Los Pinos -2010 wrap up

Last April I posted my goal for 2010. I wanted to ride every trail I knew in the Santa Ana mountains. I was excluding E. Horsethief because of access issues and the poor quality of the trail. (Since April, I have learned of a few minor trails off of Skyline. I have ridden some of these, but I will save that review for another post).

As of April I had ridden: Skinsuit, Smashface, Silverado Motorway, Coldwater, San Juan, Old San Juan, Upper and Lower Holy Jim, Trabuco, Bell Ridge (and BGR) and Buckthorn. By my calculations then, I still had Yeager, Chiquito, Joplin and Los Pinos.

Well, I definitely got sidetracked and lost a lot of valuable riding time due to other concerns. The good news is that in December I was able to ride Joplin and Los Pinos.

I rode Joplin in mid-December, just before we had the big rain, the big flood and all the slide damage. The trail was in great shape, probably the best I'd ever seen it. Unfortunately, it seems that the trail has since taken some damage. The report I read said there were plenty of big ruts, but no fallen trees or impassible sections. Not catastrophic, but it won't be like it was. I'm hoping to do another descent in the next few weeks. I will give an update then.



Richard on Los Pinos. Looking toward Santiago Peak.

I rode Los Pinos on the last day of the year - a magnificent sendoff for 2010. Richard, Chris and I set off on the San Juan trail mid-morning. The parking lot near the hot springs was packed, as crowded as I have ever seen it. As we climbed toward Cocktail Rock we were beset with riders shuttling the downhill. There was about 20 people at Cocktail waiting to descend. It was hard to find a place to put our bikes. This was only a week after the big rain. All of the "local" OC parks were closed, Trabuco was mostly inaccessible, Blackstar was a mess and the Luge was a slide zone. So, everyone was on San Juan.

The good news is that everyone was concentrated on the new San Juan. We didn't spend much time at Cocktail Rock. We took a left onto the Old San Juan Trail and entered a different world, only passing one rider between the rock and Blue Jay. There were plenty of cars at Blue Jay, but not a single rider on "The Wall" or Pinos. We had the whole trail - all eight miles of Pinos ridgeline - to ourselves. And the trail was magnificent.

I've made the mistake of riding Pinos in the summer. Hot summer days when the sun bakes into the rocks and the manzanita scratches your dry skin like a giant brillo pad. I've cowered under those same shrubs, looking for some respite from the sun. There isn't much shade on Pinos.

Every trail I know took a beating during the big December storm. Pinos only seemed to get better. That's because Los Pinos is not really a trail. Well, sure it is a trail, but not in the conventional sense. Pinos is a ridgeline full of transistor radio-sized rocks. On a cold day in December, all the rocks seemed frozen together...like permafrost. There was ice on all the eastern slopes, but it wasn't slippery. The ice made the trail sturdier, grippier and fun. It was eight miles of ego dirt, but it wasn't really dirt at all.

That's not to say the descents were easy. Pinos is a challenge. More than 5,000 vertical feet of challenging downhill. Almost every downhill section is followed a steep hike-a-bike. There are reasons why we were alone on the trail. While it is an adventure that shouldn't be taken lightly, it is an experience not to be missed. After the climb up Main Divide ("The Wall") there are two short climbs to Pinos Peak. Chris, Richard and I were treated with a panoramic view - the San Bernadino Mountains to the east, San Jacinto Mountain to the south and San Clemente Island to the west. Lake Elsinore is directly below and to the southeast.


New Years Eve on Pinos Peak. Seriously folks!



Past the peak there is a small descent and then a monstrous descent, followed by a long, steep hike-a-bike up a pointy precipice I like to call Witch Mountain. After Witch mountain the trail continues on the ridge line allowing for more descents and about six more hike-a-bikes. Wear comfortable bike shoes on this ride!

This photo was taken from atop the first big climb. If you look carefully you can see the trail cascading down the ridge line. Click on the photo to enlarge.

The last couple miles of the trail contain the most technical downhill sections. After a steep plunge, the route drops into a meadow. From the meadow, one can look up San Juan Canyon toward Long Canyon. On this day, at the top of San Juan Canyon, there was a magnificent waterfall. As Chris said, it looked like something you would see in Hawaii. We were several miles away, but the falls looked to be about thirty-feet wide and fifty-feet tall.

After the meadow, the trail switchbacks down to the canyon. There are few technical rock sections with tight turns and microwave oven-sized boulders. The trail ends at a church camp in San Juan Canyon. The final adventure was crossing the swollen stream (three times!) as we pedaled down the canyon road. I kept thinking about that waterfall as we splashed through the roaring water. When we arrived back at the car, the parking lot was full of riders, but we were the only ones with wet feet.

Happy 2011 to all. I'm still working on my goal for this year.

Riviera Magazine

Mountain Bike! Orange County is listed in this month's Riviera Magazine. Andrew Tonkovich highlights "11 of the best O.C.- connected books of the past 11 years."

Check out the link:

http://media.modernluxury.com/digital.php?e=RVOC

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Thursday was a day of feasting; Friday was for riding. Richard and I made a noble push along Bell Ridge, negotiating rocky climbs, steep descents, abyss-like ruts and man-grabbing foliage. At ride's end, it was only the lack of sunlight (days are short now) that stopped us from continuing on lap two. I jest. We weren't that strong. In truth, the five hours was well spent but a bit exhausting. I thought I would have enough fuel left over from Turkey day, but that wasn't the case. I found myself bogging down on the final climbs - bonking as it were - losing breath and energy over each small hilltop. Typically downhills are for recovery, but Bell takes it toll descending as well. I found myself at the mercy of gravity and terrain, out of breath and holding on. Next time I will eat more.

The views from Pinos Peak were stunning. This is the highpoint of the route, offering a panoramic view from the snowy San Bernadino Mountains to San Clemente Island. Richard pointed out where the 5 freeway winds over the ridge near Carmel Valley in Del Mar. Beyond that we could see the distant ridge lines of Mexico. Bell Ridge begins just a stone's throw from the peak. The trail requires several more climbs -steep, wearisome hike-a-bike ascents - and plenty of descending - steep descents, loose, rocky descents, and harrowing I-wish-I-wasn't-looking descents. We kept our tire pressure low, our skidding in control, walked some of the can't-see-bottom section (yes, it is that steep) and I even tripoded a bit. Our strategy was successful, we arrived back at the car with smiles of satisfaction. Then we were ready for a well-deserved rest and a helping of leftovers.

These days I seem to be riding as slow as paint dries in Nova Scotia. Tonight I traversed the old PC Cow Trail and then dropped into Emerald via BVD and rode down what used to be called Pac Man. At the beginning of the ride I was overtaken by the Rads. My buddy Andy didn't want to ride with them. They go fast. As we rode up Poplar, Hans Rey was complaining how they don't wait for anyone anymore. Not even Hans Rey apparently.

Anyhow I ended up at the pit (Andy needed to pick up his new jersey). Amid oohing and aahing at a new Ibis downhill bike, I was force fed a few beers and shots of Tequila. Yes, I was coerced. So much for working tonight. The bikes, the trail, many of the old riders who are still out there playing hard, all inspire me to ride. I'm all in with inspiration. But inspiration only gets you so far up the hill and then all you have left is perspiration.

Pay to Play

Gentle Riders,

It has come to my attention that the Sheriff Department is writing tickets to rule-breaking mountain bikers in El Morro. Apparently last weekend they cited folks as they exited the bottom of "Nothing Better to Do." It is unclear, but they may have been citing riders at the base of "Better to Do Nothing" as well. There is a discussion of this matter on the SoCal Trail Riders forum (under El Morro). If you are not familiar with the names, both of these trails are near the Ridgepark entrance at Newport Coast NBTD begins about three hundred yards from the entrance and BTDN is on the opposite side of the canyon (running somewhat parallel) and begins between the third and fourth section of fenceline. Both trails wind up in Deer Canyon.

According to missives from officials at CCSP, this is part of a stepped up effort to eliminate the use of non-sanctioned trails. My advice is to avoid these trails, particularly on weekends. In addition, other nearby non-sanctioned trails might be avoided during weekend rides. These would include Marie Callenders, the third and fourth sections of Fenceline and perhaps even The Shredder. There are plenty of other trails - some officially mapped, some gray area, and some under the radar - that may still be ridden. All the drops into Emerald seem to be fair game. Namely, BVD, Erection (mapped as Old Emerald) and the newly reformed Conception. There are two other drops here, Repo Man and another trail I don't know the name of, but these are crazy steep. There are also several fun drops into Laguna Canyon, including T&A (officially mapped as Laguna Ridge and really fun, I just rode it). On the Aliso side, there are several new and rediscovered trails. There are other trails as well, some of these can be easily found, others take a bit more reconnaissance. Remember, all trail knowledge is on a need-to-know basis. Keep trail entrances clean and avoid calling attention to yourself.

Happy riding and keep your eyes open. If the ticks, poison oak, cactus, snakes and barbed wire don't get you, you may just get snagged by good ol' Johnny Law.



dwo

Mo' Betta Moab

My friend Marshall sent me the link for this event in Moab. It sounds pretty cool, a big mountain bike jamboree in mountain-bike mecca. Fall is definitely the best time to ride Moab and there is plenty of riding to be had - fun challenging riding and out-of-this-word scenery. My advice: Book early, stay longer and get in shape before you go.

Thinking about a new bike?
The world's best bike companies are coming to Moab with their 2011 bikes and you can ride them all. Outerbike is a four-day event September 30-October 3rd. Cost is $150 for all four days, which includes bike demos, lunch, shuttles and schwag. From the event site there are 5 mountain bike loops and a paved road bike path that you can take to either Arches or Canyonlands National Park. Attendance will be capped to make sure there are plenty of bikes.

Beyond the Rides
There will be all kinds of extras like on-site daycare, a free women's skills clinic, movie premieres on Friday night and a pub crawl on Saturday where you could win a Western Spirit trip for 10! And, all the bike companies are bringing their athletes and product designers-- so not only do you get to ride all the bikes you usually just get to read about --you can also meet the people who dreamed them up.

The Bike Companies
Outerbike exhibitors include: Rocky Mountain, Maverick, Santa Cruz, Yeti, Fuji, Breezer, Fox, Pivot, Marin, Ibis, Cannondale, Turner, Trek, Intense, Haro, Kona, Masi, Marzocchi, Specialized, Norco, and GT.

Sign Up
Sign up and learn more about how to get to Moab and where to stay at Outerbike.

Running with the Toads

2010 Toad Festival

June 5th was the Toad Festival, an annual fun ride put on by the Warrior's Society. The key word is, of course, fun. The Toad Festival features casual rides that lack the competitive intensity and the grueling courses of the other Warrior's Society events - the Vision Quest and the Traverse. The Toad is more about camaraderie, getting outside and having fun. It is not a race, but there are games of chance along the course - dice, cards, horseshoes, darts - allowing riders to vie for a number of great prizes. I think there were prizes for everyone. There were also two courses, a short family friendly ride in Arroyo Trabuco and a longer ride up Holy Jim and down the Trabuco Trail. Both rides start and end in Oneill Park where there was a post-ride picnic.

It was a great event. Personally, it was a bit hot for me and I bonked a bit on Holy Jim. I rested and stopped to eat on Main Divide and then was mostly fine for the rest of the ride. (Although after the heat and exhaustion drama, I was too far behind to catch my riding partner, Josh.)
By the time I reached the top of W. Horsethief, I was feeling almost normal. The nice folks from the Warrior's society were offering Rootbeer floats to go along with the horseshoes at that stop. At the next stop - on the upper end of the Trabuco Trail - there were darts and a spray mister. Way to go guys. The ride down Trabuco was great as always.

I must mention the horseflies, however. They were particularly pesty, swarming and biting. Unless you were going more than 10mph, they were on you like papparazzi to a crotch-flashing starlet. I made the mistake of wearing only a perforated jersey and got bit repeatedly on my back. I should've worn a t-shirt. I should've worn a t-shirt. Two days after the ride my back sported an archipelago of itchy red welts. Yeah, those bugs are nasty. I am generally against Malathion, but I might make an exception in this case. The good news is that the bugs usually go away after a week or so. I don't plan to see them again this year. As for next year, yes I will return to the Toad ride, hoping for cooler temps, packing more food and bringing plenty of DEET.