Salt Lake, Utah -- Since July 2nd, Wasatch Crest Shuttle's mountain bike shuttle has served over 500 passengers riding the Wasatch Crest Trail. The trail is a 22+ mile ride/hike from Guardsman Pass at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon back down through Mill Creek Canyon. The actual route is a combination of Wasatch Crest Trail, Great Western Trail, and Big Water Trails. For one to complete this route, a two-car shuttle was required before Wasatch Crest Shuttle's mountain bike shuttle from 3900 South Wasatch Boulevard to Guardsman Pass.

Rather than taking additional time to retrieve the car at Guardsman Pass, these 500 plus riders went on to do something else after their ride: work, hang out with friends and family, or relive tall tales of embellished glory over a tall frosty one. In addition to the convenience and time savings that the mountain bike shuttle offers people that ride the Wasatch Crest Trail, the shuttle reduces both traffic and demand for parking in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Creating easier access to one of the country's greatest trails and other benefits make the mountain bike shuttle an obvious choice when your free time is priceless and limited.

There are too many things to do in the Salt Lake area during the summer to limit yourself with needless car retrievals after your ride. It simply takes too much time and your free time means too much to waste. Let's break it down: a two-car shuttle will spend a combined 3 hours and 90.4 miles in the cars to do a 22 mile, 21/2 hour mountain bike ride. This is only the time that it takes to drive a round trip from 3900 South Wasatch Boulevard to Guardsman Pass and not the time required to drive to and from your home. If you live 15 minutes away from Mill Creek Canyon, then you will have to schedule 6 hours to do the ride with a self-shuttle. Wasatch Crest Shuttle's mountain bike shuttle will save you at least an hour and a half. What else will you do after the ride?

Even if the scheduled pickups don't work for you and your group, use Wasatch Crest Shuttle for the retrieval. We're going up there anyway. That way only one person will be the sacrificial lamb while the rest of the party gets on with their weekend or holiday.

The mountain bike shuttle has reduced traffic in Big Cottonwood Canyon by keeping at least 444 cars out of the canyon. This number is based on the assumption that only two cars are used for the ride. With car size and bike rack limitations, many groups require more than two vehicles. Reducing the number of cars in the canyon helps ease traffic congestion, improves air quality in the watershed, and reduces parking demands in the National Forrest.

Wasatch Crest Shuttle's mountain bike shuttle reduces an increasing demand for parking at trailheads. On Sunday, August 22, the parking lot at the top of Guardsman Pass was completely full before 7 am. The combination of self-shuttling riders, hikers, hunters, campers, and sightseers has made a very congested SR 190 over Guardsman Pass. This congestion is contributed by vehicles from Salt Lake and Park City. Four years ago, Wasatch Crest Shuttle conducted a study to count the number of cars at any one time parked at the old Wasatch Crest Trail trailhead along SR 190. As many as 50 cars have been counted at one time along the shoulder of a hairpin turn with limited sight. In this area, there might be 36 inches of paved shoulder and 12 inches of soft shoulder before the hillside. Most cars are parked precipitously close to the downhill side causing unneeded erosion. That's only one trailhead! If you drive up to Big Cottonwood Canyon on any weekend during the summer you'll find that the Mill D, Lake Blanche, Guardsman Pass, and resort parking areas (if open to the public) are full. Fewer cars equal fewer developed parking areas and that is what Wasatch Crest Shuttle's mountain bike shuttle does.

Shuttle schedules, purchases, and reservations can be found and made online at bigrackshuttle.com. There are three types of reservations offered: scheduled, unscheduled public, and unscheduled private. As the names imply, the unscheduled public and private shuttles are not at regular times. The difference between them is that the public shuttle will be posted on the online calendar and a mobile alert will be sent out. Private shuttles are just that, private without being posted online or mobile alerts sent out. Wasatch Crest Shuttle can be found on Facebook, Twitter/mtbshuttle, www.wcshuttle.blogspot.com, info@wcshuttle.com, or call (801) 466-3122. Discover a whole new Wasatch Mountain experience with Wasatch Crest Shuttle this weekend!

Andrew Duggins
Wasatch Crest Shuttle, Inc.
801-466-3122
aduggins@wcshuttle.com
bigrackshuttle.com