I get off work at 4:00 pm on Friday afternoon, load up my bike and hit the road to Moab, Utah. I message my friends Brennan and Stephen to see if they are on the road from Boulder. They are stuck in traffic between Boulder and Golden but still plan on making it in time for dinner. We decide to meet and have dinner at Hot Tomato Pizza in Fruita, Colorado. After some dank ass calzones and a beer, we drive into the desert, fully equipped for whatever conditions we may encounter. I was not prepared, however, for the horrendous salt flats road to the castle valley overlook but, I was promised an epic view and it would be worth it. We finally arrive at our campsite at 11:30 pm. Too exhausted to do anything and knowing that our morning starts at the crack of dawn, I jump into my sleeping bag and pass out on my bed platform. We wake at sunrise, walk 50 ft from our trucks and watch the sun illuminate the valley as the monuments cast shadows on the desert floor. It was worth it.
After watching an epic sunrise we drive back down the road from hell into Moab. We hustle to The Garage, a local coffee shop, and grab quad americanos and breakfast burritos. Our shuttle departs at 10:00 am and we rush to the pick up and barley arrive at 9:50 am. We have 10 min to get ready and not enough coffee. Our bikes are loaded and we jump into the van, filled with people attending an 80 year old man’s birthday party. An 80 year old man is riding The Whole Enchilada with his entire family for his 80th birthday?… I will take one of whatever he’s having please. The bus ride is long but fun. Meeting new people and crushing breakfast burritos while talking about where people are from and why they are there make the ride go by quickly.
We arrive at the drop-off near the top of Burro Pass along with the rest of the state of Colorado and begin checking our bikes, gear, and taking care of whatever needs to be done. We hit the trail and start our epic journey back down to the town of Moab. Cold beer and epic riding awaits, but first is a climb.
The first part of The Whole Enchilada is a 1500ft climb up Burro pass. The trail is a fun mix of punchy climbs, flowy undulations, and a few hike-a-bikes. There are a ton of people on the trail and large groups take their time and wait on the groups stragglers which causes backups and frustrations. It doesn’t take long to get up to the saddle and a much anticipated start to the down is waiting here.
Now, the trail truly begins.
We get on our bikes, clip in, and begin our decent down burro pass, we ride fast, hooting and hollering our way down until I yell, “oh shit!” and slam on the brakes. The upper section of burro pass is blown out and way gnarlier then I remembered. Time to put on my big boy pants and rip. Stephen is in a groove and going down full speed crushing every root, rock, and drop. The rule of this trail is that you don’t want to fuck up in the first mile, because you’ve got 34 more to go, and walking your bike to the next section is horrendous. I struggle to find my flow and Stephen and Brennen are waiting for me in the aspen groove. Riding through the aspens groves as the leaves are falling is pure magic. The features of the next trail are filled with undulation and scattered roots compared to the killer baby head sized rocks lurking throughout the upper part of Burro Pass i’d rather take the later any day.
We reach the first transfer to Hazard County, our next section of trail. The first change in topography awaits. We take a break at the Warner Lake campground before the next short climb.
From the top of Hazard County is an open dusty flow section of riding that has an impressive vista and Castle Valley on the horizon. It’s one of the best sections of the Enchilada, you can really open it up and go full speed down to the top of Kokopelli.
Hazard County to UPS via Kokopelli is the first showcase of how incredibly diverse The Whole Enchilada trail is. You go from flow trails in alpine meadow to super fast red dirt roads. After finishing Hazard County, we collect ourselves and check our bikes before blasting down Kokopelli. Kokopelli is a trail that you take on at full speed, jumping off water-bars and rooster tailing loose turns. We finally reach the top of UPS, take our lunch and look out onto Castle Valley, right next to where we spent the night last night.
I start to feel great and get excited for what's coming next, Porcupine Rim. But first, lets roll down some rocks. UPS and the trails next to it are arguably the most fun sections of the trail. We had to stop and session the drop and the rock garden of Upper Porcupine Alt.
This section marks the half-way point in my mind. From here it’s a mix of fast descents and rock drops. We get to the alt section of UPS and we are determined to ride this section. These rocks are huge and the consequences are a little high. The worst part is, that there is a queue of people hiking their bikes down. Once the queue passes and the people figure out there is an easier section to ride, we get the chance to get the shot and ride the section.
From this point on it’s Porcupine Rim all the way down. From slick rock, to flow in trees, to short climbs, technical rock gardens, and drops to flat. This trail has all the features one could want and on top of that, gorgeous views. We find a great flow in the final section and run it out only stoping once to grab a shot.
The final stretch of trail after 30 some odd miles is amazing. The tech and the speed at which you can hit the drops is awesome. There is flow in tech. You just gotta find it. Elated and exhausted, we reach the tunnel that marks the end of the trail. We ride the bike path along the river back to our trucks and crack open a beer. Hail to The Whole Enchilada! Time to build a fire and drink beer to celebrate our conquest.
