The day started out early. I arose just before the sun began breaking over the horizon to prepare for the day. 100 oz of water went into my camelbak, along with a spare pair of shorts, snacks, cell phone, and elbow pads. The forecast was predicting 90 degree weather in the valley, so upper 80s wasn't out of the question for the outer lands. I debated wearing my protective chest padding over a tank top or just one or the other. I settled on being safe over sorry and brought both along.
My loyal steed was nearly where she should be. Just quick seatpost/saddle exchange and some air in the tires was all it took. My pump wasn't reading properly and I had wanted to take it out and do some activites in the parking lot as a test but Chris showed up before I had a chance. At this point all that was left was to pick up some breakfast and a stop at work so he could look for his suddenly AWOL camera.
This was a nearly uncharted area on each of our personal maps. As expected we got slightly turned around while finding the trail head. If it weren't for my gps we probably would've ended up in New Mexico...Not that that's out of the question for the future, it just wasn't in the plan for today. We made our final preparations in the parking lot: some air out of my tires, gatorade transferred to a water bottle, and armor donned. Our adventure was under way.
Tight, steep switchbacks was the name of the game at first. Instead choosing to focus on rogue wildlife and cactus jumps, the description made only a minor mention of the tight conditions of the trail. Technically speaking, there weren't many areas that we wouldn't have been able to traverse on bike had we been able to maintain any sort of semblance of speed. Alas our feet became our salvation as we treked up the mountain. One aspect of the valley that I love is the vast spectrum of terrain one can come across. Although cactus still littered nearly every area of the trail, there was also a large amount of greenery that created a largly different atmosphere than the dry desert I am used to at Papago and Hawes Pass. It was wonderfully refreshing.
The Gold Mountain Trail marked the northern border of the area, and according to our map, led no where. So the plan was to turn south onto the K Trail. We came to an intersection with a sign that had both the K and Gold Mountain trails marked and they didn't seem to match up with our map. Despite the curious situation we followed the sign to the predicted K Trail. Along the way we met up with another cyclist who was trying to avoid the K Trail. He mentioned passing part of it earlier and that the conditions looked like nothing he was in the mood for that day. Curious, we mentioned that we had thought we were already on K. No time to wonder, however, and we continued on our way.
After about another mile or so we reached another intersection, also labeled K and Gold Mountain and we realized that perhaps the first sign was laid by a prankster and actually led south to the Couger Trail. This intersection provided a wonderful view and a rocky outcrop that provided a setting for some great pictures.
A mid ride snack later and we were on our way. The K Trail wasn't as bad as the stranger made it seem. In all actuality it might have been a little easier than the Gold Mountain Trail. There was one point where we were able to build up a little flow and really make some progress. After a sharp left turn however, I saw a steep decline and freaked out. Not because of the steepness, but because it was loose sand/gravel and there was a slight bend at the bottom that I was afraid of overshooting. So I braked and tried to take it a little slower. What resulted was my back tire continuing out from under me and gravity taking over. It was a relatively soft and slow crash (nothing as spectactular as what happened my first time) but still a little unnerving. Chris told me to walk back to the top and take it full speed, that the dirt packed down a little better at the bottom.
The area was also littered with several jeep trails. We consulted our map at one point and decided that the next section of the K Trail was more of the sharp switch backs that had taken up the better part of the morning. A jeep trail appeared to bypass that entire area and allow us to pick up at the end of the K Trail and then continue on our pre-planned loop. Now, I'm no expert but I think that taking a jeep trail could be a gamble. On one hand, it is certainly wider with longer turns and shallower inclines/declines. On the other, cars are heavy and tend to tear roads up quite a bit which could result in large rocks/boulders that a jeep (with its higher power and larger tires) wouldn't have a problem with, but could be dangerous for a cyclist. We seemed to luck out on this one though. It was mostly maintained and fast and we covered a few miles in probably a third of the time.
If we do this area again, we probably won't take the jeep trails. There were many that were not on the map and I would rather follow a defined mountain bike trail, albeit more slowly, than some uncertain jeep trails that could very well take us in circles.
The last obsticle that we had to face was finding the Gila Monster Trail, as that formed the southern portion of our loop. We never found it. It appeared to have been renamed the Horse Pass Trail. This was an incredibly fast and smooth trail. The turns were tight but not enough to slow us down like the hairpins of yore. There were some slightly technical rocky areas but we were going fast enough that they were not even an issue. It wasn't long before we saw signs directing us back to the parking lot.
Compared to the other places we've been to, this one had some definite advantages that would inspire me to try it again. The scenery was unlike anything I think I could find in the immediate vacinity, and once we got about a mile out from the trail head, there wasn't hardly another soul. We saw 2 other mountain bikers the whole time. Normally at Hawes Pass and certainly at Papago, there are numerous other riders. I suppose this would result in nicely maintained trails, but at the same time, a narrow trail like this would be better off with fewer people.
As the weather begins to warm up, we plan to start taking our adventures farther up north. So be on the lookout for some Sedona, Flagstaff, and possibly Grand Canyon rides.
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