RR: Palm Cayon Epic ~ Art Smith Combo

[cjwally]

6:00am - Woke up 5 miles from the trail head. First thought....It is F'n cold.....

6:30am - Made a little coffee. Tom C. called me to let me know he was going to be late... Woohoo...More time to get ready .

7:15am - Arrived at Art Smith trailhead and the group had the usual huddle which lasted till around 7:45am.

8:30am - Arrived at Pinyon Flats (The shuttle parking area aka "The Top."

Fast forward a lot, after a messed up break problem complements of Jose aka Shrinkin, a few deraillier issues, flats, a few broken bodies some with Cactus thorns, and a almost tacoed wheel...We arrived at the cars parked at the end of the Art Smith Trail.

During the ride, we rode the infamous sand wash which sucked for exactly 3.11 miles (Thanks to my Cat Eye, I will know exactly what I am in for next time...) The major variation this time was riding the Art Smith Trail instead of Hanhs and Whiteheads (Cindy's not mine).

The AST was extremely sweet except for the probably 1500' vertical climb that stood before us after completing the 20 miles of previous trail.... The finish was definately worth the payoff and hopefully a few peeps will have some pics...

Afterwards, the remaining group (Myself, Craig, Dell, Jose, and a Non-STR'r ) found a place called Babes. This place brewed their own beer and made some bomb ass BBQ. Great finish to an EPIC day!

Thanks again guys! I had a blast.

[Sprockethead]

Who picked up some cactus? Glad you guys had fun.

[Krankin Kiwi]

Great ride and nice to hook up with the STR Boys again. Despite the mechanicals and a few OTB's we made good time.

[CalEpic]

Originally Posted by Sprockethead

Who picked up some cactus? Glad you guys had fun.

Tom's friend. Dude tipped over into a 10' cholla and had to swim out. He had hundreds of spines in him from head to toe. Poor guy. He finished strong though and never complained once.

The sand wash was a slog as usual but it's the best I've ever seen it. completely rideable the entire way. Art Smith was fun. My first time. The climbs from the Oasis were pretty tough after 20 miles and there were quite a few of us cramping and using the granny gear. Some fun rocky descents.

I forgot my camera.

Hopefully T2 will post some of his.

C

[grandpa]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

Tom's friend. Dude tipped over into a 10' cholla and had to swim out. He had hundreds of spines in him from head to toe. Poor guy. He finished strong though and never complained once.

C

OUCH!!!

[ShinKen]

Originally Posted by cjwally

6:Afterwards, the remaining group (Myself, Craig, Dell, Jose, and a Non-STR'r ) found a place called Babes. This place brewed their own beer and made some bomb ass BBQ. Great finish to an EPIC day!

Thanks again guys! I had a blast.

that was John Sullivan Robert's friend

yeea that was a sick ass ride!! I'm glad to have made it out there again!! it was agreat day. I had a great time. Thanks again C-man for hooking upthe carpool!! Dell i gotSs a nice cold beer with your name on it ehh!!
great to ride with all the other guys. We did a perfect job out there!! not too many menchs or accidents we didnt even need the freaking lights!! I'm gladd I took em with me nEdummway!!

little Craig muchas gracias for gettin this party goin!! let me know on the next ride!! i'm in for sure!! (or will try my best he he). again gret call on the food

here r John's pictures

[ShinKen]

more

[ShinKen]

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[jonathan_sykes81]

Looks like you guys had a great time. I was just reading about this ride on Bill's website, will definitely be doing this soon, but will stick with his route for my first time out there.

[cjwally]

Originally Posted by jonathan_sykes81

Looks like you guys had a great time. I was just reading about this ride on Bill's website, will definitely be doing this soon, but will stick with his route for my first time out there.

Pretty easy to get lost out there. Make sure that you go with someone that has gone before. Have fun!

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by cjwally

Pretty easy to get lost out there. Make sure that you go with someone that has gone before. Have fun!

Good Advice! Also deflate your tires a bunch at the bottom of the wash and you hate the slog a little less

[Krankin Kiwi]

Originally Posted by MTBBill

Good Advice! Also deflate your tires a bunch at the bottom of the wash and you hate the slog a little less

Bill what's the deal with the re-route of Art Smith. Are you able to ride the original trail or is for the Sheep only now?
Thanks.

[MTBBill]

Originally Posted by Krankin Kiwi

Bill what's the deal with the re-route of Art Smith. Are you able to ride the original trail or is for the Sheep only now?
Thanks.

It has been a year since I was last there. Then it was marked closed at the upper end where the new trail ties in. However the bottom was open and marked. Art Smith is known for being a technical trail, and I think the new section is pretty lame compared to the old route. From what I can gather, the plan was for the old route to be closed during only a portion of the year when the Goats are using Dead Indian Canyon. The full decommissioning of the old section was supposed to be decided at some later time. I don't know when it is suppose to occur. I heard some crap about trail sustainability concerns with the old route. It is nearly one big chunk of rock so I don't buy it and has been used for over 30 years. I also think the goat preservation thing is also a sizable load of crap. By crap, I'm it is about groups getting grant money and the politics of denying people use of public lands. This is along the same lines of Congresswoman Bono trying to turn the "river" that runs through Palm Canyon designated a "Wild and Scenic River" even after scientist made a good case against it. The Wild and Scenic designation is viewed as a stepping stone to get that entire area designated as wilderness.

I know there is a cycling advocacy group in Palm Desert/Springs. I wish they would get more vocal about thier efforts. All of Southern CA uses that area. I have even taken people out there from as far away as Colorado and Ohio to go ride the Palm Canyon trail.

Here is some PDF file with some info on the trail reroutes in the area.

[CalEpic]

Here's the link to Matt from Las Vegas' RR: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=368533