San Gabes front country stoke

[obfsk8r]

Been waiting to get back up into the Gabes and see what's what post-fire. I rode up out of Pasadena today, Lower Sam to Castle Canyon to Idlehour to Mt Wilson Rd. There's still lots to love.

Lots of new fire breaks, but so much of the front country hasn't burned, I'd forgot there was a fire at all ... until I got to Inspiration Point. The fire burned right to the lookout, but the structure's untouched.

The upper part of Idlehour is burned, but a bit lower down into the canyon it was idyllic.

[roach]

I did that route yesterday except I went up Middle Merrill instead. The climb was tough but pretty nice until I got near the top. There’s one relatively small area of the trail that got totally scorched, and the views of the vast burn area was nothing short of shocking. The burnt section of trail is devastated. What used to be a well-defined line, is now barely noticeable. Climbing up I expected it to be ashtray status all the way to the fireroad, but to my delight, the north face wasn’t burned at all. Fun ride, but the views were very depressing. Even with mad trail work crews, we’ve got a really long wait before even a few trails will be ridable.

[obfsk8r]

Wow, looks like that bit of middle sam got it pretty bad. Good thing castle canyon's still a little wonderland, with all the california bay trees (you can cook with them by the way, just don't use much as they're strooooong.).

BTW, what's with the "pus up and push out" moniker? I'm guessing it's a formerly repressed birth memory that came to the surface in a tough therapy session.

[roach]

Originally Posted by obfsk8r

Wow, looks like that bit of middle sam got it pretty bad. Good thing castle canyon's still a little wonderland, with all the california bay trees (you can cook with them by the way, just don't use much as they're strooooong.).

BTW, what's with the "pus up and push out" moniker? I'm guessing it's a formerly repressed birth memory that came to the surface in a tough therapy session.

Middle Merrill is the same as before, it’s just that one section that was blasted bad (Basically ruined). I’m freaked out about all the other trails that are cut into steep hillsides…I doubt the fire had any mercy on them…bad news.

The first part of Idlehour weathered the fire really well, but was pretty beat up from the recent rain. Lot’s of loose baby heads and numerous fresh rain ruts. However, once you hit the tree line, sweet! Perfect conditions, damp, tacky and fast!

[Off topic] – “Pus Up and Push Out” is actually a trail related “custom user title”. Your “guess” may seem plausible, however I can categorically say it is untrue.