Black Canyon Trail Bike Packing
Big Bug Trailhead to Carefree Highway (I 74)
125km/80miles
1500m Climb
2300m Descent
3 Days
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"Adventure begins when plans end" |
Two weeks before our second annual fall Utah bike trip, everything was falling apart. The extended forecast was calling for snow and sub-zero temperatures in Moab, Tyler had pneumonia and we were locked into the vacation dates by my new job. Flights were expensive, accommodations booked solid thanks to American Thanksgiving and we had mentally committed to a "dirt-bag cheap trip."
Mom and Dad to the rescue! They had escaped to Scottsdale, Arizona to avoid shoulder season in Canada and were willing to host us and Steve too. Plans started to take shape, and I made some last minute bookings for an Airbnb in Sedona. My parents agreed to loan us their car and new bike rack, in addition to help out with logistics for the airport pick up and drop off. The highlight of the trip was going to be three days of bike packing on the Black Canyon Trail. This 80 mile point-to-point IMBA Epic has been on our hit list ever since we pedaled a section with Simon and Ashley in 2015 and this was the perfect opportunity to make it happen.
1. Start at the Big Bug Trailhead off Highway 169.
Doing so skips the Osborne Springs Wash and Russian Well sections, 33km of the trail and 550m of climbing. All the information we found was that these two sections of trail are overgrown, rarely ridden and prickly. We didn't ride it and don't feel that we missed out.
2. End the ride at the Emery-Henderson Trailhead and skip the Biscuit Flats
Don't get fooled into thinking that you need to ride this to "ride the whole BCT" like we did. This section is dead flat, mostly down a hardpacked road and spits you out on the shoulder of the Carefree Highway which isn't near anything and is a sketchy spot to get picked up. It wasn't fun. It wasn't interesting. It detracted from the experience and made Kyle grumpy. Just don't do it.
3. Camp at Bumblebee Ranch
Camping at the ranch on the 1st night was excellent. Not only was this the only place to fill up on water from the Big Bug Trailhead all the way to Black Canyon City, it was beautiful, there were lawn games, you could buy cheap beer, they have hot showers and everyone was super nice. Contact the ranch prior to arrival to let them know you are coming. $15 per tent.
4. Concerning Water
Other blogs suggest there are places to fill up your water along the route at various crossings of the Agua Friga. We did not find this to be the case and the only water we saw was just north of Black Canyon City on Day 2 (70km into the ride!). The water did not look appealing and we were happy that we were not relying on river crossings to fill up. We stayed in locations with water so we didn't need to carry water for camping or cooking (Bumblebee Ranch and in Black Canyon City) and carried 4-6L of H20 per day with us just to drink. This was in November and it was "cool" for this time of year (10-20°c).
5. The Trail
The trail was mostly single track with occasional double track sections. Steve and I rode our enduro bikes (Ibis Ripmo and Forbidden Dreadnought) and Kyle rode his Gnartail Hardtail. I appreciated having suspension. The trail wasn't very technical and did not have any steep sections but there were rough parts of the trail that were quite loose making pedaling difficult and with loaded down bikes. Overall, we were able to ride the majority of the trail with occasional times off the bike to push up loose sections. Route-finding was generally easy and we used a combination of trailforks and garmin maps to navigate.
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| Cactus socks in their natural habitat |
Our Itinerary (distances/elevations estimated from Strava)
Day 1: Big Bug Trailhead to Bumblebee Ranch. 34km, 350m elevation, 4.5hrs
Day 2: Bumblebee Ranch to Black Canyon City. 35km, 650m elevation, 5.5hrs
Day 3: Black Canyon City to Carefree Highway. 55km, 950m elevation, 8hrs
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| Ready to start on our 3 day trip |
Day 1
My parents met us at the Big Bug Trailhead to pick up the car and send us off. We had just over 30km to travel and 700m to descend to Bumblebee Ranch where we planned to camp for the evening so we weren't in a rush. It was cold and windy in the parking lot as we adjusted our packs and triple checked that we had all our gear. The bikes felt heavy and awkward with the bags mounted and within minutes we had to stop and make adjustments. With everything tightened down properly, we were off across the high Sonoran Desert.
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| Riding up and away from Spring Valley and into the desert |
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| Lunch Break at an old windmill |
The morning consisted of a mix of single track and dirt double track. The BCT was pretty well marked with green stakes with BCT blazes. As we rode, the landscape started to change from low brush to cacti and deep valleys. After lunch with some cows, we left the roads behind and enjoyed a long flowy singletrack descent through saguaros and prickly pear to the valley bottom.
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| Trail markers we found at most intersections |
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Heading towards the canyon
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Riding double track along the rim
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Desert vistas
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| Steady descent all day |
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| Finding the desert flow |
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| Fun swoopy trails |
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| Yeah Kyle! |
After a leisurely day of mostly descending, we arrived at the Bumblebee Ranch around 3pm. This gave us plenty of time to set up our camp, rinse off the dust and play some lawn games. We had reserved our camping in advance, but we were the only campers that night and we had the pick of the grassy field. A family from Colorado was staying at the ranch for horseback riding, which meant that the bar was open which was an unexpected treat to be able to enjoy a cold beer after a day on the trails.
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| Welcome to Bumblebee Ranch |
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| Home for the evening |
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Arizona golden hour
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| Bumbleebee Bar |
As soon as the sun set, the temperature dropped. We took advantage of the heat lamps at the bar for a bit before returning to our camp for dinner. We could have joined the other group for a dinner of smokies and burgers (for $20pp) but we wanted to put a dent in our supplies and lighten the load for the following day. It gets dark early in November so we enjoyed the spectacular stars before and early bedtime.
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| Fueling up after a good day of riding |
Day 2
After a successful and efficient first day on the trail, we had a lazy start waiting for the sun to warm us up before getting back on the bikes. We loaded up on water from the Ranch before starting the climb out of the valley, heading south toward our next destination, Black Canyon City. We passed some hikers on the trail and Kyle had a close encounter with their vicious dog, but fortunately both Kyle and his bike escaped unscathed. After that, we didn't see any other people on the trail for the rest of the day. The desert continued to change, with increasing varieties of cacti and prickly bushes that scratched our arms and legs as we rode past.
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| Climbing up from Bumblebee Ranch to start day 2 |
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| Rocks and saguaros |
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| Increasing number of prickly things as we make our way south |
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Great day for a ride
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The sections of trail on day 2 had more climbing, loose rock and less flow compared first day. It also felt like we were more remote, deep in the desert with nobody around. The views were awesome all day and we enjoyed soaking in the scenery. Although the riding wasn't super technical, it was slower than we had anticipated. Riding with loaded bikes certainly changes the way your bike handles, and the risk of falling into a cactus adds an extra element of danger! By the time we arrived in Rock Springs (the tiny town consisting of multiple pie shops just outside Black Canyon City) we were tired, sunburnt, and thirsty. I think we had all under-estimated the "easy" 35km day 2.
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| No water to be found in this river crossing |
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Enjoying a moment in the shade
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The desert version of a ladder bridge
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Loaded bike
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| Another climb |
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Re-emerging into civilization
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When I initially started planning this trip, I envisioned camping in the desert each night. That plan went out the window as soon as Kyle found out that we could rent a small cabin at the campground in Black Canyon City. This was supposed to be his vacation after all! At first I was a bit sad that we wouldn't be roughing it, but was happy to fully embrace the bougie bike-packing after I realized how prickly the desert could be and that none of the creek crossings had any water.
The other benefit of staying in town was that we got to stop at the pie shop in Rock Springs, apparently a BCT must-do. This was a short detour off the BCT but very close to the campground. What we hadn't expected was that everyone and their dog would be picking up pies for American Thanksgiving. The parking lot was chaos, there was a huge line out the door for those who had pre-ordered and the only option was to buy a full pie as all the "by the slice" pie was gone. Typically they have lots of flavours available but we were saved the agony of having to pick as there was only mixed berry left.
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| Arriving at the pie shop |
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| Dreadnought pie delivery |
Riding with the pie strapped to Steve's bars, we arrived at our home for the night. After some après pie, we ventured out in search of dinner and found Beni's Pizza. The portions were huge, the beer was cheap and it was everything we could have asked for after two solid days of riding.
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| Pie makes an excellent post-ride snack |
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That's a big calzone!
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| Kyle and bikes all tucked in |
Day 3
Our final day was the biggest in both distance and elevation gain. With this in mind we rose early, but just as we were about to leave Steve started tinkering and ended up with a bent valve in his shock that wouldn't hold air. After an hour or so, they boys got it working thanks to a friendly RV guy with lots of tools, and Steve wasn't allowed to make any more adjustments to his suspension for the rest of the trip.
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| Shouldn't have touched it |
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Loaded up for our final day
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The riding started with a long climb out of Black Canyon City on the "Skyline" segment. I found this to be one of the best segments of the whole trail, with an enjoyable climb and amazing views at the top. We would have spent more time at the pass, but the wind was howling up there so we dropped into the decent right away.
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| Smiles to start our 3rd day on the trail |
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| Climbing the skyline section of trail |
After a fun descent, it was time to climb again. The theme of the day was endless up and down as we pedaled through the rolling hills towards Phoenix. When we hit the Williams Mesa and Table Mesa sections of trail, our pace slowed due to the loose rock. I guess the sections of trail further from trail-heads don't see as much love and maintenance.
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| Another climb |
After our delayed start and some slogging through the morning, we were hoping to pick up the pace for the afternoon as the climbs mellowed out. We had a Thanksgiving Dinner and didn't want to be late! Unfortunately, the easier going came to an abrupt end when Kyle double flatted (maybe ran over a cactus or some barb-wire?). The boys to work fixing the flats as I helped by photographing and offering words of encouragement that were poorly received. From the massive RV's parked in the desert nearby, the smell of deep-frying turkeys wafted our way accompanied by the intermittent chatter of automatic weapons. Welcome to America!
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| Double flat on our mechanical day |
After minimal wildlife viewing on the first two days, day 3 was full of variety. We spotted lizards, tarantulas, javalinas and wild burros and Steve educated us on the local birds as we descended from the hills into the flats north of Phoenix. Both Kyle and Steve dealt with flat tires, but fortunately no other major mechanicals. By the time we hit the Emery-Henderson segment, we were happy to be on a slightly flowy blue trail that was mostly downhill as we were running late for our pick-up.
By the time we hit the final section of the trail (Biscuit Flats), we were racing the sunset. As I mentioned earlier, it would be way nicer to finish the trail at the Emery Henderson Trailhead. Since Steve and I were too stubborn to have considered the ride complete without the flats, we still had about 10km to ride and it sucked. The uninspiring riding was mostly along double track or washboard road, with the occasional dry river bed to push through.
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| Kyle refuses to look at me for a photo as we hit another slow section on final section of "trail" |
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Tired but happy
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| Wild burros at sunset |
8 hours after we had left Black Canyon City, we had completed our three day, 125km ride through the Sonoran Desert. The final challenge was to find my mom who had come to pick us up. The trailhead parking lot on google maps did not exist so we got to ride down the highway a few minutes until we spotted her pulled over on the shoulder (another reason to end a the beautiful and safe Emery-Henderson Trailhead Parking Lot). We finished the ride in the daylight and got to celebrate our success with a Thanksgiving Feast with my parents neighbours!
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| The endless flats to the finish |
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| Finished! |
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