So We Went Bikepacking
From Las Vegas to Southern Utah
I know nothing about bikepacking and neither does Hayden Hawks but here we are, sitting in a Whole Foods parking lot on our bikes, on the Las Vegas Strip, about to start a trip to Utah.
The goal was to modify The Plateau Passage route to get to St. George, UT in three days. We calculated about 200 miles of pavement and dirt roads but really didn’t know how far it would be or how long it would take. Yet, we decided to go for it.
Day 1 / 90 Miles and 5,000 feet of vert
“Ya’ll going to Utah?!”
We’re not even out of Vegas yet and we are getting looks and comments. Much different than backpacking through an urban area and being treated like a vagabond. For whatever reason having a bike sparks a lot of questions and conversations with people, not total mistrust and disgust like when on foot.
After dodging cars and construction for a few miles we made it out of the sprawl, through the wetlands, and on to our first dirt of the day. A beautiful semi technical dirt road though Lava Butte. An incredible gem right outside of Vegas and on our way to Lake Mead.
Hayden Hawks in Lava Butte. Photo: Derrick Lytle
After cruising the gravel and dodging rocks in Lava Butte we connected with Lake Mead Blvd to make our way on to the Lake Mead road through the recreation area. Having grown up in the area I had driven the road many times in the past but riding a bike is another experience. First off, it’s an incredible mix of geology, muted colors, and an enormous reservoir. Second, we noticed the trash. Life vests, beer bottles, coolers, etc. lined the roadside adding blight to this beautiful area. We rode naming off everything we found wanting to pick up what we saw but had no space for any of it.
We carried on chatting about racing, the geology, and bikes. 50 miles in Hayden ran out of water. We planned to make it to the Valley of Fire to camp and fill up but decided to ride the pavement in to Overton to get water and crank out miles. We hit mile 80 rolling in to town where we filled up on a few things and then proceeded to eat dinner and find a place to camp. We camped on Mormon Mesa.
Day 2 / 40 Miles and 2800 Feet of Vert
We woke with the sun. It feels natural when you’re outside to do so. When you’re not in a stuffy room. Having a lazy morning we ate breakfast, figured out how to pack our bikes again, and started down the most unknown section of the route to us; Overton to Mesquite. Crossing the mesa we followed the route past The Double Negative, a land art piece created in 1969 by Michael Heizer.
Carrying on we found a lot of rocks. Sharp rocks. Tire cutter rocks. Somehow we escaped without any flats as we fought the rocks with the strong headwind. After 10 miles or so we descended off the mesa on an old maintenance road and found washes, sand, rocks, and more climbing. As we rode and hiked our bikes through here the wind burned us as well as the sun. We felt isolated yet just a few miles away traffic passed by on I-15 unaware and not caring about us struggling up these punchy climbs.
Eventually we made it through the rough and back on to pavement where we cruised in to Bunkerville and then Mesquite for dinner. After refueling we continued on the old Highway 91 toward Littlefield, AZ where we eventually camped for the night.
Day 3 / 40 Miles and 3,700 feet of vert
I woke up to rustling around and footsteps. I had buried myself in my sleeping bag that night as temps got below freezing and in a 32 degree bag I got cold. Poking my head out I saw Hayden building a fire. Our camp site, while beautiful, was close to the mountains of the Paiute Wilderness which blocked the sun from reaching us until well after sunrise. I welcomed the fire until the beams broke over the ridge line. We packed our things up, knowing that this would be the day we made it to Utah.
Another 20 miles of pavement and we would be back on a dirt road leading in to Bloomington, Utah near a popular trail system. After stopping in Beaver dam for a snack and water we continued to one of the most enjoyable sections of dirt on the trip. Ascending backroads near the Virgin River Gorge was incredible. Good road, cool breezy temps, and high desert vegetation mixed in. After the climbing we descended in to Bloomington and to St. George for a well earned meal.
All in all we banked 170 miles with 11,500 feet of vert. We discovered a new love for two wheel exploration and just pure joy in human powered adventures. We now know something, if not much, about bikepacking.