Goldlink Trail + Usery

I think it was sometime back around 2014 when I stumbled across a Tonto National Forest project map called the Sonoran Desert Trails System. Upon further inspection there appeared to be bold plans for new trails in the Hawes trail system, near Usery Regional Park and over into the Goldfield Mtns. The one item in particular that struck my interest was a proposed trail linking the far east side of Usery over to the Goldfields. The selfish interest was, I was putting the final touches on my grand bikepacking loop from home, the soon to be Queen's Ransom, and I was searching for an all dirt connection heading east. This could be it!!

The trail in question is between A7.5 & A7 on the bottom middle of the map.

I fired off a few emails to the Tonto NF and didn't really get anywhere with it. The only response at the time was they would look into it. It came across to me that they didn't even know about their own published project. I had to send them the link to the map on their website!!

After not getting anywhere over the next few months I had found a semi-decent workaround for my bikepacking loop on some horse trails further south.

Fast forward to 2019 and some changes over at the Tonto. Once again the Sonoran Desert Trails project popped up, but this time we had more people interested in making this a reality. We had a solid group of volunteers and now had formed a good working relationship with the Tonto through the Hawes Trail Alliance, Hawesaholic FB group and another group of retired trail builders. The green light was given to begin flagging a route and some work days set up. The terrain is rugged over there, but the folks involved were undaunted and up to the task.

At first the new trail was dubbed the Missing Link for obvious reasons, but after it was completed, it wasn't missing any more!! It needed a new name and since it directly links into the Goldfield Mtns, Goldlink was voted on. Has a nice ring to it.

A lot of time, effort and behind the scenes working was involved by everyone who came out to lend a hand. I wish I could have done more than the one afternoon I was out there moving dirt. It's really fun and rewarding to see a project like this take shape.

Sweat equity.

The time had come to actually ride it, but of course barely one week into the new year I came down with a sinus infection and missed a bunch of work. I wasn't completely clear of the crud, but a good beatdown on the bike often helps me expel the mucus demons.

This ride served a few purposes for me: hack out some crud from my lungs, ride some new-to-me trails at Usery, follow my proposed update to the Queen's Ransom through Usery over to Goldlink and into the Goldfields and return on my current route for a direct comparison. Go.

It had been quite some time since I rode these trails.

Thick Chainfruit Cholla forest on...Chainfruit trail. Go figure. 

Visual flight rules in effect: <Phoenix

Found this sign at the visitor's center.

More fast singletrack followed over to the junction of the SE corner of Pass Mtn. I was really hoping to avoid using pavement, but after riding this section of trail to the Meridian trailhead, I had to put the short road section into the bikepacking loop. Too much on/off/on/off over some really crappy trail. It's one thing to be a challenging trail and another to be complete garbage. This was the latter.

I hopped on the Meridian trail and it's in great shape sans one section of extremely eroded blown out tread that needs a re-route. At least it's short. The trail gradually climbs and near it's high point is a social trail that cuts down close to the beginning of Goldlink. The social downhill was a white knuckler mostly due to all the loose rock on the tread and the steepness. A quick trail brushing would alleviate most issues on this bit.

I picked up Goldlink and began riding east. The lower section contours nicely and just needs more tires on it to pack in the tread. The trail then turns north and begins a steady climb with some punchy bits thrown in. In my sickened state, I was off pushing on a few occasions trying to keep my HR down. When healthy, it'll be a tough climb to clean, but one I'll definitely try. The final approach to the saddle is quite remarkable. The bench cut trail is a real piece of work and the reward is this view:

Expansive view of the Superstition Mtns and Mt. Lemmon on a clear day! Picketpost too.

Same spot, looking back.

The trail going down the east side of the saddle has a handful of well constructed switchbacks before opening up the runout.

At the bottom of Goldlink on the east side. The saddle can be seen between the Saguaros.

The next trail is South Deer Tanks which was an equestrian social trail. It rides pretty well in spite of not being built for mountain bikes. There's one steep wash to negotiate, but that's about it.

South Deer Tanks trail.

Either someone is testing out camping gear or they are living in a wash.

I must've missed a turn somewhere on South Deer Tanks because I ended up in a bit of unrideable sand near the dirt road connection in the Goldfields. It wasn't too much pushing and I was out on the road in short order.

I dropped down through the neighborhood and picked up the horse trails near the powerlines to finish off the loop. I was instantly reminded why I didn't care for this section all that much. Too much soft dirt and sand. While the Goldlink option will be a bit more difficult riding for the Queen's Ransom, it really is a no-brainer to add it to the route. It's better trail and views.

I can't say enough about our local mountain biking community. We've really stepped up and come together to get more trails. The four new trails over at Hawes last year were all approved in the Sonoran Desert Trails System, but the forest service didn't have the resources to actually build them. It only took a few volunteer days and they were done and are now a great addition to the Hawes network. We have more ambitious plans for the Hawes trails in the coming months/years with a new master plan that is currently waiting approval. This is gonna be fun!

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3X 100: DNF, DNF, DNS

The calendar flipped to January, I was feeling great. Finally felt like I had put everything behind me from 2019 as my endurance felt like it was ready to go. We were about to ride our annual 100 mile singletrack outing, the Curmudgeon 100. I was feeling ambitious enough, I thought I'd make this weekend a real kickoff to 2020.

I hatched a plan to log back-to-back-to-back 100 milers. Keep in mind my longest ride since exiting the Divide on July 3rd was something like 33 miles. The first would be the Queen's Loop on the Motobecane. Essentially my Queen's Ransom bikepacking route for day1, but done as a loop. The second ride would be the Curmudgeon 100 on the Voodoo singlespeed. The last ride of the trifecta would be a canal spin on the Binary Havok. So, not only would it be a 100 miler x3, but on 3 different bikes. I thought that would make a cool challenge.

Mike W. was up for the Queen's Loop and we rolled out of my house under the cover of darkness at 6a. We phoned in a burrito order enroute to the Burrito Shack and picked up our goodness about 5 miles into the ride.

We were cruising north on the canal bank beyond Warner Rd. when we came to a newly constructed fence. Huh? This fence extended well over the banks of the canal, it was clear the property owners didn't want you there. So, we backtracked to a footbridge and crossed over to the east bank. I'd make note of this for the upcoming Queen's Ransom bikepack.

Ye shall not pass!!

Sometime after 7a, things begin to lighten up.

I should make note of a couple of setup items on my bike. I normally have my dynamo hub and light attached to my fork crown. But, my fork was in the shop getting a rebuild, waiting on a part. My wheel had a 2.6 tire on it that was a bit of a chore to install. I had my old 100mm fork lying around, so I put that on the bike. However, my 2.6 tire wouldn't fit in the fork. So, I swapped out my front wheel from the Havok, which had a 2.3 tire on it, but that meant no dynamo or light. I did have my rechargeable Exposure Diablo helmet light that did the trick for the first hour+ of riding. I wasn't worried about lights. Stay tuned...

We continued on the canal path and somewhere near McKellups Rd. there was some construction activity ahead. The canal bank was closed and we couldn't exit to the neighborhood because of home construction. We were in luck though, as the canal had been drained, so we  hiked our bikes down the steep embankment and crossed to the east side once again. Who knew there could be so much excitement on the canals??

A little bit later we arrived at Desert Trails Park in Mesa and were almost to singletrack.

Skills area getting some love.

Finally on singletrack!! TRW trail somewhere near mile 25.

Red Mountain dominates the scene at Hawes.

There's been a rash of boulder smashing at Hawes and signs to stop it have popped up.

This was near the Twisted Sister run-out.

Mike drops into a fast section of trail while a small crew was out maintaining the trail.

A little bit of snow clings to the south side of Four Peaks.

Gray shirt Mike exiting High Noon.

Green shirt Mike making his way up the jump line.

Found some of the 'wild' horses on the Usery connector.

Not sure what the story is here, but the Jolly Roger was flyin' high.

Making our way around the tame side of Pass Mtn.

Nearing our lunch/burrito stop by Pass Mtn.

Mike negotiates a tricky section of trail by one of the parking areas.

Our next goal: get up close & personal with the Superstition Mtns.

That small spire marks the location near where a new trail, Goldlink, will finally connect Usery with the Goldfield Mtns. via singletrack. More on that in an upcoming post.

Meanwhile, we rode the horse trails east towards the Goldfields.

Hanging out with this tall fella.

The lichen covered rocks are a signature feature in the Goldfield Mtns.

There are some mighty fine jeep roads in these parts as well.

Of course, we know where to find some quality hike-a-bike!! It's only about a 2 minute push to a fun ridgeline descent.

Mike dwarfed by the Superstition Mtns.

The Flat Iron rises high above Jacob Crosscut trail.

The shadows were growing long as we rounded by Silly Mtn. Park to our resupply in Gold Canyon.

We scarfed down some sub sandwiches at Subway and topped off on water. I really wanted to get through the Gold Canyon trails and a rocky jeep road descent before nightfall.

Massive home on a hill with spacious views.

Shredder Crossing at the Golden Hour.

I was surprised to see a bit of flow in this wash on Outer Limits trail.

We didn't quite make the rocky descent, but we did make it to the saddle as we were about to turn on lights.

We stopped to switch over to night riding mode for the final push back home. One problem, my one and only light wouldn't turn on!! Gah!! Nada. I know it was fully charged before the ride and I've gotten almost 24 hours of use out of it on the low power setting. Something wasn't quite right, but it sure wasn't coming on. Mike's light was fairly bright, so we stuck close together on the descent.

It was a bit sketchy, but I was able to ride everything.

On the ensuing dirt roads we took turns having Mike in front or behind me to see what worked best. The optimal position was having him ride behind me off to the side so no shadow was cast. A couple of creek crossings were interesting!!

Mike noticed his light was hovering around 25% battery life. We figured that would be enough to finish the ride, but a few minutes later, it began to flash a red light. What does that mean, I asked. Maybe 10% left. Hmmm. We still had a few miles before reaching our crossing of US60. We decided to play it safe and have K come meet us in Gold Canyon for dinner and a ride back home. If Mike's light died on us while we were in a remote OHV area, we'd be screwed.

It was a great ride nontheless, not quite the 100 miles I was hoping for, but I'll take 87. By far my longest ride in almost 6 months. I still had my sights set on the other two rides.

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Ride #2: Curmudgeon 100

I was awake at some uncivilized time to make the hour drive to Jeff's casa where the route would begin in the pre-dawn darkness. The previous evening I was having difficulties getting my tire to mount tubeless on my singlespeed. I eventually gave up in favor of sleep, so the geared MotoTi would get the call once again. A bunch of fools had gathered, groggy, as our coffee had yet to fully kick in. We made the quick half mile or so to the park boundary, thus leaving all pavement behind before taking on 100 singletrack miles of fun through the McDowell Regional Park and Brown's Ranch.

Not surprisingly, my legs were a bit sluggish to get going. I stopped a couple of times early on and by the time I hit the Pemberton Trail barely 4 miles into the ride I was in sweeper position. Something else happened, my left knee had already made itself known. I figured it would take a few miles to shake off the previous day's effort and eventually I'd settle into the long day ahead.

Crack of dawn.

I love starting a ride in darkness only to watch my surroundings become unveiled.

Mike W. was also out going for back-to-back big days. He was looking for his first dirty century and was the last one to pass me while I shed some layers.

Escondido trail is a hoot, it's a well contoured trail with a few climbs thrown in to keep the blood pumping. However, these uphills were not being kind to my increasing knee discomfort. By the time I reached the Scenic trail climb, I opted to walk most of it as the sun came up.

Back down on the more spinny trails I was beginning to get the feeling my knee just wasn't going to cooperate on this day. There were plenty of easy bailouts if necessary, but I was more than willing to give it an honest attempt.

I happened to catch up to Bev after she blew by a turn and did some bonus miles!! We'd end up riding the rest of the morning together and it was really nice to catch up and have someone to share in my growing misery. By mile 20 or so, I knew my day was done. Every bit of trail was a chore and this is a really easy route. I also knew my ride the following day wasn't going to happen. Oh well, it was a lofty goal and you never know until you try, right?

This fella had a nice view from his perch.

Bev and I at Jackass Junction where I was feeling more like the guy behind me. Called off the ride here.

Peace out, dudes.

Luckily, it's almost all downhill from Jackass Junction back to Jeff's place. A bunch of riders were out in pre-race form on Pemberton getting set for the following week's race there. One guy was coming at us rather quickly, had plenty of room to pass, but as he did, took a bit too wide of a turn and went down. Gotta watch those S curves!! He seemed fine, mostly an ego bruise I'm sure.

Bev and I cruised back to Jeff's ready to grab some chili, but the door code wasn't working!! Gah!! We hung around for a while and Jeff eventually showed up and was able to get in after some trickery. It was a still a fun day out, but I was bummed I had to bail out early. Mike W. eventually did finish sometime after sunset, so a huge congrats on the 100 miler!! I'll be back next year. Thanks again, Jeff & Nancy for opening your home for this gathering.

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