[kaboose]

thinking of going this coming saturday but have seen rain and thunderstorms forecasted every afternoon on weather.com.

how do the trails hold up? worth going or wait for better conditions?

thanks, prescott crew!

 

[Casual Observer]

how do the trails hold up?

Not very well.

 

[ssamplin]

Was there last Saturday and all was good until the nasty "rocky road ice cream" mud section. So sticky and nasty we headed for Cottonwood!

 

[azdog]

It can get slick.

 

[Jayem]

Generally they do very well. A funny thing is that I've run into the death-mud in cottonwood as well, so it's not just here. Anyways, do not ride 347, or if you do, do not ride it past the intersection of 348. I realize that a lot of people like this mild downhill and mild "jumps", but it's not going to be worth it when you run into the death mud.

On the other hand, 351, 352, 345, 349, 350, 40, and I think 332 (it's fairly new and I'm trying to remember if I've ran into it there, it might be possible near the gate from 346) are allways clear and good to go in my experience. No issues.

Watch out for 347 at both extreme ends, the top of 346, 308 and DO NOT EVER start in Williamson Valley when it's rained recently. Those are the death-mud trails, but there's plenty to ride in Granite Basin when it's wet.

Picture of death mud in cottonwood

Picture of death mud in granite basin (bonus points for finding the wheel in the picture)

 

[az1jeff]

As others have already said some trails can get sticky muddy. It’s been my experience that it’s the worst during the spring thaw when the temps don't get up for very long during the shorter days. But in the summer and after hard rains coupled with the heat, even the muddy trails come back pretty fast depending how long it poured and if the sun comes back out right away. For the most part though, the trails hold up well during the summer rainstorms. With the exception of 346, 347, 332, (off of 346) and a few sections of 349: (north of Granite Basin Road, south of Cayuse), most trails around here usually improve with the on/off and sporadic downpours we get, IMO. 60% on Sunday = you'll likely see some rain at some point. Saturday; 40% hit and miss. As always though, there’s no guarantee with summer weather up here. .

Jeff

 

[Enel]

Usually it is okay, but getting stuck out unexpectedly on certain trails in a freak downpour can look like this:

 

[Enel]

As others have already said some trails can get sticky muddy. It's been my experience that it's the worst during the spring thaw when the temps don't get up for very long during the shorter days. But in the summer and after hard rains coupled with the heat, even the muddy trails come back pretty fast depending how long it poured and if the sun comes back out right away. For the most part though, the trails hold up well during the summer rainstorms. With the exception of 346, 347, 332, (off of 346) and a few sections of 349: (north of Granite Basin Road, south of Cayuse), most trails around here usually improve with the on/off and sporadic downpours we get, IMO. 60% on Sunday = you'll likely see some rain at some point. Saturday; 40% hit and miss. As always though, there's no guarantee with summer weather up here. .

Jeff

All good advice up there.

 

[Jayem]

349: (north of Granite Basin Road, south of Cayuse)

Oh yeah, forgot about that one. It's a relatively small area though and not reason enough to avoid the trail completely IMO.

 

[kaboose]

thank you guys; i knew you'd come thru with some good info. those pics are awful! jayem, i remember seeing the one with the "missing" tire when you first posted it a few months ago.

i like to start from williamson valley and do an OAB on 347. this time i wanted to ride 349 for the 1st time - from cayuse to metate. i was told it flowed easier in that direction. (i'm always looking 4 the less technical way.)

so, we'll w8 until the weather settles, hopefully b4 it gets cold. thanks again; y'all rock!