Multi-colored Green Canyon: The Fall Edition

At the trailhead

I had some time this last weekend to do a quick ride up Green Canyon, which was green, yellow, brown, red, and orange this time of year.  The picture above is from the trailhead - I didn't notice until after the fact that the first tenth or quarter of mile is not supposed to be biked!  I have no clue why they banned it, but there is just a short dirt road section to where you can start biking, and you can drive right to it.

Toward the trail beginning

They've added some new singletrack so you can pretty much avoid ever having to ride the dirt road for more than twenty yards after that very first section.  They've also took one singletrack section after the first road crossing and made it less steep by making switchbacks out of it, and have built up banks on the trail sides so you can go even faster downhill.  There were also several bridges on the trail that I've never seen before, although with there being no water right now you can just ride through the banks.

Just past a few of the campsites

The trail was an absolute blast!  The uphill is really nice - nothing too brutal, but a good steady climb, but coming back down it is incredible!  I made it about 4.9 miles up before I ran out of time and had to turn back down - I believe you can't go much further than that before you hit the wilderness area boundary and cannot continue biking.  Especially this time of the year it is gorgeous up there.

Love the fall colors!

There are a lot of banked sides that I don't remember from before that allow for fast downhills.

At about mile 3.5

Go over the bridge, or take the fun dip in and out of the bank

This is past mile 4 up on the more narrow, less traveled part

Bonneville Shoreline Trail - Logan to North Logan

I forgot how much fun biking was when it isn't in the snow! This was my first ride of the year that wasn't strictly on snow, and I forgot how much easier it is to climb on dirt and how much I missed that!

This section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail starts at First Dam in Logan and runs over to Green Canyon in North Logan. It starts with some pretty steep switchbacks until it gets above the golf course, then some more steep climbing along the "shoreline" until it just kind of rolls along for a bit to Green Canyon. My one complaint about the trail is that it is so short - it is only about a mile and a half over to Green Canyon, and you almost have to ride part of Green Canyon to make the trail worth riding, unless you're just in the mood for a quick appetizer.



At this time there was still quite a bit of snow, but it was warm enough that it made for some good riding, and a lot of fun. I need to still get in a lot better shape, but it still went really well, and the ride down was still a blast!

Green Canyon - The February Edition

This was one of the best winter rides I think I had on the year. The weather was perfect - wasn't too cold, and the snow was hard packed, which made for easy riding. It was my wake-up call though that I need to get into better shape as I didn't make it very far and was still huffing and puffing a bit.

Even in the winter, and perhaps especially in the winter, it was absolutely gorgeous up here. Being hard packed climbing was fairly easy, and I made decent timing without ever spinning out on the snow or sliding into a soft spot. The way down was even funner, and I just flew down, and never had to worry about sticking to a narrow packed down portion because the whole trail was so well packed. I actually had seen a runner at the turn around point for me going down, told myself I would go a little further up, take some pictures, then turn around and still beat her for my goal. Turns out I even had my bike loaded before I seen her hit the parking lot!

Logan River Trail - January

The first ride of January, the first ride of 2011, and more than likely the coldest ride of my life. I hit the river trail again, and the trail was perfectly packed, but it was so frigid. I went about the same distance as my last ride in December, but it was a lot easier going this time, and my hands stayed a lot warmer because I used normal snow gloves.

I did learn, though, that it is probably best to have something to cover my ears, face, and neck. I ended up putting my hood up and my helmet over that because the ears were freezing. However, I had no option for the face and neck, so by the time I got down both were just about numb, and that is quite the sensation to have a numb neck!

The trail was well packed and I really never spun out, and it was pretty easy and fun going down. My water bottle was just about frozen by the time I got done, and taking drinks

was kind of funny because the nozzle would just about freeze shut each time.

Logan River Trail - Winter Riding

Yet another Saturday in December, yet another snow ride in the mountains of Logan. This one was by far the coldest ride of them all, but also probably the easiest trail to ride. The Logan River Trail begins at the mouth of the canyon, just past First Dam at about the nature center. It rides up past Second Dam, and ends up at campground just past that.

This is one of my favorite rides in the area in summer time - another quick ride. I normally will start at Second Dam and then take the fork toward Bridger Overlook and I'll normally end at Bridger Overlook (normally because of time, the last section to it kicks your butt, and the Overlook is steep loose rock - no dirt).

I didn't ride quite as far in the snow because of time constraints and because it was really cold. When I got back in the car on the drive home and my hands started thawing out I was beginning to wish that I still had no feeling in my hand!

The ride is very well traveled, very wide, and makes for great snow riding. Going up wasn't too difficult and went at a fairly good pace. Even the singletrack portion was good riding and except for one very short section was all very rideable, even in the snow.

Jardine Juniper - the winter edition

I discovered on this particular Saturday morning what the best snow biking conditions are: a bit warmer and snow on the ground that has become hard packed because of the warmer weather, lots of traffic, and no fresh snow. Riding up Jardine Juniper was a blast because of this and a lot easier than it otherwise would have been.

I still didn't make it up all that far (maybe only a mile or mile and a half I think), and the last section stopped being as much fun because the trail got so narrow that every time the wheels spun out I would turn the wheel slightly and then hit the wall of snow on the side, causing me to have to stop. When you end up hitting the first sign after the trailhead by the creek crossing (shown at left and at the top) the trail isn't very well traveled anymore and consequently becomes near impossible to ride. The lower section, however, was a lot of fun and really easy, and the whole thing was extremely easy to ride down.

I passed at least two sets of cross country skiers along the way, both of which I think were a little surprised to see a biker at this time of year. It was actually after I passed the first group that the riding got a bit tougher - I think they had really helped to pack down the snow.

Green Canyon - Snow Biking 101

When I went into the bike shop to ask about good winter trails I was shot an incredulous look and told that winter riding doesn't exist in Logan - there is way too much snow! Eager to disprove the assessment I set out in the morning on the end of snow filled first week of December up Green Canyon. At the conclusion of this journey I was able to take home several lessons of my own.

First, riding in the winter in Logan is not impossible. You may not be able to make it quite as far, and it may take a lot more time, and it requires a lot more clean-up, but it is definitely doable (at least this early in the winter).

Second, riding in the winter in Logan is very difficult. The steeper uphills often require a hike a bike, you spin out often, it is difficult to stay on your bike, you have to pedal harder and faster to go slower than you do in the summer.

Third, the trail must be packed down a little. The only rideable areas were where the trail was packed down, and the farther up the trail I got, the less packed the trail became, which meant that I wasn't able to ride as far as normal.

Fourth, if I can't ride up it, I can't ride down it either. I figured that downhill would be a lot easier, but if I wasn't able to get traction and go up it, my bike would struggle to get any momentum or movement going down as well.

Fifth, related to the others, is if you don't stay on the packed trail you will probably do an endo. Going down I had several endos because I didn't stay on the narrow packed trail as well as I should have, which resulted in my bike doing a flip because the front tire sunk deep into the snow!

Green Canyon

The ride I probably did most frequently this last year was Green Canyon. The trail is located in North Logan, only about a five or ten minute drive from our place, and provides a quick, convenient, and fun ride.

I would probably rate the trail as an easy to intermediate for technical, and a lower intermediate for aerobic workout. Its a very popular trail and I don't think I've ridden it in any time of the year without passing several people (it is also an ideal camping site where my wife and I have had some fun overnighters). The trail is mostly singletrack, with a dirt road going about three miles up alongside it, although for one brief section there is no singletrack and you ride the dirt road for a short stint.

The pictures from this trail are taken from two rides, only one week apart. You can see on the first the beautiful fall colors, and then on the second snow all around and a more winter feel to it. Needless to say, I came home quite muddy, as did my bike. I also didn't make it very far up the trail the second time due to the mud, as well as it getting dark sooner.

Jardine Juniper

This is probably my favorite trail in the Logan area, based on what I've ridden so far. Its a steady hill climb all the way up, without much of a break in it, but nothing that isn't rideable at a steady pace.

This particular ride I did with my dad and my uncle Kerry. We did end up riding all the way to the tree. This particular time was later in the summer so the creek was dried up, but the first time I rode this trail it was running pretty high, so we couldn't ride through it, and instead used the wet logs tied together to form a bridge - quite the trick to keep balance going across while carrying a bike.

The tree is supposedly the oldest one in Utah, and there is an incredible view going down the mountain from it. The ride down to the tree is steep and loose. Going back down the trail is fast and fun - it flies by.

Bonneville Shoreline Trail - southern Logan section

Logan has two sections of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail - one that starts at First Dam and ends at Green Canyon, and one that starts at Dry Canyon (the end of Center St) and heads south toward Hyrum.

The northern section is quick, has some stiff climbs on the way toward Green Canyon, but is suitable for even beginners on the way back. Nothing too technical on it, although I've had several good wrecks on it nonetheless.

The southern section I haven't taken too far, so I don't know how far it goes, but its a fairly easy ride from what I rode on it - lots of flat, with a few rolling hills in it. On my ride this day I ended up finding a few deer just off the trail that you may be able to see if you look closely at the picture.