBQ grill will be available. Food sharing is encouraged though!
Temps: we’ll cover some varying elevations. Highs of low 80’s in the warmest locations, mid 70s up high. Lows in the 50s.
I’d think the race kings would be fine for the 44. There is ~8 miles of the grandview that is soft/sandy, but a lot of that isn’t rideable with any tire…the rest of the route is fast and similar surface conditions to Thunder Mtn.
I’ll probably wrap some of this into a blog post shortly…might be next week though.
Dave…any suggested routes to US89 from St George? Either through Hurricane or Cedar City?
grannygear
The fastest way to the Paunsaugunt/Red Canyon is to take I-15 to UT 20 E. 20 is 20-25 miles N of Cedar City. Once you hit 89, head south through Panguitch until you hit 12. Right at 2 hours from St George to Red Canyon CG.
Heading up Cedar Canyon (UT 14) through Cedar City is slower but quite a bit more scenic as it tops out near 10k’ on the Markagunt Plateau. A short detour N to Cedar Breaks NM is well worth the time. The views and flowers are off the charts right now!
Im Scotts friend from mexico, Im in sandy Utah on vacations and I like to made the ride! if somebody please can contact me 801 633 3510 (margarets phone)
Sorry we didn’t get this in time…the route is great though and you can ride it anytime.