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Intermediate Intermediate
 4.8 (84)
  1. Areas
  2. CO
  3. …Southwest Rockies
  4. …Cortez
  5. Phil's World
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“The main loop of the infamous Phil's World trail featuring the "Rib Cage" ”

Jeff Fox
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Map Key

10.6

Miles

17.0

KM

0%

Singletrack

6,523' 1,988 m

High

6,283' 1,915 m

Low

795' 242 m

Up

797' 243 m

Down

3%

Avg Grade (2°)

13%

Max Grade (7°)

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Overview

Where the legend began, take a spin on the trails that made Phil's famous.

Description

Head North out of the parking lot through the gate to the trail intersection where you'll see the return route coming in from the right. Drop your daily user fee in the pay box if you don't have an annual membership and take a look at the trail map and kiosk.

The buff singletrack winds through pinion and juniper forest, gradually gaining just over 100 feet to the "saddle". Prepare for a super fun screaming descent down the Coco Race section. After this fast and twisty descent you'll cross through a big arroyo and grunt up a short but steep climb followed by some flat recovery spinning through the pinions.

At the intersection on top of the next saddle, stay left again for the Lemonhead section unless you are short on time and want to go straight for the Rib Cage. Lemonhead drops off a couple of ledges, traverses the hillside and then climbs up to the top of mesa for some more fast cruising. After a few miles, you'll come to the Cortez overlook which is a good spot to regroup and look West to great views of Totten reservoir and the City of Cortez.

Following Lemonhead is a quick drop into the Maze section with an easy log jump and some tight corners. Prepare to get your climb on as you exit the Maze and climb back up to the Elbow section. Elbow takes you across some slickrock style riding with a couple of technical sections. With the right lines, you can make quick work of these tricky sections, but use caution as there have been a few unfortunate mishaps here.

After the Elbow, the trail returns to smooth, hardpacked singletrack heading East with some terrific views of the LaPlata mountain range. Take a left at the Abajo junction (straight is a shortcut into the lower half of Ribcage) and climb up to the Abajo overlook. It is customary to stop here for a snack and regroup. On a clear day you'll see mountain ranges in all direction including the LaPlatas, the Wilson group, the Abajo near Monticello and even the LaSals near Moab.

From the Abajo overlook, traverse the ridge on excellent tread to the Ledges turnoff going left. For this description we'll stay right and skip Ledges but it is a great loop that you can add on if you have time to tack on 30-60 minutes to your ride. Ledges will come back in to the main trail just down the way from where you left it.

Shortly past the Ledges Turnoff, there is an intersection for the Stinking Springs Loop. If you want to avoid this and get straight to the top of the Rib Cage, go straight.

Contacts

Local Club: Southwest Colorado Cycling Association (SWCCA)

Land Manager: BLM Colorado - Dolores Public Lands Office

Shared By:

Jeff Fox with improvements by jason byrd
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.8 from 84 votes

#2

in Phil's World

#80

Overall
  4.8 from 84 votes
5 Star
82%
4 Star
15%
3 Star
2%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#2

in Phil's World

#22

in Colorado

#80

Overall
36 Views Last Month
7,809 Since Dec 24, 2013
Intermediate Intermediate
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Photos

Catching some air on the upper reaches of the Rib Cage.
May 18, 2015 near Cortez, CO
Catch some great views and a little bit of exposure at Abajo Overlook.
May 18, 2015 near Cortez, CO
Patrick rounding the lookout.
May 13, 2014 near Cortez, CO
Jeff around the bend
May 13, 2014 near Cortez, CO
A playful series of rollers on the Here For More section of Phil's World.
May 18, 2015 near Cortez, CO
Getting rowdy on Rib Cage
Aug 15, 2019 near Cortez, CO

0 Comments

Weather

Current Trail Conditions

All Clear 18 days ago
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Oct 6, 2024
Loris S
So many loops! So much fun! Views of Mesa Verde NP. You're a cuesta? No, you're a cuesta! Periodic gunfire just made me ride faster. 10.7mi — 1h 41m
Sep 15, 2024
Russ Gowan
Dry. Lemonhead has a few updates. Starting to be a lille more intermediate advanced with some of the revised elements. 10.6mi — 2h 02m
Sep 12, 2024
Chas Semon
Jul 17, 2024
Nolan Payne
Feb 17, 2024
Lost Justpastnowhere
Sep 25, 2023
Pat Bronson
Jul 13, 2023
Mike Roos
Jul 6, 2023
Paul Kaltenthaler
Loved it, well thought out, Rib Cage is Super!

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