Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/110132
other, are the tallest four peaks in the area, Mt. Shelly Baldy Peak, 11,321 feet, Mt. Baldy, 12,122 feet, Mt. Belknap, 12,137 feet and Cream of Gold Mountain at 11,650. The trail runs right along the edges of the peaks, over some of the tops and through the saddles in between. It is a stunning sight of nature with treeless alpine peaks and unusual colors and textures. You have to be careful here as your eyes want to wonder to take in the sights but the demands attention so that you stay on the narrow paths and don���t end up where you shouldn���t go, down the mountain. Our light mid-sized four strokes are just the ticket. Heading north for the next three hours, about 50 miles, the trail starts to descend out of the ridges and peaks and at the bottom we cross over Highway 70, the main road to Denver. Once across the highway, the trail heads right back up the other side. Getting low on gas, we decide to hit the next town, Kanosh Utah to fuel up. We look for the Kanosh side trail but we either missed it or the sign was out of commission so when we figured we had gone far enough north, we turned west at what looked like a cattle path. At first the path was clear and easy to follow but the further west we went, the less defined the trail was. After five miles we were having our doubts about being able to reach the town on this route. We continued on with our dead reckoning navigation method as the trail got narrower and narrower and more steep and twisty. It was first gear, feet toughing down and on the breaks as we gingerly pushed forward. Just as I was going to give up hope, we rode in between a couple of hills and there it was Kanosh, about 3 miles ahead with an easy trail leading right to it. After fuel and lunch, we found the correct Kanosh Side Trail and headed east back up into the mountains. Once back on the high ridge Main Piute Loop Trail, we again toured north about 40 miles towards the Salina Utah part of the trail, thankful to not be lost. This is the northern most, east/west run of the Piute Trail. Heading east the trail gently descends out of the mountains and into the high valley between the Pahvant Range, the Wasatch Plateau and the town of Salina. In Salina, the local authorities don���t mess with off road motorcycles or ATVs as there are so many, it would be futile, or at least a full time job during the high point of the season. Russ and I cruse the main street, looking for some local cuisine. We find Mom���s Caf�� and decide with a name like that, how could you go wrong? After what tasted like a home cooked meal, we ask about lodging. Mom told us about a bed and breakfast place a few blocks away and we head for it. Once there we register and find our rooms. The owner told us we can park our dirt bikes in a large shed out back if we want to. We accept and thank him for the hospitality. ���We get about a dozen of you guys a week this time of year,��� he tells us. Next day we continue east and up into the Wasatch Plateau on the Main Piute Trail. Once at the top we turn south, the easternmost part of the trail and ride for the next six and a half hours. At this point the trail turns west and you are deposited in the town of Circleville, the birth place of Robert LeRoy Parker, also known as Butch Cassidy. Although the Piute Trail is not a difficult ride for our dirt bikes, sitting on a motorcycle seat for 275 miles is. We decide to spend a bit more time in Circleville than just a gas and lunch break and take a walk around the old western town to stretch out the kinks and the flat spots on our bottoms. We continue west out of Circleville, across the valley towards the Tushar Mountains, the last range between us and Beaver. This part of the Piute Trail from the valley up into the mountains is a wide, well graded dirt and gravel road. It is very steep and makes the 4,000 foot ascent in only 5 miles. Russ and I literally blast up the road reaching speeds of 65 to 70 MPH, power sliding through the curves, whizzing by the ATV���s and cars that are struggling their way the incline and in general, having a wild time. In 15 minutes we are over the summit and heading down towards Beaver. We cruse past Puffer Lake again but continue on without stopping, focusing on the soft seats of Russ���s truck and dinner in jeans instead of motorcycle pants and a kidney belt. We loaded our bikes into the truck and I check my odometer which reads 346 miles. We wash up in the nearby creek and change into civilian clothes. We find a suitable restaurant and have a leisurely dinner talking about what we have seen the past two days and theorize about the six or seven hundred miles of trail we have yet to discover. Before going to the Piute Trail, do some research, get some maps, check out the conditions and make sure you have a GPS unit, something Russ and I should have had. Utah is a wild and wooly wilderness area and has more National and State Parks than any other state. Go to the http://www.marysvale.org/paiute_trail/c ontents.html website for lots of information. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at dvrosenstein@gmail.com Dave Rosenstein February 2013 49