Gooseberry Mesa

The weather finally cooperated with my schedule and I took the SS out to Gooseberry Mesa for a ride. I was supposed to meet a few of the peeps at 6am to drive out, using my normal M.O. I didn't tell anyone that I was coming. I like to keep my schedule unfettered in case I want to do something else. So when I showed up a few minutes late they were already gone. I must have passed them along the way because when I got to the trail head I was all alone. The thermometer in my truck read 25 degrees so I took my time getting ready hoping for the homies to show and the sun to come up.

This is a view toward Zion National Park from the trail head parking lot.


My friends never showed and I was getting cold so I left them figuring that I could meet up with them somewhere on the trail.
I have been riding out at Goose since 1997, I keep a riding log of all my rides and in back in 2001 I rode this trail 38 times so there are no real surprises. It's like putting on a old comfy shirt, it just feels good.



I rode out on the south rim all the way to the point, this being the first time on my singlespeed I was having a ball tackling each obstacle in a slightly different way than normal. At the point I turned around and retraced my route back to Hidden Canyon all the while expecting to run into the group. I took HC across the mesa to the North Rim or White Trail. When that trail joins back to the road I had been riding for almost 2 hours and I ran across a few guys from our group. They had a story to tell about a couple of guys that waited until they got to the trail head to work on their bikes. They had been riding about 20 minutes, I sure like those guys but every time I ride with them it is a similar situation, lots of waiting and not a lot of riding.

Here is the Gooseberry map so you can see my route.



Very few people know that there is a slickrock arch on the mesa. It is small but cool non-the-less.



A shot of Pine Valley mountain across the slickrock domes. PV mountain is the largest lacolith in the U.S. Look it up.




Me trying to be artsy. That's the south rim looking at St. George in the far distance.



This shot is my new desktop picture.


I had a great time, I love Gooseberry and the Coconino just made it that much better.

Memo to self; find some new guys to ride with.