Utah Spodefest 2002
"To Hell 'n Back"
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This year I looked forward to the 2002 Utah Spodefest with much anticipation. Riders come from all
over the United States and beyond to participate in this unique gathering of off-road motorcyclists.
This year's Spodefest was staged in the San Rafael Swell, Utah's most controversial OHV destinations.
Recent Monument proposals and an anti-OHV biased travel plan released by the Price BLM made us all greatly
concerned about the fate of the San Rafael Swell. Some felt this could be the last time to experience
our favorite access routes through this spectacularly scenic backcountry. To help fight future closures
a pledge ride was incorporated to raise money for USA-ALL, defenders of multiple use access in Utah.
Riders collected pledges for attempting to ride in both directions the infamous Five Miles of Hell,
the most challenging and physically demanding motorcycle trail in the San Rafael Swell. The ride was
dubbed "To Hell 'n Back" and was to take place on Saturday. The week prior riders were enjoying scenic
rides such as Eva Conover, Devils Racetrack, Behind the Reef, Muddy Creek, The Brass Trail
System, and a ride known as "Men With Big Tanks" that covers more than 150 miles in a day. San
Rafael veterans Jeff Deeney and Victor Johnson were on hand to lead the rides.
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Swasey Cabin
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Eva Conover Road
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Eva Conover
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Behind the Reef rocks
photo courtesy Mike Neilson
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Cistern Canyon on
Behind the Reef
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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View of Muddy Creek
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Riders enjoying Muddy Creek
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Fearless leaders Jeff Deeney
and Victor Johnson
photo courtesy Mike Neilson
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"Men With Big Tanks" riders
photo courtesy Mike Neilson
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I joined Spodefest on the Friday before the "To Hell 'n Back" ride. I wasn't sure if the other riders
would
recognize me with riding gear and my XR400R. I met a group headed for a warm up ride to Five
Miles of
Hell. We rode the Lone Man Road over to the Purple Trail. The Purple Trail was listed
as closed in three of the four proposed travel plans but is greatly needed to complete a loop in the
Brass Trail System.
Where the trail leaves Iron Wash we placed some driftwood to make sure other
riders didn't miss the turn and accidentally ride down Iron Wash which is closed. After the Purple Trail
we got on the Red Trail and headed toward "Cement Hill", a well known obstacle on the Brass Trail
System. Red Trail has many sections that are comparable with Five Miles of Hell but is not as demanding.
We had some fun riding up
and down "Cement Hill" to get practice for Five Miles of Hell.
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Ride break at the
top of Cement Hill
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Warming up for FMOH
on Cement Hill
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While on the Red Trail I mentioned to Jeff that "The Steps" on Five Miles of Hell were in really
bad shape. We decided it would be a good idea to clean them up so they wouldn't create a large bottleneck
the next day. "The Steps" are near the first bail out so we rode it in to fix them. After moving a
few rocks and clearing some the loose dirt "The Steps" were looking pretty good. Bill and I volunteered
to test them out. Bill was able to ride it after a couple of tries on his XR650R which wasn't even set
up for Five Miles of Hell.
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Doing some maintenance on
"The Steps" on FMOH
photo courtesy Mike Neilson
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Testing our work
on "The Steps"
photo courtesy Mike Neilson
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Bill testing "The Steps"
on his XR650R
photo courtesy Mike Neilson
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After riding "The Steps" Bill and I were in the mood for more technical terrain. We decided to continue
on. The rest of the group headed back to camp except John Borg. He joined us for a section of Five
Miles of Hell since he had never ridden it before. Bill and I had some fun playing on some of our favorite
FMOH obstacles while introducing John to Five Miles of Hell.
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Playing on some of my favorite sections of Five Miles of Hell
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Thanks to Bill for taking the video
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To Hell 'n Back: Saturday morning we had a brief riders meeting. At the meeting we had a raffle of
the items generously donate by our sponsors, and divided into 4 groups. Jeff led the first group, Victor
led the second group, Bill and I led the third group, and Rainer Huck led the fourth group. We left
camp in 20-minute intervals.
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Riders meeting and Raffle for "To Hell 'n Back" with Brian Hawthorne and Jeff Deeney
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After the first big obstacle we encountered a rider from a previous group hiking out. He had fallen
over and injured his right wrist rendering him unable to ride out. According to our odometers he had
about a 4-mile hike back to camp. We wished him luck and continued on. This was a strong reminder to
everyone in our group to be careful. Soon we were catching up to the second group. We could watch them
getting their bikes up to "The Steps" across a small canyon. After waiting a while and not seeing much
progress from them, some members of Group 3 started shouting comments at Group 2, "What's the hold up?",
"Do you want us to come ride your bikes for you?", "Should we take a nap?" A reply came from Group
2, "I fart in your general direction." Once most of Group 2 was up "The Steps" we headed over and
took the opportunity to pass Group 2.
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Group 3 Riders
waiting for Group 2
photo courtest Peter Renner
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Rowdy takes a close
look at "The Steps"
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Victor and Rowdy
discussing the trail
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Near the end of Five Miles of Hell we met a few members of Group 1 headed back in. At the end of
Five Miles of Hell Brian Hawthorne was waiting for us with cold water and other luxuries. We discussed
how much we enjoy riding in the Swell as well as other land use issues. We rested in whatever shade
we could find while we ate our lunch and rehydrated. Bill, Rowdy, and I geared back up and headed back
in while the other members of Group 3 decided to take the road back to camp. On the way back we passed
Victor's and Rainer's groups on their way to finish Five Miles of Hell. We eventually caught up to
and passed Jeff's group who were taking several breaks on their way to completing Five Miles of Hell
both ways. Near the finish of the ride we met a couple of riders coming in to recover the bike of the
injured rider. We unceremoniously arrived back at camp being the first of the day to complete "To Hell
'n Back". Out of about 20 riders, only 6 actually completed Five Miles of Hell both ways. Once the
other riders got back to camp we started putting our pledge money together to give to Brian Hawthorne.
Together we raised over $5000. Later in the evening Bill was ready for more riding. I'm sure he would
have ridden FMOH a third time but I convinced him and Rowdy to check out the Wickiup Trail with me. This
turned out to be a great change of pace to FMOH with some fast single track.
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Brian Hawthorne met us at the end
with cold water and other supplies
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Rowdy and Bill resting in the
shade after making it one way
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Victor back at camp recuperating
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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The next day many riders left to begin their long journey home. The small group that remained headed
for a scenic ride in Sid's Mountain WSA. We went down Devil's Racetrack to North Coal Wash, took
a break at Slipper Arch, and went over Fix-it Pass. These historical routes are some of the most scenic
in the San Rafael Swell and are currently open conditionally to OHV use. Because they are in a Wilderness
Study Area there is even more pressure to close them. We greatly enjoyed being able to use these approved
routes to access this area.
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photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Coal Wash at the bottom
of Devils Racetrack
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Scenic break at Slipper Arch
photo courtesy Peter Renner
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Switchback on Fix-it Pass
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On the way back we took Cane Wash over to Road Hollow and rode the Wickiup Trail again. After we
headed back to camp so the remaining riders could begin their long drive home. Spodefest was once again
a success. Thanks to those who worked so hard to make this year's Spodefest a reality. It was great
to be with so many riders from all over who share my appreciation of Utah's backcountry. The generosity
of the riders and the sponsors that participated in Spodefest has helped to preserve OHV access in the
San Rafael Swell.
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