The Ice Plant Trails start just outside Ely at an obscure trailhead down a dirt road. A lot of work has been done as a collaborative effort between White Pine County, the Forest Service, BLM, Nevada State Parks, the City of Ely, and White Pine County to ensure careful consideration is put into the design of the Ely trails and that the construction is executed by professional trail building companies. A big race is held at the Ice Plant Trails every year and we had fun on the same trails.
The climb up Total BS Trail is a bit of a slog to start with as it heads up the long finger to a ridgeline. At first it’s mostly straight and then you get up into the twisty part with a couple really steep pitches. With the climbing aside, we hit a connector dirt road and then turned onto Powderberry Divide singletrack for the downhill. Be warned, there is still a bit of climbing on the downhill. The trail is a bit loose in sections with some pretty tight turns and narrow tread. It’s definitely not a beginner trail.
The only thing I disliked about this loop is if you start from the official trailhead, then Powderberry dumps you off at the bottom of the highway before town and you have to end with a climb up that and then a dusty ride on a dirt powerline road to get back to your car. I’m pretty sure most people ride this as a shuttle. Again, we topped out around 8300′ so altitude will be a factor if you aren’t used to it. Thin air!
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