Review Date
June 25, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty
 4 of 5

Technical Difficulty
 3 of 5

Ridden Trail:
Ridden Once

Reviewed by: Jared ,  Weekend Warrior

Summary:
During the ride to the tower, I was able to stay in the middle ring until the last 1/4 mile. There is a lot of rock gardens on the path, but they are easily negotiable. I'm in pretty good shape, but still had to rest and regoup for the last 1/4 mile to the lookout.
The views, as one would expect, are awesome. I missed the trail heading back out and went down the last 1/4 mile again, looking for it. THE EXIT TRAIL GOES BY THE OUTHOUSE!!!!!
The downhill trail is pretty fun. Many rock gardens keep it challenging. There are some real tire grabbers if you have soft suspension. My hardtail did OK (only wrecked 3 times), but would like to ride it with a dualie! There are a lot of trail markers (rock stacks) on the downhill, but the trail disappears at one point. You'll know it when you get to the first tree across the trail. Head to the gravel piles. You can see them about 300 yards down the clear cut. The trail leads out of the gravel pit by the side, not the road.
Once you pop out on the gravel road, the fun part has ended. The next seven miles of gravel road are OK. Mostly rolling hills, so just as much uphill as downhill.
THE LAST MILE TO THE TRUCK IS EXCRUTIATING! I was just about whipped at this point so this little hill about finished me. I tried to stay out of granny, but finally had to do it.

Total time gone was about 3 hours. Total pedal time was right at 2 hours.

Recommended Route:
If you are a normal person, ride the trail as described, east to west. If you are in awesome shape and like climbing in rock gardens, go ahead and do the opposite. There is very little traffic on this trail.

Other recommended trails in the same area:
From the trailhead, head northeast down toward Lydia Mtn. and into the valley bottom.