I squinted in opposition to the solar’s glare, some extent within the shale and sandstone cliff towering above us. It resembled the silhouette of a shark’s snout, I assumed, as I watched my using accomplice, Eric Phillips, hike his mountain bike again up the path alongside the sweeping ridgeline towards the purpose. He wished to journey down and bounce a second day off a drop, from rock to free filth.

Exhaling, I relaxed a bit and turned to absorb the panorama. The hogback we had been using missed the inexperienced oasis of Palisade, inhabitants 2,800, and the winding Colorado River, two colourful streaks within the burnt sienna and ochre panorama of southwest Colorado.

We had been near ending our all-day journey on the Palisade Plunge, a 32-mile mountain bike route from the highest of the Grand Mesa to Palisade. The remaining descent to the teal water under was 4 miles and 1,750 toes. This phase would even be probably the most technical and uncovered portion of the journey, which we’d been anticipating since our shuttle driver, Rondo Buecheler, dropped us off hours earlier than at Mesa High Trailhead.

“The final eight miles the temps will actually heat up. That’s the place the path is tougher, too; it must be a foot wider. There are spots that we’re consistently engaged on which might be slim and off-camber,” mentioned Buecheler, co-owner of Speedy Creek Cycles in Palisade. He has helped spearhead the path’s improvement over the previous decade.

Thankfully, Eric and I had been gifted a late-summer day with cauliflower-shaped clouds, no rain, and mellow temps on our Plunge journey on the finish of August.

“Are you prepared? Get a video of me!” Eric yelled. I pulled out my telephone simply in time for his launch off the shelf, flying increased than the primary time he’d jumped. As each tires touched down, a thick cloud of mud kicked up round him and his bike slid to a cease. Eric let loose an enormous giggle. “I feel I broke my bike!”

We had been 28 miles and seven.5 hours into our day. Thankfully, we each had ample meals and water (as a result of we’d filtered some at Whitewater Creek, at mile submit 16). Most significantly, Eric hadn’t gotten damage. However neither of us had a headlamp. I hoped our hike-a-bike wouldn’t take till dusk.

“All proper, let’s see what we are able to do,” I mentioned, as we pulled out our instruments. Inside 20 minutes, we’d eliminated the derailleur — which had shattered when Eric landed — and chain. We high-fived and determined to have a good time that he may end the journey sitting on his bike — albeit in a chainless, gear-free vogue with moments of straddle-running like a toddler on a Strider. As adventurers typically say, all the pieces might be going proper till issues go mistaken — after which, they’ll go actually mistaken. Particularly once you’re exploring a distant place in solitude.

The Palisade Plunge formally opened from high to backside in July 2021. Few mountain bike rides in the US characteristic an elevation profile with such a whopping descent by varied ecosystems and terrain that additionally funnel you near craft tacos and microbrews. Two bucket-list rides are in the identical wheelhouse: Colorado’s 36.2-mile Monarch Crest Path close to Salida and Utah’s 34-mile Entire Enchilada close to Moab, with a respective 5,890 toes and seven,800 toes of descent.

Riders typically overlook that these rides additionally embody a wholesome quantity of ascent — greater than 2,000 toes of achieve on the Monarch Crest and almost 1,300 toes of climbing on the Entire Enchilada. Just like the Palisade Plunge, each of these rides require an early morning shuttle drop-off to soundly, comfortably full the route in a single day. Comparatively, the Palisade Plunge options 900 toes of climbing and a 6,814-foot descent. An enormous portion of that elevation loss is within the final 4 miles alongside winding switchbacks as you drop into city.

Many Palisade-area pioneers have gazed up on the steep slopes of the Grand Mesa, the world’s largest flat-top mountain, and envisioned a path that may join the excessive alpine tabletop with the valley under. Who wouldn’t wish to escape the warmth under on a sizzling summer season day? Two of those dreamers labored over the previous decade to ascertain the Palisade Plunge for mountain bikers and hikers, together with Buecheler, who began Over the Edge Sports activities in Fruita in 1994. He’s additionally the ski patrol supervisor at Powderhorn Mountain Resort and guided dory boat journeys within the Grand Canyon for almost three a long time.

The opposite dreamer is Scott Winans, vice chairman of engineering for Mountain Racing Merchandise and co-owner of Speedy Creek Cycles. Winans has served for greater than 13 years on the board of administrators for the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trails Affiliation, the trail-building group that supported improvement of the Palisade Plunge. They dwell for the outside.

We had been able to journey the Plunge as quickly as we heard about it. The path showcases Colorado’s huge landscapes, wildness, and numerous ecosystems. Additionally, the cross-country rhythm was a welcome change from the steep alpine trails we usually journey.

In my perspective, the Palisade Plunge had 4 distinct sections.

Our journey began when Buecheler dropped us off on the trailhead at what appeared to be the center of nowhere. The higher portion of singletrack rolled alongside the mesa by grasslands, creek crossings, rock patches, and sparse pockets of aspens and pines. Cattle roam the land, which we’re used to from using within the Gunnison Valley, the place we dwell: Preserve your eyes open for cow patties up there.

Once we reached Shirttail Level Trailhead, close to mile 12, the path dropped steeply by the volcanic basalt cap that surrounds the sting of the plateau with an eye-opening overlook. We took our first snack break whereas studying the path signal about John Otto, positioned above a dense aspen grove, blue jewels of water, and piles of crumbled lava rock under. Otto was the first advocate for the creation of the Colorado Nationwide Monument. In 1910, he constructed a route to attach Palisade to the highest of Grand Mesa — the Wild Rose Path, that includes greater than a dozen hairpin switchbacks. He blasted an entrance into the rock band and constructed retainment partitions that also stand greater than 100 years later.

For the Palisade Plunge, path builders restored Otto’s fallow path, which is listed on the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations, which met the Forest Service’s environmental necessities whereas including a historical past lesson alongside the route.

Because of the historic nature of the Wild Rose Path, the switchbacks couldn’t be widened and are sharp. Under the rapid descent, the singletrack dives into the bushes and for a number of miles the rolling path is filled with chunky lava rocks and pinched by boulders by the plush, overgrown forest. Path visibility was tough. Beware: That is the part the place many bikers expertise mechanical points and is the place Eric’s derailleur was initially bent, which led to the bike blow-up on the ridge.

After we filtered and topped off our water at Whitewater Creek, the path turned smoother, flowy, open, and led to my favourite part — a rocky, rollercoaster phase of path that skirts a steep hillside by a burn space of piñon pines and sagebrush. The primary far-off views of Palisade had been within the distance.

By mile 22, we had eyes on the Blowout, a steep, white-rocked bench that curves under a set of pink rock spires and hoodoos like a mini Bryce Canyon. Close to right here, the terrain advanced once more into slickrock marked by white paint stripes adopted by technical, rocky desert using from the ridge to cliffs to the exit gully.

General, all the Palisade Plunge is well-marked with mileage, instructional indicators, and bail-out factors. I’ve by no means achieved a mountain bike journey with a lot ecological and path variety in a single day, and the journey was well worth the effort.

When to go

We initially scheduled our Palisade Plunge journey in the beginning of the season, after the winter closure was lifted Might 1, however the higher half of the route, which sits at an elevation of 10,737 toes, nonetheless held snow. We waited till the whole route opened in mid-June, however a warmth advisory required a second journey postponement: We had no need to journey all day in triple-digit warmth. We rode as soon as in Fruita throughout 100-degree temps and completed a comparatively quick loop with complications and nausea. Warmth exhaustion, not to mention warmth stroke, is to not be messed with.

General, it’s essential to be versatile together with your journey dates: If you wish to journey all the route, you’ll have to attend till the snow has melted, which varies yearly. Then, watch for warmth advisories. It’s higher to schedule a visit for a day between late August and the top of September, when shuttle operations halt, than threat warmth stroke.

Ebook a shuttle

We booked our licensed shuttle journey with Palisade Cycle & Shuttle, which supplied nice customer support — even with our quite a few journey modifications — and it was enjoyable to be taught in regards to the route from Buecheler on the drive. When Eric and I had been late to complete the journey because of our mechanical points, Buecheler known as to ensure we had been secure and waited on the store till he heard from us that we had been again on the town.

Experience period

Based on Winans, the typical rider can anticipate all the path to take 6 to 7 hours to finish. Some riders take 12 hours for the entire route. Racers may have the ability to journey all the route in lower than 4 hours.

Water sources on the journey

Begin the journey well-hydrated. Throughout the journey, we drank electrolytes and introduced a water filter to high off our bottles and bladders from the path’s solely dependable water supply: Whitewater Creek, mile submit 16. We every carried shut to five liters between our bikes and packs.

The place to remain

For a cushty in a single day keep (with air-con) that’s a brief stroll or journey to the eating places of downtown Palisade and Palisade Cycle & Shuttle, you’ll be able to’t beat the renovated
Spoke and Vine Motel. What you commerce for the unbeatable location and hip in-house cocktail bar is … coziness (not less than, for those who journey on a smaller finances like ours). The one queen room has sufficient area for a yoga mat on both facet of the mattress, and no extra. Don’t anticipate to maintain your bike in there, too. The motel aptly labels the room “small A.F.” and it’s. (Different rooms are extra spacious; you could wish to spend extra. Regardless, you’re unlikely to spend greater than $210 an evening.)

On-site bike storage is obtainable, which is accessible when the lodge concierge is obtainable from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. We would have liked to go away sooner than 7 a.m. for our shuttle, so it helped that we had a motorcycle rack with built-in locks, so we may safely depart our bikes outdoors at night time. Our favourite contact: The motel presents a lightweight breakfast in mattress with espresso or tea, selfmade granola from the native Slice O Life Bakery, and Greek yogurt, which we loved the day after our journey. The morning of our early shuttle pick-up, we ate chilly oatmeal and drank electrolytes — there was no microwave within the room, and we didn’t really feel like utilizing our camp range.

The place to eat

The night time previous to our massive journey, we walked from Spoke and Vine to Peach Road Distillers, which has a soothing ambiance and a carrot-topped pico de gallo guacamole we nonetheless take into consideration. The carne asada bowl was filling and easy. Submit journey, we celebrated with a high-end culinary expertise at Pêche. We began with the decadent fois gras and completed with the flavor-rich Moroccan lamb and melt-in-your-mouth grilled rooster entrees and would order all of it once more. Our solely remorse is that we didn’t have sufficient room to eat the recent peach cobbler for desert. Be sure you make a reservation.

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