Mogollon Rim: Tangled up in Blue...Ridge

 Now that summer is in full effect, that means a lot of my riding takes place in higher elevations. A few years ago I did a really fun loop through the Blue Ridge area of the Mogollon Rim. I invited Mike to tag along and he was all in and offered to drive.

We staged our ride where the Arizona Trail, AZT, crosses AZ87 up on the rim. Our loop would be about a 50 mile CCW spin. The first five miles or so would be on the AZT along the Happy Jack passage.

Ahhh, the cool pines.

Mike zipping through the toothpicks.

Crossing over mile 500 along the full Arizona Trail, according to hikers. Photo by Mike.

Down in Jacks Canyon.

We exited the AZT and linked a series of dirt roads together as we made our way to Clints Well.

Some were nicer than others.

Stumbled onto this water source, but we didn't need any.

A bit of chunk arrives.

Remnants of an old fire as the views open up a bit.

Passing by the Clints Well RV resort, water available, but the store is right around the corner.

Short bit of pavement on Lake Mary Rd. out to AZ87.

Nice to have real food options, if needed.

Take note: CLOSED Mondays & Tuesdays.

I don't think the Sinclair dino was amused.

Fella pulled in with this 1971 version. Maiden voyage.

All spruced up inside.

There's also your typical gas station fare here as well. Frozen Snickers bar FTW!!

There's a half mile along AZ87 from Clints Well to FS141, no shoulder. The sketchiest section of the entire route. Ride fast and get outta there.

Snack break...or staring at my bike?? Hmmm. Photo by Mike.

East Clear Creek at Jones Crossing was...bleak.

Some wide open riding up here. Photo by Mike.

Mike finding a good shade spot while waiting for me to catch up!!

Climbing towards the rim and FS300, rumored to be paved??

Interesting place to put a sign about Blue Ridge Reservoir, it's miles away.

Much to our surprise, FS300 is still dirt here and over to the AZT junction.

More history from the area where the AZT tops over the Mogollon Rim.

General Springs Cabin, one of the better preserved ones up here.

Found this guy and a couple of hikers taking refuge inside the cabin. Photo by Mike.

This is usually the beginning of any ride along the Cabin Loop system.

Land of ferns incoming!! The AZT doubles as the Fred Haught trail for the first 3 miles.

Mike cleaning a tight switchback.

I love a good switchback challenge, but I overcompensated on this one and dabbed. Bleh. Photo by Mike.

The first few crossings were dry, but we did eventually find water along the trail.

These few miles of trail are simply spectacular.

Only a couple of down trees too.

Here's your Blue Ridge brochure pic. Photo by Mike.

Scenes like this make you forget it's over 100º back home.

We reached the point where the Fred Haught trail diverges from the AZT. Originally, we had planned to stay on the AZT, instead we called an audible and stayed on the Cabin Loop system. We'd then take dirt roads back to AZ87, overall a bit more rideable, as the AZT has two significant hike-a-bikes.

We still had some bike pushing, just shorter. Then it opened up to this fun downhill.

Singletrack, ferns and tall pines. It doesn't get much better for summer riding in AZ. Photo by Mike.

One more short, steep up.

It's a really fun trail system, but you're gonna work for it.

Kicking up dust on our way down to FS95. Photo by Mike.

We made our way out to FS95 and the washed out road from a few years back.

Hike down, then up to get around. There are no plans to fix this.

The force of nature's result. I'm sure it was quite the sight. Photo by Mike.

I thought we only had about 4 miles remaining until AZ87, then this sign appeared. Oof. I think mentally, I had resigned this ride to only having 4 more miles. Photo by Mike.

Soon after getting on the dirt road up top, I noticed my rear tire was slowly leaking. I pumped it up and figured it was good. A few miles later it was getting low again. We weren't too far from finishing, I guess I'll just keep pumping it up as needed and deal with it later.

I was really starting to feel the accumulation of elevation gain as we neared the descent to Blue Ridge.

Mike had been steadily riding away from me on the climbs as I found myself walking here & there. When I did catch up to him, I suggested he go ahead and finish. I also wouldn't mind if he drove the truck back to pick me up!! He rode away and no sooner did he get out of sight, my rear tire got soft again. Ugh. This time I relented and put more sealant in. It lasted until the bottom the the descent.

East Clear Creek right before it flows into the reservoir.

I started to make the climb out, but I had nothing left in the tank and I could tell my tire was getting low again. I opted to just walk the entire thing and deal with the tire at the top. I assumed Mike would be back to get me before I reached the top.

Up, up, up I go.

I was nearing the top, still no sign of Mike. I crested the climb and began pedaling once more after getting my tire inflated yet again. All of a sudden, I had a second wind. Maybe it was the slightly downhill riding, but I felt great. I noticed I had just gone over 6000' gained for the ride and was rapidly approaching 50 miles for the ride. Now I hoped Mike wouldn't show up, at least until I nabbed 50. He finally came around a bend, but I was now just over a mile from finishing the loop. Might as well stick with it.

Back on AZ87, passing by the Blue Ridge Ranger station.

Somehow, I managed to see it through until the end.

I was definitely feeling it by the end, but man, what a great route. This would make a really nice overnight bikepacking ride. Plenty of water out there and a store/restaurant about 20 miles into the loop make the logistics very simple.

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