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Amassa Back
Trail
| SampleCo Bicycles is conveniently
located at 100 North Main Street in Moab, just 2 miles from this trail. Drop by for
current trail conditions and a free trail map of this trail. We offer K2
and Cannondale
bike rentals. We specialize in quick repairs to get you back on the trail.
Mention this ad, and get free coffee while you shop.
SampleCo also offers guide services for this
trail Wednesday and Saturday.
Call 1-801-555-1212.
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The Amassa Back trail (also called Amassa Back) ascends from the Colorado
River just west of Moab, climbing up onto an outcropping of rock surrounded on three sides
by the Colorado. The trail information on this page is brought to you by
SampleCo Bicycles. Be sure to drop by our store for current conditions on
Amassa Back. Chad Hunter rolls along a
smoother stretch of slickrock trail, with the Wingate Sandstone bluffs of Kane Creek in the
background. The lighter rock capping the cliffs is Navajo Sandstone. Photo April 15, 2000 by Bruce Argyle |
| The trail is a rocky Jeep trail with ledges and drop-offs, and is for
advanced riders. As an out-and-back, the trip is 10 miles. Vertical climb is 1050 feet.
Amassa Back has plenty of Moab's great sandstone to play
on. At the top, you can explore and play.
But on the way, you'll
have eye-popping views of the canyons, as well as a cliff-side cruise overlooking Jackson
Hole and its rincon (called Jackson "Not-Hole".
Gary Argyle cranks up the stone to
where Matt Flygare and Dominic
Bria are waiting. April 15, 2000. |
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On this ride, you'll climb above the impressive cliffs of Wingate Sandstone
that tower over the Colorado River. Working above the Wingate, you'll climb
ledges in the Kayenta Sandstone of the early Jurrasic Era (about 200 million
years ago, when this area was dunes on the western edge of the continent) onto
the familiar Navajo Sandstone. The Navajo Sandstone is a course-grained
sandstone deposited by the wind in dunes in a broad, flat desert area. In some
areas, it is thousands of feet thick. Where the land surface was fairly flat,
the stone is smooth. Where steep dunes prevailed, there are oblique bands
marking successive layers of sand deposits on the downwind side of a dune.
Navajo Sandstone tends to break up into fins and domes.
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The lower two miles of the trail is a tricky series of ledges and rock
challenges. Clearing the multiple rock obstacles will test your skills on the way up and
again on the way down. Mike
Engberson shows his jumping form. The fins above are Navajo Sandstone. April 15, 2000. |
| You'll run into a couple of side routes. Just stay on the main path by
following the tire tracks when in question. Side routes can take you out onto the
peninsula, or down into Jackson Hole. As you cruise the cliffside, notice
"Jackson Not-hole," a rincon where the Colorado formed a
gooseneck, then cut it off to form a new straighter channel past the rock
"island." Matt Flygare takes some air near the top of the Rock. Of
course, you don't have to go over every cliff in the trail. There are easier cheater
routes around most obstacles. April 15, 2000. |
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The end of the "official" trail is this view over the Colorado.
But you can extend your ride by heading northeast. There's a huge area of rideable
slickrock waiting for you. Dominic Bria, Bruce Argyle, Mike
Engberson, Matt Flygare, Chad Hunter, and Gary Argyle at the summit overlooking the
Colorado River valley west of Moab. April 15, 2000. |
| Getting there: From SampleCo Bicycles, turn
right out of the parking lot and head south 2 miles on Moab's Main Street. When you
reach the McDonald's on your right, turn right onto Kane Creek Blvd. After 1.5 miles, go
straight at the "Yield" sign where the road seems to turn right. Continue 5
miles until the road turns to gravel, and watch for the "Amassa Back Parking"
area at GPS N 38° 31.329' W 109° 35.501'. Head further up the gravel road 1/2 mile, and
turn right onto the trail at the sign. Chad Hunter shows a group of "Jeepies" how a real
man handles a trail. Yep, that's air (also called "not-rock") under his tires.
April 15, 2000. |
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main mountain biking page. |
| SampleCo Bicycles is conveniently
located on Main Street in Moab, just 2 miles from this trail. Drop by for
current trail conditions, and a free trail map of this trail. We offer K2
and Cannondale
bike rentals. See us at 100 North Main for your bike repairs and supplies.
We also offer guide services for this trail. Call 1-801-555-1212.
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