Kokopelli to UPS to LPS

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After a death defying drive into the LaSals in the truck we luckily avoided hitting the cows that were ambling along the narrow roadside and sometimes in the middle of the road. We found the Kokopelli trail head and parked the truck. The temp up here is a chilly 54 degrees so we start off with long sleeves. It only takes about 15 minutes before the temperature warms up and we start shedding layers. The trail is well defined now compared to the last time Michael and I were up here and we don’t have to worry about wrong turns at all. Never ending, narrow single track along the rim, some rock playgrounds, and views that you can only glimpse quickly at because you are so close to the rim. Too quickly we arrive at the traditional lunch spot and none of us can quite believe we descended so quickly. We all know the next part so we head down at our own pace which means Michael disappears with Kevin not too far behind and John and I following. I’ve never seen John ride like this before, he’s actually taking jumps and his rented Epic is flying over the rocks. See what a little suspension can do! For those of you who are not familiar with John’s bike, I’m pretty sure his front fork is shot and he’s lucky if he’s got an inch of suspension on that thing. This is the perfect final ride for this trip as I don’t think our legs could have survived any more climbing than porcupine rim dished out. The final stretch of exposure felt familiar and we all remembered the good lines that Jimmy showed us a few years back. There was one section that had totally disintegrated (the clip when the down hill rider scoots down in front of us) but we all cleaned it. We ride back to town and sadly turn in our bikes and walk back to the hotel. Depression sets in as we pack up, say goodbye to Kevin, and start the drive to Salt Lake at 10pm. We all stayed up the entire time which wasn’t too hard with Michael and John telling stories that made me laugh so much I could hardly see the highway. The airport is pretty creepy at 3am. We dropped off the car and found some seats while we waited to check-in at 4am. Nobody wants to talk, we’re dead tired and heading away from our favorite place – there is nothing to say. Well there is one thing: YeeHaw Utah!!!! Can’t wait to get back. –Jill