Being a fan of hut to hut hiking, I was immediately drawn to the idea of a hut to hut biking trip. The Aquarius Hut Trail System‘s 175 mile trail begins at Brian Head ski resort and ends in Escalante, Utah. There is everything from fast downhill to Category 1 climbs. Just to let you know where we stand as far as preparation for this adventure: my husband and I are in pretty good shape in that we have been hiking all summer and very active, but we have not been specifically mountain biking to train for this. The boys are both on a mountain biking team and have been training, are in great shape and were up for this challenge. Check out our YouTube video here.
And so it begins. We left the car at Brian Head and headed up the paved road on our way to a great adventure. Excited for this adventure we soon realized that we may have bitten off almost more than we could chew. But we biked on.
As I was approaching the top of our climb the boys asked if we were in the right spot because they could not see a trail anywhere off of the dirt road. I stopped and pulled up our MapMyRide app where we had previously downloaded the route to find that we had indeed ridden UPHILL past the turnoff. As you can imagine, everyone was super happy with me as the designated direction giver π Learning our lesson, this did not happen again on our ride.
Getting to the first section of single track we found a fun trail that ran through a fire burned forest overlooking a colorful area of cliffs and Panguitch Lake, across a meadow and down another section of forest until we came to a campground and forest road which we followed out to the paved road. We climbed this road before turning onto another forest road which took us up and over to a gravel road where we descended down to the town of Hatch. As luck would have it, my app and my husband’s app both showed different locations for the hut. Luckily our host happened to be there and we were able to call and eventually made our way to the hut – hungry and very spent 42 miles later.
The hut was very comfortable and was stocked with food for dinner. There was a propane heater to heat up the bunk area if needed. We heated it up for a few minutes then turned it off to sleep. There is technically a shower, but the water is a foot pump and is not heated. We did not have a problem with this, but feel it is more to clean up than to shower. Each hut has a bike stand an some basic maintenance tools and supplies which was extremely helpful.
My husband bonked hard on our first day (remember to fuel along the way) and barely made it to the hut. He reminded me that every year I come up with an idea similar to this and that we were getting “too old” to do these things π – I think it had to do with the fact that he was bonked, tired and hungry π He was concerned about our family safety and if we should continue. The boys, though tired, did great. We decided that we would feel better if we went back for the car and had it if needed. I called my angel father (as this is a 100% self supported ride) and told him I needed a rescue. He has always told us that he would rescue us on our adventures if needed and true to his word, he got up the next morning at 4:15am and headed down to Hatch to pick me up. There is no better dad than mine.
Here is where I will say that if you are an avid mountain biker, endurance mountain biker or made of lots of grit, this ride is for you. If you are a family with varying ages and abilities, or a recreational rider then I highly suggest having a support vehicle. It was a great decision for us.
Day 2 started with an 8 mile Category 1 climb with a total of about 24 miles. We loaded the bikes and the boys into the truck and hauled them up the first 6 miles of the climb. Call it a handout after a long first day. They hopped out and rode up 2.5 miles before heading down towards the Butch Cassidy Hut. They rode the fun Fremont Trail (jeep road) along the way. The ride then took them past Tropic Reservoir. On a warm day it would have been great to take a dip.
In the meantime, I got to take a nice hour long road trip with my dad through a scenic drive back to Brian Head to grab the 4Runner. My dad enjoys driving and seeing all there is to see. I was extra grateful for a dad who drops everything to help us. I hope I will always follow his example.
Day 3 we decided to start out by doing Thunder mountain as a loop. This ride is considered a black single track that starts out undulating up and down until you finally reach the top and start the downhill. A wise cowboy on his horses was kind enough to warn us that the downhill had some technical areas where we would need to be careful. There were some sections I had to walk and some areas that were cliffy, but we made it with no problems. One of my favorite parts was riding across the spine pictured below.
When we returned to the car, we decided to skip the ride up Castco Canyon and we headed into Bryce National Park where, I admit, I paid to take a shower at Ruby’s Inn RV park and it was wonderful. Showers are $5 plus $1 for a towel. A small price to pay to feel clean after a dusty ride. Bryce Canyon is close and it makes a great side trip or a great alternative if you are traveling as a family and don’t want to ride this day.
After getting shakes and fries in town, we headed to the next stop, the Pine Lake hut. This hut is in a pristine location just up from Pine Lake. This is another area where those who don’t bike can go to the lake if they choose. To say the sunset was stunning is an understatement.
We fixed dinner and settled in for some star gazing which did not disappoint. The stars out here are magnificent.
Day 4 started out with another Category 1 climb. My husband and the boys biked up gaining 1,931 feet over 6 miles while I drove the car behind. I didn’t mind because I had gotten sick the day before and my throat was killing. I originally thought it was from all of my huffing and puffing while riding the previous days, but nope. I was getting sick. I met them at the top of the climb and pulled out my bike for the trek to Powell’s Point. I was uncertain whether I should go being sick, but I couldn’t pass it up. It was 4.5 miles one way and the views were quite spectacular.
We called it a day after this and headed to the last hut, the Aquarius Hut. Having biked hard we were looking forward to a good dinner and were disappointed when we arrived. It seemed as though the group before us had eaten all food of any substance and left us with canned chicken, Top Ramen and loads of sugary snacks. Typically the huts have a menu and it is stocked with that food. This night was suppose to be BBQ chicken. There were no veggies, no meat, not much to eat. We think the group before us was arriving hungry and eating lots (at the huts we are encouraged to eat as much as we want) and we were left with leftovers instead of the hut being restocked as is typical. We were only the second group to come through on a press trip and they just underestimated the appetites of hungry riders :). Up until now it hadn’t been much of a problem. If you do this ride, double check that the food will be re-stocked for your group or that there is a system in place. We did not expect this to be a problem so we did not know to follow up with this. We ate what we could and headed to bed.
Day 5 was our final day and was 30 miles of mostly downhill. As I mentioned, the routes are downloaded onto an app which up until this point worked well. On this morning, we were unable to access our downloaded maps. Luckily, I had looked at the map the day before so I had an idea of where we were to go. I mention this so that you will be prepared with a backup if the digital maps stop working.
There are 2 smaller steady climbs, but nothing much to speak of. The surrounding area is amazing with random boulders strewn about and feeling like you may be on another planet. The path follows a gravel road down towards Escalante. This road eventually meets up with a paved road leading into town where the ride ends.
Things you should know:
- It is a self-guided trip which means you are responsible to carry your gear and be able to do bike maintenance as needed
- Food is included and kitchens stocked
- No support along the trail ($100 rescue fee per person on the trail)
- Plan to carry all your water, on-trail bike maintenance supplies and clothing
- The showers and sinks are a pump system so very little water comes out
- Showers are not heated
- I recommend the entire 175 miles to endurance mountain bikers and those who mountain bike regularly
- Recreational riders and families are best to have a support vehicle with them
- It is intense and difficult. I would not take anyone under the age of 14 and then only if they are in great shape and experienced mountain bikers
- Research family activities to do around the huts for those who may not be riding
- Check out from the huts is 9:00am
- Workout and train for this ride, don’t just show up thinking it will be easy
- The trails are not marked so be sure to download the routes to your app
- There is a ton of climbing and lots of gravel and forest roads
- There is not much single track
Things to bring:
- 3 L Hydration packs
- WOOLeez Adventure Wool (best blister prevention ever)
- A second set of biking clothes
- Energy Food – we use Nuun electrolytes and Shot Bloks
- Sleeping clothes
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant
- First-aid kit
- Bike maintenance tools and supplies
- Long fingered bike gloves (it can get cold)
- Sunglasses
- Sunblock
- Extra socks
- Cell phone with routes downloaded
- Coat or puffy jacket
