# M&M in Moab



## Trails4Two (May 12, 2008)

Snuck out last weekend for a day trip to Moab. We choose to try the Monitor & Merrimac trail. A bit of a strange choice since it is known for vast stretches of impassable sand. But it is still spring when the sand is slightly more solid and more importantly, Monitor & Merrimac can shares a trailhead with the Mill Canyon Dinosaur trail which our son can explore with Grandma while we play hooky from our parental duties! It has been 15 years since we last rode this one (actually the road trip we got engaged on). But most of it is the same: lots of slick rock broken up by stretches of sandy jeep road. The new DT hub held up to some pretty ugly climbing stress. The good news is that there is now a less sandy option to get out to the buttes. Other good news was that recent rains left lots of trail water for our dog! Here's pics:


----------



## macabra11 (Mar 25, 2010)

I love the photo of the dog in the pool! My wife and I are headed to Moab tomorrow and we are going to be riding this one on Sunday - I am soooooo stoked! Did you do the 7.5 mile loop or the 13 mile ride out to the buttes? How long did it take you?


----------



## Trails4Two (May 12, 2008)

we did the 13 mile trail and it took just over 3 hours including snacks, pictures and a few wrong turns. I highly recommend doing the loop around the M&M buttes, that's where the good rock is! The main jeep road will get you there but it is sandy and involves about .5 miles of walking on the beach. The other option is much harder to find but jumps from rock patch to rock patch with minimal sand between them.


----------



## macabra11 (Mar 25, 2010)

Did you have any good maps, or is the trail marked well? We have the rinky dink map you can find online at some of the Moab Biking sites, but there is not much detail.


----------



## Trails4Two (May 12, 2008)

The jeep road trail is well marked (but sandy) If you are on rock, follow the painted dashes on the ground. We have two different maps that show different routes, hence our wrong turns. The good side is that once you are a little ways in, it's really easy to see the buttes so you just have to find the route that gets you there. If it's your first time, I suggest driving in to the Dinosaur trail and starting up the canyon at the marked trailhead. That will send you up the canyon to a big patch of slickrock. Just when you get to the rock there is a trial/sign to the right that says (I think) M&M cutoff (or shortcut). That will take you to the jeep road then out to the buttes. If, instead, you go up this first slickrock to the top you can get to the buttes by looking for bike tracks heading towards the buttes. These are not marked and can be a bit tricky. there may be other, better, routes as well, but as I mentioned, this was the first time we have been on the trail in 15 years...

Have a great ride!


----------



## macabra11 (Mar 25, 2010)

Well just an update. We got back from our Moab trip yesterday and while the scenery was beautiful on this trail, we did not have a great time like we thought we would. 

First, the beginning part was closed due to rock slides and boulders blocking the trail. So there was no loop, just an out and back on the side with the dinosaur trail. Secondly, there was a TON OF SAND. OMFG, we would get some momentum and then hit a huge patch of deep sand and have to walk the bikes. Not fun, starting and stopping. And the weather was not the best either. Hard gusting winds and quick bouts of blowing sleet make slickrock playing less enjoyable. To top it all off, we lost our small digital camera at the one parking area there! I am pretty sure I left it on the tail gate when packing up the bikes. 

If anyone happened to find it, we were at the small lot at the fork in the road where the loop starts (close to the Halfway Stage house). It is a small Kodak Easyshare, silver color, in a black case with a wrist strap. It had pics of us on that trail and that is all. We went back the next day once we realized it was gone, and there was nothing there.


----------

