Gooseberry Mesa

This is a must ride place!! We had no real idea of what to expect, just people telling us that it was a great place to ride. Unfortuantely, I failed to take any photos on the trail and my helmet cam neglected to function once the boundary of the parking lot was passed.

Big Joe suiting up for the ride:


They said it would be a 3 hour ride, it was just short of that. There was some blood spilled in the group, but not excessive amounts. No broken bones, but a helmet needed to be replaced.

Here is a Google Earth view of the mesa:


It actually appears inverted in this photo due to the layers of Earth. I believe calcium carbonate and iron oxide are the white and red layers respectively. Very cool!! The dropoffs were in the 800 foot range. Riding within a couple of feet of the drops was intimidating but manageable. The most worrisome factor me was actually the wind - it was howling up the face in spots. I can't imagine if it was really windy that I would feel the least bit comfortable.

The day ended with a great dinner at the Painted Pony in St. George. Truly wonderful food with only average service.