Fall Crestin’ in the Wasatch

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10/4/14 – I answered the call. No, literally. The phone rang and the voice on the other end said “Crest lap?” So I took a break from housework to get in a late afternoon ride with a few of my usual crew. There were four of us and my girlfriend was nice enough to shuttle us up in my truck… I owe her one. Despite the North Face event wrapping up, the Guardsman parking lot being a complete junk show, and a large crew heading out just in front of us, this turned into a most enjoyably epic fall ride.

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Scott’s Bypass was in some of the best shape I’d seen it. We slow rolled up Puke Hill and then decided to push on in order to get ahead of the big crew. It paid off, allowing us enough space to feel like we were the only ones out there the rest of the way. Foliage was popping, temps were fantastic, dirt was grippy, and the light was just perfect. There was even the occasional patch of snow left over from the dusting earlier in the week that added to the experience. The early sections of singletrack in the PCMR/Monitors area were perfectly tacky, allowing us to ride fast.

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We cruised up Red Hill and over to the Spine, stopping just long enough to snap the pics in this post before pushing on past the split to Mill D and into Canyons territory. The double track sections just before the split to Millcreek were still a bit wet and eroded, but perfectly rideable. Just lay off the brakes and go. When we hit the section from Crest Connector to Mid Mtn the trail was covered with fallen golden leaves, providing surreal scenery. We dropped onto Mid Mtn and decided to extend the ride over to Insurgent. Insurgent was steep and rutted and kicked my ass (as always) before dumping us out on lower Holly’s with just enough light left to rally down to the cars we left in the Canyons parking lot.

Upon arrival we realized that in our haste we forgot beers, the only blemish on an otherwise classic Saturday afternoon in the Wasatch. Oh well… guess we’ll just have to do it again this weekend! After all, the freedom to sleep in, get chores done, ride the Crest, and still be back before dinner is exactly why I live here.

2 thoughts on “Fall Crestin’ in the Wasatch

  1. Casey Sowul says:

    Awesome photos!!! I’ve gotta get up there again before it starts snowing…thanks for the motivation!

  2. Tori Sowul says:

    wooooah, kudas on the spine!!

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