After a couple weeks in Gold Canyon we packed up ahead of the rain storm and drove a couple hours north to the Black Canyon area.
The Black Canyon Trail began as a prehistoric Native American pathway linking local settlements together and providing a way to travel long distances. Today it’s an 80 mile mostly singletrack trail open to horses, hikers, and mountain bikers. We rode a section of it back in 2015 and now we’re back to ride more. This time we incorporated a loop of Copper Mtn Trail to make a 20.3 mile lollipop route.
We started down the road from where we are boondocking and rode the Black Canyon Trail Big Bug and Russian Well section to the Copper Mtn Loop. The first part offers pastoral views of the countryside before connecting to the Cooper Mtn Trail. None of the climbing is very steep just nice and steady. On Copper Mtn we climbed up to the highpoint at an interesting rock outcropping where the trail shoots through the gap. The predominant vegetation up here is juniper and cacti. The next section continues around the mountain and then enters what I’d consider the technical section. There are a lot of narrow rock sections with some exposure but still, I’d rate it intermediate. The trail was fantastically built and I’d definitely ride it again.
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