Singletrack Mafia http://singletrackmafia.com Taking over the world, one trail at a time. Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:37:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Sweet Water Trail http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/15/sweet-water-trail/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/15/sweet-water-trail/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:33:08 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=1183 Take highway 50 until you come to Eldorado Hills. Take the Eldorado Hills blvd. exit and head north. Stay on this road it will turn in to Salmon Falls Rd. You will travel down this road for about 10 to 15 minutes before you come across Salmon Falls Bridge. On your left hand side right before the bridge is free parking. Across the bridge on both your right and left side you can find paid parking areas. The right side has bathroom but the parking spot and bathrooms are not always open.

  • Highest Elevation: 607  ft (Elevation info is off. GPS was acting funny during trail ride.)
  • Lowest Elevation: 100 ft
  • Trail length:  6.2 miles (rough estimate if you go out and back)
  • Time:  1 Hr 20 minutes (average rider)
  • Rating:  7 out of 10
  • Intermediate

This is a short trail and it is an easy out and back. However you can connect up with Salmon Falls Trail and make it a much longer ride if you would like to get some distance in. There is two places you can park and they are both free at each entrance.  Both of them are on Salmon Falls Road and if you go past Salmon Falls Bridge you went to far. The trail has a little bit of a roller coaster effect and some technical challenges throughout. It overlooks the lake in several spots and has nice scenery. I think this trail would have rated an 8 if it was a little longer. If you are a beginner you will have no problem making this ride.

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]]> http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/15/sweet-water-trail/feed/ 0 Salmon Falls http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/07/salmon-falls/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/07/salmon-falls/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:15:33 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=938 Take highway 50 until you come to Eldorado Hills. Take the Eldorado Hills blvd. exit and head north. Stay on this road it will turn in to Salmon Falls Rd. You will travel down this road for about 10 to 15 minutes before you come across Salmon Falls Bridge. On your left hand side right before the bridge is free parking. Across the bridge on both your right and left side you can find paid parking areas. The right side has bathroom but the parking spot and bathrooms are not always open.

  • Highest Elevation: 573  ft
  • Lowest Elevation: 454 ft
  • Trail length:  16 miles (rough)
  • Time:  2 hrs (average rider)
  • Rating:  8 out of 10
  • Intermediate

Salmon Falls starts off with a difficult technical climb and descent. After about a mile into the trail it becomes a fairly easy ride with the occasional technical challenge. You are overlooking the lake on a good portion of the ride and the scenery is great in the spring. It gets dry in the summer and is not as nice but can still be a lot of fun to cruise this trail. This is an out and back adventure for the most part, but if you really learn this area or ask some of the local riders. You can make a loop towards the back end a few different ways. There is actually some neat secrets hidden among Salmon Falls and when the water is low an old bridge can be seen. You can ride over the bridge and connect up with the Sweet Water Trail. This is one I keep going back to and find little off shoots all over the place. Not to easy to get board with this area.

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]]> http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/07/salmon-falls/feed/ 0 Red Hill http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/06/red-hill/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/06/red-hill/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:42:43 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=929 Take highway 99 to 120 east. Continue down 120 until you come to 108/120 and head east. Stay on 108/120 until you come to CO RD J59/ La Grange Rd. You can only travel south on La Grange and about a mile down you will make a left onto Red Hills Rd. Look for a parking lot with a bathroom on the right side about 1/4 mile and that is where you want to park.

  • Highest Elevation: 1518 ft.
  • Lowest Elevation: 1007 ft.
  • Trail length:  10.5 miles (rough)
  • Time:  2 hours (average rider)
  • Rating:  8 out of 10

This ride can be a lot of fun for an experienced mountain biker. It is a very rocky trail and you may find yourself cursing it at first.  Once you start getting use to the technical climbing  and loose rocks you will start smiling and really begin to enjoy the uniqueness of Red Hill. New trails are being added all the time by some local trail blazers that ride here frequently. The main course is pretty well marked and loops back to the parking lot. Many trails branch off the main course but all seem to come back into each other after awhile. Parking is free and there is a bathroom located at the trail entrance. If you ride to the end of the loop you will have a nice view over looking a lake. I had the privilege of running into a gentlemen at that very spot named Tom who helps finds and makes new trails. What an amazing rider and nice guy. He showed me some new routes that are not on the map and still being made. This was a great adventure to be able to follow someone that rides here all the time and I hope to run into him again.

]]> http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/06/red-hill/feed/ 0 Kessel Run http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/06/kessel-run/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/06/kessel-run/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:40:57 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=1077
  • Highest Elevation:
  • Lowest Elevation:
  • Trail length: 2.3 miles (rough)
  • Time: 30 minutes (average rider)
  • Rating: 10 out of 10

    • This is by far one of the most exciting trails I have ever been on. It is a short gradual downhill made by trail engineering genius. As you travel down the singletrack you will be banking left and right at an easy to achieve fast pace. I was smiling and hoping  the experience would never end as my bike gracefully flowed to the finish. I turned to my friends that had already completed the run and as I looked to them I simply said “awesome”. They all had the same feelings I did about the trail and uttered the exact same word I used. We were sad it was so short but realized we can ride this trail as many times as we wanted to. There is a gravel road that runs along side the Kessel Run. We altered the responsibility of shuttling each other to the top and each of us rode this several more times that day.

    Note: I recommend you go on this trail downhill only. The uphill traffic and hikers you will encounter on this ride kinda of ruins the euphoric bliss which emanates from the Kessel Run.

     

    ]]>     http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/06/kessel-run/feed/ 0     Emigrant Trail http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/03/emigrant/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/03/emigrant/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:45:54 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=1101 To find the trail entrance to Emigrant. You will want to take 89 north. Be careful there is an 89 south and it is a few miles west of the highway you want. You will travel up highway 89 about 4 miles. Just past a bridge on your right hand side will be a gravel parking area. There is a well marked sign labeled “Emigrant”. If you see Hobart Mills Road you have gone to far.

    • Highest Elevation: 6161 ft
    • Lowest Elevation: 5766 ft
    • Trail length: 20 miles (roughly 10 miles one way)
    • Time: 2 hrs 30 minutes (average rider)
    • Rating: 7 out of 10

    I am pleasantly surprised by this nice little out and back on Emigrant Trail. It is another little adventure that is great for beginners and those just wanting to get in a casual ride. Small climbs and drops along various parts of this  dense forestry path kept me smiling and having a good time. You can expect small technical challenges along your little bike journey. Not to worry though! Nothing exceeds the intermediate level. Advanced riders can have some fun with this as well. I pedaled hard and fast the hole time and it almost felt as if I was on a speeder bike from the “Return of the Jedi”. I will for sure do this ride again in the future.

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    ]]>     http://singletrackmafia.com/2012/01/03/emigrant/feed/ 0     Forest Hill Divide http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/22/forest-hill-divide-ride/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/22/forest-hill-divide-ride/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:11:12 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=858 Trail is located on Forest Hill Rd off of Highway 80 in the town of Auburn. The loop takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to do (average rider).

    • Highest elevation :1891 ft (Forest Hill Divide)
    • Lowest elevation :1647 ft (Forest Hill Divide)
    • Bottom of Clementine : 563 ft
    • Distance: 12 miles (rough)

    Just a couple of STM members out having a casual ride in Auburn, California. Perfect weather and just a great day to do the Forest Hill Divide Loop. We seen about a dozen other riders out there just having a blast. This is a great trail for any beginners out there that like to get started in this exhilarating and adventures hobby. The loop is about 10 to 12 miles. There is free parking in a couple of different locations along Forest Hill Rd. They are easy to find do to all the cars that are usually parked by the trail entrances. There are portable bathrooms located at two locations along the trail close to the rode. Makes it very convenient before you head off on your bikes. Traffic goes both ways so be careful. Many riders find it best to go counter clockwise and I do as well. This trail hooks up with the Connector Trail and the Connector Trail runs into the Clementine. If you do those trails with the Forest Hill Divide you may want to plan on bringing a second vehicle to shuttle back to the top.

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    ]]>     http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/22/forest-hill-divide-ride/feed/ 1     Olmstead Loop http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/22/olmstead-loop/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/22/olmstead-loop/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:06:26 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=882 Trail is located on Highway 49/193 off of Highway 80. Stay on 49/193 until you come to the town of Cool.  There is a huge gravel parking lot at the trail head. It cost $5.00 to park there. However I have parked in a parking lot  located by some stores several times and avoided paying. Its usually not very busy and it is within 100 yards of the gravel parking lot.

    • Highest elevation :1611
    • Lowest elevation :1222 ft
    • Distance: 9.5 miles (rough)
    • Average time: 1.5 hours

    The trail is not far from Clementine, Forest Hill Divide, and the Connector Trail. If you do the entire loop it is roughly 10 miles. There are several little trails that shoot off in different directions and meet back up to the main trail. Most of the ride is fire road but there is some singletrack. Be careful some routes are off limits to mountain bikes and are for horses and hikers only. The trails are well marked to prevent any confusion. There is an abundance of wildlife and you are almost guaranteed to see some while you are cruising around. Wild turkeys, bobcats, deer, and the occasional mountain lions are found here and if you explore enough of the trails you can come across some ponds and streams. Good scenery the entire ride, great trail for beginners, and a pretty fun ride. 2011-12-18_13-35-13_992 2011-12-18_14-32-27_338 2011-12-18_14-47-38_353 2011-12-18_14-48-31_300 2011-12-18_14-48-36_269 2011-12-18_14-49-08_517 2011-12-18_14-49-20_342 2011-12-18_14-49-26_11 2011-12-18_14-49-41_363 2011-12-18_15-13-37_339 2011-12-18_15-13-41_612 2011-12-18_12-59-19_140 2011-12-18_13-15-19_135 2011-12-18_13-16-08_463 2011-12-18_13-21-27_952 2011-12-18_13-25-34_983 2011-12-18_13-35-07_459 2011-12-18_13-43-05_143

    ]]>     http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/22/olmstead-loop/feed/ 0     Blue Johns Canyon http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/16/blue-johns-canyon/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/16/blue-johns-canyon/#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:21:43 +0000 Aaron http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=804 This is not a mountain bike trail. STM members like to do some other hobbies while we are invading some singletrack. We researched this and decided to go for it and do a little hiking. We discovered that Blue Johns Canyon is a must see  for those of you who like adventure.  We traveled down a long dusty gravel road which lasted for what seemed like hours. Finally found a place to park and hiked down to the canyon in the hot desert sun. Not being adequately prepared, we were unable to descend into the narrow slots where the lone adventurer lost his arm from the movie “127 Hours”. We also failed to bring enough water to go any further. Not realizing how prepared one must be to really explore these dangerous sights. We stopped our attempt to walk through the rocky passageways. The next visit to Moab we will bring everything needed to go the distance and brave the treacherous terrain.

    2011-05-31_16-21-09_982 2011-05-31_14-35-57_561 2011-05-31_14-36-28_417 The Snake 2011-05-31_14-53-58_276 2011-05-31_15-03-50_435 2011-05-31_15-03-59_440 2011-05-31_15-14-44_708 2011-05-31_15-18-26_725 2011-05-31_16-05-47_877 2011-05-31_16-06-14_614 This beetle was huge!

     

    ]]>     http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/12/16/blue-johns-canyon/feed/ 0     Porcupine Rim – STM Invades Moab 2011 http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/11/25/porcupine-rim-stm-invades-moab-2011-day-1/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/11/25/porcupine-rim-stm-invades-moab-2011-day-1/#comments Fri, 25 Nov 2011 20:16:39 +0000 island http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=499 On the last weekend of May, 2011, The Singletrack Mafia invaded Moab and took over the Porcupine Rim Trail.

    [lg_folder folder="STM Invades Moab - 2011/"]

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    ]]>     http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/11/25/porcupine-rim-stm-invades-moab-2011-day-1/feed/ 2     Singletrack Mafia Facebook Group http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/11/18/singletrack-mafia-facebook-group/ http://singletrackmafia.com/2011/11/18/singletrack-mafia-facebook-group/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:54:32 +0000 island http://singletrackmafia.com/?p=346 The old format Singletrack Mafia facebook page died and went to Tron heaven, since facebook retired the old style group format. A new Singletrack Mafia group has been created to replace it, and discussions are active. It is a closed group, so if you want to participate, you’ll have ask to be let in. You can find it at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/singletrackmafia/

     

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