Show Low: Shhh, It's a Secret ;)

July 4th isn't exactly a cool day here in the Valley of the Sun, bets are, it's gonna be hot. I made a last minute decision to head north to Show Low after being reminded of some trails that are a bit under the radar. Surprise, surprise, they are known as the Secret trails, well, the Buena Vista Secret trails to be specific.

My buddy, Arturo, has been blabbing about them for years. I reached out to a digital friend, Shawn, who was in the area and has been riding those trails recently. He was game for a ride & tour. I didn't care what or how we rode them, but let's ride as many as we can.

Shawn invited another local, Devin, and the three of us hit the trails shortly after 8a. (That meant I left home at 5a!!) Devin & Shawn hashed out a route of sorts and we modified it as the ride went. I was also on the trusty Voodoo singlespeed since my rear wheel for the Motobecane is getting rebuilt.

This looks promising.

The Buena Vista trail is the only 'trail' currently listed as an official trail, but it's mostly a dirt road with fall line climbs. The Secret singletrack trails crisscross Buena Vista a multitude of times.

I was getting a sense of the place, climb, descend, climb, descend, but good on the singlespeed.

Shawn rounding a bend.

Devin slips under an overhang.

These trails were fun!! Better pay attention though, lots of tight squeezes through the trees, twists, turns, some small tree stumps, tree limbs, etc. We all noted how dead the air was, no breeze and it was getting warm at 6000'. The trails were dusty too, hasn't rained in a while. Monsoons are coming...and needed.

Meet Walter. He's the kingpin of the trail naming theme, trail names on bones hanging from trees. Neat.

Walter's looking good.

A bit farther along, we met Wilma.

Shawn cresting a climb.

We kept making loops upon loops, some backtracking to ride trails in the more fun direction, that's the benefit of getting the locals only tour!! A couple hours into the ride a breeze finally kicked up and some clouds began to form. It was just enough relief. It's amazing how warm the forest feels in the upper 80's, should be cool for me, but it really wasn't.

Project X trail.

Some trail signs seemed more random, off the trail a ways. Perhaps an old sign??

Lots of good dirt up here.

And this trail shall be called: Differential.

I didn't have the cojones to attempt this one.

Devin rolling a fun S-curve.

Here's a view down a jump line. It dead ends and is currently really soft in the landing zones.

Wide angle of the jump line.

We wound around back near the start for one more trail.

Smaller jump line off the main trail.

Hole-in-the-Rock trail.

Some nifty trail routing too.

Hole-in-the-Rock is on the left.

We wrapped up the ride, only missing one trail somehow. I have to say, this is a wonderful trail system. No sustained huge climbs or descents, but you're always doing one or the other. Not a whole bunch of flat riding here, but that's fine. The climbing grades are built for riding. These trails reminded me a lot of the Emmanuel Pines area in Prescott.

Thanks to Devin and Shawn for leading the way and showing me the goods, such a fun time out there. Digital friends no more!!

The locals are currently trying to get these trails officially adopted by the Apache-Sitgreaves Nat'l Forest. They are collecting user input re: Secret trails, if you ride these trails, please take a moment and fill out this survey:

Survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3BHVHBT

The Buena Vista Secret trails have been added to Trailforks, preliminary maps can be found at the Save the Buena Vista Foundation website. Go ride these trails, provide feedback, it will be much appreciated and you'll have a great time!!

Now, if I could only get Arturo out for a bike ride...

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