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Mega Steps Trail
Mega Steps is an uphill/downhill route on the far north end of the Klondike Area trails complex. At the top, it connects to the far north corner of the Baby Steps Loop. After heading northwest along the ridgeline, it turns and descends to the Copper Ridge Road. Mega Steps forks eastbound off Copper Ridge road. The EKG trail is 1/2 mile uphill. Photos and ride descriptions by Bruce on November 3, 2011. |
| Mega Steps itself is 3.2 miles in length. But any ride that
reaches it will be at least 12 miles total. You can reach the trail via
Copper Ridge Road at the bottom, via the EKG Trail 1/2 mile from the bottom, or by
Baby Steps at the top. (You can reach that upper junction with Baby Steps by
climbing Baby Steps North, Little Salty, or Baby Steps South.)
The climbing grade is fairly easy, and not too technical. The trail is marked with light-green paint stripes. |
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Mega Steps is intermediate in technical requirement. Less
bike-handling skill is required for the downhill, but the trail rides well
either way. I really like Mega Steps as a climbing route, and prefer it to
the traditional Baby Steps south.
The complexity of the trail system allows for multiple riding options of varying length and difficulty. My "featured ride" is 20.4 miles, but most riders would select something a little shorter. A quick drop from the Salt Wash sandstone down through the red dirt to the Entrada. We're still heading uphill, though. |
| The trail has 550 vertical feet of altitude change. Because
there are a couple of brief descents, total climbing will be 650 over 2
miles. After the initial climb, the trail turns to head south along the
top of the ridge, where you can enjoy views in all directions.
The trail enters this broad Entrada slickrock area as it nears the top. |
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The trail begins with ugly dirt ribbon through weeds. After
reaching slickrock 1/3 mile later, there's a glorious riding. At first,
it's almost entirely slickrock. As you get higher, it's more dirt with
rock rollovers.
After climbing above the slickrock, we're nearing the ridgeline, where the Salt Wash caprock lies in chunks. |
| On rock areas, the trail is well-marked with stripes of
light green paint. Strategic placement of dead branches and rocks helps
you quickly spot the riding line.
View east from the top of the ridge. The rock on the skyline is Entrada, with a layer of Navajo below, then bands of Kayenta on the bottom half of the lower cliff. |
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During the initial climb, most of the rock is Salt Wash sandstone from the Morrison Formation. Once you drop down through the red dirt, the broad area of the open rock is the Entrada Formation -- for example, the large expanse of slickrock near the top. The dirt on top of the Entrada is the Curtis formation. These strata are all from the Jurassic period. Meandering along the ridgeline, we're now looking southwest. |
| Loop with Mega Steps up, Baby Steps North down: If you're trying to save some leg, take the Copper Ridge road to the base of Mega Steps. A simple loop up Mega Steps and down Baby Steps North isn't tough at all. The ride description is at the bottom of the page. To the southeast are the La Sal Mountains. |
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Mega Steps uphill w EKG both ways: This nice ride uses EKG northbound and again southbound to give your legs and shoulders a workout. You'll climb Mega Steps in two pieces, taking the upper section upper first. If you get tired, every up-down trail connects through EKG to Copper Ridge road. So there's a bailout every mile along EKG. We're dropping down to meet Baby Steps. |
| Sample rides going uphill on Mega Steps |
| Loop Mega Steps up, Baby Steps down: 0.0 East across cattle guard N38 46.417 W109 42.735 0.8 Veer L on Copper Ridge Rd N38 46.997 W109 43.072 1.7 Keep on DT (R = Baby Steps S) N38 47.545 W109 43.603 2.6 Keep on DT (R = Little Salty) N38 48.182 W109 44.193 3.6 Keep on DT (R = Baby Steps N) N38 48.801 W109 44.839 4.3 R on ST Mega Steps N38 49.197 W109 45.405 |
4.9 Straight (R = EKG) N38 49.427 W109 45.003 6.4 Top of ridge 7.5 R on ST Baby Steps N N38 49.481 W109 43.795 8.5 Join EKG (on R), keep straight N38 48.973 W109 44.610 100 ft, veer R as EKG goes L 8.8 L on Copper Ridge Rd N38 48.803 W109 44.840 11.6 Fork R (L = Klondike) N38 46.997 W109 43.072 12.4 Back at parking |
| Above ride: Single-page riding guide Track File |
| Mega Steps uphill w EKG both ways: 0.0 East across cattle guard N38 46.417 W109 42.735 0.8 Veer L on Copper Ridge Rd N38 46.997 W109 43.072 1.7 R to Baby Steps South N38 47.545 W109 43.603 2.1 L onto EKG N38 47.742 W109 43.284 3.8 Cross Little Salty, keep straight N38 48.598 W109 43.912 5.2 R uphill joining Baby Steps North 100 ft then veer L to stay on EKG N38 48.960 W109 44.614 6.2 R uphill on Mega Steps N38 49.420 W109 45.034 7.8 Top of ridge, veer south 8.9 Reach DT N38 49.480 W109 43.799 Keep straight on Baby Steps southbound 10.3 Fork R on Little Salty N38 49.129 W109 43.379 |
11.3 Cross EKG, keep straight N38 48.598 W109 43.912 12.0 R on Copper Ridge DT N38 48.179 W109 44.193 13.0 Keep straight (R = Baby Steps N) N38 48.802 W109 44.840 13.8 R uphill on Mega Steps N38 49.196 W109 45.404 14.2 R on EKG N38 49.420 W109 45.034 15.2 Cross Baby Steps, stay on EKG N38 48.960 W109 44.614 16.6 Cross Little Salty, stay on EKG N38 48.598 W109 43.912 18.3 R downhill on Baby Steps South N38 47.742 W109 43.284 18.7 L on Copper Ridge Rd N38 47.545 W109 43.603 19.7 Fork R (L = Klondike) N38 46.997 W109 43.072 20.4 Back at parking |
| Above ride: Single-page riding guide Track File |
| Downhill on Mega Steps |
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The downhill route on Mega Steps starts where the
doubletrack section of Baby Steps ends at the top of the ridge. (Baby
Steps forks left downhill. Mega Steps is straight ahead. To the right a
doubletrack heads downhill -- don't go there.)
Looking to the west on Mega Steps as we head north on the downhill version. |
| There will still be a little climbing for about a mile as
Mega Steps meanders along the top of the mountain. There views in all
directions, although they're just average by Moab standards. The start
here isn't the scenery, it's the riding.
We've reached the north end of the ridgeline. We're looking northeast. The cliffs across the valley are Kayenta sandstone. The spires on the skyline are Entrada. |
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Mega Steps now turns from northbound to westbound and begins
dropping from the Morrison Formation's Salt Wash sandstone down through
the brown dirt of the Curtis. You'll spend some time on a broad tabletop
of Entrada sandstone before climbing back uphill to the top of the Curtis
dirt.
We're dropping toward this big tabletop of Entrada sandstone. To the west are the Blue Hills. |
| Once on top of the Salt Wash sandstone again, Mega Steps
begins a steady downhill toward the Copper Ridge road. When you hit the
EKG trail fork, you're almost to the bottom of the slickrock. Many riders
choose to turn left here and take EKG southbound, instead of dropping all
the way to the dirt doubletrack.
There are a few little ledges and opportunities for wheelies, but everything can be rolled easily by an intermediate rider. |
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| Baby Steps up, Mega Steps down, EKG back: 0.0 From upper parking, east over cattleguard N38 46.417 W109 42.735 0.8 Fork left on DT Copper Ridge Road N38 46.997 W109 43.072 1.7 Fork R on ST Baby Steps South N38 47.545 W109 43.603 Climb through slickrock area 2.1 Straight uphill (L = EKG) N38 47.741 W109 43.285 2.6 Trail veers R, N 38° 48.02' W 109° 42.88' 3.5 Slickrock, fork L following marks N38 47.958 W109 42.584 (R = connect to Klondike) 3.9 L on ST, N 38° 48.28' W 109° 42.69' 5.1 Back at DT, fork L N 38° 48.41' W 109° 42.77' 6.1 Fork L to join Klondike trail N38 48.578 W109 42.373 6.2 Keep straight N38 48.656 W109 42.260 6.6 Keep R and descend N38 48.817 W109 42.085 |
6.8 Fork L in valley N38 48.811 W109 41.871 8.2 Fork L and climb hill N38 49.310 W109 43.045 8.8 Top of hill, R on DT (L = Little Salty) N38 49.102 W109 43.371 9.9 Straight onto Mega Steps ST uphill N38 49.480 W109 43.797 (L = Baby Steps) 12.8 L on EKG N38 49.420 W109 45.034 13.8 Cross Baby Steps, stay on EKG N38 48.960 W109 44.614 15.1 Cross Little Salty, stay on EKG N38 48.598 W109 43.912 16.8 R downhill on Baby Steps South N38 47.742 W109 43.284 17.2 L on Copper Ridge Rd N38 47.545 W109 43.603 18.2 Fork R (L = Klondike) N38 46.997 W109 43.072 18.9 Back at parking |
| Above ride: Single-page riding guide Track File |
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Getting there: Starting at the Colorado River, drive
15 miles north from Moab. Look for a turnout with parking on the right and
a sign for Klondike Bluffs Road. There will
usually be cars parked there (GPS N 38° 44.452' W 109°
44.037'). For a longer ride, park here and ride up the road. Most cyclists will choose to go through the gate and drive 2.7 miles. Keep left at
the fork. At 2.8 miles, park your car in the broad parking area by the
fence. Go eastbound across the cattleguard through the fence and begin your ride.
Note: Map color-coded to show named trails individually. Does not correspond to described loops above. |
| Riding resources for this trail: Single-page riding guide Mega Steps to Baby Steps Loop (12.4 mi) Guide, EKG to Mega Steps, down Salty to Mega to EKG (20.4 mi) Guide, Baby Steps to Mega Steps to EKG (18.9 mi) GPS track files (right-click and "Save as..."): GPX Klondike area trails Mega Steps only Mega Steps up Baby Steps down Loop EKG to Mega Steps down Salty to Mega to EKG Up Baby Steps S down Mega Steps to EKG High-res topo for printing (500 KB): View Lodging, camping, shops: Links to Moab area resources |
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