I know, kind of a lame subject line, but I could think of nothing
else.
I headed over to Camelsback Park from work yesterday afternoon to get in a
ride this week. I hope to begin hitting the trails at least twice a week
from here on out if time, weather, and fitness allow. Yesterday was very
nice, temps. in the upper 50's and light winds, so I rode in shorts, short
sleeve jersey and arm warmers. The arm warmers came in useful on a couple of
the downhill sections. Today's route as per usual was chosen on the fly. The
Boise foothills just offer so many alternatives that modifying a route due
to any of the reasons I listed above is a minor undertaking.
If I leave Camelsback Park for a ride I almost always take Chickadee Ridge
on the way out. It is a short little trail but offers some nice climbs and a
good view; a good section to wake the legs up for the ride ahead. Since this
trail is so close to the Park, it can be a little busy with other users,
however today there was only one other rider and his dog. Speaking of dogs,
probably half the riders (5) I saw today had a dog with them and fortunately
they were all well behaved and did not cause any conflicts, but I do not
recall seeing many riders in the past with dogs.
From here I head up Hulls Gulch, a beautiful trail that parallels the little
Hulls Gulch creek. Usually in the Spring this creek can run high and be
quite noisy, however this year I think that this creek is going to dry up
months earlier then normal. The snowpack has been so bad around here that
last weekend Bogus Basin Ski Resort closed, the earliest closing in their
history. The trail is a constant steady climb, with a few steep sections
that can make the out of shape or novices work hard. Add to this a few
technical rocky areas and you have a really fun trail. It eventually reaches
the intersection of Crestline and the climb up to the motorcycle parking lot
next to 8th Street. I do not feel too bad so I decide to head up to the
parking lot. Hulls is another trail that can be really busy, but today no
runners or hikers, just 3 riders, all coming downhill and yes one had a dog
🙂
If you keep your speed up coming into the intersection and no other trail
users are blocking the way, you can usually clean the first section of the
trail up to the parking lot. The intersection is a popular place for trail
users to congregate and on busy days it can be a zoo. This section has
rocks, ruts and loose sand/dirt to make it challenging and it is kind of
steep, however it is very short so you can usually power through and then
catch your breath on the next flattish section before the loose, rocky mean
climb up to the parking lot. The trail is cut into the side of the hill and
offers a great view of Boise and the trail system below. At the top, you get
to choose what to do next. Either turnaround and head back down, turn left
and drop down 8th street road (dirt), turn left and climb 8th street or jump
on trail #1 to get to a few other trail selection. I am taking trail #1 in
hopes of climbing Scott's trail.
Trail #1 is a great reprieve from the climbing that you have just done. It
is mostly flat to downhill all the way over to first of the climbs to the
saddle/intersection of Scotts and Corrals trails. On the way over you pass
the top of Bob's trail, a killer single track that I hope to do later this
week or weekend. This trail is smooth, very few ruts and fast. The section
just above Bob's trail has a few bumps that you can really launch off of,
but you need to pay attention to make sure that you do not surprise other
trail users towards the bottom since there is a blind corner. I cruise over
to the gate at the bottom of the first climbing section to the saddle and
like a lot of our climbs around here, the trail immediately changes to loose
sand/dirt, ruts and rocks.
You can not just spin mindlessly up hill, you need to concentrate and pick
your line. I need to get in shape because this feels too much like work and
I also know that the climbing get's worse shortly. When I reach the top of
this section, which sits below the power lines I am ready for the short fast
downhill to the next climb to the intersection to Scott's and Corrals. The
climbing section here is some of the worst in the foothills but that is
normal, in fact all the trails so far are either in normal or better
condition. I get back into granny gear and begin huffing and wheezing my way
up. When I begin the last part of the climb I see what I think is a
runner/hiker sitting on the side of the trail near the top, so I think that
maybe I should try to tone down my breathing so that this person does not
call Life Flight. That idea lasted 2 pedal strokes. When I get next to this
guy, I see he is wearing Rollerblades with some really tall wheels and I try
to blurt out a greeting. Since he was sitting below the crest of the hill
and I really did not want to loose momentum, I continue on. When I get on
top I can see his skating marks, so obviously they work. But he would have
to be out of his mind to skate down the section of trail that I just rode
up. I guess I should have stopped but I am on a roll.
Gravity helps propel me on to Scotts trail and the long tough ride up to 8th
street. Earlier I mentioned that the trails were in normal or better than
normal condition, well Scotts is a mess. A bunch of morons have been riding
this trail when condition were just too muddy/soft and have really screwed
it up. Deep ruts on probably 60% of the trail. You really need to pick your
line carefully, which is easier to do going up slowly then coming down
riding the brakes. What a drag. Anyway, I ride up to 8th street and since I
really do not want to ride down a dirt road, I turn around and retrace my
route back to the Hulls Gulch - Freeway intersection. This is almost all
downhill or in some instance speed and gravity help shot up climbs.
To make this long report a little shorter: I take the Freeway(Crestline)
back towards Red Cliff trail but there are a whole gaggle of hikers/runners
all ready on it so I just keep going until I get to the Connector and bomb
down the trail. As I near civilization, I see more and more bikers on the
trails, so I guess I got out riding at the right time. I take Owls Roost
back to Camelsback, this trail runs through a really neat grove of trees
that will provide lots of needed cover during the long hot summer.
All in all a great ride! Sorry that it is so long winded.
Mike