[JustScott]

Hi all,
My wife and I are considering a quick trip up to Barrett Lake (and probably continuing beyond into Desolation on foot) and I'm hoping to get some up to date info on what the jeep road is like. I rode this a LONG time ago (15-ish years?) and remember really enjoying it. I remember it being somewhat technical, with a few rougher spots, but not too bad overall... but I'm old and my memory is faded... My wife is a solid intermediate rider, but hates hike-a-bike (irritates her lower back) so don't want to get in over her head. Our main goal is to get out in the woods for a bit, whether on bike or foot (or preferably both!), so if it's too techy we would either hike it or pick a different trail.

I'm also wondering if anyone knows the current trail condition - it looks like the road has maybe been closed to jeeps for quite a while, so is perhaps now unmaintained? Looking on Google Earth it looks like there might be quite a few downed trees, etc.

Anyway, if anyone has any info, esp. anyone who has ridden it in the last year or so, we'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,
Scott

 

[TahoeBC]

It had been closed to jeeps up until a couple years ago due to greenie lawsuits but problem areas were mitigated and Jeeps are allowed back up there again, but guessing it’s still closed to them this season till things dry out a bit more. Any trees down would have come down over the winter. I would expect her to have some hike a bike sections


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JustScott]

Thanks! We're planning to give it a go and see how it is... Should be a good adventure!

 

[Empty_Beer]

It is a bit of a slog going up (https://www.strava.com/segments/1907717?filter=overall). My gf is an experienced intermediate but I wouldn't take her on it.... not her kind of "fun". She does like the hike over to Enchanted Falls though.

Some pix to run by your wife: https://forums.mtbr.com/california-norcal/barrett-lake-jeep-trail-570978.html
The photos after the lake photo are on the granite behind/above Barrett Lake... just a playground.

This is a nearby underrated ride that she (and you) might like. It is also a bit of a hoof in some places going up (eastbound), but the descent is super fun. Some of it has been cleaned up recently too. https://www.strava.com/segments/8789562?filter=overall

There's a good chance I'm riding Barretts this Sunday. If so, I can provide a better report... if you don't get to it sooner.

 

[JustScott]

Thanks for the responses everyone. We headed out there Friday and Saturday and had a fantastic trip. We rode up BLJT for about 4 miles (until near where it intersects with Red Peak Stock trail, which is where we'd be hiking back from). The uphill ride involved a good amount of walking, and a bad amount of mosquitoes, but was still plenty of fun. The trail is mostly clear of trees - maybe 5-7 trail blockers along the whole route. A couple of boggy sections, some rideable, some not... We saw no one else out there, and the backpacking portion of the trip was great - we ditched the bikes in the woods, then hiked about 3 miles into Desolation Wilderness to the creatively named Lake #3, spent a lovely night there, and then enjoyed a good scramble up to Red Peak, and super fun glissade down into Lake Schmidell basin, and then a few miles of snow hiking to hook back up to the Red Peak stock trail which took us back to the jeep trail. Riding with 15-20 lb backpacks wasn't too bad, though it did take its toll on the upper body with all the technical moves required to clean some of the rocky sections of the jeep trail! All in all, a fantastic adventure!

 

[Finch Platte]

Nice write-up! Sounds like a great time.

I like the cloud in the second pic.

 

[Empty_Beer]

Nice adventure! We saw your tire tracks for a bit on the jeep trail today. Way to get some on wheel and foot!

 

[JustScott]

Thanks! Probably as many footprints as tire tracks! How was your ride?

 

[Empty_Beer]

Thanks! Probably as many footprints as tire tracks! How was your ride?

Definitely more footprints than tire tracks... "normal" people don't/won't ride Barretts (or Loon Lake, etc.).

My planned route was unobtainable due to snow, but riding to the lake and back was "fun" enough.

 

[Finch Platte]

Definitely more footprints than tire tracks... "normal" people don't/won't ride Barretts (or Loon Lake, etc.).

My planned route was unobtainable due to snow, but riding to the lake and back was "fun" enough.

View attachment 1266237

View attachment 1266239

Very nice.