TR - Orogenesis 2024

[springsproject]

So good! This route is going to be so amazing

[evdog]

So good! This route is going to be so amazing

It's coming together, but the fires are definitely having their way with us

[evdog]

Going back to early June, I spent a weekend in Idyllwild to look at a few things.


First off was a possible shortcut south of town. I'd ridden this before and it goes, but with a bunch of steep hike a bike as the trail follows right along a ridgetop.




The mission was to take another look and see it it will be feasible to build bypasses around the steeper parts.




The first three humps looked easy to bypass. This one would be possible to get on top off, but then there is this plunge of death on the south side with no feasible way to get around it. The left is sheer rocky cliff. And the right side, hidden by brush, is almost as bad. And there are a couple more sections like this.




It might be worth looking at as a long term project but it's not an easy re-route to get us off a few miles of pavement.

[evdog]

For the second day I wanted to re-ride some trails at Hurkey Creek. This area burned in 2013 and was closed for 5 years. Just as trails were getting rebuilt in 2018 it burned again. The rebuilding is now in progress again, and I was told everything on the map is open and running well. Time to go see.


Camped nearby and got going right at sunrise




Use it or lose it. This connector doesn't see much use. But now that the upper trail is open, it should come back.




By the time I got up top the sun was well up and the flies were out




I'm not thrilled with a lot of the work the local group is doing. Everything they work on is getting the enduro bro treatment. They braided the sh*t out of this trail with alternate lines going way up on the slope, then crossing the main line with a catch berm. It's a mess.




Next trail. I couldn't even find this one last time I was here a few months before.




The trails were indeed all open and burned in well enough I had no trouble following them. Even Tres Hombres Uno which dead-ended has been cleared and re-done all the way to Bonita Vista Fire Rd




The local group did do a good job on this one, which is a climbing trail from the county park at the bottom up to the main part of the trail network.




This trail used to be a sandy mess as it ran up what was basically a creek drainage. That got wiped out and they moved the trail up onto the slope above




Not only is it a great climb but it goes through this meadow which has awesome wildflowers in spring. When the mountains are snow capped and the flowers out it's hard to beat this view




Looking back. The meadow also gives you a nice break from the climbing




I got onto a couple other singletracks to climb back to the truck. Most of the trails here were built by singlespeeders and are rideable both directions.




These were the only flowers left, but they were pretty brilliant




Plenty of rock to keep things interesting




A big prescribed fire was lit that morning across the mountain. Had fingers crossed they didn't burn the whole mountain down.




Knowing that the trails are all now open and riding great I'm able to modify the route through here a bit to add a bit more singletrack rather than use May Valley Road. And we'll have Keen Camp climb as an alternate route if desired.

[406]

Going back to early June, I spent a weekend in Idyllwild to look at a few things.


First off was a possible shortcut south of town. I'd ridden this before and it goes, but with a bunch of steep hike a bike as the trail follows right along a ridgetop.

Is that the ridge parallel to Lone Pine canyon leading to Circle mountain?

[evdog]

Is that the ridge parallel to Lone Pine canyon leading to Circle mountain?

No the one in post 27 shortcuts from Paradise Valley Cafe at Hwy 371 / 74 intersection up to Thomas Mtn Rd. Otherwise you have to pedal the highway a few miles of pavement to get to dirt.

I didn't scout the ridge above Lone Pine Canyon Rd. Sean rode it years ago but he's the only MTB I've ever heard being up on it. I was on the west side of Circle Mtn in post 25. But I basically cut around the shoulder of the mountain. There were a few moto trails going up to it but they went straight up the slope. The continuation of Horse Canyon Road goes up somewhere near the summit but it peters out on satellite. I'm interested to see if motos are actually riding up there but it will be a miserable climb to get up there.

[406]

Oh, I see, I had missed the "Idyllwild" in your post...was thinking still over in the Gabes, but obvious on rereading.

[evdog]

Haha. I'll put location in the title of each post going forward so it's clearer. Easy to get lost between all the pics.



Forgot to add for the last day, had some time to kill so I drove some forest roads down to a swimming hole I know of and did some other exploring. Water was perfect since it was hot out.










Day 3 of Idyllwild trip


Found a camping spot near a short hike I wanted to do in the morning. Peaked over the top after dark with a great view down to Morongo, that big bright patch which is a huge casino resort




No view come morning




There was a fire lookout on this peak from 1926 to 1962. Nothing left now but concrete




A hiking trail drops off the north side of the pad down to Hwy 243. It's less than a mile and about 650ft vert




It's too steep and rocky to pedal but after a long dirt road climb up from Banning a bit of hike a bike might be a nice alternative to riding 1.5 miles on the highway plus another 3/4 mile of forest road




It was impressively clear of brush most of the way down. Aside from a few get offs for rock obstacles it would be entirely rideable going down




Made it to the bottom and about a quarter of the way back up I noticed a couple FS fire trucks pull up and start to hike up the trail.




I talked to them up top and as I figured, it was their crew that maintains the trail. (Training for newbies.) And it's their regular training hike




There is another trail heading west off the same peak and they told me it is also maintained by the fire crews. I hiked that one next




It was nice for 1/3 mile and then dropped straight down a ridge top. Then it really got steep. The section above is steeper than it looks and required hand holds climbing up and down




There was very recent work on it including heavy benching and brushing. Unfortunately the steep parts on it make it too steep for bikes, especially loaded bikes. But the first trail will work for the route.

[evdog]

Still Idyllwild, still day 3


Previously I had come up with a route through the Hub trails that took what I'd found to be the optimal climbing route through the system. But when I rode it going the opposite ("downhill") direction with Gabe during the 2023 Orogenesis tour we found the incidental climbs to be pretty tough on tired legs. So one of my to-do items was to map out a route that would be better in both directions. All the trails there are pretty fun, but if we can eliminate some unnecessary climbing that would be a good thing. The route has way more than enough climbing to keep anyone happy. As a bonus the new route I'd come up with would be much easier to navigate having fewer turns and intersections. None of the trails are signed and the network is a web of trails, so it is easy to miss turns and get confused.


The trail I headed out on is one that I normally use to climb back up. And aside from some rock step ups mid switchback its a nice climb




Flowy forest riding. It's an awesome place to ride.




I rode the first trail further along than I normally do and I'd forgotten about a couple stream crossings. One was dry and the other now has a bridge




The climb up Optimator, one of the original trails here is tough as they were recently re-built with berms and steeper sections, now optimized for riding the opposite direction it seems. There were a few short hike a bikes but not a big deal.




Once above those the riding was flowy and nice.




I crossed the forest road and traversed for a long ways before the trail climbed back up to the road. That section had some steeper parts and it got tough going through a fuel reduction project.




The trail on the other side was decimated by the fuels project and I couldn't even pick it up back in the trees. Circled around and did another lap, which used up available daylight. Always good to have an excuse to catch sunsets up here because they are awesome.




I'm happy with the new route. There's still a bit of tough climbing on it but most people will be riding it in the optimal direction. All good.

[evdog]

Next trip, mid June. Big Bear Lake


First day - got up there late afternoon. I had scouted a route from bottom of Sugarloaf Road near Hwy 38 to Big Bear close to ten years ago and figured it should be scouted again. First, to make sure the route I wanted to use was still there and still passable. And also to see if there are any new trails that might be better.


I parked near the highway and pedaled up the road. Maybe a mile up I spotted a singletrack off one side that wasn't on my map. Heat map didn't make it look like a promising connection for the route, but it looked inviting. Put it on the list to check out later




Pushed through to the main connector trail. It was sandy in places and really nice in others. But I had forgotten that much of it goes straight down a drainage, and it wasn't as nice as I remembered. I rode it all the way to the ski lifts at Bear Valley.






I checked out another trail on the way back. First part was ok, not great.




But then it climbed up behind some houses and traversed the ridgeline. Aside from the steep climb up this was a lot nicer than the trail down below




Narrow, twisty singletrack




And plenty of rock to keep it interesting




Plus some cool alligator juniper mixed in. This connects back in to the original trail part way across. I liked this new trail and will plan to use it for the route.




Time to head back, and I turned off on another trail I spotted on heat maps. It turned out to be old jeep trail, but I found a singletrack that dropped down which eventually connected to the first singletrack I'd spotted earlier. Unfortunately this one gets super steep and does a bunch of unnecessary climbing in and out of a few drainages. So, that one is out.




Happy with this scouting. Confirmed the original route is still there and found some new stuff to splice in. And almost enough on this end of town now to make for a decent ride on its own.

[406]

Those trails east of big bear are pretty nice, I rode some of them to connect to Wild Horse a few years ago, your route on some of them:
https://www.strava.com/activities/5803498649

[evdog]

Big Bear, second day


Did some more road exploring in the morning into afternoon since it was hot. Then pulled the bike out for an evening pedal




Hanna Flats Trail is on the west side of the lake, with upper TH at a campground of the same name. I wanted to check out a couple fire road connectors to it, which are needed at times as the trail down closer to the lake has an annual bald eagle closure.




The first road was a bust as it goes right into someone's back yard. The second one is fully accessible (sinkholes notwithstanding) and will do as a connector to the trail during closures.




The trail starts with a steep climb for half mile then it's really nice and flowy up top




The eagle closure ended early this year but rather than drop down to the lake I turned around and rode back to the campground. Nice view of snow capped peaks




Nice sunset hitting just as I was about to drop back to the campground






Always a fun ride

[evdog]

Big Bear / Lake Arrowhead area, third day


Another area I scouted close to a decade ago is a connection from Big Bear area to Lake Arrowhead. That's a long time for trails to evolve. I also found a non-motorized trail on a map which I had not been aware of previously. And found some unmapped moto trails with better satellite imagery. Time to give this area another go.



Hawes Ranch trail would be up first. It's the non-motorized trail and I could not find any info on it, no heat map activity, no trip reports. This ride would be a loop. If Hawes Ranch isn't passable, I could turn around rather than be stuck at the end of the ride having to find another way to finish the ride.




It started off as doubletrack for a few hundred yards and then became singletrack after another gate and pinch point the SXS couldn't get around.




After a mile and a half the trail disappeared in a meadow and I had to hunt around a bit to find it. Turns out it climbs up onto the side hill. You couldn't even see it from below, I had to be at an angle where I could look almost straight up the trail before I spotted it




It was almost immediately blocked by a large downed tree. But once past that, it looked promising.




Of course, just out of sight around the corner it started getting badly overgrown.




But then there would be a clear spot that would suck me in a little further. It looked ok-ish after this rock outcrop. And I actually came across a fairly fresh moto track on the other side of this. If he made it this far from the other side, it means I can get out.




One of the rideable sections. Most of it was pretty ugly. I could tell the moto rider had not been having a good day. Lots of places where there was thick brush growing out of the trail tread and it was hard to pick it up on the other side. The end of the trail is in that valley up ahead, but half a mile around the corner.




This is where the trail ended for me, maybe 1/4 mile from its lower end. I'd already hauled my bike over half a dozen downed trees. This one, with willow mixed in, might have been passable but there were more downed trees just ahead where the trail hugged a cliff face that I would not be able to get by. I backtracked up the trail a few hundred feet until I found a spot where I could bushwack down the slope. That was the easiest going I'd had in some time. Total progress to the trail's end was 5.5 miles in 4 hours. Ouch.




I climbed out of the valley on Holcomb Crossing trail. Also minimally used, but in much better shape than Hawes Ranch.




Nice view from the top looking toward Lake Arrowhead. Arrowhead is an interesting place, the lake is entirely surrounded by private property so there is almost no public access to it.




I took Crab Flats OHV road the rest of the way to the Arrowhead side. While it's a novelty with sections like this, it's not a ton of fun on a MTB because the OHVs have really torn it up.




At Deep Creek it reverts to normal dirt road. Just beyond that I pickup up the North Short Nat'l Rec Trail which climbs up to a campground near the lake shore. I remembered this trail being a tough climb up to the campground, and it was. But with parts of the trail now a stream, it was a lot rockier than before.




I took a snack break at the campground but couldn't really rest being harassed by aggressive deer flies. So I got back on trail quick as possible.




I thought this was a continuation of the NS NRT but looking at maps it may be a non-system trail. Either way, it's nice singletrack.




I turned around at the end of the singletrack and rode it back to the last road intersection. The road would take me pretty much directly down to Crab Flats Rd again, and with a short traverse, straight over to Devil's Hole Rd.




The road drops down to Deep Creek. Last time through was in November and I was able to cross with dry feet. This time it was thigh deep to the amusement of some PCT thru hikers camped on the far bank. From there it is a moto trail climb for 2.5 miles.




As far as moto trails go this is one of the most rideable ones I've ever found for climbing. It's better than a lot of non-motorized trails in Socal. I had to walk some of the steeper parts since my legs were hurting. But was able to ride most of it.




Lights went on not long after I hit the jeep road. Still had 8 miles and 1200ft of climbing to get back to the truck. No big deal, it was a nice night and cool temps were a relief after the hot afternoon. I stopped along the climb in a few spots to look at moto trails that intersected the jeep road.
Most were aggressively signed Closed and/or fenced off by the Forest Service, but those not fenced still appeared to be seeing traffic. Finished with 32mi and +/-5,500ft. The final 25 miles took only a bit longer than the first 5.5.




It's a bummer Hawes Ranch is in such rough shape. The trail has pretty nice grades and would make a great connector trail for loops in this part of the forest. But it's waaay out there and not easy to access no matter which side you're coming from. I'll keep it in mind in case we need an alternate route in the future. But it would take a ton of work to bring it back.

I was stoked on the rest of the ride. North Shore NRT and the moto trail out of Deep Creek are what I've recommended for Orogenesis. And they are still good.

[evdog]

Big Bear area, day 4


Preference is always for singletrack rather than fire road where possible, and I had mapped out some moto singletrack to scout. Some of the options had been eliminated on the climb out the night before. So I planned to check out some of the trail that looked more promising (not signed closed, and no heinous climbs per topo maps)


This is the area I wanted to traverse, San Gabriel Mtns in the background




Start of the singletrack




Still some nice flowers to be had




The trail had some short steeps both directions, but none were very long. The biggest challenge was loose rock in the moto ruts




There are some cool rock formations the trail winds around




Reminds me a bit of Tucson




Final climb up to the road. This would end up being the ideal route. Though I backtracked and exited via another trail, which had a couple unnecessary climbs and descents.




Good little adventure ride. There are maybe half a dozen hike a bikes and while steep, none are very long. I think this trail is a winner for the route. It is a decent shortcut that eliminates a decent number of road miles.

[evdog]

Big Bear area, still day 4


After the moto trail exploration I decided to follow Coxey Road the rest of the way down out of the mountains to see what it was like. It had a couple rutted sections that required high clearance but I made it through. It dumped me out between Victorville and Lucerne Valley.

I wanted to ride Skyline in Big Bear, so I headed up the back way from Lucerne Valley.



Do e-bikers think scratching off the "No" makes their motorized devices legal? This post needed some new signage




I rode from the village clockwise. Skyline starts with a tough little climb then gets nice once you cross 2N10




Parts of this area burned in the Radford fire 3-4 years ago




Other parts are still super nice




Another burn area, greening up




Nice flowers




The east side of Skyline is nicest. It was build within a fire break, and on the west side they had to incorporate a lot of short steep climbs and switchbacks to stay within the break.




Great views of the San Bernardino mountains




I didn't get started early enough to do the full loop even if I had wanted to, so I turned south on Pine Knot and took that to Knickerbocker fire road which takes you right back to the ski area base.




Sort of caught sunset, it dropped behind the mountains before I got to a spot with a lake view




Skyline is part of the Orogenesis route and is about as perfect as you can get for bikepacking singletrack. Always a fun ride.

[evdog]

Wrightwood and Angelus Natl Forest, day 5


After Skyline I headed over toward Wrightwood and camped at Blue Ridge with a plan to explore a couple spots.


Did a bit of driving around. Views were great as always




Found a few new to me dispersed campsites. The first scouting over here didn't pan out. I was looking at whether it would be feasible to build a connector trail from the end of one singletrack to bypass a section of shitty fire road. But the terrain there is far too rocky and cliff like.




I headed over by Lake Hughes in the Angeles National Forest next. A bit of a hike but I needed to get groceries and gas in town, so it worked out.


We'd found on maps a short singletrack that would bypass some paved road between Boquet Reservoir and Green Valley. It showed a bit of heatmap activity so it was time to check it out.




It looked promising at the top, but soon got heavily rutted. Fortunately the ruts only lasted 200ft or so until the grade mellowed out.




Then it was ok for a while in the middle. Brushy in spots but mostly ok, and only one spot with poison oak




One last section with some ruts




The lower part passed through a disc golf course, which I wasn't expecting. But it had shaded picnic tables at the parking area so that is a bonus. Plus a bikes allowed sign. This one will take a bit of hike a bike either direction with the ruts and steeps. But the road is still there if people prefer.




Just on the other side of Green Valley is a short ATV / moto trail I wanted to check out again. I'd ridden it years ago and didn't remember liking it much. But I think it had just been graded at the time to ATV width.




It seemed a lot nicer this time with big oaks for some shade and a stream running in the meadow below






Did it as an out and back, and ran into this guy on the way back




While I do like the trail now, not sure on using it for the route. At the south end it turns and runs parallel to the highway for 1/4 mile away from town. Which means we'd have to pedal an extra 1/4 mile back on San Francisquito Canyon Rd which has no shoulder and heavy commuter traffic. The section of forest road this trail bypasses is nice enough I don't see a need to add half mile of extra riding. But if we could dig a short MTB connector from the road to the trail before it turns, that could be the answer here.


Made good use of groceries when I found camp. This will do for three dinners so it's worth the effort.




Uninvited guest. There were a few of these guys hanging out below the picnic table.

[evdog]

San Gabriel Mtns, Day 6


The schedule worked out so I was able to join the Lowelifes for a trail day to help open up the Rim Trail near the top of Mt Wilson. It has been closed since the Bobcat fire in 2020.

They've had a number of trail days on it already and it is close to being ready to be re-opened.


Well above the marine layer which was blanketing LA




We had a 3 mile ride in. Great to be back on this trail!




Even having been worked on it is still raw and challenging, which sharp switchbacks, narrow trail and tons of exposure




As with most fires not everything burned so it is still plenty green




Did I mention narrow trail? Got a little too close to the edge here and a rock that had been part of the tread decided it would rather relocate down the hill. Almost took me with it




I was assigned a brush cutter with metal blades and got to work. Before:




After:




We had to brush the corridor before another crew could come in and work the tread. That'll probably happen on a different day




I was able to clear the worst of it, about 300 yards from the trail's end at Newcomb's Pass back to where the other crew had finished tread




Cleaning up post work. There was a lot of poison oak in this area. I'd been wearing a bug head net since the deer flies were out and killing us. I think it stopped a lot of PO fragments from hitting my face.




They had a couple vehicles drive in to ferry out tools. I caught a ride back. But the connector still needs a bit of work




Carnitas tacos back at the trailhead. Always a good time with this crew! As a bonus, the Forest Service reduced the closure area the day after this work was done so Rim Trail is now open to the public again.

[evdog]

San Gabriels, still day 6


The trail party ended about 5pm. With 3+ more hours of light I headed down the mountain a bit to check out some other trails on my to-do list.

There are a few connector trails in these mountains that don't see a ton of use, but are important if you want to put together big rides.


We had used one of these on the Escape LA bikepack. I didn't really like that connector because it requires almost a mile on Angeles Forest Highway (also known as the Angeles Forest 500 race track on weekends). In other words, not a very safe road for bikes. So I had suggested a different trail for Orogenesis which required no pavement. It's not the most bike friendly singletrack though. I'd noticed on Escape LA that there could be a third option. So the plan was to hike both and see which one was better.


Orogenesis goes this way. Starts off nice and it was partially cleared as part of a fuel reduction project.




It gets pretty rocky. Fun if you're going downhill. Not so much going up. And that's the direction the majority of Orogenesis thru traffic will likely go.




And there are half dozen switchbacks like this. With exposed stakes to add penalty for failure




The new option I'd found looks more like this, with wider sweeping turns. It has enough rock to keep it interesting but not to make it unrideable in either direction. This route is a winner. I passed it on to Escape LA management as well.




The only bummer was a fuel management project at the top of the trail that completely hid the singletrack. It'll eventually get cleaned up. Free firewood if you need any!




All of these options connect right over to the intersection of Angeles Forest Highway and Angeles Crest Hwy (Hwy 2). Though this section also disappears into the wreckage of another fuel reduction project closer to the intersection.




Nice sunset incoming

[evdog]

San Gabriel Mtns, day 7. Mid June


Chilao and Mt Hillyer is another riding area in the San Gabriels, and it is also part of the Orogenesis route. I hadn't ridden there in years so like other places it was time to give it another go.


After the prior day's scouting I headed up Pacifico Mtn from Mill Creek Summit to camp. The road to Pacifico had been closed for a few years, and from what I'd heard the tacoma bros and #vanlifers hadn't found out about it opening yet. There is a small campground at the top. Maybe 4 sites?




I had got up top pretty late. It was windy but not terrible. But around 2am the wind kicked up big time. I had to put the roof top tent down as the whole truck was getting rocked. I had specifically built my camper out with a cabinet flush with my fridge so that I could use it as a sleeping platform. Perfect for when you're stealth camping in town, or when it's too windy to use the tent.




After breakfast I headed down the mountain and parked at Charlton Flat day use. Then started pedaling towards Mt Hillyer. For an area so close to LA this network does not see a ton of bike traffic. (It helps that Hwy 2 is frequently closed making it harder to get here)




Snow plant in bloom




I made the climb up the Chilao-Hillyer fire road. That's Pacifico Mtn where I'd camped on the left




Not often you get critters to stand there and pose for you




Mt Hillyer is a fun trail with some nice rock features. Seems like this is the only trail that sees much traffic




At the bottom I turned left and climbed up Silver Moccasin Trail.




From a high point the trail parallels the paved portion of Santa Clara Divide Rd to the Three Points trailhead. This section seems to be getting no traffic at all. Kind of mind boggling. It needs a bit of work to get it riding well. It's a sweet trail when it is, mostly contouring with good views and just short descents and climbs.




It has some nice chunky sections as well. Following this is the only part of the trail needing serious work, with a big rut down the trail for 50 yards where water is not draining off.




From Three Points I pedaled the road back to the high point and then dropped back onto Silver Moc. As you head south on this trail it drops about 1500ft with a few climbs along the way. The singletrack is a point to point that can be looped using a few different roads, or as a pretty tough out and back




Singletrack on one of the climbs




The north and south parts of the trail are connected by this mile long doubletrack. It's pretty scenic with a stream crossing in the middle




I had checked out the southernmost section of Silver Moc to Hwy 2 a couple months before.

This time I wanted to climb up Vetter Mtn. There used to be a trail off the top of it. On the road climb up I noticed one section of that trail seemed to be open. Not in great shape, but it had been fully brushed. No sign of recent traffic. The upper part was still clogged with thick brush




View near the top was not bad




Nice shade structure and picnic area up top.




Vetter Mtn Fire lookout. It burned in the 2009 Station Fire and was re-built in 2020.




Hung out for the light to get good but had a ways to go back to the truck. It was mostly downhill then a 500ft climb back up. Just made it without needing lights.




I've now ridden all the trail in the Chilao area. It's a tough push heading north. But most riders of Orogenesis will be heading south. I was pretty happy with the overall condition of the trails. They're kind of raw and backcountry feeling. Need to ride here more often!

[evdog]

San Gabriel Mtns, day 8. Still mid June.


Also on my to-do list was to return to the mining road near Mt Gleason and continue opening it up to allow bike passage. I had worked on it with Lowelifes the previous summer and then spent a couple days earlier this year working on it.


With some heat, the brush was growing back fast and there were a bunch of new trees down




I rode up from Mill Creek summit and brought the chainsaw to make brushing go faster. The downed log you can see in the background is where I left off last time. Need a real chainsaw to clear that one. For now, it's possible to go under it (without a bike)




Came across another big downed tree over the old road bed. It's a solid 4-footer so I decided it would be easiest to go around the butt on the left.




Gas chainsaws will make quick work of small downed trees so I left them in place and focused on brush. Looking ahead.




And looking back. This whole section was super thick with cyanothus and other brush so I didn't clear much distance. But it was satisfying work.




Nice view on the pedal out.

[evdog]

San Gabriel Mtns, day 9, still mid June


Throughout Orogenesis there are tons of choices to be made on which way to go, with each option having pros and cons. One of those is whether to take Grizzly Flat Trail or Stone Canyon Trail to connect from Big Tujunga Canyon Road to Angeles Crest Hwy. Stone Canyon is a 3,100ft climb and then you descend 5 mile on forest road to where Grizzly Flat tops out. Grizzly Flat is only a 1,500ft climb, but it is not well maintained and has five stream crossings that can run deep and fast. I tried to do this loop last year and turned back at the second crossing. Too deep.

Stone Canyon was all but gone until a few years ago when a Lowelife and another local re-opened it top to bottom. While brushing made it passable, it was still an adventure ride as the trail was steep and very exposed, and the tread not in great shape. It was included in Escape from LA bikepacking route last fall and we found that the lower half of the trail had re-built tread. Today's ride was to see if more work had been done, as I suspected the trail gnomes would keep working their way uphill.


I started at the bottom of Grizzly Flat at Vogel Flat and made my way through the canyon to the bottom of Stone Canyon




It's not idea to go barefoot as these trailheads are party spots with plenty of broken glass. I brought an old pair of shoes for the crossing then changed into riding shows. Only one crossing on Stone, right at the bottom.




The recent trail work already growing back in




I rode parts, walked parts.




This was one of the sketchy switchbacks before. Still requires dismount but no longer sketchy




Mid way up to the climb I ran into the other local who has been working on the trail. He was finishing up a small re-route that would be the last project on the trail. He said he has worked on this trail on and off since the 80s and this was the second full re-build of it.


Higher up I came across some more re-routing, all of it pro level construction done to forest service spec. All of this new work was fully rideable uphill. It bypasses a steep fall line section that had developed after past fires. These switchbacks were apparently the original alignment.




More new switchbacks. The existing line drops down on the right and continues behind me




Big Tujunga road way down there in the canyon. You can also see Condor Peak Trail winding up the mountains on the opposite side. Condor Peak is the distinctive hump just left of center.




The fire road dropping off Mt Lukens is primitive in spots. Not bad as far as fire roads go




When I rode Grizzly a few years back it had just been cleaned up and was riding well. But it was reportedly in bad shape again. The start was fine




Nice view down to the canyon




It was definitely overgrown in places with plenty of poison oak. But only a couple of downed trees. There is a half mile section before the creek crossings that is steep, loose and rutted. Fun on a day ride but it would be a handful while bikepacking




First of five crossings. This was the deepest one and I stopped for a swim here.




The trail was hard to follow within the riparian areas. Grizzly doesn't see much use




Once out of the riparian areas it was fine, but still primitive




Fourth crossing. This was the one I turned around at last time. It was a lot deeper than this.




Flow is determined by release of water from Big Tujunga dam, not by rainfall, so you can't predict it ahead of time. For that reason, and knowing that Stone Canyon is now completely re-built, I'm going to have the route go up Stone rather than Grizzly. Stone is an extra 1,500ft but with the better tread condition is about equal effort.

[evdog]

I took advantage of prime fall temps and just finished another extended scouting trip up the west side of the Sierra. The mission was to check out areas that burned in the last few years that are now open again, to look for solutions to a few problem spots, and to check out some new route alternatives in others.


My first stop was Wrightwood. On the last trip in June I was looking at a bypass for Lone Pine Canyon Road (posts #23-25 on last page). And I found a good one, except for one spot that had a heinous hike a bike that is a deal killer for that part section. I needed to find another ending.

There is an area on the other side of Hwy 2 that I previously dismissed since it is a large wash, but now wanted to check it out for anything passable. It would be easy to just hop on Hwy 2 for a mile and a half but that section has some curves and zero shoulder along with heavy traffic, so that's a no-go.


I parked at the south end just outside Swarthout Canyon near Wrightwood and headed north on a doubletrack. It gets very faint on satellite and disappears. It's always different on the ground.




I checked out a couple turns that lead into the Sheep Creek wash but they both seemed to dead end - couldn't see any continuing trail across the wash. A doubletrack to the right kept going though.




It got narrower, rockier and more overgrown the further it went to the point it was almost unrideable. Not ideal. And it ended in the wash here with a steep bank on one side and a hike a bike over to the distant water tank to the left.




There was no trail up on the bank so I went over to the water tank which has road access from the other direction. That road lead to an OHV road a bit north which goes where I need to go, but has some super steep, rutted sections. The climb was bad enough....(it was steeper than it looks here)




The descent down the other side was total BS. Even steeper but with lots of loose rock and sand. Not good.




That's too bad because it turns into nice singletrack after that. At some point we may be able to build a singletrack bypass to the steep part.




Continuing on, I got to another road which I hoped would cut off a big chunk of Hwy 2 but it was gated and signed no trespassing. Time to turn around. On the way back I found a short trail along Hwy 2 that can be used. But that section of Hwy 2 has a good shoulder so it's probably simpler to just stay on the road.


More importantly, I went back to the water tank and found a doubletrack heading south that looked like it might connect to one of the first two options I'd looked at that dead-ended.




From this side I was able to find where vehicles were crossing the wash, and it connects in at another faint side trail I hadn't spotted before. Not great, but worst case it is possible to just push across the wash if it's obliterated by storms. It roughly runs beneath a powerline that can be used as a guide. It's only 600ft or so across the wash.

For now I'll recommend we use route across the wash, and connect to Hwy 2 just beyond the water tank. This bypasses the worst 1.5 miles of Hwy 2 and leaves 2mi of riding on Hwy 2 to Hwy 138. It would be possible to cut off another mile using the steep ridgeline section, but that last 2 miles of Hwy 2 has decent shoulder and visibility. As a bonus for going this way, there is an urbam trail all the way through Wrightwood on the south side of Hwy 2 that will get riders off pavement there and take them right to all the services in town.



It was dark when I finished but I had one more stop to make, to check out a trail that recently popped up on Trailforks near Cajon Pass. It connects to the route pretty well and cuts off a section through a residential area that I'd like to avoid.

The trail heads down a narrow ridge with some steep sections and jumps. It will be be a bit tough for bikepacking, but it is pretty fun. Probably easier during the day....






And there is an easy fire road bypass for anyone heading north who wants to avoid some hike a bike. Ran into a local:




I'll be recommending both of these sections for the route. Productive evening! This completes the bypass of Lone Pine Canyon Road with mostly dirt, and a decent amount of singletrack. Win.

[evdog]

The next stop was Kernville for a quick morning ride before it got hot.

Currently the main route uses Dutch Flat Trail to drop down to Keyesville. I'm not a fan of Dutch Flat except in winter/spring when the dirt has moisture. It sees a lot of uphill moto traffic from Keyesville so it gets torn up by mid summer with big ruts and loose sand. It can be a miserable descent in those conditions.

The route I want to use there follows Kern Canyon Trail to Badger Flat and Rancheria Road. The trails are mostly good xc riding, but this route also adds a lot of mileage without a lot of available water. It's good headed south which trends downhill. I wanted to find an alternate uphill route for people heading north. There are a few dirt / OHV roads in the area that head uphill from Keyesville so I set up a self shuttle for one called Hogeye that looked the most promising.


Looking down at Lake Isabella from the start of the ride




The start of my ride was on Granite Trail, which connects Sawmill Road to the start of Dutch Flat.




There are some nice granite slabs and singletrack before the route kicks steeply uphill for a bit.




Another cool feature




When I got to Dutch Flat I turned right to climb rather than left to drop down to Keyesville. Most riders don't go this way. It started off mellow but soon got steeper with some hike a bike




Then it teed into a jeep road and things got serious (steep)




Looking back. The road climbed about 600ft here, with most of that in two steep pitches.




At the top I turned left onto what was labelled as jeep trail on my map but signed as singletrack on the ground. It was sort of singletrack.




This is what singletrack becomes when it's steep enough. The riding was still fun up to this point. Maybe not so much on a loaded bikepacking rig.




Eventually the rolling terrain ended and the trail turned straight downhill. Not sure what it was supposed to be called at this point but it was road width and so steep it became a slide fest that wasn't fun anymore.




Then it got even steeper. My feet couldn't even maintain a grip, I was just sliding down and trying to use the bike as a 3rd leg. Had to go off trail to the side where dirt was softer and bushes offered some support. It's a lot steeper than it looks




Looking back up




I salvaged the ride with a bit of nice singletrack back to the truck at Keyesville. Doesn't need to be said but we will not be using Hogeye for the route : )

[evdog]

Labor Day weekend

After the Kernville ride I continued north to the Greenhorn Mtns above Kernville to meet up with Kern River Valley MTB and the Lowelifes for a trailwork campout at Frog Meadow and some trailwork on Tobias Trail. It burned in 2021 in the Windy fire and is in bad shape. I hiked it last year around this time and found it overgrown with many downed trees, and hard to follow in places. We were going to take a good shot at getting it rideable again.


Brent's pups helped get the equipment ready




A couple of us were put on hedger duty, a couple brush saws, a couple chainsaw crews, and a crew to clean up the tread




Nice that the ferns came back thick!




Lots of debris to clear off the trail too




Starting to look like a trail again




Some parts were rake n ride




Brush was really thick in other parts




In two days we were able to get about 90% of the trail open, just one short section lower down still needs work!

[evdog]

The plan for Labor Day Monday was to ride! Most took off to do a shuttle on Cannell Trail. Jeff and I opted to stick around and ride Tobias instead. Here is much of the trail:





Jeff rolling out at the middle road crossing.




Creek crossing #2




Sketchy tree that we'll probably be dealing with on the ground next season




We closed the loop with a couple mile pedal across Sugarloaf road and then climbing up Tobias Meadow Rd 24S24. Not a bad climb at all, and very worth it!

Cool view on the climb up:




There is one section of trail lower down, maybe 1/4 mile, that still needs work. Plus some finish work in places. But I'd say this trail is open for business.

Orogenesis runs right past Frog Meadow on Rancheria Road at the upper end of the trail. It will add a bit of vert and distance, but I think adding Upper Tobias to Orogenesis is worthwhile especially for southbound riders since it's both an easy and scenic climb back up to Rancheria Rd. If people aren't into it, they can easily skip it.