That was just Silly

I had a rare Wednesday evening off, it was beautiful outside - sunny, 80 degrees. I opted for a quick & final recon for the Salty-Gila Tour out in Florence JCT. I was trying to find a dirt route to avoid riding on the shoulder of busy US60. Once again I had a drawn in track that looked good via satellite imagery. Ditching the car at a pullout I rode a few hundred yards to where the dirt road was located.

It was there alright, complete with a posted 'Private Property, No Tresspassing' sign. Foiled. It was only a fence to guard against motorized traffic as there were no sides to the fencing. I stayed legal and rode farther down the road hoping to stumble onto a track that was missed by the eye-in-the-sky. What's this? Yes. Another jeep road heading in the direction I needed to go. This time it was behind a State Trust Land sign, I had my permit, so I entered. After a 1/4 mile ramble through the desert the road abruptly ended in a cul de sac. Foiled again.

This setback has led me to believe that there are no viable dirt crossings over the last 2 miles or so around F.JCT. Oh well, at least US60 has a shoulder the size of an extra lane and it's only a couple of level miles.

Back at the car, 1 1/2 total miles later, I decided to try out another small trail network that I've heard about & passed by a hundred times.

Enter Silly Mountain Park.

Easy access right off US60 in Gold Canyon.

I had read some reviews online & heard some trail reports, both indicated it was a small place not worth a day trip by itself. On this day all I can really say is that I was able to get some nice pics, the riding was, well, bleh. I was on & off the bike so many times I lost count. There were some decent techy bits, but for every good challenge there was an equal section of loose babyheads. The backside trail was actually pretty nice, all 0.3 miles of it. The climb up to the saddle was 1/2 hike-a-bike followed by more HAB on the downhill due to steep loose chunkiness. Some people like this kind of riding, I'm not one of them. I'll revisit this place with my hiking shoes on as the views of the Superstition Mtns is amazing! Another 1 1/2 mile ride and I was back at the car ready to head home. Like I mentioned, at least it was a beautiful day outside!! Next time I'll just ride the neighboring trails at Gold Canyon!

Superstition Mtns.

Gold Canyon.

Fall-line trail construction out here.

Nice trail signs.

At the saddle.

Picketpost Mtn peeking above the horizon.

Time to go.

Brittlebush beginning to bloom.