January 13, 2019

Brown's Ranch: Phase 3

The trail dozer is at it again inside Brown's Ranch. Another season of trail building is upon us and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is wasting no time. I had heard there were a couple of new trails recently completed in the Phase 3 corridor. Might as well check them out.

I staged out of the new trailhead at Pima & Dynamite Rds. It's the quickest access and meant I would finish the ride on a downhill note. I made my way over to Hawknest trail and kept going until I found new dirt.
The new trails are not signed yet, but you'll know when you get there.

The trail is routed through all kinds of boulders, over some rock slabs and the ever present B-line exists.

Such a cool area, I hope they keep adding trails here.

Here, a few different rock slab lines to choose from. Nothing crazy, but some texture to the buff singletrack is always welcome.

This rock slab is steeper than it looks.
 I came to an intersection of new dirt, it appeared there was a third new trail. Might as well see where it goes!!
This is what I like to see, an official 'optional' line. Ride the chute OR go around.

I crossed a dirt road and continued for about a mile before reaching the dozer.

Riding back the way I came in.

The three black trails are the new ones.
While I don't find them overly difficult, the Preserve wishes to rate them as expert since they offer more diverse terrain and some challenges not typically found on the rest of the system trails. As mentioned above, keep your eyes peeled for more challenging options on these trails. There are a few potential wheel grabbing rocks too, don't get caught zoning out!!

I finished off my ride by making a bigger loop with Stagecoach & Hawknest.

These new trails are a nice addition to the system. I hope they continue to build trails with character. There are so many miles of trail, it can't all be spinny stuff...right?


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