These two trails were added to the Hurricane
Cliffs trail system in 2014.
Neither is a stand-alone trail, as you must combine other trails to create
a ride. From either end, you'll need to do a portion of JEM
to reach them. A map is highly recommended as you navigate these trails
for the first time. We're considering Goosebumps and Cryptobionic
together on this page because you can't ride one without a piece of the
other. In January 2015, Goosebumps continues as Dead
Ringer -- a great trail that may affect your ride plans.
Looking north from Goosebumps in the
badlands on the edge of Gooseberry Mesa. Review and photos by Bruce
on August 6, 2014.
Cryptobionic is 3.6 miles long, descending 250 feet from its south end
on Goosebumps to the Hurricane Rim trail on
the north at the toilet and hiking
trailhead on the edge of the Virgin River gorge. Cryptobionic is a fairly
easy trail to ride.
"Cryptobionic" is a play on the term "cryptobiotic soil." The
lumpy black "dirt" in many spots along the trail is composed of
microorganisms that are critical to the desert's health. Don't walk on it.
Looking north while descending
Cryptobionic toward the Hurricane Rim at the hiking trailhead.
Cruise a Loop with Cryptobionic
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
Goosebumps is 5.1 miles long. On the south
(downhill direction) it forks off JEM about 1/3
mile after you drop off the cliff. There's a lot of quick up-and-down
work, and a few plunges that you can ride around. After leaving the skirts
of the mesa, it follows dirt road and wash-bottom until it ends on
Cryptobionic.
"Goosebumps" refers to the bumps
you ride over on the skirts of Gooseberry Mesa,
called The Goose by locals. Or, maybe it's the fear or excitement of the
tech options giving you goosebumps. Or maybe it was cold when
they dug the trail. Hey, I'm just making this stuff up.
Goosebumps undulates
eastbound over ribbons of clay. The cliffs of Zion National Park is on the
skyline.
Goosebumps!
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
These trails offer variations on the classic rides.
Examples:
Hurricane Loop, easier and shorter - use Cryptobionic (and the southwest
end of Goosebumps) to bypass a tough techy section of the eastern Hurricane Rim.
Hurricane Loop, longer and harder - use the entire length of Goosebumps
and just enough Crypto to rejoin JEM, where you
continue the usual loop.
JEM downhill - continue onto Dead Ringer from
the top of Goosebumps for an easy trip to the upper JEM trailhead.
Starting a ride from the JEM Sheep
Bridge Trailhead, we're looking west as the gorge of the Virgin River
deepens.
And lot of riders like to start at the Sheep Bridge
trailhead for a JEM out-and-back. With the addition
of China Wash, this offered a lariat loop. Now there are several new loop
and figure-eight combinations using the new trails.
To get you started, I'll describe the best navigation to climb or
descend on these trails.
Finishing a figure-eight ride as we
coast along the edge of the wash toward the river.
Climbing Cryptobionic and upper Goosebumps
From the lower JEM Sheep Bridge trailhead,
climb Carne Asada 2.1 miles along the edge of the Virgin River and the Wash,
until you reach JEM, then
fork right onto Hurricane Rim. You'll soon hit
the most techy section of the trail system as you slam over rock slabs.
View east into the Virgin River Gorge
as we head west on the Hurricane Rim trail.
At mile 3.6, you'll reach the Virgin River Gorge hiking
trailhead, with a toilet and a couple of picnic tables. Turn left off the
Hurricane Rim trail to the dirt-road loop around the toilet. Go right
(counterclockwise) on the road. Just as you're approaching the fork that
starts the loop, turn right into singletrack. It's the Cryptobionic trail.
Pedal south toward Gooseberry Mesa. After a short gentle climb, the
riding is fairly flat as the trail winds southbound.
Looking back north after starting
Cryptobionic. The toilet is your landmark.
The first trail fork (unmarked as of 2014) is an A/B line.
Right is the climbing route, left takes you up the little slope (easy to
ride up if no one is coming). The trails rejoin after the top. (There will
be three more of the A/B options -- one more on Crypto and two on
Goosebumps.)
Cross the JEM trail at mile 5.6. When you reach road 1/10 mile later,
keep pedaling straight. (If you look, you can spot the carsonite trail
marker for the continuing ST in the distance.) The trail will cross two
forks of doubletrack, then follow a smaller dirt road about 150 feet. The
continuing singletrack is on the right.
Cranking over some slabs of limestone
as Cryptobionic rolls over a low hill.
Now keep left as Dead Ringer comes in on your right.
After 1/3 mile, you'll note a smaller trail forking to the left. Stay
right. (The smaller trail cuts over to the wash-bottom ride at the north end of
Goosebumps.)
After a bit of climbing, you'll reach a fence with a ride-over cattle
guard (mile 7.2). 20 feet later, keep straight, and you're now on
Goosebumps. Pedal another two miles, and you're at the intersection with JEM.
Near the south end of Cryptobionic,
the terrain changes from white clay to salmon-colored dirt
Continue
straight across JEM to climb up Dead Ringer.
This trail will deliver you to the top of JEM at the Highway 59 trailhead.
If you're not in a hurry, you can fork left at the cliff-top to add a
couple of pleasant miles on the More Cowbell loop
over cliffs of
Virgin Limestone.
NOTE: The upper portion of JEM (from the Goosebumps
intersection to the Highway 59 trailhead) is now one-way, downhill only.
To get from the valley, you must climb Dead Ringer
on the west or the JEM Doubletrack on the east.
Southbound on Goosebumps, which is
significantly more technical, but do-able for intermediate riders.
Descending Goosebumps plus lower Cryptobionic
We'll assume you've passed through the Highway 59 JEM
trailhead and have just dropped off the cliff northbound
on JEM. Keep
heading north until you exit the small canyon. Now watch for a singletrack
crossing 1.7 miles from the highway. That's Goosebumps on
your right. Goosebumps will head eastbound along the lower badland skirts
of the mesa.
Eastbound on Goosebumps shortly after
leaving JEM.
The trail will pump up and down as it rolls over fingers of
clay. After 0.4 miles, you'll hit the first A/B option. Left is easy, but
the right isn't that tough for an experienced intermediate rider.
The next A/B is the hairy spot you've heard about. If you don't
consider yourself an expert, stay to the right on the easier path. On the
left route, you'll climb up a fin then descend steeply. Keep your speed
up, because you've got to rocket up to the top of the next fin. Here it
gets fun. The trail follows a teeny ribbon on the top of the fin, then
plunges 30 feet at 45 degrees. Do not stop. Seriously, just do it. Trying
to stop or to slow down can get you hurt.
Almost to the plunge. Stay a bit left
as you drop off the top. (Cowards tend to walk to the right, tearing up
the dirt.)
1.7 miles from JEM, you'll approach a fence with a ride-over
cattle grate. That's the Cryptobionic trail. Don't go there (unless you're
looking for an easy cruise down). 20 feet before the fence,
fork right to stay on Goosebumps.
That's Cryptobionic at the cattle
grate. Instead, we'll fork 90 degrees right to stay on Goosebumps.
The trail will continue to bob up and down eastbound, then turn south
for a moderately tough climb up and around a wash. At the top of the wash,
the trail climbs a bit onto the steeper slopes of the mesa as it continues
east.
When the trail hits a wide spot in a dirt roadway at the top of a small
hill, cross the open area northbound -- climbing slightly -- to a
doubletrack heading north. (Do not descend on the road. The road you just
crossed is the climbing route for the old classic JEM loop from 15 years
ago. You could turn right on this road to go further up the slope of
Gooseberry, then back west to the Highway 59
trailhead.)
Hugging the slope as the trail winds
around the wash.
The doubletrack will become braided singletrack, heading
straight as an arrow downhill. The trail then drops into the bottom of a
wash. It will alternate between dirt road and wash. In 2014, there were
some little flags to mark the correct option. But I still found myself
wondering (often) if I was really on the right path. Just keep heading
generally north and follow the tire tracks. If the rain hasn't washed them
away...
Go north through a gate in the
road/wash when you pass this old corral.
At mile 5.1 from JEM, while on a small dirt road, you'll
pass a singletrack on your left. That's Cryptobionic, and you've now
joined it. Stay northbound. At the road fork 150 feet later, keep
straight. Cross the finger of dirt between the fork and find singletrack
on the far side of the two roads. Cross JEM 1/10
mile later.
Continue north on Cryptobionic until you hit the bathroom on the edge
of the Gorge. From here, your ride goes east or west on the Hurricane Rim
trail.
A rare rocky section as we descend
Cryptobionic (we're looking east).
JEM-Up -- Figure 8 on a stem, Goosebumps downhill:
Climb JEM, descend Goosebumps/Crypto to Hurricane Rim
0.0 West on ST from Sheep Bridge Parking
N37 12.007 W113 13.059
1.8 Straight (L) to stay on JEM
(R = Hurricane Rim)
N37 11.265 W113 13.860
2.5 Cross Cryptobionic N37 10.800 W113 14.355
2.6 Cross DT N37 10.757 W113 14.406
Cross Dead Ringer
3.5 Keep L (R = descend China Wash)
N37 10.547 W113 15.163
5.3 L on Goosebumps N37 09.111 W113 15.109
7.1 R on Goosebumps (straight = Cryptobionic)
N37 09.782 W113 14.519
9.0 Dirt road. Veer L uphill to small DT
N37 09.750 W113 13.606
DT becomes ridgeline
braided ST
9.8 Drop into wide wash
bottom, veer L
10.1 Out of wash on DT N37 10.449 W113 14.272
(ST on L connects to
Crypto
N37 10.385 W113 14.334)
10.5 Cryptobionic joins DT
Keep straight, cross
forking DT just L of fork
N37 10.710 W113 14.330
Find ST trail as you
cross 2nd DT
10.6 Cross JEM (stay on Cryptobionic)
N37 10.800 W113 14.355
12.6 L downhill on road toward BR
R on ST below the road
loop (Hurricane Rim)
N37 11.784 W113 14.108
14.4 L on JEM
N37 11.265 W113 13.860
16.2 Back at parking
Crypto-Up --
shorter Figure 8 on a stem:
Climb Cryptobionic and upper Goosebumps, descend JEM
0.0 West on ST from Sheep Bridge Parking
N37 12.007 W113 13.059
1.8 R onto Hurricane Rim
N37 11.265 W113 13.860
3.6 L up to bathroom loop, R on DT loop
N37 11.784 W113 14.108
R on Cryptobionic before
loop closes
5.6 Cross JEM N37 10.800 W113 14.355
5.7 Keep straight, cross DT after it forks
N37 10.724 W113 14.352
Keep straight on DT 150
feet
R on continuing
Cryptobionic
N37 10.692 W113 14.307
6.2 Keep R (L = to wash) N37 10.410 W113 14.409
6.8 Take climbing route
7.2 Cattle guard through fence
Straight to join
Goosebumps
N37 09.782 W113 14.519
7.5 Take climbing route
8.6 Take climbing route
9.2 R downhill on JEM N37 09.111 W113 15.109
9.8 Cross Dead Ringer, cross road
10.9 Keep R (L = China Wash)
N37 10.547 W113 15.163
11.9 Cross road
12.0 Cross Cryptobionic N37 10.800 W113 14.355
12.7 Keep straight (L = Hurricane Rim)
14.5 Back at parking
For a nine-mile loop ride on Goosebumps from the upper JEM trailhead,
see the JEM DT page. This popular loop uses the
upper-mountain doubletrack, Goosebumps, and upper Dead
Ringer to form a loop ride.
Getting there, northern JEM: 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.)
Upper JEM 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 and head northeast on
JEM.. N 37 08.329' W 113 14.527'
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.
