Cabin Boy Trail

UtahMountainBiking.com is your source for bike trail info, repair instructions, feature articles, first aid, fitness, and goodies.

Cabin Boy

This is a scenic ride just north of Red Fleet Reservoir in the Vernal area. It has some absolutely brutal climbs, so attack this one while you're fresh. It requires advanced technical skills. The singletrack is 2.6 miles, with pavement closing the loop for a total of 3.2 miles. Dirt options include riding the return portion of the Jass-Chrome Molly trail. The Cabin Boy trail may be short on miles, but it will take a lot out of you. Absolute elevation change is 400 feet, but climbing will total 800. Peak altitude is 6100.

We're angling generally downhill to the south early in the ride.

You can also link to the Jass-Chrome Molly for a longer dirt loop, but I don't recommend this unless you construct and follow a GPS track or go with somebody who knows the area. (Our track files for Jass-Chrome include waypoints and tracks where these alternate connectors hit the paved road.)

The trail begins in the red dirt of the Moenkopi formation, and heads toward the Chinle formation as it approaches Red Fleet Reservoir. As the trail enters a canyon leading to the reservoir, you fork right across a wash. (If you reach a fence, backtrack 30 feet and walk through the wash.) Up to this point, the trail's pretty easy to follow.

This is the fork where you go left through the wash and up the rock.

I believe the right fork (which crosses the fence) goes to the campground at Red Fleet. Seems like a pretty well-traveled trail. I followed it just long enough to see the water. I didn't have time to map it to its destination. Somebody want to give me the dope on this?

The route now climbs brutally over Shinarump conglomerate at a 15-20% slope. You'll do about 1/2 mile of advanced-technical climbing. Shortly after reaching the top, the trail seems to end about 50 feet from a doubletrack. (I think this is a ruse to keep ATJ's -- All Terrain Jerks -- from finding it.) If you want to try the ride in reverse, use the GPS data to find this spot on the trail.

Go left on the dirt road to the paved road, cross, and head leftward on more open rock.

This is the climb from the wash. Very tough.

The trail now twists through more red dirt, with occasional short stand-up-and-fight brute climbs, as it ascends. This is fun, if you're not totally burned out already. You'll think you're through climbing several times, but the trail is just toying with you. Finally, you plunge back to the road at the alternate Three Amigos trailhead.

March of the penguins? An unusual rock formation looms over the trail.

Cabin Boy, riding counter-clockwise:
0.0 Exit parking, L on paved road
       N40 35.923 W109 27.470
       100 feet later, R on narrow ST
       N40 35.926 W109 27.430
0.6 Keep straight R (L=bailout to road)
       N40 35.720 W109 26.896
0.7 Fork, L through wash and up rock
       N40 35.619 W109 26.858
1.1 Climbing eases
       (you've done 200 vertical in 0.4 mi)
1.3 Walk to DT, turn left
       N40 35.888 W109 26.479
1.4 Cross paved road, up rock on left
       N40 35.927 W109 26.404
       (Northwest, uphill to find ST)

2.6 At paved road, go R
       N40 36.181 W109 26.373
Option paved road only
    3.2 Back at parking
Option Lower Jass-Chrome:
    2.9 Cattle grate, R uphill on ST
            N40 36.142 W109 26.621
    3.0   Fork L
            N40 36.248 W109 26.708
    3.4   Keep R and R
            N40 36.227 W109 27.015
    3.7   L on DT
            N40 36.355 W109 27.184
            Option B
            Straight on ST for more JCM
    4.3   Back at parking

Getting there:
In Vernal on US-40 (the main drag), turn north on US-191. Drive to mile 10.7 and turn right at the paved road signed "Red Fleet Dinosaur Trackway." Drive uphill 0.6 miles. At the top of the hill, turn left onto a dirt road and immediately park in the wide area on the left. On your bike, go back to the paved road and turn left. 100 feet later, find the narrow singletrack on the right side of the road, heading south.

Bathroom:
2.4 miles from US-191 on the Dinosaur Trackway road is a bathroom at the the trackway trailhead. No water.

Bike services:
Altitude Cycle, 580 East Main, Vernal. 435-781-2595

Riding resources for this trail:
Single-page riding guide
GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."):
Garmin GPX
Large-format area topo map (900K): download

For lodging in the Vernal area, as well as travel guides and information on other activities, may we suggest:
Lodging: http://www.utah.com/vernal/ http://www.go-utah.com/vernal
Camping info, Red Fleet Reservoir: http://www.outdoorsinutah.com/redfleet-camping.htm
Camping info, Flaming Gorge: http://www.outdoorsinutah.com/flaminggorge-camping.htm
Dinosaur National Monument: http://www.nps.gov/dino/ http://www.utah.com/nationalsites/dinosaur.htm
Ashley National Forest Ranger District: http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/ashley/
Utah outdoor activities: http://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/
BLM district: http://www.blm.gov/utah/vernal/index.html