Reviewed by: tony , from colorado springs

Summary:
My buddies and I do this trail a couple time a year. It's a killer climb and a great descent, with a few places too technical for my skills. Start early because you dont want to be stuck above timberline in the typical afternoon thunderstorms. Pack a lunch (I suggest a bagle sandwich covered with sun/bodyheat melted cheese, and sprinkled with crushed BBQ chips) and plenty of water.

Recommended Route:
park on one of the parking lots along the highway near the general store. ride north on the highway for a few miles. The highway will start going down hill. After a few hundred yards you'll see a parking lot on the right, and a trail sign on the left. go up the trail. It will be rock and technical. Hop, scramble and grunt to the top of St. Charles Pk (it will take several hours to climb to its 11,784ft summit, and don't be fooled by the numerous false peaks like I was the first time I rode it). You'll descend for a long time down the other side to a wetland. hang a left, skirting the marshy area, then crossing it. one last climb, then a steep section just before the cAmpground. Once you get to the highway, just find your car.

Reviewed by: Chris Webster , from Boulder, CO

Summary:
Where do I start? This was listed as "sweet singletrack" in the Falcon book. We encountered 1-2 miles of singletrack out of 7.6, the rest was narrow dual track, or ATV road. The 1 mile stretch from mile 3 - 4 is very steep and very loose, we pushed most of it. We finally turned around about a 1/2-1 mile when it got to a section that was not rideable in either direction. We later found the part in the guidebook (at the begining) describing the rides in this area: "The listed rides are for the hardcore". It should be noted that we were freshly back from 3 weeks at sea level with little or no excercise. Scenery was good, and while the Aspen leaves had already fallen, I'm sure it would be spectacular in the fall. We thought this was harder than Lovell Gulch, which we rode with ease 2 days later. The book rated this a 3 and Lovell a 3+.

Recommended Route:
Start at San Isabel Lake, it's an out and back.