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kamaekia · 03-01-2009, 07:13 AM

I had been yearning to go on a epic bike ride and was contemplating taking Friday off to do such. I was on the fence, but then I got an email from Ross on Thursday asking if I would be interested and that tipped the scale and made it a no brainer. It wasn't hard for him to twist my arm. As soon as I saw his email with the subject line, "Friday Ride?", I knew I was riding. Now, the most pressing question became, what route would we do? Well, about a month earlier I had done a point to point shuttle from Clear Creek to Chantry Flats. So, I threw that out to Ross and he was totally down for it. The intended route would be as follows:

1. Start at Clear Creek and ride the singletrack down to Switzer's.
2. Climb the Gabrielino from Switzer's to Redbox.
3. Climb the Mount Wilson Road from Redbox to Eaton Saddle.
4. Take the Valley Forge Trail down to the Gabrielino.
5. Take the Gabrielino east to the West Fork Campground.
6. Climb the Redbox Fireroad from the West Fork Campground up to Newcomb's Pass.
7. Take the Gabrielino from Newcomb's Pass all the way down to Chantry Flats.
8. Cruise down Santa Anita back to the car.

So, I met Ross in Arcadia at the bottom of Santa Anita. We left one car there and then drove up to Clear Creek. Our biggest concern of the day would be where the snow line was. I was up at Redbox about a week and a half earlier with my kids to play in the snow and there was lots of snow. But it was mostly powder then, but at least a foot of it everywhere. And when the snow becomes ice, it takes a while to melt. We figured, if the snow line was too low, we could bail on the ride up to Eaton Saddle and take the Gabrielino from Redbox down to the West Fork Camprground. But we would have to ride up to there to find out, now wouldn't we?!

Let the riding begin. We noted that our "official" starting was 9am.

A view looking east up to Redbox from our starting point at the Clear Creek Ranger Station:

Ross pointing out that he thinks we are going this way. He has only been on this trail a million times. Hehe.

Cruising up the Gab between Switzer's and Redbox:

No smiles yet? We had about a 1.5 hour climb between singletrack descents. The first little singletrack from Clear Creek to Switzer was the warm up. The real fun would be begin at Eaton Saddle.

Uh, oh. Our first bit of snow at 3,900 feet on our way up to Redbox.

Ross checking out the snow as he goes by.

Trying to be dramatic with the mountain the background.

View from Eaton Saddle looking east. I think we are going down there somewhere. :-)

Shot of Ross.

Once we hit Eaton Saddle, now began the first pay-off. The ride down the Valley Forge trail is super fun. If you have never done this trail, you HAVE to try it. It is super buff, flows well and hardly anyone ever rides it. It is a lot of work to get to this trail as the climb up from the Valley Forge Campground back to Redbox kind of sucks. And really, the trail doesn't really take you anywhere. But to connect it as part of a larger route, like the one we were doing that day, is a great addition.

Remember, the snow issue? Well, things were looking good so far, from a non-snow point of view. There was no snow up at Eaton Saddle. We looked down the entrance of the Valley Forge trail and didn't see any snow, so we decided we would go down the Valley Forge trail and it didn't disappoint. The only snow on the trail was powder and could be ridden through. And there were only a couple of places where that happened.

Here is Ross carving a little rocky section.

Ross makes everything look so EASY. He is a strong rider, both up and down.

More Valley Forge goodness.

I do believe Ross is enjoying himself. He had a big, ole grin nearly the whole day.

Once we got down to the Gabrielino, we headed east. I had warned Ross that the first 1/2 mile or so on the Gabrielino going east was sketchy. Well, he carved it all up and made it look easy. After the first half mile, the trail becomes super flowy and is just really fun to ride.

Some Gabrielino goodness.

With all the snow, the waterfalls were in full effect. There were a bunch of little waterfalls and we stopped to appreciate them.

The two bikes spending some time together as we checked out the waterfalls. Can a Yeti and a Stumpjumper play nice?

Ross on the Gabrielino after we passed the Kenyon Devore (formerly Rattlesnake) junction. This section of the Gabe was my favorite.

Ross ripping this section. It was a fast section. Notice that he is a blur!

Then we reached the West Fork Campground. We stopped for lunch and filled up on some water. I had brought my water filter. That snow melt water tastes so good. After resting for a bit and stretching, we bagan the climb up to Newcomb's Pass. I have to give my appreciation to Ross for being patient with me as I had to stretch frequently because of cramping.

We reached Newcomb's Pass and we were ready for the final pay-off. The nice, long descent on the Gabrielino down to Chantry Flats.

Ross making the switchbacks look easy.

Ross kept saying all day long, what rocks? He just rode over all of them.

The ride down to Chantry Flats was just a lot of fun. A great day. No bike problems. No injuries except for a few scrapes from the local foliage (read yucca plant). The weather turned out to be superb. But I did have cramping problems and, again, much appreciate to Ross's patience and willingness to wait so I could stretch.

Riding time was about 4 hours and 45 minutes. We logged about 30 miles.

art23rockpile · 03-01-2009, 07:49 AM

Nice RR... thanks for posting it. Although i've ridden some of those trails a number of times, the scenery is always awesome to behold.

The last time I did a route in that area, we came down Kenyon-Devore and took the fire road back up to Redbox (and yes, it's a climb that sucks in grand fashion, especially hours into a ride). I've never ridden the Gab from West Fork to Newcomb Pass, or from there to Chantry. It is on my shortlist, however.

simonmtb · 03-01-2009, 08:23 AM

Great RR and beutiful pics. Was the Redbox-Switzer trail section all rideable or was there snow on the trail itself? From the pics it looks like it is at the side but I do wonder if that is the case for the entire trail.

Cannonball · 03-01-2009, 08:54 AM

Thanks for the great RR! Im new to the Pasadena area and love seeing all these routes posted so I can go follow in everyone footsteps and do some exploring.

kamaekia · 03-01-2009, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simonmtb

Great RR and beutiful pics. Was the Redbox-Switzer trail section all rideable or was there snow on the trail itself? From the pics it looks like it is at the side but I do wonder if that is the case for the entire trail.

The Gabrielino from Redbox to Switzer was completely rideable. In fact, all the trails were in good shape. I thought there would have been more snow out there, but I was proven wrong, which was fine by me.

Rossage · 03-01-2009, 02:06 PM

Just got back from another ride so I will post my pics later. The ride report needs a few pics of Lorenz. It looks like a Rossage RR!

epicriderat · 03-01-2009, 02:49 PM

Nice RR and pix. 4hrs 45min. seems to be a good time for 30 miles in the Gabs. Good job guys.

Rossage · 03-01-2009, 05:06 PM

More like 6 hrs with breaks but it was a great ride.

Kamaekia did a great job with the write up, here are some of my photos.....

Garrett · 03-01-2009, 05:29 PM

Great RR! Funny that I was just backpacking there this weekend too. We took Gabrielino from Red Box to West Fork, stayed the night, and came back up. The whole time I was thinking...DAMN this is sketchy. How did you do getting around that fallen tree?

Diamondback · 03-01-2009, 05:31 PM

cool donkey

Rossage · 03-01-2009, 05:38 PM

We passed the bikes over the downed tree.
That reminds me-if you ride up there watch out for ticks. I found 3 on me during the ride down to West Fork from Valley Forge. The fourth one I found crawling on my neck as I was driving home!
The donkey was at Chantry. He is 36 yrs. old and he follows the pack train as far as he can before he heads back home. I guess he's reliving the glory days.
He is cool.

Diamondback · 03-01-2009, 05:48 PM

I hate fkin ticks. Probably from that donkey...anyways if you used insect spray on yourself like mosquito repellant would that help discourage ticks as well>

dstepper · 03-01-2009, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diamondback

I hate fkin ticks. Probably from that donkey...anyways if you used insect spray on yourself like mosquito repellant would that help discourage ticks as well>

No but Mr P Freak tells me shaving your legs works.

Tom the Bomb · 03-01-2009, 08:27 PM

Ross has all the fun

mtbski · 03-01-2009, 08:30 PM

Great RR guys. I've been itching to get out that way again sometime soon. Ross, let me know when you plan to do something like this again.

The route you rode is awesome! I'm sure it was especially nice on a weekday when there if far less traffic on the trails.

Maybe it is about time for MTBMAVEN's gab epic.

Rossage · 03-02-2009, 05:28 AM

Tom, Mtbski, anyone let me know if/when you want to go. My schedule is pretty flexible....pack a lunch!

kamaekia · 03-02-2009, 07:56 AM

Here is a map of the route, starting from Clear Creek. I lost some of my GPS signal along parts of the Gabrielino coming down from Newcomb's Pass.

Also, here are the Motionbased statistics from the ride. It shows the ride as about 25.5 miles, but because I lost some of the GPS signal along the way, I think it is closer to 28 miles.
Total time, 6 hours 11 minutes.
Riding time, 4 hours 46 minutes.
Elevation gained, 4,051 feet.
Elevation lost, 7,156 feet.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/e...kValue=7722450

Rossage · 03-02-2009, 08:11 AM

Damn man! We covered some ground-look at that map! Cant wait to do it again.

JoeTruth · 03-02-2009, 08:18 AM

That's an awesome ride. You guys are core! I'm assuming you left a car either at Chantry or the bottom of Santa Anita. Either way, kick-ass ride! Thanks for the great pics and RR.

kamaekia · 03-02-2009, 08:46 AM

Yes, we left one car at the bottom of Santa Anita and then drove another car up to Clear Creek.

03-01-2009, 07:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
kamaekia Overpaid Grunt	Clear Creek to Redbox to Eaton Saddle to Chantry Flats via the Gabrielino and more I had been yearning to go on a epic bike ride and was contemplating taking Friday off to do such. I was on the fence, but then I got an email from Ross on Thursday asking if I would be interested and that tipped the scale and made it a no brainer. It wasn't hard for him to twist my arm. As soon as I saw his email with the subject line, "Friday Ride?", I knew I was riding. Now, the most pressing question became, what route would we do? Well, about a month earlier I had done a point to point shuttle from Clear Creek to Chantry Flats. So, I threw that out to Ross and he was totally down for it. The intended route would be as follows: 1. Start at Clear Creek and ride the singletrack down to Switzer's. 2. Climb the Gabrielino from Switzer's to Redbox. 3. Climb the Mount Wilson Road from Redbox to Eaton Saddle. 4. Take the Valley Forge Trail down to the Gabrielino. 5. Take the Gabrielino east to the West Fork Campground. 6. Climb the Redbox Fireroad from the West Fork Campground up to Newcomb's Pass. 7. Take the Gabrielino from Newcomb's Pass all the way down to Chantry Flats. 8. Cruise down Santa Anita back to the car. So, I met Ross in Arcadia at the bottom of Santa Anita. We left one car there and then drove up to Clear Creek. Our biggest concern of the day would be where the snow line was. I was up at Redbox about a week and a half earlier with my kids to play in the snow and there was lots of snow. But it was mostly powder then, but at least a foot of it everywhere. And when the snow becomes ice, it takes a while to melt. We figured, if the snow line was too low, we could bail on the ride up to Eaton Saddle and take the Gabrielino from Redbox down to the West Fork Camprground. But we would have to ride up to there to find out, now wouldn't we?! Let the riding begin. We noted that our "official" starting was 9am. A view looking east up to Redbox from our starting point at the Clear Creek Ranger Station: Ross pointing out that he thinks we are going this way. He has only been on this trail a million times. Hehe. Cruising up the Gab between Switzer's and Redbox: No smiles yet? We had about a 1.5 hour climb between singletrack descents. The first little singletrack from Clear Creek to Switzer was the warm up. The real fun would be begin at Eaton Saddle. Uh, oh. Our first bit of snow at 3,900 feet on our way up to Redbox. Ross checking out the snow as he goes by. Trying to be dramatic with the mountain the background. View from Eaton Saddle looking east. I think we are going down there somewhere. :-) Shot of Ross. Once we hit Eaton Saddle, now began the first pay-off. The ride down the Valley Forge trail is super fun. If you have never done this trail, you HAVE to try it. It is super buff, flows well and hardly anyone ever rides it. It is a lot of work to get to this trail as the climb up from the Valley Forge Campground back to Redbox kind of sucks. And really, the trail doesn't really take you anywhere. But to connect it as part of a larger route, like the one we were doing that day, is a great addition. Remember, the snow issue? Well, things were looking good so far, from a non-snow point of view. There was no snow up at Eaton Saddle. We looked down the entrance of the Valley Forge trail and didn't see any snow, so we decided we would go down the Valley Forge trail and it didn't disappoint. The only snow on the trail was powder and could be ridden through. And there were only a couple of places where that happened. Here is Ross carving a little rocky section. Ross makes everything look so EASY. He is a strong rider, both up and down. More Valley Forge goodness. I do believe Ross is enjoying himself. He had a big, ole grin nearly the whole day. Once we got down to the Gabrielino, we headed east. I had warned Ross that the first 1/2 mile or so on the Gabrielino going east was sketchy. Well, he carved it all up and made it look easy. After the first half mile, the trail becomes super flowy and is just really fun to ride. Some Gabrielino goodness. With all the snow, the waterfalls were in full effect. There were a bunch of little waterfalls and we stopped to appreciate them. The two bikes spending some time together as we checked out the waterfalls. Can a Yeti and a Stumpjumper play nice? Ross on the Gabrielino after we passed the Kenyon Devore (formerly Rattlesnake) junction. This section of the Gabe was my favorite. Ross ripping this section. It was a fast section. Notice that he is a blur! Then we reached the West Fork Campground. We stopped for lunch and filled up on some water. I had brought my water filter. That snow melt water tastes so good. After resting for a bit and stretching, we bagan the climb up to Newcomb's Pass. I have to give my appreciation to Ross for being patient with me as I had to stretch frequently because of cramping. We reached Newcomb's Pass and we were ready for the final pay-off. The nice, long descent on the Gabrielino down to Chantry Flats. Ross making the switchbacks look easy. Ross kept saying all day long, what rocks? He just rode over all of them. The ride down to Chantry Flats was just a lot of fun. A great day. No bike problems. No injuries except for a few scrapes from the local foliage (read yucca plant). The weather turned out to be superb. But I did have cramping problems and, again, much appreciate to Ross's patience and willingness to wait so I could stretch. Riding time was about 4 hours and 45 minutes. We logged about 30 miles. __________________ My website of rides in and around the San Gabriel Mountains. http://mtb.lo-lands.org

03-01-2009, 07:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
art23rockpile Minus Delta T	Nice RR... thanks for posting it. Although i've ridden some of those trails a number of times, the scenery is always awesome to behold. The last time I did a route in that area, we came down Kenyon-Devore and took the fire road back up to Redbox (and yes, it's a climb that sucks in grand fashion, especially hours into a ride). I've never ridden the Gab from West Fork to Newcomb Pass, or from there to Chantry. It is on my shortlist, however. __________________ Kentonn "Nam, where do you get your ass waxed?" Slayer "My cross-dressing days are gone." Remember that when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

03-01-2009, 02:49 PM	#7 (permalink)
epicriderat STR Veteran	Nice RR and pix. 4hrs 45min. seems to be a good time for 30 miles in the Gabs. Good job guys. __________________ A drunk was in front of a judge. The judge says "You've been brought here for drinking." The drunk says "Okay, let's get started."

03-01-2009, 05:06 PM	#8 (permalink)
Rossage STR Veteran	More like 6 hrs with breaks but it was a great ride. Kamaekia did a great job with the write up, here are some of my photos..... Attached Images

03-01-2009, 08:27 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tom the Bomb Keep the Zen	Ross has all the fun __________________ Keep the Zen.

03-01-2009, 08:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
simonmtb Digging for fun.	Great RR and beutiful pics. Was the Redbox-Switzer trail section all rideable or was there snow on the trail itself? From the pics it looks like it is at the side but I do wonder if that is the case for the entire trail.

03-01-2009, 08:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
Cannonball Senior Member	Thanks for the great RR! Im new to the Pasadena area and love seeing all these routes posted so I can go follow in everyone footsteps and do some exploring.

03-01-2009, 02:06 PM	#6 (permalink)
Rossage STR Veteran	Just got back from another ride so I will post my pics later. The ride report needs a few pics of Lorenz. It looks like a Rossage RR!

03-01-2009, 05:31 PM	#10 (permalink)
Diamondback think outside the box	cool donkey

03-01-2009, 05:38 PM	#11 (permalink)
Rossage STR Veteran	We passed the bikes over the downed tree. That reminds me-if you ride up there watch out for ticks. I found 3 on me during the ride down to West Fork from Valley Forge. The fourth one I found crawling on my neck as I was driving home! The donkey was at Chantry. He is 36 yrs. old and he follows the pack train as far as he can before he heads back home. I guess he's reliving the glory days. He is cool.

03-01-2009, 05:48 PM	#12 (permalink)
Diamondback think outside the box	I hate fkin ticks. Probably from that donkey...anyways if you used insect spray on yourself like mosquito repellant would that help discourage ticks as well>

03-01-2009, 08:30 PM	#15 (permalink)
mtbski Senior Member	Great RR guys. I've been itching to get out that way again sometime soon. Ross, let me know when you plan to do something like this again. The route you rode is awesome! I'm sure it was especially nice on a weekday when there if far less traffic on the trails. Maybe it is about time for MTBMAVEN's gab epic. __________________ Shuttle: It's that two wheeled thing between your legs!

03-02-2009, 05:28 AM	#16 (permalink)
Rossage STR Veteran	Tom, Mtbski, anyone let me know if/when you want to go. My schedule is pretty flexible....pack a lunch!

03-02-2009, 07:56 AM	#17 (permalink)
kamaekia Overpaid Grunt	Here is a map of the route, starting from Clear Creek. I lost some of my GPS signal along parts of the Gabrielino coming down from Newcomb's Pass. Also, here are the Motionbased statistics from the ride. It shows the ride as about 25.5 miles, but because I lost some of the GPS signal along the way, I think it is closer to 28 miles. Total time, 6 hours 11 minutes. Riding time, 4 hours 46 minutes. Elevation gained, 4,051 feet. Elevation lost, 7,156 feet. http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/e...kValue=7722450 __________________ My website of rides in and around the San Gabriel Mountains. http://mtb.lo-lands.org

03-02-2009, 08:11 AM	#18 (permalink)
Rossage STR Veteran	Damn man! We covered some ground-look at that map! Cant wait to do it again.

03-02-2009, 08:18 AM	#19 (permalink)
JoeTruth	That's an awesome ride. You guys are core! I'm assuming you left a car either at Chantry or the bottom of Santa Anita. Either way, kick-ass ride! Thanks for the great pics and RR.

03-02-2009, 08:46 AM	#20 (permalink)
kamaekia Overpaid Grunt	Yes, we left one car at the bottom of Santa Anita and then drove another car up to Clear Creek. __________________ My website of rides in and around the San Gabriel Mountains. http://mtb.lo-lands.org

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