Payson: Highline Triangle

 The Highline trail restoration project has recently been completed. It was a multi-year project to turn a seldom used, tough to enjoy trail into a masterpiece. Mission accomplished. The final major project area was near Horton Spring going east towards the Derrick trail. Some other re-routes and tread touch-ups were completed on each side of this area, but the bulk was done here. I was eager to see how the new trail was routed and how it rode.

I had fairly ambitious plans: ride up Horton Creek trail, go west to the fish hatchery along the Highline trail, then turn around. I'd then continue east to the Derrick trail and if I felt fine, do another out-n-back to See Canyon. I'd finish with a downhill along the Derrick trail. All told, this was about 28 miles. However, I was still nursing some rather sore ribs from my wreck on Mt. Elden a week prior. I guess I'll just play it by ear.

When I arrived, the Horton Creek trailhead was full. I went back down the road a short way to the Derrick trailhead, plenty of room there and I'd be popping out on the trail across the road anyway.

Time to climb. It's generally uphill to the Highline trail from here.

Horton Creek was dry at the bottom, but soon was flowing nicely.

I didn't recall the trail being more of a double track or being super chunky. Had it really degraded this much since my last time here? Perhaps. There was plenty of hike-a-bike on this day. And while I didn't have another crash, I managed to donate to the trail gods nonetheless...

Hike-a-bike carnage. Good grief. Banged my pedal right on the scar tissue from a healing wound.

Horton Spring is a sight to behold.

I had a snack, played photographer for some hikers, then began making my way towards the fish hatchery along the Highline trail. I didn't get too far though. I just wasn't feeling it. Ribs were sore, the elevation was kicking my butt and I really wanted to see the new stuff east of Horton Spring. I decided right there, I'd turn around and make this a short ride. I'd ride over to Derrick trail and drop down to the car. The other stuff can wait for another ride.

Now back east of Horton Spring. The old trail goes sharply up to the left and look at that new tread. Beautiful.

I was curious to see the routing on this section as it is nowhere near the old tread.

The trail now contours around the side of a large hill instead of going up & over it.

Remnants of the recent burn here.

The Mazatzal Range in the distant.

There were a couple of short, steep pitches I had to walk up. Maybe could've have ridden them or at least given a better attempt had I been feeling better. 

Not all of the old tread was bad.

That's not to say the old tread wasn't touched up along the way, nice berms here.

Rim country riding is spectacular.

I reached the Derrick trail junction and headed down. 

I could see some of the trail work here too, grade reversals added and not as much loose rock as I had remembered. It was still bumpy, that's the nature of this geology layer.

Cool looking Manzanita tree.

About halfway down the Derrick trail, it smooths out, the grade mellows and it's forested riding.

The final descent appeared to be new. There's my yellow car.

A few switchbacks guide you into the trailhead.

Route:

Funny mural next to Alfonso's Mexican food in Payson.

On my way home I wanted to check out a short section of the AZT800 route as it enters the Payson area. I recently heard a report of a locked gate and No Trespassing signs. I pulled off by the casino and walked down the dirt road, which is part of the route. There was a fence at the bottom, but the gate was open. About 200' later, there were concrete barriers all across the road, fencing, yellow tape and yes, no trespassing signs. The other side of the barricades are National Forest land and upon inspecting the signs, it appeared this strip of land in question was reservation. I poked around on the USFS side to see if a bypass up to the road would be possible. Not really, there's a barbed wire fence all along AZ87.

I made my way back to my car, but as I topped out on the hill I was met by a Tribal Officer. He asked what I was doing and I mentioned how this area had been used for years for long distance bike routes. He immediately dropped his guard and he told me the tribe closed the area off because of the OHV crowd speeding through. He mentioned I could set up a meeting with the tribal council to see if bikes and pedestrians would be allowed through. The alternative would be to simply stay on the wide paved shoulder of AZ87 into town, the entire section in question is only 2 miles. At this point, I'm leaning that way for simplicity. Either way, I was glad I stopped and was able to get an explanation of what was going on.

None shall pass.

Don't do it. You may lose a bike.

That's how small of an area we're talking. Green arrows would be the AZ87 route.

Mt. Elden Wins

 This year's Pinyons and Pines bikepacking race fell in the middle of May. I've been trying to do at least one bikepacking ride per month as I gear up for the AZT800 in October, but figured I should hold on to some extra vacation time. So, I didn't throw my hat into the P&P ring this year, but a ton of friends did. I thought it would be fun to be there for the start, then go do my own, much shorter, overnight ride.

I made my way north after work, arriving sometime around 9p. The race would kick off at 6a the following morning. Matt had extra room in his hotel and it was great to catch-up for a quick minute.

The morning came quick and we were off to the start at Flagstaff Bicycle Revolution, aka FlagBikeRev. 

Riders gathering, coffee, donuts inside.

Friends!! Bret, Gerrit and Ian ready to warm up!!

Karin and Angie.

Matt and David.

Dana giving last minute orders!!

Cruz, part of the teenage takeover!! He's 16 along with another 16 year old, McKenna and 17 year old Nixon. Strong riders.

Abe all the way in from Virginia.

Co-director, Dylan, rides the group out.

And they're off!!

In a matter of minutes, all was quiet. I rode back to the motel to grab my car, then a bite to eat. Might as well let it warm up a bit. I parked at a buddy's house on the south side of town and got everything situated for the ride. I was rolling by 8a, right on schedule.

My planned route would be the beginning of Pinyons and Pines over Mt. Elden, then the backend of the Craters and Cinder Cones route over by Sunset Crater. It's the portion of the route I was unable to do a couple years ago because of a wildfire closure. I'd return to Flagstaff via the Arizona Trail. It was about a 90 mile loop.

The FUTS, Flagstaff Urban Trail System, connects through town, skipping most of the busy roads.

It even cuts right through NAU's campus.

Nice campus up here, I can see why it's popular for students.

Cool mural downtown.

Back at Flag Bike Rev for my 'official' start.

Commuter and I waiting to cruise through downtown.

Learned something peculiar about my Garmin Edge 530. When I loaded the track from where I started, I was about 6 miles from the track start. It always asks if I want to navigate to the start. I said no. But typically, when I reach the start the track then begins and everything is fine. Not today. I got going, but no track to follow. I figured it was just being slow. Of course, thinking I knew the route, I began riding the loop in the wrong direction!! Wasn't a bad thing since I turned around at a park that had restrooms and my morning coffee was done being inside me. I ended up re-loading the route file and all was good.

Back on route, entering Buffalo Park and the AZT.

Rebuilt section of AZT as it leaves the north side of the park. It's now a wide recreation path, which is good since it's practically in town.

Oof. Some early hike-a-bike.

Nice re-routed section of Middle Oldham trail.

I was already feeling the elevation, walking more than I thought I should be. Perhaps my legs hadn't fully recovered from a 'leg day' workout I did a few days prior. I've been trying to mix in more strength training and this had been a tough workout, first one in a while, so the soreness lingered a couple of days. To be honest, this day was the first day my legs felt fine, at least before I started riding. Add in the singlespeed aspect, and it was tough sledding for me. But, I wasn't on a time crunch and I had new trails to ride. Besides, it was a beautiful day to be out and about. I knew things would speed up once I topped out on Mt. Elden. Just had to get there.

The newly re-routed Upper Oldham trail.

Big sweeping corner, made for a good snack break.

Great views towards Humphrey's Peak as well. What a marvelous trail. So much better than climbing the Mt. Elden Lookout Rd.

Finally!! The top. Oh boy, that was a humbling ride. So much walking.

I picked the lower of the two tower locations since I didn't feel like pushing my bike up another hill.

Now to head out and down that way. PeakFinder app.

Sunset Crater is near the center.

First, some traversing along Upper Sunset trail.

Cool trail that's been around forever. Some exposure and a few rock moves to keep you on your toes.

Entering the burn area and transitioning to the Hobbit Forest segment of Sunset trail.

The Hobbit Forest section is generally ridden downhill as it's kinda steep in bits. The 'Hobbits' are large VW Bug sized boulders the trail works its way through. It's a cool section, but you have to pay attention. I had warned Matt before the race to watch out!!

I was making my way down into the meat of the trail. There's a series of switchbacks before the boulders. On the second to last one, there's a rock roll on the exit. I had ridden it many times before, but today something went awry. Not sure if I didn't quite get on my preferred line, but whatever it was, my weight shifted too far forward and off center. Never a good thing on a steep decent, no matter how short. My forks bottomed out on exit and I lurched forward and over the bars, OTB!! Gah!! I guess it was a good thing I didn't have time to put my hands out, as I probably would have broken a wrist. Instead, I slammed my left shoulder, ribs and I think my left quad hit my top tube. That's what hurt the most. Felt like someone took a baseball bat to my quad: Charlie Horse!! Ouch. Also, lucky I didn't break my collarbone.

I was a bit shook up from the sudden change of events. Took a few minutes to just sit on the side of the trail to collect myself and assess the situation. My quad was really bothering me, couldn't put much force on it at all. Trying to ride uphill wasn't happened and walking was slow. In any event, my overnight ride was done. The bike seemed fine, GPS had popped off and the bent tab was still there, so it was able to stay attached. The good news: It was mostly downhill riding to get off the mountain. Only one short up and over ahead.

Of course, it doesn't look like much in a photo.

I guess there was some bike carnage: busted light mount, but it had a crack or two before this happened.

The Hobbit Forest. Mostly walked down it.

Slow progress getting up and over.

Mike was back in town and asked where I was. I told him what had happened and he asked if I needed to get picked up. That would be nice. Save me a few miles of flat pedaling at the bottom. He'd stage at the Y, and ride up Schultz Creek to meet me. I warned him of my slow progress.

The top!! Now it's almost all downhill from here. And a new-to-me trail to ride.

Broadside trail is now the preferred climbing trail on this side of the mountain. It's a mellow downhill, long and fun. It's the easiest way to make laps with the new flow trail: Full Sail.

It just kept going and going. Three miles of steady descending.

Starting down Schultz Creek.

Schultz Creek is one of the original Flagstaff flow trails. It's been reworked over the years and as good as ever.

Everything is rocky in Arizona, including the forests.

I met up with Mike at mile 3.2, I was ready to get off the mountain and counting down the miles. I recall looking at my GPS and noting it was less than a mile to the trailhead. The next time I looked down, nada. GPS went AWOL, gonzo. Drat!! I had just emailed Garmin about the bent tab and guessing it couldn't be repaired, I'm sure they'll want the old unit. Today would not be a good day to lose the GPS. So, back up the trail I went. It couldn't be far as I just looked at it. About 0.1 miles up the trail, I spotted it in the middle of the trail. Whew!!

Thank goodness it hadn't bounced off trail.

That bent tab on the device had now broken off. Definitely need a replacement now. I finished up the ride and we made quick work getting over to Beaver Street Brewery for a much deserved Oatmeal Stout.

Not sure what's going on, but that's the 4th or 5th crash I've taken since New Year's Eve. I swear, things come in bunches in this sport. I sure hope I've finally reached my wreck quota for a long while.

Mike offered to let me spend the night at his place, but since I couldn't really do anything, I just needed to get home before everything seized up.

On my drive south along I-17 I checked Trackleaders to see how the Pinyons and Pines riders were doing. A bunch were already through Sedona!! I saw a couple dots next to I-17 at the Schnebly Hill Rd exit getting water from the maintenance yard. I pulled off to wish them luck. A rider approached, it was one of the teenagers, McKenna. She was doing great and said ReiRey had already left towards Sedona. These young kids are riding strong. The future of bikepack racing is in good hands.

McKenna heading off towards Sedona.

Yeah, I was bummed to have to cut my ride short, but I did get to ride a few new-to-me trails and get out of the heat for a few days. Also great to see all my friends at the start of the race.

UPDATE: After hobbling around on a bruised quad for a few days, then struggling to sleep comfortably for a couple of weeks because of the ribs, I finally went for an x-ray. Sure enough, 3 fractured ribs. So, I'll be shutting it down for a bit while I heal up properly. 

Route: