Ahhh... One of my favorite rides when approaching things from the Pine Valley parking lot. After years of riding practically every foot of this trail, we have pretty much found the sweet spot of loops.Here's the route we typically take:
Up Strawberry Jack to Charlie's cutoff. Hang a left and about half way down, we always hit our favorite little chute that always gives us that extra "oh shit" moment. Once we're done scaring ourselves, we keep heading down Charlie's cutoff to Homestead. We hang a right and descend down to Miller Gulch. Hang a sharp right (easy to miss, as this is a burn zone). We head down Miller Gulch and hang a left to Gashouse. Descending down this is an absolute blast! No brakes, just lots of adrenaline. Follow the trail to Baldy and prep yourself for a great climb. I used to think this was nasty, but over the years my benchmark keeps moving around. At this point in the ride, my legs are strong and I haven't moved out of my middle chain ring.
That's right folks, this entire ride can be knocked out in your middle chain ring. My fitness level right now is pretty insane, as I've been riding 3-4 times per week (combo of road and mtb), so that probably helps. Anyway, the trip back is pretty simple and mostly downhill the whole way to the parking lot. Strawberry Jack is a blast to blast down.Total distance is ~22 miles? I'm guessing here. My total ride time was 2 hours 10 minutes. That middle chain ring really moved my ass...
If you want a cool map, click here.
