Los Pinos

This ride began with a crazy notion. While descending Holy Jim two weeks earlier, My buddy Ron and I discussed venturing out on Los Pinos. We had never ridden the trail before, easily the remotest and probably one of the most challenging single-tracks in Orange County. I suggested that we start at Blue Jay campground, ride up South Main Divide and then descend the Trabuco Trail and climb West Horsethief before making the long trip out on Los Pinos...as if Los Pinos wasn't enough.

And that's what we did. Surely, there are more difficult rides. Some riders climb the San Juan Trail to Main Divide and then descend Los Pinos. That's a big loop, with a lot of climbing. I don't know exactly how many riders complete this, but I'm sure they must be a lot younger than I am. Then there is the Ultra Quest, the invite only, more extreme answer to the Vision Quest. The Los Pinos Trail is merely one leg - roughly 25% - of the Ultra Quest. But those riders are super-human, and last time I checked I didn't have any capes in my closet.

So we, mere mortal men, set off Saturday morning from Blue Jay campground. The forecast was for late season rain. This seemed to drive away most of the other traffic. On most Saturday mornings Blue Jay is full of bikes and vehicles - mostly riders shuttling the San Juan trail. The rain never materialized, but the weather was optimally cool and cloudy. The initial "wake up" climb up South Main Divide was every bit the grunt we remembered. After twenty-five minutes of huffing and puffing we reached the top and the fun (read singletrack) began. The first order of business was to charge down the Trabuco Trail. I'm sure it wasn't an all out run for either of us (we had plenty more riding ahead of us), but we weren't lacking for grins. This is such a great trail, beginning in the canopy of pines and then descending to the narrow source canyon for Trabuco creek. After a mile the pines give way to Live Oaks and Manzanita as the trail winds along the rocky edge of the tight canyon. It's perfectly scenic and perfectly fun. The riding is fast and only moderately technical - a great warm up for the main event.

After two miles on Trabuco we turned onto West Horsethief and began our climb. West Horsethief is a steep series of gravelly switchbacks. For most riders, including ourselves, it is primarily a hike-a-bike. The slow pace enabled us to take in the resplendent scenery. West Horsethief is a great vantage point to view the rolling contours of upper Trabuco Canyon. It is also a wonderland for springtime wildflowers. By now, most of the hills in Laguna have lost their spring color , but on the higher elevation hillsides above Trabuco canyon there were still amazing collections of lupines, buttercups and monkeyflower.

After climbing West Horsethief, we continued on Main Divide Road, taking the opportunity to actually ride our bike again. This section of Main Divide offers great views of Lake Elsinore, a body of water that definitely looks better from a distance (good from far but far from good we used to say) than up close and in person. Ron and I also spied the top section of the East Horsethief trail. The trail used to connect the Santa Ana mountains to Elsinore - an old escape route for horse thieves - but it doesn't seem to get much use these days and I'm not sure of the trail's condition.

After our jaunt on Main Divide, we returned to Los Pinos. The Los Pinos Trail begins at the top of the Trabuco Trail, coursing immediately up to Los Pinos Peak. The route to the peak provides the first hike-a-bike opportunity of many along the trail. We stopped at the peak and refueled, knowing the heavy lifting was about to come. As you can see from the photo above, the Los Pinos Trail rollercoasters along a sharp ridge back, dropping and climbing steeply for several miles. It is remote. We didn't see any other riders on this Saturday afternoon, and saw no one else at all save a couple of hikers on the bottom leg of the trail.

The precipitous drops on the trail are loose, rutted, tightly foliated and littered with mounds of bagel-sized rocks (and the occasional bowling ball-sized one for good measure). We found every single section challenging and fun to ride. Of course each downhill section is followed by a steep, rocky hike-a-bike ascent. After several hike-a-bike intervals we had to dig deep to keep pushing on. We named the fourth climb after Los Pinos peak "witch mountain" - a steep incline to a narrow summit. The downhill on the back side of "witch mountain" was incredible - something like 700 feet of elevation loss in a little over half a mile. I've heard the term " bike surf" used before - controlled sliding down steep terrain. This section of Los Pinos may be the Waimea of "bike surf." Overall, the entire trail is a challenge of control, conditioning and bike handling skills.

The trail finally switchbacks down to Lazy W Ranch, just up from San Juan Trail. When we reached our car there we had completed about 17 miles, 4,000 plus feet of climbing and approximately 7,000 feet of descent. Not the Ultra Quest, but still a good days work.

If you like taking the path of greatest resistance, then this trail is a must for you, but be prepared for serious drops and steep climbs, then leave your meek friends at home. Also, wear protection - full-fingered gloves, long sleeves and chin coverings are a must. Give yourself plenty of time to complete the trail and enjoy. It truly is an experience.