Gold Canyon Leftovers
There are a lot of trails out here, too much for just one day of riding. Derek put together a 19 mile route that had us checking out most of the trails we hadn’t ridden last time. The character of the trails felt the same as day one and we had fun twisting through the desert. I liked Phantom trail and Jodi’s Dream the best.
Arizona Trail
Our second ride on the Arizona Trail by where we are camped was roughly 20 miles with 1,900′ of climbing. This section heads north from Picketpost back into the valleys and mountains.
We started by climbing up and down Ricewater Ridge. This first section of trail is fairly rocky with some challenging climbs as you ride up and down along the ridge all while taking care to avoid spiky stuff. It was fun riding and quiet out there. Nobody but some cows.
After crossing a road , we entered Whitford Canyon and the character changed drastically. This section crossed through the sandy wash a lot and was frankly, disjointed and kind of boring. There wasn’t any water in the canyon, but there clearly had been and the trail must have washed away.
This section ended at to Forest Road 650 and the fun started again. We climbed up out of the wash on beautiful singletrack. It wasn’t as technical as Ricewater Ridge, but still wound back and forth around the hillside. The map of this section is a squiggly line. Upon reaching the Reavis Canyon trailhead we turned around and retraced our tread.
Our trailer is positioned perfectly to take advantage of the all day shade. Sitting outside at sunset is amazing! We’ve had a great week as usual, and can’t wait for many more.
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