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Tilted Mesa
Tilted Mesa lies 10 miles east of Kanab. The BLM is partnering with Kanab's
Cycling Club to develop around 16 miles of trail here. At the time of my
ride (November 2022), two riding loops were complete and being enjoyed by the
local riders. As of December, each loop also has one alternate route for
half of the loop. The full system is scheduled for completion around the end of March 2023. I'll
update this page whenever I'm able to check out the construction progress.
Looking north from Morning Glory East. Trail review
by Bruce on November 30, 2022. |
| On Friday and Saturday, volunteer trailwork will be
underway. Do NOT venture onto the uncompleted trails on those days! There
may also be touch-up work on the completed loops (Morning Glory and the
Western Legend to Oh My Heck loop) as well, so the trailbuilders ask that you
limit your riding to non-building days for now.
Of course, you're welcome to show up and help dig, then ride at the end
of the work session!
Climbing uphill on Shinarump conglomerate on the
Western Legend trail.
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The loops that were complete at the end of November 2022 are Morning Glory (3 miles) and
a loop of Western Legend and Oh My Heck (2.6 miles). Since that time,
Shinabump and Boom Chicken have been completed on the Western Legend loop
and Middle Earth is now complete down to lower Morning Glory. These are
alternate routes to one side of each loop.
A
ride that hits both of the major loops would be around 8.5 miles and 1000
vertical feet of climbing. Multiply that by two if you head back uphill
again for alternate descents.
Looking northeast from Tilted Mesa. |
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Take US-89 eastbound from Kanab. Drive 9.3 miles from the traffic light
where US-89 and US-89A split apart. Pass the paved Johnson Canyon Road on
your left. Now go another 0.7 miles, cross Johnson Wash, and add another
1/10th mile. At exactly mile 10.1, turn to the right on a dirt road. Drive
south for one mile and turn right at the dirt road fork. 100 yards after
the turn, turn uphill to the right on a small dirt road. Immediately find
a spot to park on the left. There's room for 5 to 6 cars alongside the
road. Start the ride by pedaling 200 feet up the dirt road. Morning Glory
will be on your left; Western Legend on your right. A formal trailhead
will be built during late winter 2022-23, to be located at the spot where the
trails fork away from the dirt road. It will include a toilet.
Temporary parking. Busy even on a cold windy weekday! |
General trail information |
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The elevation of the trailhead is 5100 feet, with the top of
the loops at 5450. The usual riding season will be late March through November.
Although there's a lot of rock surface, portions of the trails will pass
over dirt and clay. So if the trailhead area is muddy, do not ride.
View northeast from the tippy-top of the Morning
Glory loop. |
| There are no beginner-level trails here. The riding ranges
from easier-intermediate (western Morning Glory) to expert (Western
Legend). Most trails here require an advanced-intermediate skill set and
good riding strength.
Looking west as the Middle Earth trail winds through
brown clays of the Chinle formation. |
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The "tilt" of Tilted Mesa follows the Shinarump
conglomerate layer of the Chinle Formation, which tends to resist erosion.
Below the Shinarump are colorful clays of the Chinle and Moenkopi
formations, for example in Chocolate Canyon. Because some trails lie in
the clay layer, there's a good variety of riding experiences and surfaces.
Following a break in the rock above Chocolate Canyon
while climbing Western Legend. |
| All the rock layers tilt gradually upward from north to
south. We're on the edge of the regional geologic uplift for the Grand
Canyon. (The Grand Canyon did not "dig a hole." Instead, the
ground rose up while the river stayed in place.) The Kiabab Limestone,
which lies under Fredonia at 5000 feet elevation, has been uplifted to
8000 feet at the edge of the Grand Canyon. You're riding on the slope of
that uplift.
Looking west toward Kanab from upper Western Legend. |
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For those who ride the mesa trails around Hurricane
(Gooseberry, Guacamole, Little Creek, Wire Mesa), the terrain will seem
very familiar. The trails wind through a forest of juniper, pinion, and
gooseberry. Pebbles and petrified wood erode out of the Shinarump
conglomerate and lie strewn around the surface.
The main difference from the mesa trails to the west is that Tilted
Mesa is, well, tilted. So instead of rolling up and down, you climb when
you're headed south, and descend when you're going north.
Typical terrain: pinion, juniper and gooseberry on a
base of Shinarump. |
| The Shinarump conglomerate marks the division between the
Triassic Era and the Jurassic. It was deposited around 220 million years
ago. While southern Utah was under the ocean, the Kiabab Limestone formed.
On top of this are the clay deposits of the Moenkopi formation, laid down
when the region was a huge mud-flat. The Chinle formation is a transition,
with alternating mud and sandstone deposits as western Utah began to rise
up. The Shinarump layer formed from sand and pebbles washing down from
those mountains to the west. The presence of petrified wood tells us that
the area had forests. Meantime, mammal-like reptiles gave way to dinosaurs
after the Triassic extinction.
View in Chocolate Canyon, below the Shinarump layer. |
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The Morning Glory Loop is a lariat ride of 3 miles. The
common stem is 1/4 mile long, and the loop is 2.5 miles around. The loop
has 400 vertical feet of climbing. This loop will offer connections to the
top and bottom of Middle Earth (when that trail is complete).
Descending Morning Glory East on a counterclockwise
ride, looking northeast. |
| Morning Glory lies on the eastern side of Tilted Mesa. It's
one of the easier rides in the area, ranked intermediate in skill
requirement. If you're not a particularly strong intermediate rider, you
might find that Morning Glory rides easiest in the counterclockwise
direction (up Morning Glory West and down Morning Glory East).
Climbing along the edge of the cliffs of Morning
Glory East on a clockwise ride.
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Morning Glory West has connections to the top and bottom of
the Middle Earth trail. Near the top of the Morning Glory Loop, the Middle
Earth trail forks away downhill (as an alternate more-technical descent
bypassing most of Morning Glory West).
View to the south from the top of Morning Glory. This
area is called the Shinarump Cliffs. |
| The ride begins by riding from the temporary parking uphill
on the sandy doubletrack. Fork to the left for a 50-foot hike through
sand. Although Morning Glory hardly seems like a trail here, this is only
temporary! The sandy stretch is the future parking lot.
Looking north after we begin descending Morning Glory
West on a clockwise ride.
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When the singletrack joins an old jeep road at mile 0.2,
continue uphill for 100 yards. The trail will then split into the loop.
The right selection (Morning Glory West, counterclockwise loop) is a bit
easier. The western side also offers the quickest connections to other
trails (Middle Earth).
View downhill on Morning Glory West. The tilt of the
mesa allows views even when riding through the juniper forest. |
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Middle Earth will be 1.5 miles long when complete. At this
time, 0.7 miles are done. The completed portion can be done as an
out-and-back from upper Morning Glory West, or as a loop by descending the
wash to the doubletrack in the canyon down to the trailhead.
Middle Earth is expert-level riding both uphill and down. Most riders
will choose to descend it.
Heading northbound downhill on Middle Earth from
upper Morning Glory. |
| There's 200 feet of elevation change over the 0.7 miles of
upper Middle Earth, with a bit of up-and-down riding.
Middle Earth has a very different feel from the two main loops (Morning
Glory and Western Legend with Oh My Heck). It's a lot of fun!
A bit of challenge, rolling over the rockpile between
these two slabs.
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From its origin on upper Morning Glory West, Middle Earth
descends into brown clay layers on the east side of the ravine called
Chocolate Canyon. Middle Earth connects to the Chocolate Canyon trail at mile
0.7 downhill from Morning Glory West. After about 100 yards, Chocolate Canyon
crosses the sandy wash in the canyon bottom. (At this point, many riders
turn to the right and descend the wash back to the trailhead. Fat bike
recommended.)
The trail has now dropped below the Shinarump and is
in the deep brown clay layers of the Chinle formation. |
| Middle Earth continues downhill from the Chocolate Canyon
trail fork, joining Morning Glory West about 1/10th mile above the loop
trail fork. If your objective is to complete another loop, you can head
uphill on Morning Glory West by forking to the right, or you can fork left
to continue downhill to the Morning Glory loop fork and turn to the right
there for a clockwise loop. Two left turns when Middle Earth hits Morning
Glory West will take you back to the trailhead.
Looking north as Middle Earth drops deeper into the
canyon.
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Tilted Mesa is split in half by Chocolate Canyon. It
separates the two main shinarump loops (Morning Glory and Western Legend
with Oh My Heck). When the trail system is complete, you'll be able to
pass through Chocolate Canyon to connect between these loops.
Heading uphill on brown clay and sandstone. |
| The Chocolate Canyon trail is incomplete at this time, with
only the bottom 1/4 mile finished. When done, Chocolate Canyon will tie
into an extension of Western Legend on the far southern edge of the mesa,
then curve around to connect back to upper Middle Earth to form a loop.
View downhill to the north, as I reach the end of the
completed portion of the trail. |
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Western Legend is an expert-level trail on the western edge
of Tilted Mesa. It extends from bottom of the mesa to the far southern
side above Chocolate Canyon.
To ride Western Legend, pedal up the doubletrack from temporary parking
and fork to the left. Cross the sagebrush flat to the western side of
Tilted Mesa.
Typical riding surface on Western Legend: Shinarump
rock, plus or minus a dirt layer. |
| At this time, 1.5 miles of Western Legend are completed,
from the parking area up to the top of Oh My Heck. With Oh My Heck,
Western Legend can be done as a lariat loop in either direction. At this
time, it appears that most riders are using Western Legend as the climb,
creating a counterclockwise loop.
Looking north from the trail as it winds around
during the climb.
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Although Western Legend is rated as an expert trail, most of
the hard stuff falls within the 1/3 mile just above the lower Oh My Heck
trail fork. A strong upper-intermediate rider can do this trail by walking
a few spots.
At mile 0.5 of Western Legend (0.2 miles above the Oh My Heck fork),
Western Legend splits. In the uphill direction, the left-hand option is
more technical. I'd pick the right fork going uphill. Then on the
downhill, go right again for the other option.
Sample tech spot. |
| As Western Legend reaches the southern cliffs, the Shinabump
trail will fork away on the left at mile 1.3 from the parking area. (But
not now! Only the bottom of Shinabump is complete at this time.) Then at mile
1.5, Oh My Heck also forks to the left away from Western Legend. (This is
the end of Western Legend at this time, but in the future it will continue
east.)
Looking downhill to the east on the alternate line
(mile 0.5 from the trailhead).
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Oh My Heck is a fun trail that begins and ends on Western
Legend. Except for one short spot of expert rock at the bottom, it's an
easier intermediate-level ride. The trail is 0.9 miles long with 200 feet of
elevation change.
Bottom of Oh My Heck as it forks away from Western
Legend. |
| Oh My Heck runs along the western edge of Chocolate Canyon
on the tilted layer of Shinarump conglomerate. It can be done either
direction.
Descending to the northeast on Oh My Heck. Pretty
smooth riding here.
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Most riders will ride Oh My Heck as part of a lariat loop
ride that includes Western Legend.
An alternate descending path is to fork left off Oh My Heck onto Boom
Chicken -- about half-way down -- then join the lower part of Shinabump.
Lower Shinabump descends back to Oh My Heck just above its end on Western
Legend.
Looking uphill on Oh My Heck. The trail can be done
in either direction. |
| Just 100 yards from the bottom of Oh My Heck, the Shinabump
trail forks uphill to the south. This intersection is not labeled
(November 2022), but is
marked by paint spots on the broken rock. For now, keep straight as you
pass through this area to stay on Oh My Heck.
Bouncing over some rough rock. This is the area where
Shinabump forks away, seen when riding Oh My Heck in the downhill
direction.
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The Shinabump trail will run from upper Western Legend down
to Oh My Heck just above its tie-in to lower Western Legend. Shinabump
will be 0.8 miles long, with the same 200 vertical feet of elevation
change as Oh My Heck.
Climbing Shinabump southbound. |
| Update 12/4/22: TASU's Kanab Cycling Club has posted
that Shinabump has been completed with yesterday's workday!
Update 12/11/22 Boom Chicken is now complete and forms a link between
the middle of Oh My Heck and lower Shinabump.
Looking north downhill as we return to Oh My Heck.
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Bottom Line:
Excellent trail system for strong experienced riders. Fun and scenic.
Looking forward to the completion of the system! It will be worth the trip to Kanab.
Add Tilted Mesa to your plans for 2023.
View to the north into Johnson Canyon from Oh My
Heck. |
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Getting there:
Take US-89 eastbound from Kanab. Drive 9.3 miles from the traffic light
where US-89 and US-89A split apart. Pass the paved Johnson Canyon Road on
your left. Now go another 0.7 miles, cross Johnson Wash, and add another
1/10th mile. At exactly mile 10.1, turn to the right on a dirt road. Drive
south for one mile and turn right at the dirt road fork. 100 yards after
the turn, look for a parking opportunity on your right. Access to the work
sites is through Western Legend on the left (heading west), Morning
Glory on the right (heading south), or via the doubletrack up to Chocolate
Canyon.
Status of the trail system at the end of November 2022. Riding
Resources:
GPS tracks: Multi-track
Kanab area file Copyright
2022 UtahMountainBiking.com
division of Mad Scientist Software Inc |
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