Looking for really good singletrack in the San Gabriel Mtns (LA-CA)

[Red]

Hello:

Relocated to LA last year from Tahoe and I have tried to find comparable singletrack around LA. The
Santa Monica and San Gabriel mtns are big with lots of routes, but mostly it's fire roads, and the
singletrack that does exist seems to be short stretches that are interconnected with long stretches
of fire road/ jeep trail. After getting hooked on Tahoe's pure singletrack, I can't take all this
fire road stuff.I have already been through the official "Mountain Biking in LA County" book and
been through mtbreview.com trails section.

Does anyone have an inside scoop on a nice technical & long singletrack within an hours drive of the
valley? I've done the backbone in the Santa Monica range. What I liked a lot was singletrack in the
San Gabriel mtns around Chilao (Mt. Hillyer). Trouble was that it's real tricky to find your way as
you need to piece together lots of little singletrack sections with different fire roads. Any really
good description of this trail system out there on the web? Mtbreview's descrption got me lost
several times, and I had to backtrack. And I would like to cut out all of that fire road biz on the
Chilao trail system.

Is this the best that LA county has to offer? Is Tahoe really superior to LA county for singletrack?

Finally, does anybody know if conditions are still wet up in the SanGabriel mtns now? If anyone is
going on a good ride in the near future in LA county give me a shout on this group or at:

[email protected].

I could use a good lead through some of these "piece-together" trails. I am a strong intermediate
cross-country rider with 10 years riding experience. I can climb hard, am not afraid to descend, and
can cover 20 miles of continuous singletrack in a single morning.

HR

 

[G.T.]

red wrote:
>
>
> Is this the best that LA county has to offer?

No.

> Is Tahoe really superior to LA county for singletrack?

Of course.

> Finally, does anybody know if conditions are still wet up in the SanGabriel mtns now?

Unless you're near snow things have been dry in the San Gabriels for awhile.

Have you done Gabrielino, Strawberry Peak, Sunset Cyn, Upper and Lower Sam Merril, or the Devil's
Punchbowl area? The front range and back range are usually more interesting than the central areas
like Chilao (although the trails around Chilao are a blast if you piece the together).

Greg
--
"Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and hard,
just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons

 

[Red]

Thanx for the tip. I looked at the Strawberry Peak trail description and it seems pretty good. What
is the best place to start this trail at and would you recommend any trail extensions to make it a
longer singletrack ride?

HR

"G.T." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:6Q0qa.341$%[email protected]...
> red wrote:
> >
> >
> > Is this the best that LA county has to offer?
>
> No.
>
> > Is Tahoe really superior to LA county for singletrack?
>
> Of course.
>
> > Finally, does anybody know if conditions are still wet up in the
SanGabriel
> > mtns now?
>
> Unless you're near snow things have been dry in the San Gabriels for
awhile.
>
> Have you done Gabrielino, Strawberry Peak, Sunset Cyn, Upper and Lower Sam Merril, or the Devil's
> Punchbowl area? The front range and back range are usually more interesting than the central areas
> like Chilao (although the trails around Chilao are a blast if you piece the together).
>
> Greg
> --
> "Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and
> hard, just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons