Ride Report: Holy Jim to Yeager Mesa

Yeager Mesa

Adding the distance in and out on Trabuco Road, this ride clocks in at about 28 miles, with roughly 5,400 feet of climbing.  I rode with Josh and Dan on a cold, wet and foggy morning.  Certainly not beach weather, but I prefer climbing in the cold weather, so the grind up Holy Jim was not too bad.  Holy Jim is in fine shape and there isn't much to report there.  (If you haven't done the trail, there is plenty of info on this blog and on other sites. )

After a short break atop Holy Jim, we headed through the fog on Main Divide.  Brrr.  I kept my head down and pushed through the fire road climbs.  A long steady climb ensues just after the Indian Truck Trail turnoff, a section that some riders refer to as "The Wall." (But there are several "Walls.")  The worst part about this wall, and many of the long climbs on Main Divide, is that, typically, you see it coming, you rue over it, then while you are climbing, you keep looking up at the whole damn incline ahead of you, and rue it more.  One benefit of the fog was that none of this was possible.  I just kept climbing along, surrounded by my white room until, miraculously, I reached the top.  One other note, the section of Main Divide from Indian Truck to W. Horsethief is not as loose and rocky as it was  a few years ago, making for easier riding (particularly the climbing sections).

After passing W. Horsethief, we kept rolling across Main Divide to the Los Pinos/ Trabuco turnoff.  The climb to the Pinos Peak consists of one long hike-a-bike climb and two smaller climbs, sandwiched around a few short drops.   Los Pinos was oddly constructed atop the ridge line, so the whole trail is a series of drops and climbs - steep, fun drops followed steep, mostly hike-a-bike, climbs.  For most trails, this type of fall line construction leads to constant erosion problems, and there are some of slight erosion issues on Los Pinos, but the trail benefits from the rocky consistency of its terrain.  The ridgeline is littered with small - golf ball to tennis ball-sized - rocks.  Riding Los Pinos is akin to rolling over ball bearings.  And it's fun.  Really fun about now because the Warrior's Society group just brushed and repaired the entire trail.  Superb.

To get to Yeager, we turned off of Los Pinos at Pinos Peak and headed down Bell Ridge.  The first descent on Bell is one of my favorites, a steep plunge through a canopy of Manzanita, scrub and small trees.  After the rain, the ground was and tacky, a bit loose in spots, but heavy enough for traction.  After the initial drop there are a few rolling sections on Bell, the trail traverses through larger trees on the north side of the ridge and then makes a couple climbs.  The second climb, a pretty steep  hike-a-bike, leads to the Yeager Mesa turnoff.

Yeager is one of the most challenging descents in the Santa Ana mountains.  It is also one of the most scenic.  In tight and steep S-turns, the trail drops down the north facing slope to Trabuco Canyon.  The canopy is lush, with mature Pines and ferny undergrowth.  The experience is akin to tree skiing on your bike. And it's challenging.  I found myself tripodding in spots and walking in some others.  A couple spots are very difficult:  There is one steep arroyo which used to have a bridge, but now the bridge is gone, so the approach and the escape are ridiculously steep.  Past the missing bridge, the trail drops  less precipitously to the Mesa itself.

In the past, the trail crossed the mesa and then plunged straight down a rocky escarpment to the creek.  There is now (Yay!) a new reroute.  A much less sketchy and imminently ride-able reroute, so be sure and take it.   The new route still needs to be ridden more and packed in, but the construction seems fairly thoughtful, and I hope the line is sustainable.

At the base of the hill, the new route traverses along the bank of Trabuco Creek till it reaches the terminus of the former route.  It was difficult to ride all of the creekside portion of the trail, but I didn't mind dismounting a few times, eying what might be one of the most scenic spots in Orange County (and I'm sure one of the only year-round natural waterways in the region).


At the current water levels (this is certainly a dry year), it is easy to get across the creek.  There is plenty of poison oak, so use caution when crossing.  There seems to be one optimal spot to cross and climb up the opposing bank.  Look for the route that others have taken,  however, this is really the least developed portion of the trail.  The best place to cross (that I know of) is about 30 feet upstream from end of the old trail, the climb up the opposing bank isn't easy, but if you look around you should be able to find a path away from the poison oak.

(One note from Josh:  He and Dan, who descended after I did, kept walking down Trabuco Creek until they reached the Trabuco Trail.  Josh says they never crossed the creek or made the difficult climb up the opposing bank.  I have to go back and investigate.)

The rest of the ride consists of heading down the remainder of the Trabuco Trail,  rocky in its own right, but not nearly as steep or technical as Pinos.  The trail runs along the verdant waterway, whipsawing through the trees and, on occasion, coursing across the stream bed, until it reaches Trabuco Road.

The ride out on the dirt road is a fast six miles.  Even faster these days after a thorough reconstruction.  However, the improvements on Trabuco Road seem to have encouraged more traffic.  Watch out for cars and trucks!

This entire route took about 5 hours with breaks.

Trabuco Creek at bottom of the Yeager Mesa Trail.

Single track deluxe

A Ride With All the Trimmings

Visiting the Christmas Tree atop Trabuco

Everyone needs a holiday tradition, and for at least a few OC mountain bikers it is to climb Trabuco and add a few libation-oriented ornaments to the Trabuco Christmas Tree.  If you have never stopped at the tree, it is about a mile below Main Divide Rd. on the Trabuco Trail.  Josh and I rode the trail last Friday, a day with fierce Santa Ana winds.  You may notice the knee pads (please hold the jokes), we were planning on riding Yeager Mesa but opted to return down Trabuco due to the crazy winds.  It was such a great day to ride below the ridgeline, I didn't want to have to hunker down on Los Pinos.  It was gusting hard enough to blow rocks.  I'll save Yeager for another day.  On this day it was nice to do the up and back, and pay our timely respects to the tree.

One more note, because of the crazy winds we were able to go super fast riding out Trabuco Road.  According to Josh's GPS we averaged 37 mph on the last two miles of road.  Happy Holidays indeed.

Black Friday

When Black Friday comes...you should be on your bike.  Forget shopping.  Get outside.  Live.  There is no empowerment through consumerism.  However, that said, this Holiday season you may consider giving your friends, your family, your biking pals the gift that keeps on giving.  Yes, a copy of Mountain Bike! Orange County.  The book is more than just a trail guide, it is a passport to fun.  Inside you'll find a map to the "other" Orange County.  The Orange County that everyone should know.  Buy it now.  Buy it for your friends.  Go out and ride.  You won't be disappointed.

Saddleback in Winter

After glorious summer beach days, now is the winter of disc brakes...or something like that.  It's not winter yet, but the late fall weather seems perfect for riding Saddleback.  This is the time of year - after the summer heat, before the first winter deluge - that the trails and conditions in the Santa Ana mountains seem perfect.  Crisp weather, glorious views, the largest open space in Orange County:  What more could you want?

I intend to be up there every week, weather permitting, until spring.  Last week was the first entree.  I rode up Holy Jim with Josh, Richard and Dan, then descended W. Horsethief.  It was my first time down Horsethief in several years, and what a beautiful descent - fun switchbacks, great views of the Yeager Mesa, perfect conditions.  If you haven't ridden it recently, get out there. 

Speaking of Yeager Mesa, I believe there might be a trip there in the near future.  After a couple light rains, Yeager should be in optimal condition.  Of course that means, for a mere mortal like myself, I will be able to ride most of the trail.  And I'd like to ride Coldwater this year.  So many trails, a whole winter's worth I think.

Tahoe Rim Trail

High above the Truckee River

        

Near Painted Rock, a few stone's throws from Mt. Baxter

      This summer I took my annual trek to Squaw Valley,  not to play so much but to work.  However, I did take a couple afternoons to go riding.  Since I flew up there, I had to rely on a rental.  There are several shops in the North Tahoe area with rental outfits.  My goal was to find a bike that would fit me - I'm tall as far a people go, and very tall for a mountain biker.  After a couple of inquiries I found Olympic Bike in Tahoe City, which had 21" Rumblefish 29er.  Not bad.
       Olympic Bike, near the lake in Tahoe City, is also within riding distance of the Tahoe Rim trail.  I rode a loop route on this trail, pretty much the same ride on two separate days, and was not disappointed.
      TRT is a long single track - 100 miles long - that traverses above Lake Tahoe -  starting where I rode in Tahoe City, and wrapping around the big lake, past some smaller lakes, over a few peaks, all the way to Mt. Rose.  It is multi-use trail, most of which is open to mountain bikers.  On the section near Tahoe City, there seemed to be more MTBers than hikers, but I ran into a few campers and backpackers.
    The route I rode was not steep, but steep enough considering the 7-8k altitude, and not overly technical, but technical enough for a rental bike and a first-time go through.  From the Tahoe City trailhead, the singletrack rises up to the ridgeline, running parallel with the Truckee River  and back towards Squaw Valley.   The views are magnificent - bluer than blue Lake Tahoe, Squaw Peak, Heavenly Peak (if that's what is called) and the Truckee River.  The trail meanders between meadows, small fields of lava rocks, and slight hillsides topped by mounds of boulders and pines.  Most of the route I rode was well shaded by groves of mature trees.

   After about 4 miles, there is an opt out point from the TRT.  The Western States Trail descends directly down to the Truckee River.  I did not ride this route, but I've hiked it, and it would be a fast, fun descent.  On my two rides, I kept going, past Painted Rock and down to a paved road which provided the second opt out point.  After a slight cruise down the paved road, I descended back to Tahoe City on a series of trails.  I have no idea about the trail names - nothing was signed - I just kept riding downhill and toward the lake.   The lake is such a prominent landmark, and it's easy to find one's way home.  The first descent was on a fast and smooth trail with about dozen kicker ramps.  It was fun doing the small jumps on the 29er.  After a few traverses, I found my route home (somehow finding the same small trail on both rides), descending on a narrow trail that meandered between tight strands of trees, following a brook, and ending at the reservoir on Jackpine St. in Tahoe City.  This trail was certainly unmapped, and I was happy to find it - it wasn't overly technical, but had a couple short steep sections, some tight switchbacks and a couple logs to roll over - fun riding with the feeling of complete isolation.
    I'm sure there are plenty of other nice rides on the TRT, and I'm hoping to go back to do more exploration in this great expanse of wilderness.

There Otter be Surf at Arroyo Laguna

Here are some photos from my last trip to the Central Coast. The spot is Arroyo Laguna just north of San Simeon and directly below Heart Castle.
I arrived on a Friday afternoon knowing that a substantial southern-hemisphere swell was rocking the coast. I've always wanted to sail Arroyo Laguna on a good south, and I was not disappointed.
Friday had plenty of overhead sets. It was easy to pick up waves on every reach - but the sets were meaty. At times we had to wait out sets on the beach.
Arroyo has fairly consistent side-off winds which makes it ideal for wave sailing. It is a straight beach break, and not a long wave, but there are outside reefs which make allow for fun turns and ramps.
Over the three days I sailed there, the crowds were never an issue. It seemed the kiters and windsurfers would almost platoon their time on the water. Above, a kiter goes for a thick section of wave. He came out late on Friday as local Brian Caserio went out in the water to film.

Saturday and Sunday the waves were a bit smaller, but there were still plenty of head-high sets. The wind also got stronger as well, picking up both afternoons. I forgot how hard this place can blow. By 4:00 on Saturday it was a steady gale with gusts to 40. A few of us, including pro Kevin McGillvery, stayed out for a survival session. It was during that nukin' afternoon that I had a close call with a sea otter. Really! He was floating along on big chunk of kelp. When I swerved to miss him I stuck my fin and face planted in the same kelp...and when I popped my head out of the water, there he was, floating right by my head. Otters have pretty sharp teeth and I thought he might try to take a chunk out of my face. But he did not flinch, just stayed on his kelp lilly pad and floated away. I'm pretty sure he was laughing at me.

Three Days and Counting

The Ultraquest is on Saturday. Josh and I took our last training ride today. Now I'm thinking about preparations: How much food do I need to eat on the ride; what clothing should I bring, and pads and sun protection; How early do I need to go to sleep (usually I'm a night owl); how much water, electrolytes and gel packs; what I need to do to my bike (don't want mechanical issues). Besides the necessities, I am going to bring a camera - just a bar of soap-sized point and click - to document the event.

Come race day, we will have one more talk about pacing and riding efficiently. And then we are off. Our goal is to finish. I'm hoping for less than 10 hours and I think that is realistic. Till then.

David