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Amasa Back Riding Area
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| Location: Head south on Moab's Main Street. When you
reach the McDonald's on your right, turn right onto Kane Creek Blvd. After
0.6 miles, go straight where the road seems to turn right (500 West).
Drive along the Colorado River about 5 miles until the road turns to
gravel. Ignore the trailhead and payment signs. You're not there yet. Pass
the lower (free) Kane Creek parking area at the mouth of the canyon. Head uphill
with towering cliffs to your left and a steep drop-off on your left. Go
about 2/3 mile from the mouth of the canyon. Watch for the "Amasa Back Parking"
area at GPS N 38° 31.329' W 109° 35.501'. Park here. Pedal further up the gravel road 1/2 mile, and
turn right onto the trail at the sign. Descend the rock steps. All trails in
the area are reached via Amasa Back. |
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Amasa Back
Ten mile out-and-back crosses tough ledges both uphill and down.
Recommended for strong, skilled, and conditioned riders only. Absolute
altitude change 1050 feet (3900 base elevation), 1300 climbing. Must cover
at least the first 2.7 miles of this route to reach any other trail in the
system.
[ Amasa Back trail page ] |
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Pothole Arch
The Pothole Arch trail forks off Amasa back at mile 4.6, just before
the last little climb. Rolling ride with great views. Good as an
out-and-back two miles each way, or to connect to Rockstacker.
[ Pothole Arch trail page ] |
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Rockstacker
Rockstacker is a 1.7 mile slickrock ride along the cliffs above the
Colorado, on the north side of the peninsula. Rockstacker forks off
Pothole Arch at mile 1.1 from Amasa (5.7 miles from the bottom, 6.5 miles
into the ride if you've gone out-and-back to the Amasa viewpoint). If
you've done all of Amasa, backtracked and done all of Pothole Arch, then
backtracked to the trail fork, you'll be at mile 8.3.
[ Rockstacker trail page
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Jackson Singletrack
Jackson ST descends on cliffs above the Colorado from the end of
Rockstacker down to the Kane Creek road at the mouth of the canyon. There
are many tricky spots and some potentially deadly cliff exposures.
[ Jackson ST trail page ] |
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Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab is a one-way singletrack that forks off Amasa at the first
ridgeline (mile 2.7 after 700 vertical feet of climbing). It climbs
another 300 vertical then descends 4 miles over very technical terrain.
There's a mid-point connector to bail out, or to make a shorter loop. The
train rejoins Amasa just above Kane Creek.
[ Captain Ahab trail page ] |
Hymasa
Hymasa is a two-way trail that substitutes for the main Amasa jeep road
for the main climb of descent. It's upper-intermediate technical, the
easiest trail in the Amasa riding area.
[ Hymasa trail page ] |
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