The White Rim in a day: Our tale

Do you love long rides? Do you enjoy epic adventures through the back roads of nowhere? If you answered yes to these questions then get off your butt, pack your car, head to Moab's beautiful Canyonlands National Park and ride the White Rim.

The White Rim trail needs to be on your tick list of trails to ride before you die. The scenery is incredibly dramatic and beautifully complex. At every turn you'll be surrounded by large sandstone castles and spires reaching like skyscrapers into the desert sky. You'll be amazed at the desert flowers. They seem to spring out of nowhere and from the most intense cacti I've ever seen -- hundreds of prickly little things. To top it all off you'll become familiar with the hundreds of feet of drop off when you walk or ride to the edge of the White Rim -- talk about air time!

The ride itself is long and epic. The White Rim trail is 100-percent dirt road. At times, it is rough and sandy and other times the road is as smooth as fine sandpaper. In other words, the White Rim is typical Moab jeep trail riding. There are two ways to ride the trail. If you use a shuttle or guide be prepared for 85 miles of views. If you hammer it car-to-car style then you had better strap on some extra water, food and tubes for the 110 miles.

My friend and I decided to ride the White Rim using Magpie Adventures in Moab, Utah. We got the hook-up from a good friend so the guided portion of our trip was free. Mike and Maggie, the guides and owners of Magpie, set us up early Saturday morning (5:45) with the rundown of what we needed to have a happy White Rim tour: CamelBak, pump, tubes, Gu, camera, extra food and a positive attitude. Then we loaded up the shuttle and headed to the Shafer Trail and the start of our White Rim tour.

Dusty, my trusty friend, and I hit the Shafer trail descent like our lives depended on it. Actually, it was really cold that morning and I was dressed for 90-degree temps so I wanted to get into the valley, and the sun, as quickly as possible. We reached the valley in no time and took in our first scenic view: the Muscleman Arch. After gathering some good footage of the arch and pictures, we headed onward.

The White Rim was fast and furious for long sections. What I mean is we were cruising the trail like hot molasses running downhill in the summer. Maybe we put the hammer on a little too hard, because as we approached our first sustained climb, I kept asking Dusty about lunch. He informed me that just over Murphy's Hogback would be organic cookies and fat turkey sandwiches. At 42 miles we hit the climb.

Murphy's Hogback is a fairly steep climb. It isn't technical, but can be somewhat sandy. The difficulty of Murphy's Hogback is that you're likely worn out from riding already. Seeing Mike, our guide, at the top was a welcome treat. I was the first one to top the climb. He slapped me on the back and pointed to the cookies -- OATMEAL RAISIN! After a wonderfully, delicious lunch we reluctantly headed back onto the trail and into adventure.

Once again, it was fast and furious desert road with fabulous views. We stumbled upon some big horn sheep and a blue heron flying across the wide, fast-moving Green River. The desert was also in full bloom. Trees were budding and releasing such a refreshing scent that we were compelled to stop and smell the, well, um, trees.

Dusty and I continued toward our final climb. Historically, Hardscrabble Hill has removed many a rider from the White Rim. Either suffering from complete exhaustion or bodily shakes, riders have opted out of the climb and into the sag wagon. We were determined to fight it out until we reached our car. As chance would have it we got a break, or to be more precise, I got a flat before the climb. After I changed the tire, slowly, we took to the ride and the climb.

Finishing the White Rim was awesome! We signed our names to the Magpie registry and quickly rode back up to the car for some needed food and water. We soaked the day in with conversation and relaxation, as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. One by one the other members of the tour yelled, screamed and almost collapsed after finishing the Hardscrabble climb. It was incredible to watch two doctors, an anesthesiologist, the director of product development for a big corporation and other executives finish the White Rim. They were psyched to be out of the workspace and into the wild.

Like I said earlier, the White Rim is not to be missed. Our total riding time was six hours and thirty three minutes -- we took it fairly easy. The distance logged on my computer was 85 miles. Dusty consumed 300 ounces of water. I drank about the same in water bottles. I ate a breakfast and the Magpie lunch and that was it. Dusty packed in about five Gu's. One tube, a lot of sweat and some stops for cool pictures got us through the White Rim, a ride of a lifetime.