Ripsey Short Loop

 The Ripsey Loop is one of my favorite backcountry rides. It has a little bit of everything: Good gravel roads, nice 2-track, sand, remote feel, water sources, incredible views, switchbacks, climbing, hike-a-bike and a long downhill to finish!! And you get to ride a good chunk of the Arizona Trail, AZT, that not many people venture out to.

This ride would be a bit different as I had 3 first-timers to the loop joining in the fun: Anna, Evie & Kara. We met at the Kelvin trailhead at 8:30a and were off riding the chilly Florence-Kelvin Hwy a bit before 9a. We opted to be cold for a few minutes knowing we'd almost instantly warm up on the ensuing 4 1/4 mile climb from A-Diamond Ranch.

Evie making her way up the grind. Pinal Peak in the background, Ray Copper Mine fills in the hills (or removes them in this case).

Kara tops out on the climb. Woohoo!! Glad that's done.

After a few miles of remote jeep roads & 2-track, Anna gets to enjoy a sand wash!!

Ripsey Ranch and the remnants of the once gigantic Cottonwood tree.

I was futzing around with my bike here, walking all around the concrete structure. I finally snapped the pic, then sat down in the shade on the right. Anna had come up and was walking towards the concrete structure when she shrieked, grabbing everyone's attention. Snake!! What?? Today?? It was still quite cool outside. She pointed to the front of the concrete structure and sure enough, blending in rather well was our first rattlesnake sighting of 2023. *Note: I didn't realize it until I got home and looked at the above photo, but the snake is right there in the foreground!!

What a beauty. He was sluggish, barely moving, no rattling whatsoever. The rattle looked broken.

Once we calmed down from the snake sighting and finished our snacks, we were off on a short connector to the AZT.

We'd pick it up under the powerlines for a short bit, then onto the vague singletrack of Cougar Hill. It's going to be official AZT one of these days, as soon as the State Trust Land Dept. approves an extension so it can be connected to the singletrack a couple of hills to the north. It's been sitting in this idle state for a few years now and it's such a short connection to finish the project. Seems silly to me, but we wait.

Top of Cougar Hill.

The singletrack currently deadends in a wash, but a cairn lies a few feet before the end where a 15 foot overland connection takes you to a nice jeep road. I had noticed on satellite, if you go left on the jeep road for barely 1/4 mile, there was a wildlife trick tank. I wanted to see if there was actually a water source there.

Sure enough: water!! Up & over the small hill behind the tank.

Back on the jeep road, we quickly rejoined the AZT under the powerlines for another half mile or so. Let the singletrack begin!! This is one of my favorite sections of trail, remote, fun, beautiful desert out here.

The girls come through the Cholla forest, Anna first.

Evie steers clear.

Kara all smiles.

This is about as crowded as it ever gets out here.

After some jeep road riding, we now drop into Ripsey Wash.

This entire section is a hoot.

Massive Saguaro down. Drat. That's an old one.

I showed the girls where the blue tank water source was located. The tank was full of clear, cold water, as the overflow area was also full. So good to see.

Anna leads the charge over this rock drop.

Evie gettin' it!!

Kara's locked in.

Negotiating some tight switchbacks into the main Ripsey Wash.

Had to check and see if the waterfall we discovered last time was still flowing...

...it was!! Still so hard to believe. Curious to know how reliable it is.

Cue the hike-a-bike. Now on the lower portion of the Big Hill.

The upper six switchbacks of the Big Hill are really challenging, tight, somewhat steep or small step-ups to get you. I cleaned the first one, missed the next 3, but rallied and somehow cleaned the final two. I don't think I've ever gotten more than 3 on one go, so I was pretty happy with that.

Kara makes her way up the final approach.

Anna & Evie head out onto Ripsey Ridge.

Larger than life up here.

Top of the World!!

Kara heading to the top.

Evie crossing the second ridgeline.

I was warning them of the impending switchback attack section. 13 tight turns on the way down in short order. I always keep tabs on how many I clean. For me, SB No. 5 is my nemesis as I don't think I've ever cleaned it. No. 1 & 13 are tough too. Hmmm, all right handers. So, of course I stalled out on SB No. 1, clipped my pedal and crashed. Gah!! Mashed my lower right leg pretty good in the process. Onward. SB No. 5?? Nope. Dang it. 11 of 13 would have to do.

I decided I need to session No. 5 next time I'm out there, it may require a rear wheel pivot.

Anna putting wraps on the switchback attack section.

It's a fairly easy mostly downhill cruise to the finish over the last couple of miles.

Overall, it's about a 5 1/2 mile downhill from the top of Ripsey Ridge. Such a great way to end the ride. It was so fun to do this ride with first-time riders out here. I think they all were stoked on doing it. If backcountry rides intimidate you, find someone to go with you. Just go!!

Strava link. Stralizer app.

Route:

Estrella Mtn. Ranch Tour

 Mike and I have been riding together for a few years now. He's a great rider and has been all over the place as have I, which is why I was shocked to hear he had never ridden the trails down in the Estrella area. It's a bit of a drive for both of us, but that's never stopped us before. A few weeks ago I met up with Mike and his buddy, Justin, for a quick tour of some of my favorites out there. This time, Mike and I would be back for a longer ride and to show him a few more fun ones.

We met at a trailhead next to F.I.N.S. (Fantasy Island North Singletrack), named after a trail system in Tucson called: Fantasy Island. There were a handful of trails here that I wanted Mike to ride, so off we went.

Top of Kimurel's Hurl, a fun, short downhill rip with wooden berms and small jumps.

There are so many trails tucked in these hills, we missed our turn up Kim's Climb and ended up back at the bottom!! Haha. We found it the next try and it's the quickest way to make laps on the Hurl.

Mike railing the big wooden berm.

The Hurl is a fun mix of wooden & dirt berms.

We made our way back to the top of FINS so we could ride down the Grunt. We enjoyed the high traverse and downhill so much, we didn't take any pics!!

Back along the bottom of the network, Spent Spade has a fun inhabited section.

Yep, another rip down the Hurl. Photo by Mike.

Mike levitating.

The bartender must've been on break.

Tiki Man is a fun trail.

We exited FINS and linked up with the Estrella Loop trail for a bit as it tied into the Pirate Trails. We took a different route than our last tour here opting for Queen Anne's Revenge over to the switchbacks. Last time we rode Up There, which is one of my favorites, but today we wanted to ride Blackjack - a double black trail that I had only been on once before.

Making our way up the switchbacks, I spy new dirt on the far hillside.

My switchback game was on point today. Photo by Mike.

Cleaned it. Photo by Mike.

It's a solid, fun, but challenging climb just to get to the start. Then it gets steeper!!

There was a bit of hike-a-bike up to the high point of Blackjack. On a clear day the views are stunning, but it was a bit hazy today. Not bad though.

Mike starts across the ridgeline.

This shows how far we've climbed as you can see the lower trails we came up on.

This trail is a work of art.

Dropping down a cool bridge feature. Photo by Mike.

Quick hitter! Photo by Mike.

Blackjack commands your attention all the way down.

Trails carved into hillsides rock. Especially hand built ones.

You can even have fun on a hardtail. Say whaaa?? Photo by Mike.

The poppies were popping on this hillside.

Oooohhh!!

Mike couldn't resist as he was riding his new Chumba Sendero. Photo by Mike.

A bike bike rack.

We left the Pirate trails crossing under Estrella Pkwy on our way to the newer Lucero trails. Yet another set of trails hand built by the locals.

The trail markers at Lucero are truly a work of art.

Easy to read and beautifully done.

Overall, the trails here are a bit less rocky than FINS or the Pirate trails.

We were both pleasantly surprised by the quality of riding here.

I had only ridden a couple of the trails at Lucero when they were first being built. I hardly recognized the place. Lots of looping options now.

It's so nice to see true singletrack on new trails.

Random desert couch.

Mike nears an amphitheater and horseshoe pit.

Beer me. Photo by Mike.

Meep, meep!!

I'm surprised one of the trails wasn't called 'Acme'.

There was a green trail leaving Lucero back into the Estrella Mtn. Ranch community, but new housing construction annihilated it. Hopefully there will still be a trail easement, but who knows. We were able to rejoin the trail after the construction and join the EMR Loop trail.

For a community trail, there's some legit singletrack. This section goes up and behind the Safeway shopping center.

Mike was digging it.

We stayed on the EMR Loop all the way back to FINS to wrap things up. There are so many trails out here. It may be a far drive for many, but it's worth it if you can spend a few hours pedaling around. We didn't even touch the trails at Estrella Regional Park or off to the west at the Dogbone trails in Buckeye.

Strava link. Stralizer app.

Route: