The More Cowbell trail creates one of the few beginner-level singletrack rides in the Hurricane
area. So it deserves its own page. The More Cowbell trail is 2.5 miles
in length, but you'll have to take JEM
or
Dead Ringer to get to it.
The trail is open year round, but lies on clay that can be damaged if
ridden while wet. If there have been recent
storms, check conditions with the local bike shop before going.
View to the east as the trail runs on
flat terrain above the limestone ledge. Gooseberry Mesa forms a
picturesque backdrop. Photos and ride review by Bruce
on January 9, 2015.
More Cowbell makes a nice ride for kids and beginners. We'll
call the combined ride the White Ledges Loop, because it runs atop white ledges
of Virgin Limestone. This little lariat loop is 3.4 miles in length, with less
than 100 vertical feet of climbing (all very gradual).
When deciding
about young children, realize there are cliffs nearby plus a couple of short
sections where the trail sits on side-slope. Also, please note that
this trail is not suitable for Burley-style bike trailers. The
trailbuilders want More Cowbell to remain narrow singletrack, and trailers
mess that up.(The JEM Doubletrack going northeast along the mesa from
the upper JEM trailhead is actually a nice ride and is recommended for
trailers and side-by-side riding.)
Looking north from the entry road at
the second parking lot. The trail entry is just to the right of the photo.
Start from parking at the Highway 59 JEM
trailhead (see below). As you cross the ride-over
cow-extruder, turn left (downhill) on the
Dead Ringer singletrack trail.
Coast gently downhill as the singletrack meanders 0.4 miles
north. At the trail fork, go to the right on More Cowbell for a counter-clockwise
ride.
You are now on the loop portion of White Ledges. The left fork will be your return path (and also connects to other riding
options).
First trail fork. The trail to the
right takes you on the counterclockwise loop. The left fork takes you to
the clockwise entry, or down off the ledges to Goosebumps.
The right fork takes you along the top of the upper ledges.
The yellow-white rock is the Virgin Limestone, a hard cliff-forming layer between the clays
of the Lower Red Member and the Middle Red Member of the Moenkopi
Formation.
As seen from the lower trail, a rider
heads out on the counterclockwise route. The rock slabs are layers within
the Virgin Limestone.
The Virgin Limestone formed when the tidal flats that formed
the Moenkopi were submerged in a shallow sea for a few million years. This
was during the early Triassic Period, about 240 million years ago.
Looking to the west. Below us is the
return path of the loop. On the skyline are the Pine Valley Mountains,
formed of granite under an ancient volcano. (Bet you can't wait to take
your kids here and act like you're the world's biggest geology expert.
Don't deny it. You know you want to.)
If the above video does not appear on your
browser/device, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking
here.
When the trail turns towards Gooseberry Mesa, note the bands
of clay and mudstone within the Moenkopi Formation. The lower reds are the
Middle Red Member. The gray is the Shnabkaib. The red band with the ledges
is the Upper Red Member. At the top is the Shinarump Conglomerate, which
begins the Chinle Formation.
The trail coasts east and slightly
downhill towards the JEM intersection and the lower return path.
At the easternmost part of the loop, a trail fork joins More
Cowbell to JEM,
about 50 feet away to your right. Here JEM takes a plunge off the
limestone down to the valley floor. To say on the easy stuff, keep to the
left.
On the flats to the west, the Moenkopi thins
before the world drops away at the Kaibab Limestone of the cliffs above
Hurricane. In the distance are the Navajo Sandstone Red Cliffs, with the
Pine Valley Mountains above.
The trail now follows the lower ledges of the limestone. It
stays close to the edge, but just far enough away that
you don't need to worry about the kids. Although it's narrow singletrack,
the brush has been cleared back to create a fairly wide riding lane so you
can bobble without scratching yourself on the brush. (The broad clearance
also helps the trail dry quickly during the winter.)
Looking back east, with the Navajo
Sandstone spires of Zion National Park peeking around the edge of
Gooseberry Mesa.
On the south side (if you care to), you can sneak up to the
edge and look at the valley below. Highway 59 has descended to the lower
level of the Moenkopi silt. Between the highway and the slope, you'll spot
the new Dead Ringer trail that connects upper JEM to Goosebumps.
Alex
pedals away from a viewpoint on the cliff edge. Here the Pine
Valley Mountains are to the left, and the mesa at the entrance to Zion
National Park is to the right in the photo.
As you come to a trail fork, keep straight ahead. You are
leaving More Cowbell to start uphill on Dead Ringer. The route
150 degrees to your right takes you down Dead Ringer to the Goosebumps/JEM intersection. After
about 200 yards, keep straight again as you pass your original trail fork.
Head uphill to the JEM parking.
View down into the valley to the
south. Want to go try the trail below you? The trail fork is coming up
soon.
More advanced riders: As you reach the doubletrack at the top, go
straight across onto JEM. Take JEM downhill, passing through the Goosebumps
intersection. Just before Sheep Bridge Road, turn left on Dead Ringer
and climb the back to the top. Do More
Cowbell clockwise on your way up. Great riding!
On the connecting trail between the
two ends of White Ledges.
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.
Alex Argyle rings the cowbell as he
rides by. Hitting the Cowbell is "a thing" for riders coming
through the junction of Dead Ringer at More cowbell.
Riding summary, beginner More Cowbell:
0.0 Upper JEM TH, cross cattleguard
Immediate left on ST downhill
N37 08.358 W113 14.515
0.4 Keep R for counterclockwise loop
N37 08.481 W113 14.632
1.3 Fork L (R = to JEM)
N37 08.859 W113 14.692
2.9 Keep straight N37 08.411 W113 14.717
(hard L = down to Goosebumps)
3.0 Keep straight N37 08.481 W113 14.632
3.4 Back at top
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'
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. Pedal uphill on Dead Ringer to
More Cowbell.
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.
