Black Ridge Trail

This is actually the western slope of Colorado, not Utah. The Black Ridge Trail can be found in the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness Area, and since it’s on BLM land it’s cool to rip on a mountain bike. In the distance to the south you can see the snow covered peaks of the San Juan Mountains. When you want to get away from the crowds this is the place to be. The trail is quite technical with ledges and some serious exposure that will keep you on your toes... and don’t forget about the unforgiving desert weather (sun!). I highly recommend having some cold beverages iced down to finish the ride with.

This ride was the last of a 6 day mountain biking and fishing roadtrip I took at the end of the summer. Just looking at this picture brings back many fond memories and some sad ones too. The day before my good friend Bob and I hiked down to the Gunnison River to do some excellent trout fishing, we finally had a day free of rain! Later that night we polished off a fine bottle of tequila, built a warm campfire, and reveled in the fine weather and star filled skies above us. Unfortunately, while driving out of the desert to go back home my trusty van decided this would be its last trip. The water pump had a massive failure, dumped coolant into the engine oil, and then progressed to score every bearing in the motor. After much nursing and several desperate phone calls, I finally made it home that night stinky, dirty, and very tired minus one Toyota Previa road tripping machine