General Crook & Willow Springs Lake

I went out on a couple of local rides in search of some mojo. I didn't find much over at Hawes, hike-a-biking a few sections I always ride, but it was still good to be out on the bike. I took it as a necessary hurdle I had to clear.

Classic overlook at Hawes.

It's called Mine Trail for a reason.

It's Amy!! Finally got to meet her in person. Digital friends no more.

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The other ride was up at Brown's Ranch & McDowell Regional Park. Lots of easy miles there and I was able to stack together my first 30+ mile ride since March.

Peace out, Brian.

I love the desert around Brown's Ranch. Lush!!

Huge Ocotillo by Cholla Mtn.

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Those rides were good, stepping stones of sorts. It was still hot down in the desert and I needed to get up north for some riding in the pines. I wanted something different, so I planned out a route near Woods Canyon Lake using some the General Crook Trail.

Up on the rim, it was a cool 72º.

The only ones I could point out with certainty were Brown's Peak & Mount Ord.

SR260 slicing across the escarpment.

The General Crook trail stretches over 140 miles across the Mogollon Rim.

Hmmm, what's this? I opted to stay on the General Crook trail.

The GC trail is easy to follow in some parts, not so much in others. The one constant up here in the pines, the silver chevron blazes marking the way.

That's the trail straight ahead.

Aha!! The other end of the Grey Wolf trail, time to make a quick loop!!

The Grey Wolf trail was just like Crook, about a mile long.

Aspen grove alongside SR288.

I located the mountain biking trail circumnavigating Willow Springs Lake.

The trail was pretty nice and dropped down to lake level on the north side.

It was easy enough to find a way across the overflow spillway. I did manage a slo-mo OTB dropping down to here when I caught a small rock just right.

A quick spin on some forest roads led me back to General Crook.

Crook eventually linked into the Military Sinkhole trail and back to the car.

If I had more time/daylight I had hoped to add on the Carr Lake trails. Next time. It was a nice quick getaway to escape the heat and find some new dirt for my tires. Win-win.

Flyover

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