Tusher Canyon Road summit(u)
When 40 miles to the south Moab campsites are in such
short supply, that they have to be guarded by a trusted
family member, the Book Cliffs still have scenic and
uncrowded mountain biking loops where the only sign of
something, remotely resembling life is a dead cow. So much
for the good news. The bad news is that parts of both
approaches contain long stretches of uncompacted, fine
gravel with sand. These stretches are often more easily
walked than biked. My hope is that the pictures are an
argument to traverse this summit anyway. This is a
traverse along the Bookcliffs at about half height. The
road does not cross the ridgeline.
Due to a partially sandy trail, many small ups and downs,
as well as far reaching views, getting a bicycle over this
route gives the impression of a much larger elevation gain
that is actually the case.
click on profile for more detail
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1.(4380ft,mile00) START-END
EAST: unmarked dirt road turnoff on US6
2.(5290ft,mile12) intermediate high point
3.(4880ft,mile15) intermediate low point
4.(5300ft,mile20) TOP: point of highest altitude
5.(4700ft,mile26) jct with right hand Tusher Canyon
road. Profile continues left
6.(4690ft,mile27) jct with left hand Tusher Canyon
road. Profile continues left
7.(4100ft,mile34) START-END WEST ALTERNATE: Tusher
Canyon road joins paved road along Green River
8.(4120ft,mile40) START-END WEST: jct: road along
Green River, US6 |
 Approaches
From East. Starting in Green River the I70 frontage
road, heading east, is an entity somewhere between neglected
and abandoned, in other words, the perfect mixture for a
traffic free, aerobic mountain biking experience. The turnoff
leading to Tusher Road is not marked. It is the only well used
turnoff heading north, once the railroad tracks are north of
the frontage road. Coming from either Green River or the Ranch
Exit to the east, there is at least one additional, little
used track before reaching the turnoff to Tusher Road. Once on
the correct track, the road takes several jogs to the east,
then crosses the railroad tracks via an underpass, followed
shortly afterwards by a fenced gate.
The first part past the railroad tracks consists of speedy
clay surface cycling. But once the road enters a canyon barely
wide enough to contain the track and the dry stream - which at
this time are one and the same - progress slows to a crawl,
unless the surface has been compacted recently. The track
exits the narrow slot and turns its attention to climbing the
steps to the cliffs on the west side. Here man with
Caterpillar has sought to reshape the landscape in his image,
with the result that the Caterpillar is now stuck in the sand
and the loop as a whole is only traversable by bicycle
(May/07). Past that point the speedy clay surface returns and
the road takes to a rim at half height of the cliffs. A
wilderness study sign points out a boundary on cliff side of
the road. It is the first manmade sign on the unpaved part of
the route, and the only type of sign along the entire unpaved
part of the route. Sometimes it seems like rim road builders
were trying to top one another in number of turns utilized to
follow whatever rim or formation boundary that is being traced
out in the landscape. This one certainly belongs to the
topthree. A shelf road section leading to the first
intermediate summit is probably to most exciting stretch of
road. Once around that point, the viewshed changes to the next
set of cliffs to the west, and the tight turns loosen up
considerably. Beneath the long ridge with many ship rump like
outcrops, the road climbs gently again, this time to the point
of highest altitude.
From West. The route is described in a downward
direction. The viewshed leaps again to new cliffs and outcrops
to the west. There is one more large amphitheater of cliffs to
be traced out, this one much gentler and even with a hint of
green, real or imagined.
The turnoff to descend back into the valley comes as a
surprise that can't be seen until you are practically making
the turn. Joy to see the narrow slot canyon may turn to
despair, upon realizing that the surface is again the same
uncompacted fine gravel. Even downhill this mixture may prove
difficult to ride, depending on recent "road
improvement" work. The difficult surface comes and goes
in long alternating stretches. The road finally exits onto
paved Hastings Road, also labeled "road up the Green
River" in Gazetteer maps. The junction has a sign reading
xxx Road, where xxx has been obliterated. Coming the other way
the turnoff is shortly after a cowgrate.
Tours
Dayrides. A loop ride beginning at Green River over
the frontage road to approach the summit from the ranch exit
side, over the summit back down to Green River measured 49
miles with 2300ft of climbing in 6:0 hours (m3:07.05.26).
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Utah's summits and passes
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