Yes, You SHOULD Visit Death Valley!

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Matt Hunt

It’s hot.
It’s dry.
There’s little to no life there.
So what could you possibly go to see in Death Valley National Park?

Well for starters, if you visit in the winter like I did, it’s not hot at all! In fact, it’ll be quite chilly in the morning. But the scenery is like something from another planet! Sand dunes, salt flats, badlands hills and rugged mountains.

Here are some of the spots you should consider stopping at in Death Valley.

Zabriskie Point

During the low-light hours around sunrise and sunset, these intricate hills really come to life as shadows are cast across them, highlighting their unique layout. It’s a great spot for photos, and you can even hike on the Badlands Loop Trail. The hills were formed from sediment in Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago. Throw in some erosion, and this is what you’re left with!

I arrived for sunrise, and it was fairly crowded, but after the sun was up, the majority of the people left. In my opinion, they left way too early, as the light hadn’t even hit these badlands yet. The photos above were taken well after sunrise, by about 45-60 minutes.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

You can always find some good photo ops in the sand dunes, but you can also bring along your favorite sled or sand board and slide down these sandy hills, as many people were doing when I was there!

If you’re looking for a photo without any footprints and it has been a while since the last windstorm, you may have to hike around the dunes for quite some time to find a good spot! I walked all over the place before I finally found a small area that had not been disturbed. Even with that, I was unable to find a crest that didn’t have footprints.

Badwater Basin

Want to go below sea level without getting wet? Come to Badwater Basin, located 282 feet below sea level! Look back at the cliff from the parking area and find the wood sign that marks sea level to see just how low you are.

No wonder it gets so hot here. In order for a place like this to exist (inland below sea level, and dry), you need an extremely dry climate. Only 2 inches of rain per year fall here on average.

The salt flat here is constantly changing as moisture comes and goes. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t very photogenic when I was there. But if you time it right, and you’re willing to walk a ways out, you can get some good shots of the cracked salt plates.

Racetrack Playa

Unfortunately, I did not have time to visit the Racetrack, as it is about a 3.5 hour drive from the main park area, and I was only in the park for 24 hours. But if you have time, this is a unique place to visit.

At first glance it may seem like nothing special; just a dried up lake bed. But you will find rocks on the surface with a path etched in the dirt behind them, showing that the rocks have been moving! How do these rocks (some of them extremely heavy) move across a dried up lake bed?

Well, a recent study actually did figure out how this happens. There had been many theories, including hurricane force winds moving the rocks, but those proved to be wrong. A special set of conditions is required to move the rocks, and it doesn’t happen very often. First of all, there needs to be about 3 inches of water on the surface. Second, it needs to get cold enough to create a thin layer of ice on the surface overnight. The following day as the weather warms and the ice begins to melt and shift, it is actually the movement of these thin (but large) sheets of ice that push the rocks along the surface!

Next time I’m in Death Valley, the Racetrack will be at the top of my list!

When To Go

No doubt about this, you need to visit Death Valley in the winter months when it’s not so hot! You will find pleasant weather November through March. May through September the average highs top 100° with a peak of 116° in July (that’s the AVERAGE). I went in early January, and daytime highs were right around 70°.

Where To Stay

There are several campgrounds in the park, or if you want to spring for a hotel room, there are a couple options in Furnace Creek at the Oasis at Death Valley. There’s another hotel that may be a little cheaper in Stovepipe Wells. I opted to make the roughly 35 minute drive up to the Longstreet Inn & Casino just across the state line in Amargosa Valley, NV. Rooms here are a whole lot cheaper, but you’ll have to drive back and forth.

Incredible Scenery in Oregon!

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Matt Hunt

For three years, I tried to take a trip to Oregon. At the time, I was still living in Dallas. It would require a flight and a truck rental in order to carry my bike. In 2018, one of my good friends invited me to his wedding in Idaho. I decided to hold off on the Oregon trip, and with my PTO, went to Idaho for his wedding, then ventured out to Glacier National Park, back to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, WA.

In 2019, I even had a flight and rental car booked for this trip to Oregon. However, due to unethical practices by the company I was working for at the time, I decided to leave my job, even though I had not yet secured another job. Because of this, I once again canceled my Oregon trip.

Then 2020 happened. I had originally planned to complete this trip in June, but due to the pandemic, many parts of Oregon were closed. Due to the uncertainty of travel restrictions, I did not make any reservations. I did, however, end up visiting Bend on a short trip, as it had opened up just in time for the week I had already planned off.

For the rest of the trip, I postponed it until August. And this time, it finally happened!

I started the trip with a visit to Crater Lake National Park. I have a thing for National Parks. They are some of the most beautiful areas of our country. And Crater Lake is quite the natural wonder. A volcano known as Mount Mazama, which collapsed about 7,700 years ago, and filled with water. The deepest lake in the United States (1,949 feet). How incredible!

My main objective here was a shot of the milky way over the lake. But there were plenty more spectacular shots to be had before nightfall.

It was quite windy that evening. After the sun set, a chill swept over the ridge high above the lake. I stood facing the lake, with the wind at my back. My body blocked my camera and tripod from the wind. While sturdy on its own, even small movements would blur the 20 second exposure set for the milky way.

The traffic was surprisingly persistent after dark. My perch was not far off the road, and on either end, the road was at a higher elevation than I was standing. The light affected the foreground of my scene. I needed 20 seconds without any vehicle headlights. I also preferred to have no airplane lights streaking across the sky, even though I could remove them in post. Such a small detail, but the healing brush over the streak would result in an inaccurate representation of the starry night sky. Thankfully, I was able to get my 20 seconds of a clear sky, and a clear foreground.

I had no reservations that evening. But I knew of a few Sno-Parks not too far from the National Park. I headed that way, and found one with a few campers and vans already parked for the night. There was plenty of space for me, however, and I had a peaceful night of pretty good sleep, considering it was in the back seat of my car. The milky way was still shining overhead, as well.

From there, it was on to Ashland for a quick ride on Jabberwocky, and then to the Pacific coast. The only time I’d been to the Pacific before was in Long Beach, CA when I was in 5th grade. That wasn’t really that great of a trip, as my father was dying from cancer. It was cut off early, and unfortunately what was supposed to be one final enjoyable family trip didn’t go as planned. Dad became very ill as soon as we arrived, and was not able to join my mom, sister and I for anything. That would end up being the last week of his life, as he passed away a few days after we got home, on Monday April 12, 1993.

I don’t mean to make this a sad story, but at any rate, this second trip to the Pacific would be a more memorable experience. While a tropical beach is always nice, I’m not sure if you can beat the rocky shoreline of the PNW. The Oregon coast did not disappoint. The water, of course, is freezing cold. This isn’t the beach you visit to sunbathe and swim, but it’s definitely worth a visit if you’ve never been.

On to the next stop; Oakridge, OR for mountain biking! This was to be the main attraction of the trip, and I had booked 3 shuttle rides for Larison Rock, Alpine and Lawler trails. I sure do love those forests of the PNW! All that lush greenery surrounding fast & flowy trails! But let’s not ignore the humidity! Oh goodness, after acclimating to the dry air of Idaho, the humidity killed me out there! I was drenched in sweat on every ride. It was like being back in Texas!

Mountain Biking on Larison Rock Trail in Oakridge, OR

I’ll let the video below do the rest of the talking about the trails, however!

My other purpose in Oregon was photographing waterfalls. There are still some falls that I was not able to visit due to travel restrictions in the counties along the Columbia River Gorge, but I did get to visit Salt Creek Falls there in Oakridge, Proxy Falls, Ramona Falls, Sahalie Falls on the McKenzie River, as well as smaller falls on the McKenzie, that may have had a name, but I can’t recall them at this point.

Without a doubt, though, my favorite was Ramona Falls in Rhododendron, OR. This one also required the most work to get to. It is a 7 mile round-trip hike, which including a crossing of the Sandy River. There were signs at the trailhead that stated the river could be chest deep, and would need to be crossed with trekking poles in order to battle with the current. I was not prepared for this, so I set off on this hike uncertain as to whether or not I would be able to make it across the river. I looked at hikers coming back the other way to see if their shoes, or any of their clothes were wet. They all looked dry. Were they able to cross, or had they turned back at the river?

It was only about a mile or mile and a half to get to the river, so it wasn’t too much of a risk. Worst case, I’d get some good exercise, but I wouldn’t come away with the photos I wanted. Thankfully, when I got to the crossing, I could see numerous large trees down forming bridges over the water. It required some hanging on, and some balance to avoid falling into the current, but I was able to make it across without any issue. The payoff was this spectacular waterfall!

I ended the trip camping at the Trillium Lake campground. I had planned to shoot both sunset and sunrise photos of Mt. Hood from here, but that evening the sky was covered in low clouds, and Mt. Hood was not even visible. When I awoke the following morning before sunrise, the sky was still covered in clouds. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get the photo I had desired.

I went to the south end of the lake anyway, and waited. Perhaps it would clear up later. Thankfully, my patience looked like it would pay off. The clouds did start to thin out and move off to the east, with breaks revealing the peak of Mt. Hood for a few seconds here and there. Slowly but surely, the clouds got thinner and thinner, and in the end those remaining clouds made for a spectacular photo!

Be sure to check out the video for more of the beautiful scenery in Oregon, including some drone shots from the coast! There is still a lot I have left to see in this incredible state, so I will definitely be back. Thankfully, living in Idaho now means it’s not too far away!

The Beauty of Southwest Utah

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Matt Hunt

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My first visit to southwest Utah came in April of 2016. I was on a road trip that included stops in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. I came specifically to hike Angels Landing at Zion National Park. That remains to this day my favorite hike ever, and the view from the top was incredible!

I even returned later that year in July for a trip that was focused solely on southern Utah. But that was all before I was into mountain biking. I continued to hear so many great things about the trails in this area near Zion. So with another delay in the start date of my new job, I decided to make the trip!

Problems Along the Way!

Things didn’t go exactly as planned, however! I had just passed through Salt Lake City when my car started acting strange. It felt like it was lunging. Could it be the road? No, it definitely wasn’t the road. I turned off cruise control, and when I pushed on the gas pedal, the engine just revved, and the car did not speed up! My transmission was finished!

I got a second Honda Accord primarily for reliability, so I never expected to have the transmission fail at only 65,000 miles! Well luckily, this was a Certified used car, which extends the warranty from 60,000 up to 100,000 miles. So I did not have to pay for the new transmission! But after doing some research, I learned that the CVT transmission they use in the Accord now is not very reliable. In fact, one transmission shop’s website said they rarely see them last more than 100,000 miles! Needless to say, it won’t be long before I trade this car in and get something that doesn’t have the piece of junk CVT transmission in it!

So while that ordeal didn’t cost me thousands of dollars to fix, it did mean that I had to push my trip back a week. But that was okay, because I still had time. So once it was fixed, I picked my car back up, and went on to Hurricane, UT from there.

How I Made This Trip Really Cheap!

Traveling can get expensive, especially if you want to do it often. Transportation and lodging are the two most expensive things, so how can you cut down on these? Driving is typically less expensive than flying, especially if you’re going somewhere that isn’t too far away. It’s just a little over 7 hours for me to get to Hurricane. Flying would not make sense. Gas costs less than $100 for the entire round trip.

To save on lodging, I camped in my car for free on public lands! In the western US, there is a lot of public land, and on most of it you can camp for free. Of course, there are no services like showers or bathrooms, but if you’re willing to rough it a bit, it’s a great option for free lodging!

Sleeping in your car doesn’t sound comfortable, does it? To be honest, it wasn’t that bad! I got a backseat air mattress, which is far more comfortable than just sleeping in the backseat, or laying the front seat down all the way! Obviously I cannot lie flat on my back completely stretched out, however, I often sleep on my side with my legs curled up anyway, and there is plenty of room for that. To try to keep some heat in, as well as give myself some privacy, I covered my windows with Reflectix insulation. It doesn’t keep the car warm all night, but I do feel that it keeps the warmth quite a bit longer than if it were not there!

Gooseberry Mesa

I spent my first night on top of Gooseberry Mesa surrounded by an incredibly beautiful landscape! I woke up to this:

That day I rode the trails on Gooseberry Mesa, though I ended up cutting the ride fairly short due to the powerful winds! I was on the North Rim trail, and the winds just about blew me over on the exposed parts of the rim! The wind was out of the north, so it was at least not trying to blow me off the cliff, but I considered the risk of any fall there to not be worth it!

The trail was definitely unique, riding over rolling slickrock, similar to Moab, but with a different color. It’s like riding on the moon!

Overall, however, it’s pretty slow going and requires a lot of pedaling. It’s not the style of trail that I find to be the most fun, but it’s a unique experience, and worth a visit. I know a lot of people really love it! The views from the north rim were spectacular, too!

Guacamole Doesn’t Cost Extra

That night I drove up to the Whole Guacamole trailhead, where there are campsites in the immediate vicinity. I took a super cold shower outside in about mid-40’s temperatures with strong winds and cold water! Certainly not the hot shower I’m used to, but it was worth it to get cleaned up after the ride!

As the night wore on, the wind finally died down, and actually completely stopped. I remember waking up at one point when nature called, and noticing how completely silent it was outside! This is something I really love to experience, because our day-to-day lives in the city are filled with noise. We don’t always realize it, because we’re used to it. Which is what makes it even more amazing when you are in the middle of nowhere and experience true silence!

The ride on the Whole Guacamole was more fun than Gooseberry Mesa. Lots of technical challenges, more riding on the moon, as well as a little bit of flowy and faster downhill sections. This is also the closest trail to Zion National Park, so you’ve got great views on the entire ride! I would definitely recommend this one!

Hurricane Rim

My final night was spent closer to the town of Hurricane, and right next to the Hurricane Rim trail. I rode straight from my campsite to the JEM trail, which then connected to Hurricane Rim.

This was easily my favorite ride of the trip! The climbs are tough & technical, the descents are fast & rowdy! I did not ride the entire trail since I had a 7+ hour drive back home immediately following, and I did not want to be driving late into the night. I only skipped about 2 miles on the west end of the trail, however, this is part of the trail that overlooks the town, and has the most elevation change. So I do want to get back down there sometime and ride that section!

The Highlights

Below is the video that I put together highlighting this trip! In the coming weeks I’ll be putting out the regular POV style videos of each ride, so stay tuned for those if you want to see more riding footage on these trails!

FINALLY Back at Brown County!

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Matt Hunt

I first rode Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN (not a typo, it’s INDIANA!) when I was still a new rider in the summer of 2017. It is still to this day my longest ride ever at 32 miles! Shortly after that ride, they opened a new flow trail, Hobbs Hollow. Now there’s yet another new trail open, Weed Patch.

I was back in Indiana in the spring of 2018 for a friend’s wedding, but that was shortly after I had broken my wrist in Moab, so I was unable to ride. In the spring of this year I was back for another friend’s wedding, but this time excessive amounts of rain had all of the trails closed!

Thankfully, luck would be ON my side for this trip! I was back home for Thanksgiving, and Mother Nature blessed me with a 57° day! While it had rained a couple days prior, the trails had enough time to dry up and be just fine for riding (minus some mud puddles here and there).

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The new trails were absolutely fantastic! I rode Weed Patch in both directions in order to sample both downhills, and it’s great in either direction. Reminded me so much of the trails in Arkansas! They didn’t just build the downhill sections to go straight downhill. There were a lot of little rollers that allow you to keep momentum going back up a little bit so that all the elevation isn’t used up in a quarter mile! And that’s exactly how they’ve been building trails in Arkansas.

The terrain is pretty similar, too. They aren’t big mountains with a lot of elevation change, but they are rolling hills with a few hundred feet of elevation to work with.

Hobbs Hollow did not disappoint either! There are a lot more jumps on Hobbs Hollow, but unfortunately the lips on these jumps were not very well-defined. They were rounded off a bit, but that’s to be expected this late in the year. I’m sure that come springtime the trail crew will be out there re-working those lips, and I can’t even imagine how great it’ll be then!

Of course, I’m also not that great at jumping anyway, so even if the lips had been freshly packed, I’m not sure I would have been clearing those table tops. They seemed pretty long given the speed… okay, maybe I’m too slow, too!

All in all, it was a fantastic day in the woods! Glad that I finally had the opportunity! Check out the video below!

My Intro to Quanah Hill

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Matt Hunt

Quanah IG Image

I finally made it out to Quanah Hill after several suggestions from my subscribers on YouTube! I would say it did not disappoint!

The overall elevation after a full lap is still well under 1,000 feet, but the elevation changes are far more drastic than most North Texas trails. Steep climbs, followed by steep descents. At least in some sections. There are a couple of longer, more gradual downhill runs that still benefit from a few pedal strokes if you want to do more than just cruise down the trail.

It’s about an hour drive for me to get out there, which isn’t too bad. I’ll definitely go back! Check out the video!

Breaking Stuff in Sedona!

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Matt Hunt

Back in the spring of 2016, I took a road trip through Arizona, from Tuscon all the way up to Page. That included a one day stop in Sedona. I didn’t even stay one night there, but in that single morning & afternoon, I packed quite a bit in! I hiked around Bell Rock, out to Devil’s Bridge, visited the Airport Vortex, and found the Secret Slickrock for a view of Cathedral Rock just before sunset. Oh yeah, and I saw a pretty good sunset out there!

I absolutely loved Sedona, and I knew I’d be back. That was before I was even into mountain biking. After gaining this new passion, I learned that Sedona was one of the premier destinations in the country for mountain biking! Fast forward to now, and I made my return to Sedona to ride one of the world famous trails.

It would only be for one day, once again, unfortunately. Time is money, and I don’t have a ton to spend! Thanks to my YouTube channel, I had a whole group of guys to ride Hiline with, as it’s not really a trail I think I’d want to take on by myself. Well, okay, I could have done it alone, but I probably would’ve walked even more sections than I did.

The trail begins with a tough, technical climb up. Having been off the bike for so long, my technical climbing skills have definitely regressed. Nonetheless, I gave it a good effort! Next up is the exposure. This section of the trail is on the edge of a cliff, although it’s not nearly the death-defying experience that is Portal Trail in Moab! The cliff isn’t as high up & isn’t so straight down, the trail is wider, and there’s a lot more brush that would likely (hopefully) catch you before you tumbled all the way down the hill. Still, I wouldn’t want to fall to the right and test any of that out!

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There are great views along the way, but most of your focus has to remain on the trail. Some parts get a bit techy, but it’s all doable. Get to the top and you’re rewarded with a great view in every direction before dropping into the descent.

The descent starts with some janky rocks that also give some exposure, then smooths out into a fast & flowy section through the junipers. You come out onto the slickrock, and are greeted by some steep rollers, some of which are optional lines, and a steep & rocky chute, that would end up ejecting me from my bike!

It’s my own fault. I should have first taken the time to look more carefully at the line at the bottom of this chute, as well as slowed down some. But most of all, I shouldn’t have had my weight so far back. Yes, you can have your weight too far back. As I went frame-by-frame through my video (3rd person shot by Chris, thanks man!), I realized I had too much weight on the back wheel, which caused it to buck me off the bike. In fact, at one point I may have even “sat down” on the rear wheel, which led to the buck off.

No worries for me, as I came up with nary a scratch, but my gimbal didn’t take it so well. Both of the arms were bent, causing the gimbal to lose its range of motion by contacting itself, throwing everything off. I found a different mounting position that eliminated this issue, however, the arm of the gimbal partially obstructed the view of the GoPro with this orientation. Rats! The rest of my video would feature the juncture of the two gimbal arms in the upper-right portion of the frame! Luckily I found a better solution for the following day… just flip it the other way around.

Anyway, the trail had some more steep technical sections after that. I really wanted to try these, but after that crash I decided not to push my luck. Video can never do these sections justice, as the camera tends to flatten things out and make them look smaller than they really are. This stuff was steep, and looked like an OTB waiting to happen! Next time I’ll try it, I swear!

I would end up with one more crash on a slickrock section, where I simply slid out. Wasn’t even that bad of a crash, but I slammed my left hand onto the rock, and it was bruised pretty good. I initially hoped I hadn’t broken it, as it hurt in the same spot as my right hand did when I broke my trapezium last April in Moab. However, the pain just felt different, and luckily by the following morning it was already feeling better.

At some point along the way, I also bent my derailleur hanger, though this may have even happened on the day before on National Trail. I suspect that, as I was having problems prior to either crash with shifting. The chain was coming off the large cog and getting lodged between the cassette & spokes on several occasions. Prior to this trip, everything had been dialed on this bike, so I knew something was up! I already had a spare, so I’ve now replaced that, and it’s flawless again!

Check out the video below! #LiveTheAdventure

Riding Cat Mountain in Austin, TX

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Matt Hunt

It wasn’t just another day of riding last Saturday. It also wasn’t the first time I woke up at 4:30 am to go do something fun.

I’d be making the 3.5 hour drive down south to Austin to ride a trail on private property. You won’t find this trail on MTB Project or Trail Forks. You’ll need to be a member of Freeride 512, or be with a member in order to ride it. In my case, I’d not only be riding with a member, but the main builder of these trails. Oh, and I’d also be riding with a YouTuber named BKXC. You may have heard of him before.

He wasn’t the only YouTuber, and I wasn’t the only other one. Also there was the man of Austin, Eric from No Front Brakes, Tony from MTB Drop In, and my friends Chris CXK & Cobra Kyle. We had a crew!

Brian (BKXC) and the local guys were pretty fast. They all jumped out ahead of the rest of us YouTubers. We struggled to breathe as we mainly walked up the steep climbs, and just tried not to slide off the hill on the descents! Seriously though, these trails are tough, but boy are they sweet! Seth, who is the main trail builder I spoke of earlier, has also added many wood features, like drops & jumps. Most of them were well beyond my pay grade.

This really is one of the best ways to improve as a rider, though. Ride trails that have features just a step above your current skill level. Try one new feature, or a more difficult line on a feature each time you ride, and your progress will be exponential. In my case, I did a little bit of this, but looking back on it now, there were some things that I skipped that I now wish I would have gone for!

After the ride, Brian, Eric, Chris, his wife, Kyle, his girlfriend, and myself all went to Hopdoddy to chow down on some burgers and hang out! It was cool to actually meet Brian, but after watching his videos for so long it was as if I had met him already. Kind of a weird thing! All in all it was a great time, and we were also blessed with great weather! Doesn’t look like we’ll be so lucky on that front this coming weekend!

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Check out the video!

#LiveTheAdventure

Checking Out More NEW Trails in Hot Springs, AR – Northwoods Trails

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Matt Hunt

9.5 hours round-trip is a lot of driving just to ride one trail! But there’s been so much rain & flooding here in Dallas that mountain biking has been tough to come by lately. And Arkansas continues to build incredible trails! This time it’s not Northwest Arkansas, it’s Hot Springs!

This is yet another trail system funded by the Walton Family Foundation. When it is complete, it will feature 44.6 miles of trail. The first phase, that opened up on Saturday November 17th, is 14 miles worth of green, blue, and black trails. There’s a mix of more traditional singletrack and flow trails that mimic trails you’d find at a bike park. Sculpted berms, table top jumps, gap jumps, drops, rocks… this trail system has everything!

I spent most of my time on the blue flow trail. It reminded me a lot of some of the trails I’ve ridden at bike parks this year. I still need work on my jumping, as I wasn’t able to clear many of the table tops. But they were very well designed, and they are all roll-able if jumping isn’t your thing.

I never made it over to the black downhill trail. According to the shuttle driver at the event, this trail is pretty rowdy, and has some big gap jumps. I do wish I would’ve checked it out, but I’m not sure if there were bypasses for the gaps.

Either way, I’m pretty stoked to have another killer trail system less than 5 hours away from home! It makes for a long day trip, but it’s certainly possible, and that’s what I did for opening day!

For more info, check out the Northwoods Trails Facebook Page!

Check out the video below!

The Iconic Trail 401 in Crested Butte

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Matt Hunt

I could not ride for 6 days in Crested Butte and not hit Trail 401! It always comes up whenever I read an article about mountain biking in Crested Butte. I considered it a must for this trip!

Trail 401 is a bit longer in distance than Teocalli Ridge, but the elevation gain is about the same. The difference is that it’s split into two climbs on Trail 401. I knew it’d be another tough climb, regardless. I live in flat lands 500 or so feet above sea level, so being over 11,000 feet at the peak of these trails after climbing roughly 2,000 feet was going to be difficult no matter what!

It’s a little over 6.5 miles from the parking area to the start of the downhill, and most of it is on the road. This road climb wasn’t too bad. I was actually able to pedal the majority of it. At one point I passed a couple who were driving up the road and stopping to take in views along the way. The guy asked me, “is that fun?” I replied, “Not yet!”

Even if it was just a workout at this point, the views were spectacular. I think that’s really the case no matter what trail you ride in Crested Butte!

Once you enter the singletrack, it really starts to go up. I had to walk a lot on this section. After venturing into the forest, with the wind picking up, and my body drenched in sweat from all the exertion, I started to get quite chilly! I’d take my jacket off to try to dry up some of the sweat, but I really needed the jacket on to cut that chilly breeze. I was also a little paranoid. It was very quiet. I was all alone. There are bears and mountain lions in this area. My head was on a swivel. Suddenly, my heart skipped a few beats as I heard a loud cracking & crashing, ending with a low-pitched thud! A tree had fallen nearby! I didn’t see it, but it couldn’t have been too far away. As if I wasn’t paranoid enough about animals that could eat me, now I had to worry about trees falling on me!

Needless to say, despite my gasping for oxygen-depleted air, and rubber-like thighs, I continued to pedal as much of this singletrack as I could. At this point I was getting mad at the fact this climb wasn’t over yet! But a little anger is always a good thing when you need to push yourself physically!

There was no rain in the forecast on this day, but as I approached the top, there was clearly rain off to my west. I better hurry up, I thought. I wasn’t too worried about it once I got going downhill, as I’d be going fast, and I’d be moving away from the dark clouds. Luckily I was soon starting the descent, and I never looked back.

The descent starts on a lot of straight trail, but it’s fast, and has some great views of the valley! In the summer, this part of the trail is lined with wildflowers, but in the autumn they have all turned brown and lost their will to stand up straight.

After kindly asking a couple cows to remove themselves from the trail, I got into a bit more flowy section with loamy hero dirt! I was really working on my cornering all week, focusing on leaning the bike, while keeping my torso upright and fighting the urge to squeeze the brake levers. I felt really good out there on Trail 401! The primo dirt conditions certainly didn’t hurt matters.

I made it down the initial downhill in a hurry! As a matter of fact, close to the top 10% on Strava! Well, I’m sure most people stop a million times to take in the views and snap a few photos, so take that with a grain of salt. Though I do think at this point in the week I had already gotten faster than I was on day 1.

On the second climb I came across one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen looking over toward Gothic Mountain. Goodness! Just look at it!

Do you smell that? Oh wait, I can’t send smell through blogs. Dang it! I really wish I could. The wonderful aroma of the pine forest is one of my favorite scents! You won’t hear this from many people, but… I must say, Trail 401 smells great!

The rest of the downhill was more great cornering practice, with a few more rocks thrown in for good measure. It was over a little too fast, and then it was back to the car park, as the Brits would say. My bike had enough mud splattered on the frame to certify this as a legit mountain bike ride!

I had that runners high feeling after completing that trail! Yeah, I mountain biked it, I didn’t run, but I never hear people talking about a mountain bikers high. Why is that? Actually, a mountain bikers high is much higher than a runners high. At least for me. Screw running.

Anyway, check out the video, if you will:

#LiveTheAdventure

New Favorite Trail!

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Matt Hunt

What can I say about Teocalli Ridge? It’s downright awesome! Okay, let’s start from the bottom.

After a brief steep climb, it levels out for quite a while. It remains pretty mellow the whole time you’re on the road. If you’ve got a couple of 4×4’s, you could shuttle this road section, but it’s not that bad to pedal. The best part is that you’ve got killer views the whole way, especially in the fall! It is so pretty out there!

Once you get on the singletrack, however, the grade instantly gets steeper! I was walking a lot, but I had no qualms about doing so. I had already decided on this trip that I’d be taking my sweet time on the climbs, since I had all day anyway! I wanted to save my energy for the downhill!

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There wasn’t any rain in the forecast, but at one point on ominous cloud was coming over the mountains, and I thought I might be in trouble! I got a few sprinkles up near the top, but that was it.

When you think you’re at the top, you’re not. There’s a short downhill section, then it’s back to climbing again. It isn’t until you’ve arrived at the overlook that the real downhill begins.

And my, oh my, how great is the downhill?! 6 miles and about 2,000 feet of descending through rooty, rocky bits at the top, flowy forest in the middle, and switchback city through the aspens near the bottom, finishing it off with more flow through a sagebrush-filled meadow at the end. With perfect temperatures and beautiful bright yellow aspen leaves everywhere, seriously, what more could you ask for?!

The combination of all of that makes this my new favorite trail. Outstanding scenery, and probably the most fun descent I’ve ever ridden. It took me a total of nearly 3.5 hours to complete this ride, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat! If you’re in Crested Butte to ride your bike, this trail is a MUST!

#LiveTheAdventure