evdog
iMTB Rockstah
When the calendar flips to September it is time for me to start thinking of the high country. To be honest, I obsess over it all year - along with many other places, but summer is when I start seriously planning trips. I had a few rides in mind for this year but all got cancelled or put on hold due to work, weather, or both. A window finally came open a couple weeks ago and I pulled the trigger, even at that had to delay to work the weekend but with the agreement I'd return Wednesday rather than Monday. I was fortunate to get one last minute taker otherwise it would have a been a solo trip.
Day 1 - Calico Trail to Stoner Mesa
Good morning from the Navajo Nation!
With a later than desired departure on Sunday we only made it to Flagstaff that night and did not get to CO til Monday afternoon. This left options a bit bare for a Monday ride given the places I wanted to hit. We opted to try out Calico to Stoner which I thought we'd have time for.
The drive up is always pretty.
New self shuttle toy. Great to have, but the shuttle was more time consuming than expected.
We did not start pedalling til 330ish. Compounding problems, the first 4 miles of Calico were closed due to wet conditions, so we had to take Winter Trail to West Fork to get to Calico beyond the closure.
I was thinking of taking that route anyways since there seemed to be significant snow up high, and the alternate route would avoid most of it. Winter Trail had some mud holes but was mostly ok.
Nice waterfall on Winter Trail
We diverted off Winter Trail onto Eagle Creek Road which saved us some unnecessary elevation loss and re-gain, then we got our climb on on West Fork Trail
After a tough mile or so we hit snow line
Half mile later we intersected Calico. Soon as we crested the top where there was southerly exposure and we were out of the snow for good
I thought it was a quick pedal over to our turnoff to Eagle Peak Trail but there was a tough boulder field climb I had forgotten about
This of course involved some tough HAB to the final ridge where we would turn onto Eagle Peak Tr
There was a bit of riding but not much
It was getting chilly as we were exposed, and last rays of light were fading
Climbing was becoming futile
Yes, we're going up there
Nothing but HAB for now
Being out of shape and not acclimated allowed me to get a lot of shots
Finally the turnoff
From there is was a 5,000ft "descent" back to the truck. But over 18 miles, which meant a lot of pedalling. Eagle Peak was fun. It had some tough climbs and some steep rooty/rocky descents. Most of the trail was great considering recent rain/snow, except for one section that was a nasty slippery muddy chute. Stoner mesa was easier though it felt like a slight climb most of the way. The last couple miles of Stoner drop off steeply down and were great fun. Prior to that there is a couple miles that were flat with massive mud holes and torn up by cattle. Riding Stoner in the dark wasn't ideal since it is known for nice aspen stands, but we saw enough of them in daytime and there didn't seem to be great views from this trail. I definitely like the regular Calico ending better, and would probably take that route 8/10 times. Good first ride and a bit more than my poor math had estimated, at 29mi. Ironic our latest start was our longest ride. We finished around midnight, tired but happy.
Day 1 - Calico Trail to Stoner Mesa
Good morning from the Navajo Nation!
With a later than desired departure on Sunday we only made it to Flagstaff that night and did not get to CO til Monday afternoon. This left options a bit bare for a Monday ride given the places I wanted to hit. We opted to try out Calico to Stoner which I thought we'd have time for.
The drive up is always pretty.
New self shuttle toy. Great to have, but the shuttle was more time consuming than expected.
We did not start pedalling til 330ish. Compounding problems, the first 4 miles of Calico were closed due to wet conditions, so we had to take Winter Trail to West Fork to get to Calico beyond the closure.
I was thinking of taking that route anyways since there seemed to be significant snow up high, and the alternate route would avoid most of it. Winter Trail had some mud holes but was mostly ok.
Nice waterfall on Winter Trail
We diverted off Winter Trail onto Eagle Creek Road which saved us some unnecessary elevation loss and re-gain, then we got our climb on on West Fork Trail
After a tough mile or so we hit snow line
Half mile later we intersected Calico. Soon as we crested the top where there was southerly exposure and we were out of the snow for good
I thought it was a quick pedal over to our turnoff to Eagle Peak Trail but there was a tough boulder field climb I had forgotten about
This of course involved some tough HAB to the final ridge where we would turn onto Eagle Peak Tr
There was a bit of riding but not much
It was getting chilly as we were exposed, and last rays of light were fading
Climbing was becoming futile
Yes, we're going up there
Nothing but HAB for now
Being out of shape and not acclimated allowed me to get a lot of shots
Finally the turnoff
From there is was a 5,000ft "descent" back to the truck. But over 18 miles, which meant a lot of pedalling. Eagle Peak was fun. It had some tough climbs and some steep rooty/rocky descents. Most of the trail was great considering recent rain/snow, except for one section that was a nasty slippery muddy chute. Stoner mesa was easier though it felt like a slight climb most of the way. The last couple miles of Stoner drop off steeply down and were great fun. Prior to that there is a couple miles that were flat with massive mud holes and torn up by cattle. Riding Stoner in the dark wasn't ideal since it is known for nice aspen stands, but we saw enough of them in daytime and there didn't seem to be great views from this trail. I definitely like the regular Calico ending better, and would probably take that route 8/10 times. Good first ride and a bit more than my poor math had estimated, at 29mi. Ironic our latest start was our longest ride. We finished around midnight, tired but happy.
I've been to almost all of those places and I miss it so much!