Go forth and ride, then bring back pics

[smslavin]

Cool.... Had no idea they had a bike park either. With all the old Mining trails there's gotta be a ton to explore down there.

linky linky

Best part is that's free with access from the gondola. Just sign the waiver and get a pass for the season. When you get tired of those trails, trade bikes, ride the gondola back up and hit some of the longer trails that criss cross the mountain. From the top, you can ride all the way out to Alta Lakes. Or you could totally punish yourself by riding up the ridge to Gold Hill then dropping into either Bear Creek or heading over to Bridal Veil. I'd like to make the run out to Alta sometime and check out the ghost town.

[powdork]

^^ I think alternate routes around sketchy tech sections or drops are great for the reason you just mentioned. Without them the entrances go to hell and you get braking bumps everywhere.

I don't think it's gonna be an alternate route. The old section will be removed.

[TahoeJ]

I don't think it's gonna be an alternate route. The old section will be removed.

Oh, okay then, that's completely different. I'm a big fan of alternate routes but getting rid of the hard stuff to make it easy and that's the only connecting path is beyond lame.

You guys should get all over TAMBA about that on their facebook page and if enough people agree maybe they'll actually listen? It's cool how they're building all of these new trails, though.

[TahoeBC]

^^ it seems to me it's mostly TRT rim trail volunteers doing the reroutes on the TRT. When they redid the section heading towards big meadows last year I stopped and talked to em a bit, they seem to think bikers would be stoked about the work, when they heard I was heading to xmas valley they could not believe I wanted to ride it warning me how rocky it was, I told them I much preferred it before they rerouted the last time. We will all be riding generic smooth trails on e-bikes before long.

[powdork]

It's not TAMBA. The Rim Trail has it's own volunteer program.
https://tahoerimtrail.org/index.php/...ndar-of-events

I personally don't care too much given what the Rim Trail is I feel lucky we're allowed to ride it at all.

[mmmm...pow!]

^^ it seems to me it's mostly TRT rim trail volunteers doing the reroutes on the TRT. When they redid the section heading towards big meadows last year I stopped and talked to em a bit, they seem to think bikers would be stoked about the work, when they heard I was heading to xmas valley they could not believe I wanted to ride it warning me how rocky it was, I told them I much preferred it before they rerouted the last time. We will all be riding generic smooth trails on e-bikes before long.

Sad but true. Because they are not bikers they think bikers want it to be easier. I suppose some do, but they really just need to learn to ride better. I'd be ok with alternate routes, but not eliminating challenging, but rideable, trail. It's bad enough that over the years so many parts of the trail have been widened around rocks and patches of snow or mud, many of which require very little skill to ride over. For once I'd like to see a trail rerouted to make it more interesting and challenging.

[TahoeJ]

Maybe it's time to ask for forgiveness instead of permission...

or not. I have mixed feelings about that in general, although historically it's hard to argue with the results.

[evdog]

Got out on the "other" Wasatch Crest yesterday

Sweet! I am hoping to ride that either this weekend or next on the way up to Stanley. What was your route? When I rode it in 2012 I did a traverse from Perry Canyon to Grizzly Peak to Ben lomond and then down Northern Skyline to Ogden divide. Awesome ride except it was really smoky which made the views non-existent. I am considering going up Ben Lomond trail instead to make for a shorter day if need be, but the Perry to Skyline ride was excellent too.

Made a new friend at the top of Ben Lomond


Then found the whole herd just below the summit


Looking back


I would be stoked to do the ride with better views.

Do you know of any other similar rides in the area (raw, high altitude riding)? I see Skyline seems to continue south of Ogden divide but I haven't been able to find much info on it. Utahmountainbiking.com is ok but doesn't provide great info on segments you can join together into great rides. I have been researching Uinta's but that might be a bit too much for this trip.

[Dantheman]

Sweet! I am hoping to ride that either this weekend or next on the way up to Stanley. What was your route? When I rode it in 2012 I did a traverse from Perry Canyon to Grizzly Peak to Ben lomond and then down Northern Skyline to Ogden divide. Awesome ride except it was really smoky which made the views non-existent. I am considering going up Ben Lomond trail instead to make for a shorter day if need be, but the Perry to Skyline ride was excellent too.

I did it as a loop starting from the North Mountain Rd TH in North Ogden. I rode Highway 89 to Perry, then did the Perry Canyon/Ben Lomond/Northern Skyline traverse to N. Ogden Divide, and finished with Pioneer West/Old Pioneer Road back to the truck. I had done it before with a shuttle, but IMO the loop is the way to go. It's 14 miles of pavement between the THs, but almost all of it downhill or dead flat so it's boring but easy. It only took an hour and you're warmed up for the grind up Perry. That's funny about the smoke, it was pretty smoky on Sunday too so the views were pretty neutered, but not nearly as bad as your pics. Smokey as hell again today too and it's supposed to stick around for a while.

I've never done the Ben Lomond trail climb from North Fork Park, but the Utahmountainbiking.com page for it makes it sound kinda shitty. Very steep, badly overgrown and lots of horse hoof damage. It would be a shorter loop, but you would miss out on the righteous ridge riding between Willard Peak and Ben Lomond.

Do you know of any other similar rides in the area (raw, high altitude riding)? I see Skyline seems to continue south of Ogden divide but I haven't been able to find much info on it. Utahmountainbiking.com is ok but doesn't provide great info on segments you can join together into great rides. I have been researching Uinta's but that might be a bit too much for this trip.

Do you know about Trail Forks (http://www.trailforks.com/trails/map)? It's a giant interactive map that's great for figuring out stuff you can link up into big rides. Utahmountainbiking.com has a page for most of what's on there so you can get an idea of what is worth riding and what isn't.

The Ben Lomond traverse is pretty hard to beat, but yeah, lots of other high and raw riding.

I haven't done Southern Skyline but it's supposed to be pretty good.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...-Skyline-Trail

American Fork Canyon and the west side of Timpanogos have some great stuff
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...-City-to-Provo
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...A-T-)-Photo-TR

Pretty much all the Payson Canyon trails kick ass. Guaranteed you'll see more horses than bikes. Santaquin Peak is a great big hike-a-bike and super rugged descent
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...y-Mountain-Run
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...-a-hike-a-bike

Windy Pass in South Fork Provo Canyon is way cool, and there are some hiking trails that go all the way up and over the Cascade Mountain ridgeline. Never done the Cascade trails, but from what I've heard they are 100% HAB going up and even marginal for going down. Good adventuring though and virtually guaranteed solitude. Some beta here http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...tch-Wanderings

Farther north, Logan Canyon has some cool stuff that I've barely scratched the surface of. I've only done White Pine to Bunchgrass and Stump Hollow. Both of those connect to a ton of other trails that look like they have the potential to be awesome, shitty, or both.

There's not much riding in the Uintas since the Wilderness area is massive. Might be some good poaching opportunities. There's some good stuff around Strawberry Reservoir.

[zion zig zag]

Better get Skyline while it's singletrack. They are blading it six feet wide from Windsurfer beach at Pineview on the south end all the way to the Willard spike camp on the north.

http://www.standard.net/Recreation/2...ong-users.html

And yes, the Ben Lomond trail that starts in NF park kind of sucks. If they were going to spend money to blade existing trail, that should be it.

[Dantheman]

Better get Skyline while it's singletrack. They are blading it six feet wide from Windsurfer beach at Pineview on the south end all the way to the Willard spike camp on the north.

http://www.standard.net/Recreation/2...ong-users.html

Fucking hell! Talk about a solution to a problem that doesn't exist I guess I can take Southern Skyline off the "To Do" list for a few years until it (hopefully) grows back in to something resembling decent trail. Sounds like they'll probably be on Southern Skyline through 2016, so Willard Peak to N. Ogden Divide should be OK through next year probably? And then it won't be worth doing again until sometime well after 2020? God that is depressing.

Edit: I re-read the article. I think I was wrong and their plan is to get through all of Southern Skyline this year. Presumably that means work on Northern Skyline starts next year. Better get after Willard Peak to N. Ogden Divide this year kids. Fucking fucks!

[zion zig zag]

Fucking hell! Talk about a solution to a problem that doesn't exist I guess I can take Southern Skyline off the "To Do" list for a few years until it (hopefully) grows back in to something resembling decent trail. Sounds like they'll probably be on Southern Skyline through 2016, so Willard Peak to N. Ogden Divide should be OK through next year probably? And then it won't be worth doing again until sometime well after 2020? God that is depressing.

No shit. The locals that appreciate good trail are furious. Moto's included. The river parkway crowd thinks it's a good idea.

[PowerWhore7]

Some Highland stoke



any of you crazy assholes ever hit this thing

[evdog]

Thanks for all the info Dantheman, that will give me plenty to explore if I need to divert course from Idaho!

Trailforks and MTB project definitely help piece together rides, though its still hard to tell sometimes if a route will be good or not.

[powdork]

While I'm not a big fan of the reroute TRT volunteers are doing at the section with the bigger drops I think the overall project (Armstrong Pass backcountry camp) is a good thing. This used to be a mostly sandy downhill section

[dfinn]

Spent a week in Oakridge. <3 that place.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Rode West Game to Game Creej in JH to The bird yesterday. Trail growth is slowly dying but is currently dry and stiff for extra hand thwacking power. Was feeling pretty faint on the return pedal following sun/wings/beer overload.



Finally really dialed in the suspension on this thing this weekend too and existing enthusiasm for the Mach has only multiplied.

[springsproject]

Beaterdit cleared for landing

[BobbyBill]

High life in The Highwoods

[babybear]

nice beaterdit sighting
here's one from my boo andrew from last evening


raining here this afternoon so no riding this eve.....

[plugboots]

Top of Cutthroat Pass looking at Liberty Bell in the distance through the smoke.


BTW, view West from my deck:

[evdog]

A few from 4 days bike packing the white clouds

[Shredhead]

nice beaterdit sighting
here's one from my boo andrew from last evening


raining here this afternoon so no riding this eve.....

That's a great shot!

A little rain might be nice, but it doesn't look like you guys have the smoke problem right now.

[babybear]

Thanks- shot by @jaygoodrich if you need another photographer with great shots to follow on instagram
Yea luckily the winds shifted and skies cleared here the past few days but we had several days of thick smoke/ bbq smell everywhere a few days before this

[TahoeJ]

While I'm not a big fan of the reroute TRT volunteers are doing at the section with the bigger drops I think the overall project (Armstrong Pass backcountry camp) is a good thing. This used to be a mostly sandy downhill section

Nice. I can't wait to move up there and ride those trails on the regular next summer (we're house shopping right now).