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Hat Rock Ride

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3K views 27 replies 7 participants last post by  Fast Eddy 
#1 ·
Hello,

I've only recently joined this list. I'm Roy and I did a Henry Coe ride a month or two ago where we cycled to Pacheco Camp via White Tank Springs Trail and back Cross Canyon trail to Domino Pond trail. That would be at Henry Coe Park with what you would call the "A" group. That was a very entertaining ride. I've done a lot of riding at Henry Coe. It's a hell of a nice park. Recently I've been riding the north part of the park, Middleridge Trail, Poverty Flat, the China Hole trail. I noticed I missed the Mississippi Lake ride that Charlie had set up. Or maybe that was cancelled? I know there's been some rain lately and single track trails are off limits 24 hours after a rain there. Maybe I should check out the thread on that one. Anyway, I was thinking of taking a true adventure ride at the park. This would be Coe Headquarters to Hobbs Road to Middle Ridge Trail to Poverty Flat Road to Blue Ridge Road to Rock House Ridge Trail to Black Oak Spring Trail to Blue Ridge Road to Hobbs Road back to Coe Headquarters. Elevation change of 6,000 feet, some extremely steep bits up and down, trail foraging (I've heard that the Rock house Ridge trail is non-existant for a mile in parts and the Black Oak Spring Trail is similar) and intense creek crossings. Hat Rock, which is on the Rock House Ridge trail is a sombrero shaped rock hidden behind a stand of blue pine trees. It's bound to have some "Blair Witch Project" moments and I've been in the area (Blue Ridge Road, Jack Ass Trail, the Narrows) but never got up that far. Definitely an all-dayer. And perhaps some more research is necessary. The map of Coe park is very good, but it does sound a little dicey. Has anybody out there been in this part of the park? Also, I was curious who might be interested in going up there. Maybe a January of Febuary ride (or later when we know it won't rain)? Any input?

Roy.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Roger that Roy

You're going to have to pay more attention to this forum - especially the Henry Coe rides. You missed more than the fun Mississippi ride with me, 7 other riders, and Fast Eddy's coffee cup (since he couldn't make it).

You also missed our absolutely fabulous Four Ridges ride a couple weeks before that does almost exactly the route you mention. (See my 3D Topo and profile here.) Here's Fast Eddy's perfect ride summary:
Fast Eddy said:
AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

That was freakin awesome!!!!!!! Unbelivable. Indescribable. Supercalifragilistic!

I'm off with a pint glass full of IPA for a shower/tick check.

AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!
We'll be sure to PM you on the next trip. I find Henry Coe fun in the winter, even if the singletrack is off limits while raining. But finding breaks in the rain to include the singletrack is even better. Bigger issue is the all the deep stream riding that will now be required this season.

I can send you the coordinates of Hat Rock, if you're interested.
 
#3 ·
Hat Rock Redendum

Yes, you're quite right. I didn't have time to check out some previous posts. Perhaps in the future I'll be able to check in to this ride. I hear you need gaitors or wadors (rubber pants) for the creek crossings at this point. Thanks for the information on this ride. It seems scary but well worth it. If you wouldn't mind sending those coordinates, I'd appreciate it.

Roy.

BigLarry said:
You're going to have to pay more attention to this forum - especially the Henry Coe rides. You missed more than the fun Mississippi ride with me, 7 other riders, and Fast Eddy's coffee cup (since he couldn't make it).

You also missed our absolutely fabulous Four Ridges ride a couple weeks before that does almost exactly the route you mention. (See my 3D Topo and profile here.) Here's Fast Eddy's perfect ride summary:
We'll be sure to PM you on the next trip. I find Henry Coe fun in the winter, even if the singletrack is off limits while raining. But finding breaks in the rain to include the singletrack is even better. Bigger issue is the all the deep stream riding that will now be required this season.

I can send you the coordinates of Hat Rock, if you're interested.
 
#4 · (Edited)
plymmer said:
Yes, you're quite right. I didn't have time to check out some previous posts. Perhaps in the future I'll be able to check in to this ride. I hear you need gaitors or wadors (rubber pants) for the creek crossings at this point. Thanks for the information on this ride. It seems scary but well worth it. If you wouldn't mind sending those coordinates, I'd appreciate it.

Roy.
I once got the bright idea of carrying two pairs of shoes and swapping them out at stream crossings to keep my feet dry. Great idea bombed when I spilled into the first stream and got both shoes soaked. (Met Dan51 and his wife, TheLaw, later that day for the first time. He recognized me right off just from my reputation - large and slow on a Heckler.) Now I just wear wet shoes and live with wrinked toes for the ride.

If you were in the A group, you may want to hook up with Charlie (Skyline35) and Mike (Plim) who are faster riders also in the A group and, like me, always up for a good long epic Henry Coe ride. But by comparison, I was a slow C rider at the big gathering it seems you attended.

Henry Coe is so vast that no ride there is ever the same unless you really want it to be, and each ride is an epic in the sense I always remember it clearly (or painfully, or delightfully, or both??). And even with the years of riding there, I still haven't seen maybe half the trails. We're always thinking of new exploration rides there and posting from time to time.

As for Hat Rock, look here: N37 12.830 W121 29.730
If you don't like coordinates, it's right around the intersection of Black Oak Springs and Rock House Ridge, just a few hundred feet to the west on the BOS trail and can easily be seen by looking off to the south.
 
#5 ·
Yup, I'd be interested in doing that ride, once the rain storms stop coming so densely and my hatred of poison oak dies down some. If you go off on your own, here are some thoughts:

Rock House Ridge was easy to follow when we were there about a month ago, although we were going the other direction. Sounds like you plan on going uphill to hat rock; we went downhill. If you stay on the ridge you should be fine. I find checking out new trails on Google Earth to be helpful for visualizing where I'm going. The combination of that and the map helps prevent me from getting lost better than the map alone. Rock House is pretty apparent on Google Earth, and you can really get an idea for what the ridges look like.

From everyone I've talked to, much of Black Oak is nonexistent. I'm still scratching the poison oak I got last time I tried a "trail" that was on a map but invisible in real life. That's put a damper on my enthusiasm for such explorations for the time being.

Stream crossings: It is possible for some of them to get high enough and fast enough to be dangerous. Please be careful and don't go out determined to ride a pre-determined route come hell or high water (literally in this case). Even when not dangerous, the stream crossings will definitely get you wet in the winter time. I wear wool socks that keep me relatively warm even after crossing streams.

Keep your eye on the board for future Coe explorations - you missed some good ones recently, one to hat rock, another to see Heritage trail and the wrecking ball, and yet another to check out Dutch's trail - and do post shortly before you plan to ride if you want company.

-Mike
 
#6 ·
Good To Go With Someone...

I'd have to say that going with someone that's gone is a damn good idea. It's also good to know that there is a large contingent of Mtbr-ers that go to Henry Coe Park regularly. It seems to me that it's not as respected as other areas. I'd put this area up against the best of 'em. Although I haven't been out of state. Also, I'm glad that the park isn't over run with enthusiasts. Sort of a good secret. Or maybe it's so big that you don't see many people there and a bit scary for your average mountain biker.

I really have no idea what the weather year is going to be like. It seems that there's going to be a lot of rain this year similar to last year. If there's a clear weekend (with 3 or 4 days clear ahead of that) then I'd like to do it soon. Kind of hard to predict. Let me know if anyone out there wants to do a winter ride there soon.

Actually, the reason I came along on the white tank springs, pacheco camp ride was because I met Charlie in the Hunting Hollow lot after a ride. He invited me to that ride since I had problems finding that white tank springs trail. Thanks Charlie! It was a lot of fun. I've since done that same ride and found the trail no problem.

Thanks for the tips. Wool good. Oh, Plim, I did that Dutchess Trail last April. What a wild roller coaster! This was during the Backcountry Weekend. Which way did you go? That's a hell of a ride from Hunting Hollow. I was camping at Orestimba Corral. They are planning on opening the Dowdy Ranch Parking Lot next spring. That's going to open up some great rides.

So, when's the next Coe ride? January?

Roy.
 
#7 ·
Hi Roy! Charlie here. I'm glad to see that you have logged in to mtbr.com. I sorta thought you might lurk here and show up on some of subsequent Coe rides but I also remembered that you said you didn't like to start too early in the morning. And some of these rides have started insanely early!

Larry listed some great rides but left off the "body bag" ride which included Mississippi Lake and Dutch's Trail:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=145679

That was certainly my biggest Coe ride, and to quote Plim "This was the best ride! EVAR!!!!" Plim's write-up was one of the best evar! Once you read it you'll have an excellent idea where we went.

Larry, Mike, and Fast Eddy are great at planning routes - I leave that to their imagination. Thanks to them, I have seen at least 50 miles of new trails since that big 10/15 group ride. I know I'm repeating myself but these rides have really made the park smaller! When we met last summer, Pacheco Camp was as deep as I had gone - now it's a nice place to stop for a snack on the way to somewhere even further out!

I have also had a chance to absorb a little of Fast Eddy's "local knowledge" - with that, I think we could cut out some of the uglier sections of your Hat Rock route...

Well, I just spent all of the hour between 6 and 7 watching the TV news hoping that this weekend would be dry. All the channels predict rain. But as soon as get a dry weekend, we can get a group ride going.

So Larry, when's your next "free" weekend?

///Charlie
 
#8 ·
The Duchess & The Hat Rock

Thanks for pointing me towards that link on your Mississippi Lake-Duchess Trail ride. Damn. Curses. Poo. I really wish I'd made that ride. Ah, well. My own fault. Duchess trail is a lot of fun. Great writing.

Yes. A ride to Hat Rock is definitely in order. It seems to be beckoning me. Every time I look at my full length Henry Coe map, I see Hat Rock. Like a ghostly visage. I...must...go...

Damn. What can you do outdoors with all this rain and an expensive bike? Carve trails for spring? Is that going on throughout the winter? I saw a thread that mentioned BOMP and people hopping on a truck with bikes and doing gut-busting work for a day to preen the trails. I've always wondered why Willow Ridge Trail is so difficult to forrage. I had a hell of a time going up there from the Narrows this summer. Anyway, seems interesting. I suppose they'll post if they need help with trail work.

I really think you need to bike Coe if you want any distance. They farthest I ended up going up in Marin was a 20 miler around Bolinas & Olema. Still, a lot of fun and very pretty. But I was following routes out of a book. And it takes so long to get there. Still...

Roy.
 
#9 ·
Ah, Roy = the parking lot guy !

Charlie mentioned this guy he met in the parking lot doing solo rides who may join the big gathering. Up to a year ago I was also going on long solo trips in Henry Coe and elsewhere. Now I find the trip is even more fun with MTBR.

I think Henry Coe is indeed a great secret park, and it's local to the South Bay. Maybe it's too difficult (very steep hills, stream beds,...) and too big and maybe not enough singletrack for many weekend riders. So that leaves the the great way-out riding for the few of us who love it! :D Fast Eddy and a few others know Henry Coe very well in their years of riding there, but a small group of us on MTBR have been exploring different parts of the park in various rides over the last few months.

Not sure about the next ride. It seems Roy has decided on something going to Hat Rock and Mt. Sizer. Let's see how that goes. Like Mike, I also got 3 weeks of nasty itching from my legs sliding out and rubbing the rock covered with "dormant" poison oak. (Note: slippery cleats don't make good rock climbing shoes.) So it'll be while before I go back there again.

As for my next ride, all this talk about Dutch's Trail has me itching to try it. No way I could have survived that fabulous "Body Bag" epic ride, and I wonder if there's a way to Dutch's Trail that doesn't go by Mississippi Lake first. I'm even thinking of a trip going from the Bell Entrance to see more trails out that way. I haven't done anything on that southeast end of the park yet, and most all of it will be new to me. I don't even know where to park on that end. So plotting waypoints and routes on my GPS will probably be essential to find my way without getting badly lost on this one - sort of like my first rides at Henry Coe.

I may not be able to do another epic ride there until mid or late January, or later. As Roy says, I'd also prefer to wait for a dry weekend when the singletrack is legal, ... and my wife says OK, ... and the stars align.... I'll plan something out in advance, like Dutch's Trail from Bell Entrance, and post a few days in advance once I seen the weather and other events coming together.

Roy, that was ROMP (Responsible Organized Mountain Pedalers ) who did the trail work on a few places. But White Tank Springs got some minor bush whacking removal trail work by Charlie in preparation for your A ride. He also did some helpful flagging that probably made your later trip easier to navigate.
 
#10 · (Edited)
BigLarry said:
Roy = the parking lot guy !
You are correct. Roy showed up for the 10/15 ride and I recall him staying in the front half of the "A" group.

plymmer said:
Damn. What can you do outdoors with all this rain and an expensive bike? Carve trails for spring? Is that going on throughout the winter? I saw a thread that mentioned BOMP and people hopping on a truck with bikes and doing gut-busting work for a day to preen the trails. I've always wondered why Willow Ridge Trail is so difficult to forage. I had a hell of a time going up there from the Narrows this summer. Anyway, seems interesting. I suppose they'll post if they need help with trail work.
Here is a link to the index of the ROMP mail-list archives:

https://lists.live555.com/pipermail/romp/

Coe trail work days are listed there and seem to generally be the second Saturday of the month. My last ride included the Mississippi Ridge Trail which has had impressive trail work this year. The trail is 3 miles and there was at least a mile of heavy pruning like this:



I have no idea how they found the path to prune. Here are a couple write-ups of the trail work days:

https://lists.live555.com/pipermail/romp/2005-September/001907.html
https://lists.live555.com/pipermail/romp/2005-October/001995.html

I'm getting a little voice in my head that's telling me I want to help with this sort of stuff...

It won't rain forever and we'll have plenty of days for Hat Rock, Dutch's, Mississippi Ridge, Pacheco Falls (I want to get a picture with water), the wrecking ball, Middle Ridge, Grapevine...

///Charlie
 
#11 ·
Yes, Dutch's Trail is great

Dutch's (note the spelling) Trail is a wonderful roller coaster ride, but should be done in the North-to-South direction. (The first time Brian W and I rode this trail, we made the mistake of riding it in the wrong direction.) We rode it again - in the correct direction this time - during the last CBW (Coe Backcountry Weekend). (We might even have met "plymmer" on that ride.)

Also, I don't recommend trying to get to Dutch's Trail from the Bell Station entrance, because to reach the Coe Park boundary from Bell Station, you first have to climb several miles on a nasty gravel fireroad. And once you get to Coe, you have several more miles of riding before you get close to Dutch's Trail.

Instead, wait until the next CBW, or until the Dowdy Ranch parking lot opens up (sometime in 2006, I hope).

Ross.
 
#12 ·
Dutch's Trail Correction Acknoledged

finlayson said:
Dutch's (note the spelling) Trail is a wonderful roller coaster ride, but should be done in the North-to-South direction. (The first time Brian W and I rode this trail, we made the mistake of riding it in the wrong direction.) We rode it again - in the correct direction this time - during the last CBW (Coe Backcountry Weekend). (We might even have met "plymmer" on that ride.)

Yes. Dutch's Trail. I must have been thinking of that Strangler's song "Duchess". Apologies to George "Dutch" Brem who had a hunting camp in the **** Creek watershed. May he rest in peace. I do remember a group who seemed to be riding the "wrong way". I'm glad you were able to experience the good way.

Also, I don't recommend trying to get to Dutch's Trail from the Bell Station entrance, because to reach the Coe Park boundary from Bell Station, you first have to climb several miles on a nasty gravel fireroad. And once you get to Coe, you have several more miles of riding before you get close to Dutch's Trail.

I have to agree. I've never done this but Kaiser-Aetna Road didn't look too enticing for a bike. Long fire road with lots of bumps. I'm hoping for a spring opening of Dowdy Ranch. It's been delayed about a year, so, it would be nice.

Instead, wait until the next CBW, or until the Dowdy Ranch parking lot opens up (sometime in 2006, I hope).

Ross.
Roy.....
 
#13 ·
Parking Lot Guy With Black Leg Warmers...

BigLarry said:
Charlie mentioned this guy he met in the parking lot doing solo rides who may join the big gathering. Up to a year ago I was also going on long solo trips in Henry Coe and elsewhere. Now I find the trip is even more fun with MTBR.

I think Henry Coe is indeed a great secret park, and it's local to the South Bay. Maybe it's too difficult (very steep hills, stream beds,...) and too big and maybe not enough singletrack for many weekend riders. So that leaves the the great way-out riding for the few of us who love it! :D Fast Eddy and a few others know Henry Coe very well in their years of riding there, but a small group of us on MTBR have been exploring different parts of the park in various rides over the last few months.

Not sure about the next ride. It seems Roy has decided on something going to Hat Rock and Mt. Sizer. Let's see how that goes. Like Mike, I also got 3 weeks of nasty itching from my legs sliding out and rubbing the rock covered with "dormant" poison oak. (Note: slippery cleats don't make good rock climbing shoes.) So it'll be while before I go back there again.

As for my next ride, all this talk about Dutch's Trail has me itching to try it. No way I could have survived that fabulous "Body Bag" epic ride, and I wonder if there's a way to Dutch's Trail that doesn't go by Mississippi Lake first. I'm even thinking of a trip going from the Bell Entrance to see more trails out that way. I haven't done anything on that southeast end of the park yet, and most all of it will be new to me. I don't even know where to park on that end. So plotting waypoints and routes on my GPS will probably be essential to find my way without getting badly lost on this one - sort of like my first rides at Henry Coe.

I may not be able to do another epic ride there until mid or late January, or later. As Roy says, I'd also prefer to wait for a dry weekend when the singletrack is legal, ... and my wife says OK, ... and the stars align.... I'll plan something out in advance, like Dutch's Trail from Bell Entrance, and post a few days in advance once I seen the weather and other events coming together.

Roy, that was ROMP (Responsible Organized Mountain Pedalers ) who did the trail work on a few places. But White Tank Springs got some minor bush whacking removal trail work by Charlie in preparation for your A ride. He also did some helpful flagging that probably made your later trip easier to navigate.
**

I'm definitely up for the Hat Rock experience but I'm sure not going to rule out a trip to Dutch's Trail also. I've been on Center Flats Road on the way to the Vasquez Trail through the Dormida Zone. Fun. Painful. Straight down then straight up. I saw lots of those horned lizards when I went there. What about this route:

Lyman Willson to the Bowl Trail to Wagon Road to Center Flats Road to Scherrer Trail to Kaiser-Aetna Road or Tie Down Trail to County Line Road to Dutch's Trail to Kaiser-Aetna Road to Dormida Trail to Vasquez Trail to Long Dam Trail to Wagon Road to Hunting Hollow Road back to the parking lot. This avoids going to Mississippi Lake.

I keep hearing about poison oak on the Hat Rock Ride. Hopefully it's not as unavoidable as it sounds. It's all over on the Willow Ridge Trail. We'll have to see.

Thanks for the link on ROMP. It's sounds like noble work. Especially if there's a section of trail that's been bugging you.

Roy.
 
#14 ·
plymmer said:
... Lyman Willson to the Bowl Trail to Wagon Road to Center Flats Road to Scherrer Trail to Kaiser-Aetna Road or Tie Down Trail to County Line Road to Dutch's Trail to Kaiser-Aetna Road to Dormida Trail to Vasquez Trail to Long Dam Trail to Wagon Road to Hunting Hollow Road back to the parking lot. This avoids going to Mississippi Lake.

I keep hearing about poison oak on the Hat Rock Ride. Hopefully it's not as unavoidable as it sounds. It's all over on the Willow Ridge Trail. We'll have to see....

Roy.
I'm thinking something like that may be fun for my next ride. But it may be late January before I can find time to do it.

For mid-winter - a ride out and down to Pacheco Falls to see the roaring waterfall is delightful. I did that last Xmas with Mike (Plim) and Jaap (a friend). But the extra effort slogging through the thick fire road mud (I was even peddling hard downhill) made it a very tough trip. See this link for the ride and post #22 for the falls.

It's possible to mostly avoid the Poison Oak on Hat Rock, if you don't slide into it like I did, easy to do with your cleats on the smooth angled rock. Right now the leaves are gone and there's just some brown vines around, which are still toxic.
 
#16 ·
Henry Coe Hat Rock, or...

Well,

It looks like it may be clear this weekend.

http://wwwa.accuweather.com/forecas...her&myadc=0&traveler=1&zipcode=95020&metric=0

I'm sure the creeks are very full by now considering it's raining and not stopping all day today.
It has to be very treacherous at Henry Coe today. Those pictures from your 2004 ride look a
bit impressive. It looks like doubling your expected time of trip if it's planned on going after
some heavy rain. Would next weekend be a good time for a Heny Coe ride? I've been anxious
to get out and the threat of rain has been stopping me.

Roy.
 
#18 ·
Official Thread Retitle: The Might Four Ridges Ride

Skyline35 said:
I think "yes"! The Four Ridges route would take us past Hat Rock...who's up for that on Saturday? Say, leave headquarters at 8am???

Last time "Four Ridges" was about 27 miles and 6,000' climb.

///Charlie
**

I'm definitely in. I can understand the early start. We don't want to "Let The Sun Go Down" on us. http://www.eltonography.com/songs/dont_let_the_sun_go_down_on_me.html
I think wool socks are in order. There's that creek at the bottom of Middle Ridge. I'm sure that's raging at this point. It looked high last time this ride was done. I'm sure there's other water crossings. This is going to be a blast!

Roy.
 
#19 ·
I put the ride on the NorCal calender:

http://forums.mtbr.com/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=158&day=2006-1-7&c=2

plymmer said:
There's that creek at the bottom of Middle Ridge. I'm sure that's raging at this point.
I agree. I'll be a wuss and tip-toe over the rocks there to keep my feet dry. The real slog-fest will be the Narrows Trail between Rock House and Mahoney Meadows. I have no hopes of keeping my feet dry through that!

///Charlie
 
#21 · (Edited)
Mike, this one may have been nearly as painful! I'm hurtin' now. Today had to be at least 2.74 times harder than the Nov 12, 2005 Four Ridge Ride/Hat Rock group ride - the soft ground just sucked the energy out of one's legs.

First off, the wire to my speedo broke so I got zero miles recorded. Stats are from Roy's:

Time: 8:15 hrs, 5 moving
Miles: 27
Participants: 3
Elevation gain: It was 5,800' on Nov 12 but I think we added a few hundred today - let's say it was just over 6,000'.
Weather - very nice for January. Started in the 50s and warmed up nicely. There was early morning fog which cleared-out until about noon when it became partly cloudy. The streams were high and the soil very soft but not muddy. The rain overnight (.25 inch per HQ's rain gauge) meant the high grass was wet - our feet were pretty wet even before crossing any streams.

Route - almost the same as Nov 12:

Park at headquarters
Manzanita Point Road
Flat Frog Trail
Hobbs Road
Middle Ridge Trail
Poverty Flat Road
Jackass Trail
Blue Ridge Road
Black Oak Spring Trail
Hat Rock
Rock House Trail
Narrows Trail
Mahoney Meadows Road
Lost Springs Trail
China Hole Trail
Manzanita Point Road to HQ

The one change was we took Black Oak Spring Trail to Hat Rock. This is an "obscure" trail. It took us maybe 100 yards to lose the trail. This was an area of many fallen trees and the path didn't get beat down because everyone was just trying to get around these trees. We spent 20 - 30 minutes walking around hoping to find it; we could hear gun fire at the nearby hunting club so we didn't want to get any closer to that! (Fast Eddy will know what I am talking about.) Finally Mike found the trail and from there it was well defined going down towards the creek. In fact, there had been recent trail work. Roy got caught-out by a soft, false trail edge, his front tire slipped out, and over the bars he went! He was up quickly. Other than that, this part was really enjoyable and there were some excellent views of Hat Rock.

Once we crossed the creek the trail became obscure. Obscure and steep. We pushed the bikes a lot. There were a few ribbons marking the way but often, no real trail. But it was mostly open meadows and we had a good sight line on Hat Rock - towards the end, we just went across the meadow to Hat Rock. I showed Roy the way to climb up Hat Rock - I stopped at the poison oakey spot but Roy went on and stood at the very top!

Last week's storms left a mark. There were some new fallen trees, lots of fallen branches and pine cones. On a switchback, my front tire slipped out on wet, slick branch and I fell pretty hard. Ouch! The fireroads which the roadgrader smoothed-out last summer are now a mess! The rain-ruts have reappeared plus the ground is very, very soft. The streams were full and flowing, but ridable. By the time we got to the Narrows Trail, I was tired of having a wet, junky chain so I started wading across carrying my bike. Mike & Roy continued to ride through.

Ticks are starting to appear. Mike had a vampire tick dig into his neck!

I didn't bring a camera so no pics from me. Roy brought one and I hope he posts some of his pictures.

Tomorrow morning I am really going to feel this. Prolly, Monday too. Today was another satisfying mixture of Coe fun/exploration/adventure/suffering. Thanks for joining me guys!

///Charlie
 
#22 ·
Skyline35 said:
Mike, this one may have been nearly as painful! I'm hurtin' now. Today had to be at least 2.74 times harder than the Nov 12, 2005 Four Ridge Ride/Hat Rock group ride - the soft ground just sucked the energy out of one's legs.
Yep, Henry Coe is legal when wet, and even ridable. But it sure sucks a LOT more energy out of you - I'd say about 20-30% slower for the same effort. I had to pedal hard just to go down roads I was sure was a fast gentle downhill when I rode them while dry. Having loose soil from grading doesn't help at all either. Stream crossing also becomes more 'interesting'. Henry Coe definitely changes it's personality from season to season.

Skyline35 said:
Time: 8:15 hrs, 5 moving
Miles: 27
Participants: 3
Elevation gain: It was 5,800' on Nov 12 but I think we added a few hundred today - let's say it was just over 6,000'.
You did pretty well in spite of the difficult roads, even a bit faster moving than the ride with me. I got 5.5 hours moving on the last ride, but about the same - 8 hours - overall. Sound like you indeed didn't "Let The Sun Go Down" on you.

Elevation gain is probably about right, maybe more. Black Oak Spring probably adds maybe 400' to the 5800' of the last ride we did, so you likely did over 6200'. Distance is about the same, but IMHO, wet Henry Coe miles are more like 1.3x longer. ;)

Skyline35 said:
I didn't bring a camera so no pics from me. Roy brought one and I hope he posts some of his pictures.
Too bad. If you're afraid of dropping your camera into a stream, say from a very possible endo, wrap it in a zip lock freezer bag. I do that individually with all my electronic gear. But it does mean less pictures due to effort of getting it out. But at least we get some. :) I'm hoping Roy can come through.

Nice to hear about your great epic ride I'd love to have done. :rolleyes: Before going into work, I just got in a piddly little ride today that I could find in the neighborhood. I was hoping to also make time for a quick single loop at Demo tomorrow, but the MTBR ride seems off in favor of Fort Ord, that exceeds my free time quota. I'll find something else around. Maybe a Sierra Azul thing as usual. Also contemplating a quick morning loop at Henry Coe out of Hunting Hollow.
 
#23 ·
Well,

I can't say I'm not sore from that one. That soft soil! It was a fun ride. Middle Ridge is always scary (my 4th time) and those switchbacks are tough to deal with. The stream crossings weren't too bad. The trick is to admit to yourself that your feet are going to get drenched and maintain balance. Pretty amazing going through water up to your hubs like the wide section at China Hole. It was worth it since we had some good skipping rocks. I'd have to say that the toughest portion for me was grunting up the Black Oak Spring trail, the last portion on the way up to Hat Rock. It was verticle mostly. We tried to follow the trail but still had problems. There were streamers and stakes. Perhaps it might be a good idea to bring streamers and stakes next time. And some sort of guidance system. I believe Larry has something like this. It's really pretty easy to get there. I did post some pictures in my gallery. They are in the gallery section here: XC Riding/Trail Riding under Hat Rock Ride. I'm kind of new at this so I'm not sure this will all come through. I'm learning.
 
#24 ·
Photos!!!

plymmer said:
I did post some pictures in my gallery. They are in the gallery section here: XC Riding/Trail Riding under Hat Rock Ride. I'm kind of new at this so I'm not sure this will all come through. I'm learning.
Since joining mtbr, besides going on great group rides, I have become a vBulletin wizard! I have linked in Roy's pictures from the gallery and cut&pasted his comments:

Bottom Of Middle Ridge:



Mike & Charlie - At the bottom Of Middle Ridge just after the river crossing:



Charlie & Mike - This was at the intersection of Jackass Trail and Poverty Flat Road:



Charlie & Mike - gutting it up the Jackass Trail:



Going Up Jackass Trail:



Park Boundary Sign - This was near Hat Rock. We wondered what this curious sign was. No one was shot at luckily:



Hat Rock - Right before I climbed this "sombrero":



Self Portrait Up Top Hat Rock - Kind of dark but I wasn't looking through the view finder:



Top Of Hat Rock Looking Down:



View From Hat Rock - I climbed up to the top, braving poison oak exposure:



Top Of Hat Rock - Up top looking down - After the climb:



The Narrows - A break. Water running pretty good after the heavy rains. .25 inch the night before:



A Break, Rock House Ridge - Bumpy but exciting downhill riding. We earned this:



Rock House Ridge View - Very clear day here compared to Sunnyvale area. We got lucky, I guess:



The Day Draws To A Close - This at the parking lot of Henry Coe Headquarters. Soggy socks, ice cold feet, and extremely hungry. I used all of my camel back water!



Great pics Roy! Let me know if you want any changes to the sequence or comments - I have a 24 hour window to make edits.

///Charlie
 
#25 ·
Great Ride

Hey guys, that was a great ride. I ended up completely exhausted that night, curled up like a dead spider at the end of my sofa. But from my speed climbing out of China Hole, you probably guessed that.

Elements of an epic Coe ride:

ridiculously steep climbs: check
stream crossings: check
"trails" that look suspiciously like untracked hillsides: check
incredible views: check
seeing almost nobody else: check
riding close to every daylight minute: check
total exhaustion at end: check
ticks: check (must use Charlie's trick in the future)
poison oak: dunno (on my body's usual PO schedule, I should know tonight)

Thanks to you both for motivating and planning that ride, and for putting up with my bonked, incredibly slow body towards the end. And thanks for posting them thar pitchers.

I'm really hurting this morning. The case my girlfriend was working on, without a day off in the past month, settled on Saturday evening. She arrived home, ignored my lifeless body, and announced we were waking up before 6am on Sunday and heading to Tahoe for our first snowboarding of the season. Got back home late last night. First snowboarding of the season soreness on top of long Coe soreness = ouch. The prospect of sitting in front of a computer monitor all day never seemed so wonderful.

-M
 
#26 ·
Epic Indeed

Yes, that was a hell of a ride. I was damn tired on the ride back. And on Tuesday noticed a few bruises and !!!! an embedded tick. I pulled the body off and now I have an embedded tick head in my side. And no amount of digging seems to be working. Ah, well. No poison oak at least. I'm ready for that Dutch's Trail ride, though. This weekend is not looking too good rain- wise. If we skip out the Mississippi Lake bit that you took what's the total milage and elevation, Charlie? I feel a new thread coming on.

Roy.
 
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