BCT: Mistake Tank to EOT

 Early December in the desert, the weather is perfect: low 70's and sunny. That means the local trails are often crowded on weekends, so I tend to avoid those. I was in the mood for some exploration and decided I should head north to the far end of the Black Canyon Trail, BCT, to see if any new tread had been put down. I knew there were a few miles of new-to-me dirt leading to Mistake Tank, but would the trail continue north?? One way to find out.

The BCT eventually will continue north and down to Camp Verde. That's going to be incredible to string a full singletrack ride from there back into the Valley.

I made my way up to SR169 off I-17 and parked at the small trailhead off Old Cherry Rd. on the south side of the highway. I'd ride a little over a mile along the General Crook trail, which seems to be packed in better these days. It generally runs in a straight line, but there are a few well burned in cattle tracks veering off, be alert and don't take those!! Keep an eye peeled for large rock cairns if in doubt. Before long you'll reach the junction with the BCT, to continue north stay straight.

General Crook/BCT junction.

4,200' or so, high desert.

Trail was easy to follow and fairly packed in considering the low amount of use.

The trail bends south around a land fill, then makes its way north towards SR169.

Approaching the SR169 underpass, cattle tank nearby, stay left.

Nice to have a rollover gate. There was a camouflaged tent tucked into that large tree.

Hmmm, wonder what the catch will be.

Making my way under SR169.

On the north side of the culvert was the only semi-confusing part of the day. If going northbound, go through the green gate, then immediately go hard right across the sandy wash. You'll then see the trail heading up out of the wash. There was a small sign by the gate, but no arrow indicating a righthand turn.

The trail gently climbs away from the wash in true BCT fashion, but the tread was loaded with holes. Not really post-holed by cattle, although some, these were larger holes, ones you had to be aware of. Hopefully some crews will come back to fill in a few sections.

Again, the tread was packed in nicely where it was good.

Big country up here.

An example of a trail hole. Most were this size or bigger. Seemed kind of odd.

Arriving at Mistake Tank, which is a small parking area too. I-17 in the distance.

Ooohh!! New trail!! How far does this go?? Let's find out.

The area to the north is hilly, so I knew I'd be climbing, but where would it route you?

It began climbing the west side of the first hill in some cool terrain.

Arriving at a gate, it appeared I was near the high point...

Nope, more contoured climbing.

I was really enjoying the views through here. If the grass were taller, I would think I was in southern AZ.

Still climbing, nearing 4,900'. I could see the curve of I-17 where the huge descent into the Verde Valley begins. The trail should be heading down soon!!

I was getting myself mentally prepared for a huge day in the saddle. I was really hoping I would find myself curving and flowing all the way down to Camp Verde. I had already mentally mapped out a return ride from there, taking the dirt road up through Cherry back to the car.

I reached this rugged Jeep road and the trail just stopped. Bummer. How far was it from Mistake Tank? 3 miles.

Instead of exploring the Jeep road back to Mistake Tank, I opted to head back on the trail. It needed the tires on it anyway and it was mostly downhill. I almost went OTB once when I nearly dropped my front wheel into a large hole on a righthand turn. Sketchy!! I did see one other rider heading up who was also out checking on the new tread.

It won't be long now until it's finished. Until then, I guess I need to start planning a full traverse of the BCT. Who's in?

Strava link.

I decided to ride the shoulder of SR169 back to the car, it's wide and I was getting pressed for time. Overall, it's good trail, check it out if you're in the area. Be warned, this is death mud country, be sure the trail is DRY. Otherwise, you'll be in for a long, frustrating day of scraping mud and bike maintenance.