Our last day of the Utah weekend found us rolling out of the hotel at a pretty descent time and headed out to Little Creek Mesa with a pit-stop at River Rock Roasters for some caffeine and sandwiches for a mesa-top lunch. I have ridden Little Creek several times before and this place is just great. It has pretty much everything I want in a trail. There is plenty flowing singletrack with technical goodies. Huge vistas that start right at your feet , rock slabs to play on with features big and small, and nature’s beauty all around you. It also has a feel of being far and away and the route finding you have to do (even with the aid of a GPS) offers a kind of mental engagement that I love in a trail.
We started out on the main loop and soon found ourselves playing on rock slabs with Zion National Park in the background.
With all of the rain over the last handful of days there was plenty of water pooled up in the depressions in the rocks. The big rock slabs gave way to forested single track that was just awesome with the fresh scent of moisture.
I was not expecting to see snow on the mountains west of St George. I just don’t see how the views from this mesa could ever get old.
“The Hot Tub” along the western rim of Little Creek Mesa. This was one helluva spot for snacks.
The rain had lots the cacti blooming.
Better to look than to touch.
The main loop took out to the fork for the North Point loops. There are some sweet bits of single track goodness as you head out to the North Point with Gooseberry Mesa typically in the background.
I had ridden this thing a couple of times before but failed to notice the gap this slab went across until this trip. I guess I was too focused on where I was going.
The same gap after it opens up a bit. What an amazingly gorgeous day! Once back out to the main mesa we enjoyed a bit of route finding as there seemed to be cairns here, there and sometimes seemingly no where. You could play out here all day.
Our playing around eventually took us to “The Waterfall”, one of the iconic features of the mesa. This was my first time doing the waterfall with actual water around. I dug how the water showed the line I took. The dark line on the slab is the rear tire while the much fainter line to the right of it is the front wheel. Here is a shot from a previous trip that shows the led in. We took the Magic Carpet Ride trail back to the trailhead. After leisurely enjoying some refreshments and more snacks we had to lament about the reality of still having day jobs and the continual puzzle of how to grow old without growing up. Considering that we spent that last few days playing in the dirt and riding bicycles we had scored points for neither growing old or growing up this weekend. That shit would have to wait until tomorrow.
