ATV Adventures: High adventure on the Devil’s Race Track in the Swell
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- Dropping down a steep staircase on the Devil’s Race Track.
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- Lynn Blamires
There is an ATV trail in the San Rafael Swell known as the Devil’s Race Track. It is famous in the San Rafael Swell and it is a misnomer. There is no racing, it isn’t fast and I don’t know why I keep taking people on it, unless it is to show other people how bad it is.
I rode it the first time because I didn’t know any better. My wife was with me riding on separate ATVs. As soon as she saw the nature of the beast, she was done so I had to ride it twice, meaning that I leap frogged the machines the length of the trail while she walked.
Well, today is Oct. 7, and I just did it again. Each time seems to be worse than the time before and today was no exception.
To begin with, there are great ATV trails in the San Rafael Swell other than the Devil’s Race Track. You don’t have to ride this trail to enjoy this amazing country. Many of the trails offered do not require a high level of skill or spotters to keep you safe. You can just take a leisurely ride and enjoy the scenery.
The Devil’s Race Track is not a leisurely ride, so you can’t enjoy the scenery. In fact, I have been known to say after completing this ride, “What scenery?”
After completing a ride on the track, guys have been known to laugh, slap each other on the back and say, “Wasn’t that fun?” The female gender has also been known to join in this insanity. No, I can say that it was highly technical, requiring skill to negotiate, but I can’t say that it was fun.
To get to this trail, we staged at a kiosk near the entrance to North Coal Wash about 20 miles from Ferron. We followed the trail in and out of the wash to a junction where South Coal Wash continued and North Coal Wash turned east.
This was the fun and easy part of the trail. Shortly after turning into the north section of the wash, we came to a large stand of cottonwood trees. They were about half changed into their autumn coat. Their yellow colors were made bright by the rays of the morning sun.
Before passing out of this bright color, we came to the turn marked “Devil’s Race Track.” The six machines in our group made the turn and almost immediately stopped noticing the beauties of the trail and began concentrating on the trail itself.
It is rife with rock shelves spanning the trail with steep vertical steps. Drop-offs in the trail can be wild or mild, and the line you choose is critical. Each obstacle presented varying degrees of severity and picking the right approach made the difference between successfully negotiating the challenge or ending your ride.
The most challenging section was about halfway between the beginning and ending points. Traveling north to south on the track, we came to this section.
It started with a series of rock shelves that dropped down about 50 feet at a severe angle. Rocks and logs had been placed on the steps to fill the gaps and decrease the severity of the drop.
I made it safely down this section only to find that most of the others had found an easier work around these stair steps. Phooey! Why didn’t I do that? However, the worst part was still ahead.
The rest of this section reminds me of a hog’s back. It falls off steeply on both sides and has slick rock filled with deep pockets and strewn with large boulders.
One part near the end dropped the right front wheel of the last UTV into a hole, shifting all the weight of the machine to the right side, bringing the left two wheels up in the air. I don’t know why it didn’t roll over, but it didn’t and they made it out safely.
That was the last machine to come off the hog’s back, which was a reason to take a break for lunch. The worst was over and while there were still obstacles to negotiate, the rest was a piece of cake compared to the hog’s back.
When you go, go at your own risk, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and I don’t know why I keep taking this trail.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.