Jug Handle Loop
Jug Handle Loop is a mostly dirt road loop up by Dead Horse State Park in Moab. The loop is 37.5 miles with 3,247′ of climbing, mainly up Shafer Trail.
We started the loop just off the split from 313 and Long Canyon Road. The gravel road into Long Canyon Road turns to dirt and after a few switchbacks down into the canyon, we came to Pucker Pass. A giant rock slab partial blocks the road but wasn’t a problem on bikes. The canyon walls are steeeeeeeep, rocky, and beautiful. At the bottom we turned right on Potash Road and continued along the Colorado River. We passed the Kane Creek Mine and stopped to read the memorial sign. In 1963 a gas explosion in the mine trapped 25 miners. The miners built barricades to trap fresh air, but still, 18 died.
The Potash mine is still in operation and we rode up and around the holding ponds and then away from it all into Shafer Canyon. The road climbs up to the rim with great views of the river. We even rode past Thelma and Louise Point, the scenic cliff from the movie! After more gradual climbing, we reached White Rim Road and turned right. This is where the real climbing started…UP the Shafer switchbacks. The road impossibly switchbacks up the face of the sandstone and then winds along the mesa. There wasn’t very much car traffic this late in the afternoon and we were able to ride right along the cliff soaking up the views. After 6 miles or so of road, we were back at our truck. What a fun, adventurous day!
More Arches!
There are so many arches in Arches National Park that we headed in on a different afternoon to see more. We drove to the Windows arm this time and hiked around checking out more stunning landscape.
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