Dinotrax Mountain Bike Festival 02

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Dinotrax - Mountain Bike Festival 2002

By Monique Beeley

Flaming Gorge Reservoir, in the northeastern corner of Utah, is known for its emerald green color water, sheer cliffs and dramatic red rock shorelines. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, which encompasses the reservoir and a portion of the Ashley National Forest, has long been a popular destination for sightseers, boaters, fishermen and hikers, but the area surrounding Flaming Gorge is a Mecca of undiscovered mountain biking trails for all abilities.

Red Canyon Lodge, perched a thousand feet above the sparkling clear waters of Flaming Gorge, is the site of Dinotrax, a mountain bike festival held each year in August. I had heard of Dinotrax, but this was my first time to experience the event.

Dinotrax was a weekend filled with new friends, first-rate hosts and magnificent rides. Mark Wilson of Red Canyon Lodge and Troy Lupcho of Altitude Cycle team together to host the festival, held this year August 8-11. Rides and events began in Vernal, 30 minutes southeast of Flaming Gorge, on Thursday the 8^th, and moved up to Red Canyon on Friday.

Red Canyon Lodge Fishing Pond

I arrived at Red Canyon on Friday afternoon and immediately took in the stunning vistas that surround the lodge. I had a quick and healthy lunch at the lodge’s restaurant on the outside deck, checked into my luxury cabin and got ready to ride. I was looking forward to exploring this beautiful landscape, new to me. My first ride started out on the Red Canyon Rim trail, just outside my cabin. This is a great intermediate singletrack that winds its way through campgrounds, riverbeds and high mountain forests of aspen and pine. The views from the trailhead overlook are magnificent. I stashed my bike at the visitor’s center to hike the short distance to the overlook. The breath-taking views of Red Canyon and the amazing emerald green color of Flaming Gorge hundreds of feet below are simply overwhelming.

Continuing my ride, I wound my way down on the colorful Canyon Rim, which led me to the beginning of the Swett Ranch Trail. In the distance, I could see the historic Swett Ranch nestled down in the verdant valley below. This pioneer ranch is now preserved and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. The trail is an intermediate to advanced ride, mainly a double track road beginning with a long, long downhill that passes Swett Ranch and rolls through aspen groves and river crossings. The climb back up to the trailhead connects to the Canyon Rim trail and back on the singletrack to my weekend home, the well-equipped, comfortable cabin.

Friday evening was a get-to-know-everybody party at the event tent, set up next to the lodge. Troy and Mark opened the festivities by welcoming the group while we all signed in for the festival and received our bag of goodies and Dinotrax T-shirt. At dusk the movies rolled and the beer flowed! The colorful mountain bike movie featured local riders riding local trails, shot and narrated by Rich Etchberger, one of our guides who developed and built many of the routes. Later, everyone headed to tents or cabins to rest up for the next day ride. My anticipation level was understandably high!

Saturday morning we all met at the event tent at 9AM to sign up for the rides of the day, with a choice of three different skill levels. Novice riders began with a mountain bike skills clinic conducted by Troy. My friend Melissa, who had just recently started riding, felt this clinic was a great confidence builder for adventures yet to come. The intermediate group, including my co-worker Red and his wife, Karen, were to ride the 15-mile Red Canyon Rim-Swett Ranch trail. Advanced riders were offered the challenging, 19-mile Elk Park-Spirit Lake Loop.

With some trepidation, I decided to try the advanced ride, since I had experienced the Red Canyon-Swett Ranch the day before. Our guides prepped us for the upcoming rides with info on trail conditions, technical and terrain changes, and sights to see along the way. At the

Ute Mountain Fire Tower

trailhead, I felt plenty of nervous energy from the riders as well as the guides. Lots of chatter, lots of water gulping. The ride started out with a steady uphill section, which led us to the Ute Mountain Fire Tower, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After stopping for a short break, we headed down a killer singletrack, over the river and through the

Climbing to the TopCli

woods. No Grandmother’s House here! The rest of the ride was filled with terrain that changed quickly from challenging uphill grinds to speedy switchbacks. There were wet riverbeds and rocky sections that got the best of us at some point, but everyone was very determined to keep on riding, hopefully with the rubber side down. I managed to finish relatively unscathed, with only a bloody knee. This minor mishap occurred on a difficult steep section, which I had to hike up after a frustrating fall. The ride would not be complete without a flat tire, of course, which happened about a quarter mile from my car. Needless to say, I had left my tire changing tools in my cabin, a fine place for them! Luckily, one of the guys from the

Elk Mountain Trail

group (was he ever cute!) was nice enough to lend me a hand. We made it back to the parking lot where some of the riders were enjoying a well-deserved beer and exchanging stories of the day. Some true, some not so true, I’m sure. All in all, it was a great ride and one that I would definitely like to go back and do again.

The Saturday evening festivities began at 5:00 with a “Poker Run”, followed by “Troy’s Funky Crit”. The “Poker Run” is pretty much what it sounds like, with each player
starting with a single card, racing around the rim trail collecting four more at designated stations. Best hand wins. With an amazing five eights, How Kuff from Red Star, Arkansas won a trip to Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah. Way to go, How!

The “Funky Crit” is a hoot. Chug a warm beer, ride three times around a tree, pitch two horseshoes from ten feet away (ringers count for 10 second time deductions), change a flat, finish by sitting in a lounge chair. The competition was fierce, but one guy won with an incredible one minute, fifteen seconds! A mountain bike vacation to Deer Valley at Park City, Utah was his reward.

Next on the agenda were dozens upon dozens of great prizes, trips, gear, free schwag and the traditional pasta load dinner prepared and served by Mark’s great staff from the Red Canyon Lodge Restaurant, accompanied by a great bluegrass band. Never short on energy, Troy joins in with a mean harmonica. Oh, and of course we can’t forget about the beer.

Sunday was the day for the popular bike/boat tour starting with a great ride on the Dowd Mountain Trail and culminating with a boat float on the reservoir. The ride consisted of both single and double track, leading us to yet another ho-hum overlook of stunning Flaming Gorge. From there, following yet another ho-hum photo-op, we made our way down to the lake to a waiting pontoon boat. The ride down was a rocky one and I managed to get my second flat tire, but this time the tools were in my pack. After my tire

C'mon on aboard

was patched, while making my way to the boat, all I could think about was how cool and refreshing a dip in the water was going to feel after a warm day on the trail. When I got to the boat, most of my companion riders were already in the water. I quickly dropped off my bike and jumped in. Ahhhh! What a great way to end a great ride! When everybody arrived at the boat we all got on board and headed for the marina. More new stories with more new friends. At the marina, we were shuttled back to our cars, and all good things must come to an end. Before we knew it, the festival had come to a close. What a great weekend it was. Dinotrax. See you again next year!