Bikepack the Kokopelli Trail

After spending the night in Fruita at James Robb Colorado River State Park, it was an 11km road ride through the town to reach the Kokopelli trailhead. Foul weather through the morning caused the clay we were riding on to stick to our bikes and tires, requiring us to walk.

This trip was done "bikepacking" style; whereby all of our gear was either strapped to our bike or strapped to us - no trailers or panniers. Our sleep systems were packed into drybags and strapped across our handlebars. We also used frame bags to store food and cooking equipment, while extra clothing was stored in a dry-bag that was strapped under our seats. Water, cameras and other miscellaneous items were carried in light backpacks. 

The hike-a-bike sections slowed us down a lot, and with a member of our group feeling the effects of the altitude we decided to take a shortcut down to the Westwater Ranger Station as opposed to continuing to climb up to Bitter Creek Overlook. 

Day 2 saw us riding much more flowy dirt road style trail through the desert; which was what us Canadians were looking forward to coming all the way to Utah. We came around a corner and finally caught a glimpse of the La Sal mountain range, but had to wait up for a member who's back tire was plagued with flats. I remember waiting and staring at the mountains in the distance, calling to us across the wide open desert. 

When we got rolling again, we rode alongside the Colorado River for a few miles and finally came to our camp for the night at Dewy Bridge. 

Day 3 was torture! There was nothing we could have done while spending the winter in Canada to train for that amount of elevation gain in one day. The endless uphills and false summits nearly drove us insane. Once again we spent a lot of time hiking our bikes; but not because of the weather!

We reached our highest point of elevation, 8,656 ft, around 9:00 pm, well past our intended time. The sun was going down and with it, the temperature. We bivouacked at about 7,500 ft and had a cold, sleepless night.

The next morning is one that I will keep with me forever. After the previous day's seemingly endless grueling climb, we were rewarded with over 2,000 ft of descent on a paved road. The air was crisp and still; the sun was just coming up, bringing out the reds and deep oranges of the rocks surrounding Castleton Valley. All 5 of us spread out along that section of road to enjoy that moment and reflect on the trip independently. 

We road highway 128 into Moab, Utah where we met the amazing shuttle at Poison Spider Bike Shop who drove us all the way back to Fruita; thus completing our bikepacking expedition.