Our plan was to ride the Sheep Canyon scenic loop but it was a little chilly so we decided to drive it and mountain bike later in the day. Sheep Canyon is a 10 mile mostly paved loop with some great scenery along the way.
From camp we drove out 44 and stopped at a viewpoint along the way. Flaming Gorge itself has over 300 miles of shoreline and we have barely scratched the surface but today we saw a new side of the gorge. From the viewpoint you can see the red rocks of the 770-million-year-old formation of Hades Pass. Our next stop was right after turning onto the Sheep Canyon Loop. The Navajo Sandstone Cliffs are incredibly rugged and rocky. We stopped to check out the gravesite of Cleophas Dowd, one of the earliest settlers in the then very remote area of Flaming Gorge. He raised the finest horses in the area on the mountain that now bears his name. In fact, these horses were so good, that they were reputed to be the stead of choice for Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch Gang.
The next stop was insane. As we pulled over to get out and look at Tower Rock I was shocked to see a moose right next to the truck. There on the ground next to it was a newborn. The baby moose was all curled up and VERY tiny. I snapped a picture and not wanting to stress either of them, we left immediately. As I looked back, the baby was ambling to its gangly feet. So adorable!
Dowd Mtn & Carter Loop
This mountain bike loop was a bit of unknown since neither Trailforks nor Mtbproject have much info. The loop was 18 miles with 2493′ of climbing. Adventure time! We started out on Dowd Mtn Trail which is a primitive singletrack that winds along with views of the snowy mtns. The trail eventually meets up with a dirt road that continues through the forested backcountry. We took a side trail out to a gorge overlook to spot what we would be descending down to. The river below is a maze of winding canyons and little arms and offshoots. Waaaay down below we could see the boat camp we were aiming for.
Down we went. This section is at best a doubletrack. It isn’t open to motor vehicles and I’d venture to guess it doesn’t get much use ever. The trail starts up in the forest and descends down to the river, getting warmer and dryer as it goes. It’s a 4 mile descent that loses 1900’. We stopped along the way for several pictures before reaching the beach. There is a boat in camp here and it was beautiful with the rocky backdrop. Here we lay on the sand and took a relaxing beach break before climbing back up the way we came.
The climb back up seemed daunting at first, but went by fairly quickly. The surface is pretty good, just a lot of little loose sections to negotiate but all rideable. Back at the top, we continued on the Dowd Mtn loop and ended on a rip roaring descent back to our truck. Overall I’d ride this loop again but I sure wish it ended at the beach! People we saw on our ride? ZERO except for some people in a boat out on the water.
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