Day Off #2
An on-line write up of the Joy Jordan Woodhill Trail praises it as 'one of the five best mountain bike trails in Utah!' Even though it is in Arizona...
With such a glowing recommendation, we had to try the trail and put riding it on the calendar for this morning, following breakfast at the Parry Lodge. The loop begins with a 1.75 mile slog up a gently inclined gravel road to the Clamshell, a distinctive boulder that projects over a slab inscribed with petroglyphs. In spite of very sketchy directions we found it and saw not only the ancient markings but a panoramic view of the Chocolate and Vermilion Cliffs and the Kaibab Plateau sweeping away toward the Grand Canyon. At this point the gravel ends (yay!) and the sand and moguls and hills begin (boo!). A mile of this plus the bountiful breakfast in addition to tired quads from yesterday's scrambling in the dunes led us to cut the ride short and return to the Jeep. If this Arizona trail is one of the top rides in Utah--YOU decide what that means!
The Chocolate Cliffs in the foreground with the Vermilion towering behind.
The Clamshell is in the center at the top of the cliff, quite a climb from the trail.
Ancient petroglyphs and modern (top center)
Some of the symbols and the style used to execute them were new to us.
Inside The Clamshell
Can you find Leonard the Lizard?
(Bet you didn't know all lizards are named Leonard!)
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