miles
03-23-2004, 10:26 AM
A few friends and I rode Gooseberry Mesa this sunday. We got so damned turned aroud it was funny. We had downloaded a map from Utahmountainbiking.com that was pathetically worthless, and from another site I can't remember that was noticeably better. Still, at the junctions that we came to (that we saw- that's another issue) it was a question of "Do we take this white dotted trail or that white dotted trail?"
How about different colors to distinguish different trails? Say, white for Slickrock, red fror Hidden Canyon (which was a blast, I must say), yellow for North Rim... you get the idea. Maps could then indicate which taril was what color, and idiots like us wouldn't wind up riding Hidden Canyon three times in one day (I did enjoy it all three times, though) and miss some trails entirely.
Another difficulty we had is that at junctions one trail or the other are practically impossible to see, so you ride right by, never realizing that you just missed your trail. Maybe and X at that point?
Now, lest anybody slam me for complaining that my hand was not held for me, please reread the parts mentioning that I had a great time, and enjoyed pretty much every inch of trail we rode. I would go out there next weekend if I could. I am merely trying to suggest simple ways to improve navigation in an area that is very maze-like, and where seeing you options was difficult.
Extremely helpful were the occasional arrow or bent line painted on the rock to indicate turns- it was often necessary to sit up and look around for a little bit to see which way the trail went. The bent lines were great in those spots.
As a final note, I want to express my gratitude to the people responsible for developing the trails there. It was well worth the trip from San Diego. Thank you.
miles
How about different colors to distinguish different trails? Say, white for Slickrock, red fror Hidden Canyon (which was a blast, I must say), yellow for North Rim... you get the idea. Maps could then indicate which taril was what color, and idiots like us wouldn't wind up riding Hidden Canyon three times in one day (I did enjoy it all three times, though) and miss some trails entirely.
Another difficulty we had is that at junctions one trail or the other are practically impossible to see, so you ride right by, never realizing that you just missed your trail. Maybe and X at that point?
Now, lest anybody slam me for complaining that my hand was not held for me, please reread the parts mentioning that I had a great time, and enjoyed pretty much every inch of trail we rode. I would go out there next weekend if I could. I am merely trying to suggest simple ways to improve navigation in an area that is very maze-like, and where seeing you options was difficult.
Extremely helpful were the occasional arrow or bent line painted on the rock to indicate turns- it was often necessary to sit up and look around for a little bit to see which way the trail went. The bent lines were great in those spots.
As a final note, I want to express my gratitude to the people responsible for developing the trails there. It was well worth the trip from San Diego. Thank you.
miles