Dead Ringer is a
fun singletrack in the JEM riding area. It extends from the upper (Highway 59) JEM
trailhead downhill to end on Cryptobionic
just north of Sheep Bridge Road. It was completed in early 2015, creating
many new riding options in the JEM area. The trail was a joint project of
the BLM and the Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association (DMBTA).
Dead Ringer reaches the platform of
Virgin Limestone at clifftop. In 0.5 miles we'll be at the upper end of
JEM. Photos and ride review by Bruce January
9 (upper trail) and March 17 (Goosebumps to Cryptobionic), 2015.
Dead Ringer is five miles long with 500 vertical feet of
elevation change. Most of the slope is in the top mile and a half. I'd rate it
easy-intermediate in technical requirement.
Experienced beginners can ride this trail if
they know how to get their butt off the saddle while the bike rocks. The western (downhill) end of the trail has a lot of quick
up-and-down bumps, like the Goosebumps
trail.
Looking east toward Zion National
Park. The foreground slopes are Moenkopi Formation, capped by Virgin
Limestone. The sandstone mountains on the skyline are Navajo Sandstone.
Between the Highway 59 trailhead and Cryptobionic, Dead Ringer connects to both ends of More
Cowbell. Down the hill, a spur goes over to the Goosebumps intersection
with JEM. Further on, the trail crosses JEM before meandering over to
Cryptobionic. These connections divide the trail into thirds: 59 to Goosebumps,
Goosebumps fork to JEM crossing, and JEM to Cryptobionic. Riders can combine any
of these portions into a custom ride.
The crossover. We're looking northeast
-- downhill -- at the spot where Goosebumps crosses JEM.
The upper trail (above the Goosebumps spur) has a different character from
the lower 2/3 of Dead Ringer. The upper third has a steady slope as the trail
winds along the skirts of the mesa. The lower portion twists and dips through a
relatively flat brush area.
View uphill as Dead Ringer skirts a
wash. The northernmost spire of Gooseberry Mesa sits on the skyline.
For beginners, a very nice ride (with nothing technical and
minimal climbing) is to combine the upper 0.4 miles of Dead Ringer with More
Cowbell, a side loop on the white limestone ledges near the top. This
ride starts from the upper JEM (Highway 59) trailhead.
Just downhill from the Highway 59 JEM
trailhead, we'll skirt the wash below us, then roll toward the cliff edge.
We can also see the return trail of More Cowbell.
Dead Ringer as a climbing route
Dead Ringer is a great ride either uphill or down. Many riders are using Dead Ringer as a climbing route to the top of
JEM. You can
connect to Dead Ringer at the bottom via Cryptobionic, in its middle at the JEM crossing
near Sheep Bridge Road, or near the mesa from Goosebumps. The
rate of climb is pleasant, with nothing tricky.
On the lower trail between the
Cryptobionic and the JEM crossover.
To connect to Dead Ringer further along, you can keep climbing
southbound on JEM. Just after crossing Sheep Bridge Road, fork right
(west) as Dead Ringer crosses.
You can join Dead Ringer in the last two miles by climbing Cryptobionic
to its end, then forking right on Goosebumps
and climbing to the top. At the point where the Goosebumps hits JEM,
go straight across and you're on Dead Ringer. It's 1.9 miles from the
Goosebumps/JEM
intersection to the upper Highway 59 JEM trailhead, with 300 vertical
feet of climbing.
Heading south just after the
Goosebumps fork.
Many riders are parking where Sheep Bridge Road hits Highway 59 and
pedaling a little ways on the doubletrack to catch JEM uphill as it
crosses the road (go right, toward Gooseberry). A few feet after joining
the JEM singletrack, fork right as Dead Ringer crosses.
NOTE! If someone says "meet me at Sheep Bridge road," be sure
you know if it's at Highway 59 (up the hill from Hurricane) or Highway 9
(just outside of Virgin on the way to Zion National Park). Sheep Bridge
Road goes all the way from Highway 9 to Highway 59.
We've reached the slopes in the Lower
Red Member of the Moenkopi Formation. Gooseberry Mesa pierces the skyline.
Note the rockwork supporting the trail.
To get to the trail from the Virgin Highway 9 Sheep Bridge
Road trailhead, take JEM uphill. Options:
(1) JEM to Hurricane Rim to Cryptobionic. Fork onto Dead Ringer just after
crossing Sheep Bridge Road. You'll do the entire Dead Ringer trail.
(2) JEM to the midpoint of Cryptobionic, south to the Dead Ringer fork as
above.
Shorter and easier.
Reaching that last little push to get
on top of the limestone.
The upper mile of the trail is a steady climb, but very smooth and non-technical. It makes a great
"tired-leg" ride. Even though the
slope-hugging area under the cliffs looks a bit spooky, the riding path is
broad and easy. Not at all scary in actual riding.
After taking Dead Ringer uphill, its top end connects directly to
the upper end of the JEM singletrack near the trailhead.
Heading uphill, about a half-mile to
go before we reach
the top of JEM.
Dead Ringer descending
As a downhill, Dead Ringer offers a rolling twisting alternative to the
flat-and-fast cruise on JEM. Here's what you can do heading downhill:
Take
the spur to Goosebumps for an eastbound ride. Do all of Goosebumps, or
connect to Cryptobionic for a quick northbound trip to Hurricane Rim.
Transfer
to JEM. Either at the Goosebumps spur or the JEM crossover, turn left on
JEM for a fast descent.
Loop around. At the bottom end,
turn right uphill on Cryoptobionic for a little loop ride.
Some riders are combining
Dead Ringer with the lower
half of Cryptobionic as a variation on the Hurricane Loop ride.
A
rider descends below the limestone cliff. Photo courtesy of Kevin
Christopherson.
The downhill begins with a mellow half mile as you descend a
gentle shale slope. When you hit the cliff edge of the Virgin Limestone,
the pace picks up a little, but it's still a broad riding base with no
tricky stuff.
Looking downhill as I ride up. From a
distance, the trail looks spooky. But once you get there, there's plenty
of room to ride and the side-slope isn't that horribly steep.
After a mile, you'll reach a brush area. The slope of the
clay eases as you're on the platform supported by the hard underlying
Kaibab Limestone layer.
We're just past
the turnoff to Goosebumps, heading north toward the granite Pine Valley
Mountains (left) and Hurricane Mesa (right).
The only important trail fork is the first one, at mile 1.8. Right takes
you over to JEM and the upper end of Goosebumps. Left continues with Dead
Ringer.
Now you'll encounter a few other forks. These are A-B lines. The
"green" route is a ride-around for a stunt such as a rock
rollover. The lines will rejoin in 50 feet of so.
We're at the first A-B split. Left is
easy, right is upper-intermediate because you'll contend with a rock. Take
it as a rollover the first time, then launch it the next trip.
This lower section of the trail meanders around -- a lot.
So if your goal is to get your ride over with as quickly as possible, this
isn't the trail for you.
Bike for perspective on the size of
the rock edge. You can do this.
A ride on Dead Ringer
from the top!
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Only one of the rocks required an actual jump or wheelie maneuver. Most
are low enough and forgiving enough to simply roll over. If you're an
intermediate, scout the stunt on your first pass, then loop around and go
for it.
Taking a bit of air on the way
downhill. But there are easy B lines and ride-arounds. You don't have to
do this. Photo courtesy of Kevin Christopherson.
Update, April 2015:
The upper portion of JEM (from the Highway 59 trailhead down to the Goosebumps
intersection) is now one-way, downhill only. When climbing to the Highway
59 trailhead, you must use either Dead Ringer on the west or the JEM Doubletrack
from the east.
Dead Ringer Lariat Ride, notes:
0.0 DT, cross cattle extruder
N37 08.342 W113 14.524
L downhill on Dead Ringer
N37 08.361 W113 14.517
0.4 Fork L (R= More Cowbell)
N37 08.488 W113 14.640
0.5 Fork L (R = return More Cowbell)
N37 08.408 W113 14.734
1.8 Fork L (R = to JEM/Goosebumps)
N37 09.035 W113 15.092
2.7 Cross JEM N37 09.648 W113 15.230
5.0 R on Cryptobionic N37 10.590 W113 14.372
5.9 L for uphill (rejoins)
Loop around to keep mileage
accurate!*
6.4 R on Goosebumps N37 09.782 W113 14.519
6.6 L for uphill (again, loop around*)
8.0 R for uphill (loop around*)
8.7 Cross JEM to Dead Ringer
N37 09.111 W113 15.109
8.8 Keep straight
N37 09.035 W113 15.092
10.0 Straight (L = More Cowbell)
N37 08.408 W113 14.734
10.1 Straight (L = More Cowbell return)
N37 08.488 W113 14.640
10.5 DT, R to TH
If you don't do loops on 3 A/B
lines*
above, your mileage will be 0.4
less
Getting there, upper JEM (59) trailhead:
In Hurricane, turn south on US-59 (towards the Grand Canyon). Drive exactly 5
miles uphill. Turn left on cindered doubletrack right as you approach the base of Gooseberry
Mesa. Drive another 0.3 miles to the parking area. N 37 08.329' W 113 14.527'.
Pedal across the cattle extruder, then fork left downhill as you reach the
Dead Ringer singletrack. From the Highway 9 trailhead:
From I-15 north, take the La Verkin exit on
UT-17. From the south, take the Hurricane exit on US-9 and go through
Hurricane towards Zion National Park. At the junction of US-9 with UT-17,
turn east towards Zion. 4.8 miles after the turnoff, turn right (south) on
a gravel road signed "Sheep Bridge Rd." Descend
toward the bridge across the Virgin River and find a parking spot along
the road. Start pedaling. Just past the bridge, but before the cattle
guard, there's a dirt
road to the right. This will take you to the bottom of JEM and Carne
Asada. (The parking at the bottom of JEM is reserved for the
nature conservancy.) Pedal Carne Asada uphill to JEM,
then continue uphill and fork left when you reach Cryptobionic. Then fork
right when you reach Dead Ringer.
NOTE: Do not damage these trails by riding when
wet. For current conditions, contact Over
the Edge Sports, 76 E. 100 S. in Hurricane, 435-635-5455.
Sheep Bridge Road trailhead: Found
half-way along gravel Sheep Bridge Road, which connects US-9 to US-59. Drive toward
the upper JEM trailhead on Highway 59 as above. But at mile 3.3 (while
still on the flat area), turn left on gravel road. Option 1, roadside
parking off US-59: If you turned onto Sheep Bridge Road from Highway
59, immediately park on the
right, just inside the fence. Pedal 0.4 miles northeast to where the JEM
singletrack crosses. Option 2, formal trailhead: From US-59
drive the gravel road for 2 miles and turn right into a fenced parking
lot. Or, from US-9 drive 2.9 miles on Sheep Bridge road. Cryptobionic and
northern Dead Ringer can be found here.
Hurricane Hill trailhead: As above, turn south in Hurricane
on US-59 Follow the road uphill 0.9 miles, then turn left into the
trailhead parking near the cell phone towers. GPS N 37 10.740' W 113
16.601', Alt=3650'. The Hurricane Rim trail begins along the fence,
heading northeast. To get to Gould's, roll down the highway (caution!) 0.1
miles then veer left to the steep doubletrack.
