cranky
Newbie with Hope!
I camped in William Heise park near Julian for thanksgiving and checked out the Kelly Ditch trail, a seeming little known trail that connects from the campgrounds to Cuyamaca SP. This is a trail that follows an old drainage ditch used to channel rainwater to Lake Cuyamaca back in the 1800s so the trail has existed for 100+ years. Doing some research ahead of my trip I found out the trail had been lost to nature in the 10+ years since the curve fire and was only recently restored this summer - it required a machete to pass through there beforehand.
I decided to give it a morning ride before Lunch, planning to throw in some of the Cuyamaca trails before heading back.
Starting in the county park, the trail seems pretty easy to begin with.
Soon, the climbing starts out pretty easy up a dirt road before leaving the road and becoming a more grueling singletrack.
Like most great climbs, this trail loves to tease you. Most of the vert ft you gained on this climb is soon lost again (Note the -16% grade on my Garmin, I will have to climb that at the very end of my ride :shock: ). At this point, most hikers stop and head back via the Fern Trail to the right. The brave will continue past the downed tree to the left which was a formidable obstacle to get my bike (and me) over.
After the tree is another obstacle - knee high water in the creek (did not expect that given the drought). Luckily there are some large rocks to walk on and keep your feet dry.
You quickly realize this is now the road less traveled as the trail narrows and almost disappears while it runs up the grassy bank of the creek. Smooth singletrack switchbacks here and not a single tire tread or footprint to be found.
Shortly, the trail widens up a bit and the technical climbing kicks in with the first of many loose chunky rock gardens.
There are also multiple water bars that look like they were recently placed and create tricky step-ups along the way when the chunk is not kicking your butt. Some downed tree limbs need to be climbed as well.
Eventually you come to the county park boundary and enter (presumably) NF land. This also marks the start of the travel through dense 10ft high brush - providing some welcome shade. Because you are traveling through such dense growth you never really get a sense of where you are and how far it is to the top of this climb (it also hides the view of nearby homes giving it a really wild feel).
As you climb, you know you are in for a treat on the downhill as you pass each of the many rocky sections.
I had hoped to make quick work of this climb and ride into Cuyamaca but there were over a dozen downed trees along the trail that required dismounting and pulling your bike over/under. Most of the tree-scrambling is interspersed with long stretches of rideable trail so its not too much to deal with. Eventually though you hit this section where 4-5 trees have fallen next to each other. The picture doesn't really show it all but this section is a puzzle of entangled tree limbs that required some creative thinking to get my bike past. Most would give up at this point and head back down but I was determined to reach the summit even if I did not have time to go into Cuyamaca Park.
The "summit" was simply a flat section of the trail surrounded by brush and trees so no scenic views to take a pic up there. So after 3+miles of climbing and bush-whacking I went back down and the downhill was great - the kind of terrain that DHers would love if it could be shuttled. All in all a great trail and definitively worth checking out if you are in the area. I got pretty scratched up from the brush and tree-climbing so long sleeves and high socks are recommended. I covered 7 miles but the trail is about 6 miles one way and then connects to the trail system of Cuyamaca for an all-day ride if you like, or a truly epic ride over to Noble Canyon.
http://www.strava.com/activities/225022824
I decided to give it a morning ride before Lunch, planning to throw in some of the Cuyamaca trails before heading back.
Starting in the county park, the trail seems pretty easy to begin with.
Soon, the climbing starts out pretty easy up a dirt road before leaving the road and becoming a more grueling singletrack.
Like most great climbs, this trail loves to tease you. Most of the vert ft you gained on this climb is soon lost again (Note the -16% grade on my Garmin, I will have to climb that at the very end of my ride :shock: ). At this point, most hikers stop and head back via the Fern Trail to the right. The brave will continue past the downed tree to the left which was a formidable obstacle to get my bike (and me) over.
After the tree is another obstacle - knee high water in the creek (did not expect that given the drought). Luckily there are some large rocks to walk on and keep your feet dry.
You quickly realize this is now the road less traveled as the trail narrows and almost disappears while it runs up the grassy bank of the creek. Smooth singletrack switchbacks here and not a single tire tread or footprint to be found.
Shortly, the trail widens up a bit and the technical climbing kicks in with the first of many loose chunky rock gardens.
There are also multiple water bars that look like they were recently placed and create tricky step-ups along the way when the chunk is not kicking your butt. Some downed tree limbs need to be climbed as well.
Eventually you come to the county park boundary and enter (presumably) NF land. This also marks the start of the travel through dense 10ft high brush - providing some welcome shade. Because you are traveling through such dense growth you never really get a sense of where you are and how far it is to the top of this climb (it also hides the view of nearby homes giving it a really wild feel).
As you climb, you know you are in for a treat on the downhill as you pass each of the many rocky sections.
I had hoped to make quick work of this climb and ride into Cuyamaca but there were over a dozen downed trees along the trail that required dismounting and pulling your bike over/under. Most of the tree-scrambling is interspersed with long stretches of rideable trail so its not too much to deal with. Eventually though you hit this section where 4-5 trees have fallen next to each other. The picture doesn't really show it all but this section is a puzzle of entangled tree limbs that required some creative thinking to get my bike past. Most would give up at this point and head back down but I was determined to reach the summit even if I did not have time to go into Cuyamaca Park.
The "summit" was simply a flat section of the trail surrounded by brush and trees so no scenic views to take a pic up there. So after 3+miles of climbing and bush-whacking I went back down and the downhill was great - the kind of terrain that DHers would love if it could be shuttled. All in all a great trail and definitively worth checking out if you are in the area. I got pretty scratched up from the brush and tree-climbing so long sleeves and high socks are recommended. I covered 7 miles but the trail is about 6 miles one way and then connects to the trail system of Cuyamaca for an all-day ride if you like, or a truly epic ride over to Noble Canyon.
http://www.strava.com/activities/225022824
