I rode Emigration Canyon and Big Mountain Saturday - lots of police activity

Saturday, I took a chance there would not be tooooooooo many people on road bikes in Emigration Canyon, as I have not been up to the summit of Big Mountain yet this year and wanted to do so before the road opens.

As you can see from the picture below, I made it and it was beautiful.

Question to all: as I was ascending the stretch between where the road splits toward Pinecrest Canyon and the Little Mountain summit, I watched perhaps 9 or 10 Unified Police cars, in groups of 2 or 3, fly down the canyon, (50+ MPH) with red lights and sirens. Before I reached the summit, I saw at least 3 or 4 more, without lights and siren, but flying by at the same rate of speed. I have not been able to find any information on the news about police activities, either criminal, emergency, or some sort of First Responder show of solidarity, that would explain what was going on.

Any one know what this was all about?

I don’t know anything about the police activity but would the trail from Little Dell to Big Mountain Pass be dry and ride-able?

95% of what goes on doesn’t make the news. I can’t tell you how many times I was on a pretty big crime scene and the news was nowhere to be found, but we’ll get media calls about a minor traffic accident.

And, often what comes in to dispatch as something serious turns out to be nothing.

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Not sure, as there is still snow in spots in the canyon, and I have not ridden that trail in many years, so I don’t recall how much of it sits in shady potential snow pockets.

I did see two young women riding the trail where it crosses the first major switchback on the road, so it’s at least passable up to that point.

Pretty ride, I miss it.

The UCA (Utah Cycling Association) has been doing a Social Distancing TT hill climb up Emigration, among a few other social distance competitions around the valley. If you’re interested look up the UCA website, Marek should have info posted.

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That canyon is really under-rated. It doesn’t have the high peaks of the central Wasatch so it gets overlooked. There is a trail from Big Mountain Pass that heads north until it reaches a dirt road above Bountiful. The middle section of it hardly gets used so it’s really overgrown. I ride it on my mountain bike every summer. It’s a bit of a hike-a-bike in sections but it’s really secluded. You’ll never see anyone else on that trail.

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I was there too and was wondering the same thing. Surprised at how fast they were going. Beautiful day and had PRs up both little and big mountain on my new bike. Who says you can’t buy speed :slight_smile:

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I’ve always wanted to hike or bike this trail, but wondered how well it is marked; would I be in danger of getting lost? And, how long does it typically take to ride? And finally, when to you typically ride it, July?

TIA!

I just sent you a message