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| Horse Thief Bench
Peter Beers 8/28/2005 PedroGringo@yahoo.com |
This intermediate loop is a good extension of Rustler's Loop. It is definitely another one of the trails that gets a lot of traffic.
The trail starts with a climb up the beginning of Mary's Loop. This climb is pretty rocky, but not technically difficult. Mostly it is a good wake-up call for your legs. You've got a little over a mile to climb up the cliffs that you saw from Rustler's Loop in order to make it to the Horse Thief Bench Trailhead.
The Horse Thief Bench starts with a very rocky and treacherous descent from Mary's Loop down to the actual bench. Most humans walk this section. I've seen two people ride down it successfully and lots of people face-plant while trying. When in doubt, throw your bike over your shoulder and walk.
There's a good variety of terrain on this trail. There are plenty of sandy sections, lots of solid and rocky singletrack, and even a few sections of slickrock like this.
Once you skirt the cliffs and ride towards the river, the trail gives you tons of beautiful views of Colorado River and Colorado National Monument.
The trail eventually turns away from the river at the West end of the Bench. At that point it heads back up toward the cliffs, much in the way that Rustler's Loop does. Mary's Loop skirts the top of these cliffs in the same way that Horse Thief Bench skirts the bottom. There are a few brief sections along this trail that should be walked by mere mortals. I've seen a few people ride these successfully, but I've seen a lot more crash and burn while trying.
There is a long section of trail that follows the bottom of a dry creek bed. The trail is perfectly flat except for a 1-2" step up every 10 feet. It is very fun to ride on and quite photogenic.
The trail finishes off with a few sections of deep sand and a few short climbs.
They're not technical at all, but they will make you use your lungs and legs
a little. The trail loops back to the trailhead. You can either continue on
Mary's loop, head back down the way you came, or ride down the Old Mary's Loop
trail. I've done all three, The first was by far the most beautiful and physically
challenging. With the combination of Rustler's loop, Horse Thief Bench, and
Mary's loop, it came out to be just short of 15 miles for the day.
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