Mountain Bike Season Over? Not So Fast!

This weekend a group of us were sitting in Park City, UT wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon when the resort we work for asked employees not to ski because of limited open terrain.

Someone threw out Antelope Island down in Salt Lake as a possible mountain bike ride.

http://www.utah.com/bike/trails/antelope_island_map.htm

I’d never been to the island, but it seemed like a good plan with low elevation terrain, sunshine and temps in the 50’s.

After our ride, I’d say the biking is still in terrific shape.

Recent rains have left the trails tacky and December’s evening temperatures have erased the location’s notorious bugs.



The ride starts off mellow on the double track gravel road that winds over to the southwest portion of the island.

However, the farther south you head, the more rugged the terrain. It’s almost as if you snapped a postcard out of Scotland’s Highland Region – well except for the buffalo…


But back to the island’s southwest aspect – the terrain is outstanding mountain biking territory with rolling, tight single track.

And if you happen to hit this corner of the island at sunset - the view will be well worth your ride.

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Riding the Burn

Less than a month ago several of us decided to take a trip up to Ketchum, ID to get in a long weekend of mountain biking in beautiful Indian Summer weather before the late fall blew in and the weather turned.

I’d heard over the past couple of years how great the mountain biking up in the Sun Valley area is.

The trip started out in perfectly – the mountains were alive with sparkling gold aspen leaves and the mild temperatures made for some stellar riding conditions.

Saturday morning we drove down to a local bike shop – Formula Sports – to ask advice on the favorite local trails. The young man at the bike shop suggested Fisher Creek, which is located between Ketchum and Stanley on Highway 75.

The shop worker said it was only a half hour out of town but an hour and a half later we finally got to Fisher Creek.

(http://www.dirtworld.com/trails/trail.asp?id=182&trail_name=Fisher%20Creek%20Loop%20Mountain%20Bike%20Trail).

Fisher was the real deal. It started out with several miles of steady uphill and then at least 12 miles of rolling single track back to the highway.

The ride started out in a burn area – and we were all fairly surprised at how grippy the trail was. The track swung through several canyons and reached a pinnacle with a log jump that entertained our crew for a good half hour.

After the log jump it felt like we were on endless downhill.

Fisher Creek was a blast, but the Ketchum hot springs that we soaked in after the 18-mile ride were even better.

The next morning for some reason we decided to go back to the same shop even though the kid at the shop definitely had a deficiency in the math department.

Another shop employee spoke up and suggested a ride off of the local favorite Greenhorn Trail. I had heard of Greenhorn. One of my friends back in Park City had suggested it because as she put it, “there’s almost no uphill and then unlimited downhill.”

Now we should have been tipped off when this guy (who did seem older and fit the mountain biker stereotype a bit more) suggested to us that when we got to Greenhorn everyone would take the trail head left but instead we should go straight up the trail to the right side of the parking lot.

From the beginning something seemed wrong. We are all in pretty good mountain biking shape, but all five of us where gasping and wheezing to catch air as we ascended the first part of the trail. In my head I kept thinking, “Jen said endless downhill – this is all up.”

We rode steadily uphill about 8 miles before we hit the burn. Unlike the burn at Fisher Creek, this was insane. The sooty sand was a good 6-8 inches deep which didn’t make for solid riding. We figure we ended up walking at least half of the 6 or so miles up the burn.

Walking up this dead mountain was almost surreal. The air through the scorched pines still smelled of fire and the view in every direction was dark and bleak.

By the time we reached the trails summit we were out of water and exhausted. Lying beneath a Lodge Pole Pine, I was inhaling energy bars when my buddy Jim said, “Lookout! Here come dirt bikes,” Jim & I leapt off of our perch to carry the bikes farther away from the trail so that they were not veered into by the careening dirt bikers.

I know one thing – the next time I see dirt bikers I am heading the other way.

Further on down the trail we followed the dirt bikers through what felt like feet of quick sand. The dirt bikes had churned Sun Valley’s loose dirt to the point that the trail was a river of sand.

After gashing my foot on my chain ring, landing on my butt after a spin out on a hopeless switch back and on my third fall of the day flying over a young live pine tree to crash head first into a pile of dead branches, I was ready to walk the rest of the trail but a funny thing called pride was keeping my flying forward on my bike.

Luckily, the last couple of miles spit us out onto the real Greenhorn Trail we were supposed to take. After we turned onto Greenhorn, 3 miles of hard, fast single track was a significant reward.
The final three miles almost made up for the first 20 brutal miles. Greenhorn was definitely everything it was cracked up to be.

As we loaded the bikes up in the parking lot, the conversation turned to our trusty bike shop employee. Was he sitting back in the shop with a beer, laughing his &*(^% off at those poor suckers who heeded his advise blindly?

I figured surely not, until the hot springs he recommended us hitting on the way home turned out to be a hoax – after a couple locals agreed that they had never heard of that set of hot springs I began to feel like we were the brunt of an excessively long and painful joke.

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White Fall

It's a white fall here in Utah.  Nothing like a little skiing to help pass the time until...well, skiing.

Alta, caught between Fall & Winter.

Me, caught between Biking & Skiing

 My Bike, caught between Dirt & Water.

My grin, caught between Stoked & Totally Stoked.

My photographer, caught between Tired & Confused.

My ski poles, caught between Rocks & Snow.

Bike trails, caught between Mud & Ice.

My skis, caught between Resting & Waiting...

Always waiting on winter,

Jake

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Red Mud

So it seems Fall has arrived in Utah now and the rainstorms it brings have followed suits. Other than teasing us with light snow dust above 10,000' it provides us with some awesome mountain biking conditions.

The combination of the rain, dry earth in UT, and red tires results in some awesome trail riding.

Here are some photos from the Mid-Mountain & Spiro Trails in Park City last weekend.

Mike climbing under park city chairs

I outrun the Fall storm system

Mike climbing in another Park City Aspen Grove

It’s not fun until I find something to jump off of

 Mike flying over some chocolate chips

I ride past some awesome greenery

 

 The athletes of 48Straight showing off

That's all until my next ride!

Jake

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Full-Suspension Fun

Date: August 19 - 30, 2008
Location: Salt Lake City, UT - Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT
Featuring: Me (Jake Kirshner), Mike Saltsman

While the Dew Action Sports Tour may be all the rage in Salt Lake City, mountain biking in the Wasatch is where the real fun is being had. Here is some footage to prove it!

Low Res YouTube Version:

High-Res Version: http://www.jakecast.com/helmetcast/helmetCast8.m4v
(right-click > save target/link as...)

Jake

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Flying Dog Fun

These are some pictures I took with my friend mike while riding the flying dog trail at Jeremy Ranch late last month. Enjoi!

Entrance to single-track bliss.

Earning my turns.

Mike climbing too fast for my camera.

Scenic trail.

Mike pushing for the top.

I ride with a very nice background.

Full Gallery

Well, that's it for now. Look for the 8th HelmetCast later this week or whenever I get more than 10m of free time. There will be crest, bobsled, and evil empire footage so stay tuned!

Cheers,
Jake

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Southern Absaroka Mountain Biking

After reading CTV's post about bicycle rage on the Wasatch Crest Trail, I had to read it again to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I just couldn't fathom fellow cyclists pushing bad vibes on each other, and while on the trail of all places. Don't we all get outside and play to have an enjoyable and positive experience away from life's chaos? I guess it is a good reminder to respect others, even if we are slower than them.

Here in northern Wyoming, I am sure we have the same issues from time to time, but most of that takes place in winter on Teton Pass. We may even have a slight element of animosity between different user groups in the summer, such as horseback riders and mountain bikers, which is a shame since we are out doing virtually same thing.

This weekend, Lander mountain bikers David Reed, Brad Douglass, and I headed to an area where problems have occurred between bikers and backcountry horsemen in the southern Absarokas. As a cyclist, I feel that it is our responsibility to have good etiquette and respect everyone on the trail, or we may find ourselves locked out of the places we love. This weekend's mission was to practice good etiquette, avoid grizzly bears, and have a damn good time biking; all of which we accomplished on 17 miles of some of Wyoming's sweetest singletrack.

Pinnacle Butte trail circumnavigates the Pinnacles below:

The day starts with a nice climb up Bonneville Pass, and we almost immediately ran into a group of horseback riders. We quickly and quietly dismounted our bikes and walked around the horses . Simple acts like this will go a long way, and help build positive relationships between different user groups.

Nearing the top of Bonneville Pass:

Brad Douglass finding a little bit of heaven on some buffed out Wyoming singletrack:

The Pinnacle Butte trail is one of Wyoming's classic mountain bike rides. The loop is about 17 miles long with no exit points. It is key to bring plenty of Pro Bars and to have a hydration pack that that carries at least two liters of water.

David Reed dropping off Bonneville Pass and heading to Dundee Meadows. The wildflowers are still out in full bloom adding to the beauty of this trail:

Jeramie Prine enjoys a steep, long drop back to the trailhead after climbing 4000 vertical feet for the day:

We didn't experience any road rage or have problems with the groups of horsemen we crossed paths with. We didn't even run into any grizzly bears during this ride (very unusual). We did keep our attitudes positive and had good conversations with other users while respecting their space on the trail. It was just another fantastic day on the trail with nothing but positive vibes. Fall is a fantastic time to bike and enjoy the cooler weather with fewer crowds. Get out and enjoy it!

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Planks or Pedals?

Date: August 8 - 16, 2008
Location: Park City, UT - Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT
Featuring: Me (Jake Kirshner), Mike Saltsman, Josh Matta

Low Res YouTube Version:

High-Res Version: http://www.jakecast.com/helmetcast/helmetCast7.m4v
(right-click > save target/link as...)

Recipe for lame crashes:
(1) parts: first biking of the season
(1) parts: first time in clipless pedals
(1) parts: narrow areas between bridges and storage bins

Cheers,
Jake

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Good times in Cooper Landing

So, to anyone considering a trip to Alaska, I highly recommend some time in Cooper Landing . . . It's one-stop shopping for so many classic Alaskan activities. Centered in the Kenai Mountains at Kenai Lake and the head of the Kenai River, with the Russian River confluence forming the southern border, it's the home of much hiking, biking, floating, and animal watching (bears!).

Hiking above Kenai Lake

Hanging by the lake - roadside "nature mcnugget" :-)

One of many bike trails takes you to Russian River Falls where you can watch the sundry of the famous Russian River reds come upstream . . . I'm not a huge fishing/fish fan, but you've got to admit it's pretty impressive to watch these creatures swim upstream. The trail actually goes for 12 miles of singletrack, but the falls are only 3 miles from the trailhead.

The falls We also had the chance to float the Kenai River and fish for trout and dolly varden . . . floating the Kenai is a super great experience, especially on the upper river where there's no developments and no motors! Other people chose the more combat style red fishing . . . classic Kenai :-)
Cooper Landing is also a super fun place to hang out - after a day of recreation, there's tons of great frontcountry campgrounds, tons of places to crash up a trail in the backcountry (lots of National Forest cabins too!), and some great places to grab a burger :-)

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Road Rage On The Crest

A couple of weeks ago I took off with several friends to ride the Wasatch Crest Trail for the 2nd time this season.

I love the Crest - after you make it past "Puke Hill" the climbs are gradual, the descents are fast and it seems like there are half the people that you’d see on Mid-Mountain.

On that particular Saturday our gang had ridden up from the Keystone Trail at Park City Mountain and we all reconnected up at the top of puke hill. Because we took a breather and grabbed a snack, a few different packs of riders passed us – most waiving as they went by or calling out a friendly greeting.

Back on the trail, the four of us were quickly making up time on the two closest parties. Another 15 minutes into the ride we came upon two older men who were riding at a slower clip. I was leading and asked if we could pass. They ignored me so I decided to stop and wait for my other three friends to catch up.




I let my friend go to the lead and told her the men in front weren’t interested in pulling over. Marcy caught up to the men and asked very politely if we might be able to pass once we reached the right place.

The man closest to us told Marcy there was no way he was going to let us pass. When we commented that wasn’t very nice, he suggested we think of it as “over population of the trails.”

Both Marcy & I were speechless for a minute. Most mountain bikers that you encounter on the trail are overly friendly and so neither of us had ever been treated so rudely.

Finally the men said that they would let us pass if we were good enough to get by. The location they chose had quite a bit of loose dirt on the edges and as I went to follow Marcy on by – the second biker leaned his bike into me as if to push me into the churning dirt.

Thankfully my tire gripped down into the dirt and I was past. Marcy & I took off – not wanting to deal with the annoying men any longer. When we were far enough ahead we waited for Collin & Joel to ride up.

They were given no problem going by – our antagonists were apparently not happy that they had been passed by women.

The next few rides I took I was a little apprehensive – what if I encountered the chauvinists again on another trail – but this time solo without my buddies?

Not to worry – on every ride I’ve taken since, the Park City Trails have been back to normal with friendly, happy-go-lucky mountain bikers just glad to be sharing the trails.

3 comments

Highway to highway . . . the other direction! July 5-6, 2008

After walking from Donnelly to McKinley Village and staying the night in Cantwell, Dylan and I rode the Denali Highway from Cantwell 135 miles to Paxson. We had a mix of rain and sun, saw some incredible country, and made it in 2 days. Thankfully, there were two places with coffee and prepared food, and no bushwhacking!

Dylan headed out of Cantwell

Blurry picture, but a good picture of the fully-loaded bike!

On the McLaren River bridge after 2 hours of eating and coffee drinking. We also gave away some weight, so the last 42 miles were much easier on the back!
Heading toward McLaren, the 2nd highest road pass in Alaska!
Headed toward the storm.
From there, we rode into a huge rainstorm and rode the last 20 miles in October-like weather: rainy, windy, and cold! The combination of 3 downhills pretty much sucked the heat out of my body, leaving me quasi-hypothermic by the time I got to Paxson lodge, but all's well that ends well!

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"Into the Wild" biking in Denali National Park

I've been craving a good adventure lately, so when Eric Parsons invited me to join he and Dylan Kentch on an experimental combination to mountain bike and packraft, my thought was that this trip would include the excitement/exertion that I was craving. The vision was to bike 56 miles into Denali National Park, float down the Toklat River, and then find the Stampede trail to bike to the Parks Highway. There were plenty of unknowns, but the great thing about a trip like this one is that your only choice is to go find out, and to have faith that you'll find the way, so off we went!

On the park road at the top of Polychrome Pass

Riding down the Toklat River
Down the river we went . . .
Always the skier, I took a mental note of those coolies on Mt. Sheldon! Holy happy place!!!
We camped at the confluence with the Toklat east fork and started the next day navegating upriver. This included riding shelf ice, gravel, and crossing the river about 20 times . . .

Dylan

And then it was 10 hours of tundra walking over tussocks in search of the Sushana River.
We finally broke out on to a ridge and were able to see more-or-less where we had to head. You can see the Sushana in the distance if you look carefully in this photo . . .

Finally, we arrived at the Sushana River, the "Into the Wild" bus, and the beginning of the Stampede Trail :-) The Stampede Trail was surprisingly rideable . . . arguably "Type A" fun! We sorta laughed when we hit the road, reflecting on how well things had gone and somewhat amazed that we didn't "epic." Sure, the 2-day trip had taken 4 and there was one day of fairly unfavorable travel conditions, but we had expected at least that at the outset. We also had a great time together as a group which makes the memory even better! Read the full story here!

(photos: Eric Parsons)

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