[bigboulder]

Spaulding....Singletrack....if only I rode a Single Speed, I could keep Going with the S's

Headed up the mountain very early sunday morning. scrapped plans for riding the TRT up to Watson Lake due to looming thunderstorms and evidence of rain at 4000ft. I turned off at hwy 20 and headed for Spaulding Lake trail.

I am falling in love with this area....way better than HITG (if you like more difficult terrain) and closer too. Started at Fuller Lake...nervousley crossed the drainage...with warning signs. The skeeters made me move even quicker. If the spaulding lake terrain is not already difficult enough...the skeeters made things a little tougher...if you have to get off your bike (most humans do...on this trail) your in for a good blood suckin! I had way to much fun on this trail. I was the only rider out there so I chose discretion over valor at several points...then did a mammoth hike-a-bike up to Beyers Lake trail. Eventually my legs told me it was time to turn around. Stopped at the water fall for a swim, goofed off on the endless granite slabs then headed back the way I came...hoping all the way that they didn't turn the faucet on.

These trails are in excellent condition. They could actually use a few more riders to knock the leaves down. Try it out! Have Fun!.....but remember what Johnny Free Ride says..."sliding or skiding shows a lack of control, it's not cool"

s

 

[wg]

Sounds like good stuff.
Some day.... maybe....my weekends suck something fierce now. They're getting planned into Sept. already. Rarely have more than a couple hours at random times so needs stay local. I'm hoping for a break tomorrow afternoon.

Werner

 

[eraserhead]

Nice trail,ain't it?

Spaulding....Singletrack....if only I rode a Single Speed, I could keep Going with the S's

Headed up the mountain very early sunday morning. scrapped plans for riding the TRT up to Watson Lake due to looming thunderstorms and evidence of rain at 4000ft. I turned off at hwy 20 and headed for Spaulding Lake trail.

I am falling in love with this area....way better than HITG (if you like more difficult terrain) and closer too. Started at Fuller Lake...nervousley crossed the drainage...with warning signs. The skeeters made me move even quicker. If the spaulding lake terrain is not already difficult enough...the skeeters made things a little tougher...if you have to get off your bike (most humans do...on this trail) your in for a good blood suckin! I had way to much fun on this trail. I was the only rider out there so I chose discretion over valor at several points...then did a mammoth hike-a-bike up to Beyers Lake trail. Eventually my legs told me it was time to turn around. Stopped at the water fall for a swim, goofed off on the endless granite slabs then headed back the way I came...hoping all the way that they didn't turn the faucet on.

These trails are in excellent condition. They could actually use a few more riders to knock the leaves down. Try it out! Have Fun!.....but remember what Johnny Free Ride says..."sliding or skiding shows a lack of control, it's not cool"

s

On Father's day weekend(we were there 5 days) we 4 wheeled into Eagle Lakes.We had the largest lake all to ourselves.It would have been great without my bike,but I never travel without it.No one else in our group was riding so I had to be a little cautious,but I pulled off some nice rides.The riding here is so much more constantly technical than what I'm used to that my upper body got worn out way before my legs and lungs but I love rough trails.I'm glad I remembered my body armor!!Riding here would have sucked without it.I thought some of the epics I've done in D'ville were tough(we ride up,only shuttle on recovery days!),riding here makes them seem kinda easy.One day I rode to Spaulding Lake and back on the trail along Fordyce creek,a couple times I just cruised around on jeep trails exploring the area(these are pretty challenging too) and early one morning I rode up the Grouse Ridge singletrack until it got too hot.We had kids along so my rides were cut short due to all the other fun to be had.What can you tell me about Beyers Lake trail?How far did you go up from Fordyce creek,mileage or timewise?How much was rideable compared to Spaulding?I'd like to do some rides beyond Spaulding to the old townsite out there.I can't remember the name.I don't have my map in front of me now.I'm planning another trip probably in Sept. with a few of the bros,so I'll probably be riding alot more out there.
There's a killer campsite off the main road to Eagle lakes if you can find it.Its on the biggest lake and it was the only one you can drive to I think.It's about a mile past the Fordyce ORV trail.We had the lake to ourselves for 5 days.You do need a shortwheelbase and or high clearance 4wd vehicle to get in there.It took us 5 hours to go 3 miles!We had to build ramps using rocks up the rock steps in the trail so my buddy could get his Expedition through without banging it up badly.My stock Toyota pickup did fine though.Some of our friends came in on ATVs.It's a great spot and well worth the effort in getting there if you take it easy and use your head.

 

[Zonic Man]

I think I asked you this before, but how SS'able is it up there? Fun, or will I be walking a crapload?

 

[bigboulder]

Spaulding

I think most of the places you would be walking on an ss are the same places you would be off your bike on an FS. There are some short nasty climbs and some hike-a-bikes. On the rest of the stuff you could have a lot of fun on….like eraserhead said….you need lots of upper body strength on this trail...it makes you work very hard and beats you up. Eat your Wheaties! But it's worth....amazing terrain...very scenic.

 

[vuduvgn]

I've single speeded it a time or two. You want less than a two to one to be able to get over some of those technical sections. I have to say though, I do prefer my dually geared bike on Spaulding. Then again, you'd be amazed by how much you can clean on a single.

 

[Zonic Man]

Thanks guys. I think suzy and I will head up there sometime soon.

 

[eraserhead]

Hey,Big Boulder!!!

Spaulding....Singletrack....if only I rode a Single Speed, I could keep Going with the S's

Headed up the mountain very early sunday morning. scrapped plans for riding the TRT up to Watson Lake due to looming thunderstorms and evidence of rain at 4000ft. I turned off at hwy 20 and headed for Spaulding Lake trail.

I am falling in love with this area....way better than HITG (if you like more difficult terrain) and closer too. Started at Fuller Lake...nervousley crossed the drainage...with warning signs. The skeeters made me move even quicker. If the spaulding lake terrain is not already difficult enough...the skeeters made things a little tougher...if you have to get off your bike (most humans do...on this trail) your in for a good blood suckin! I had way to much fun on this trail. I was the only rider out there so I chose discretion over valor at several points...then did a mammoth hike-a-bike up to Beyers Lake trail. Eventually my legs told me it was time to turn around. Stopped at the water fall for a swim, goofed off on the endless granite slabs then headed back the way I came...hoping all the way that they didn't turn the faucet on.

These trails are in excellent condition. They could actually use a few more riders to knock the leaves down. Try it out! Have Fun!.....but remember what Johnny Free Ride says..."sliding or skiding shows a lack of control, it's not cool"

s

I'm still curious about your ride/hike on the Beyer's Lake trail.How long or far did you make it up the trail?I assume it was pretty steep and rough.How much was ridable compared to Spaulding?Iwas able to ride about 75% of that trail.Thanks and ride waaay too much!By the way have you done any riding on the Fordyce OHV trail?We walked a little bit of it to watch the jeeps in the rocks(quite impressive) and I thought it might be cool to ride all the way to the creek crossing.

 

[bigboulder]

Beyers

Coming up the Grouse ridge trail to the intersection with Beyers Lake Trail was the worst of it....It's hard enough to ride down that stuff....I carried my bike on my back for a solid 1/4 mile (probably more) to get there. Going up Beyers Lake there are some downed trees and a couple of realy steep losse sections that I was to tired to even attempt. I.m not sure how far down Beyers I went....I cleared the top of one ridge and started downhill then began another short climb before turning around....I'm guessing I went 2 miles maximum....coming back down was very fun...too short and interupted by downed trees....I understand that the downed trees are supposed to be cleared by now.....

It seems like the best way to access this trail is coming from the other direction or coming from Grouse Ridge trail..I've ridden up beyers twice now...the other time was coming from Blue Lakes trail then down Grouse Ridge.

I have not done much else up at Grouse. I am trying to do as much exploration as I can this summer.