RR: San Gabs: Lower Merrill, Sunset, Prieto (2X)

[ODB]

Originally Posted by allison

How bad is Lower Merrill on a Sunday?

Pretty much choked with hikers. Almost everyone we encountered this past weekend was courteous, however. Just don't do it as a downhill and you'll be fine.

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by allison

How bad is Lower Merrill on a Sunday?

As ODB said BUSY...the busiest trail in So-Cal. I will be riding up it this Sunday but will do a different trail back down. That is why many shuttle runs start at 6am...get off that part the mountain before the hikers show up. If you drop off the other side of Wilson on Valley Forge or Kenton Devore chances are you won't see any other bikers or hikers.

Dean

[allison]

Originally Posted by ODB

Pretty much choked with hikers. Almost everyone we encountered this past weekend was courteous, however. Just don't do it as a downhill and you'll be fine.

Yeah, it'd be to climb for sure. We went out in Dec last year and did LSM up to Mt. Lowe, up to Inspiration, down Middle, down Sunset, up Brown, down El Prieto, back to JPL parking.

It was a blast. We did it on a Friday and it was still fairly crowded (not horrible), but I don't have any weekdays off!

I've been wanting to go back, though.

[JoeTruth]

Originally Posted by allison

How bad is Lower Merrill on a Sunday?

Depending on what time but not great. It's very popular among local hikers and on any given weekend, you'll encounter plenty. Saying that, it's not terrible. The earlier your ride the less hikers you'll encounter.

[JoeTruth]

Originally Posted by dstepper

I would like to thank those that took pictures before getting Dave out of there...it gives us that feeling of being there. Explaining what happened is never as good as a good picture. True friends understand this and we thank them later for those moments that we can share our near death experiences with others online.

I was just around that blind corner before the switchback, hangin' with my girl Q and all of a sudden I hear "Oh shit" followed by the sound of gravel and brush moving which was followed by Kanga saying "don't move, I need to take a picture before I can help you. I'm sure you're fine anyways, you wuss!" (okay, so maybe that's not exactly what Steve said.) In fairness, the first thing Steve did was survey Dave and the situation and once he discovered Dave was okay, then he proceeded to take pics. I did my share of helping. You do see my large ass pulling him up, don't you? Thank you very much!

[Hanzo]

Originally Posted by allison

How bad is Lower Merrill on a Sunday?

There was lotsa hikers out last Sunday. Guessing, I would say around 10 groups(probably more).

[Rossage]

Weekdays are the best time for LSM. Weekends are zooed out. Time for a little San Gabriels Flu!

[allison]

Originally Posted by Rossage

Weekdays are the best time for LSM. Weekends are zooed out. Time for a little San Gabriels Flu!

Yeah probably not gonna happen anytime soon! I'm weekends only for the most part. Can't take a vacation day this early in the year for a local ride either

[kanga]

Originally Posted by dstepper

I would like to thank those that took pictures before getting Dave out of there...it gives us that feeling of being there. Explaining what happened is never as good as a good picture. True friends understand this and we thank them later for those moments that we can share our near death experiences with others online.

You're welcome...! A camera should be a part of every first aid kit!

Originally Posted by DBD

Sounds like a fun ride. That fall reminds me of a time doin' the RedBox to JPL deal and one of the riders went off the side. He survived but tiptoed it the rest of the way.


Rider 1 "Soooo... you gonna get him?"

Rider 2 "Nnnnnope. How 'bout you. You gonna go down there?"

Rider 1 "Not me. Should we toss him some water? He looks thirsty."

Rider 2 "Sure. Then lets go grab a pint or two and wait for him. Someone will be a long to help him."

Hilarious!

[VTVic]

really funny stuff...but glad you're OK David. That could have easily been a very different outcome. Sounds like you guys had a blast.

[kanga]

Did someone say my back tire was bald? I still see some bumps on there....



OK.... yeah, new tire for Keyesville.

Also, here's what was missing:

[1080P]

Originally Posted by speckledtrout

Dear god in heaven. That ride handed my ass to me on a shiny silver platter! Oh, but I'm so happy i did it. And that I had those 3 fellas to do it with. That was my first intro to both JoeTruth and Kanga and I gotta tell ya, they are both two extremely decent human beings.

That Sunset Ridge trail sketched me out. Kanga is being his delightfully gracious self and not including the shots of me on those steep and chunky switchbacks. Because the pics would have been redundant and would have all looked like this: And really, that just gets tiresome after a while. What little huevos I thought I had were tucked up tighter than a Drag Queen's getting ready for the evening show.

El Prieto was much more in my comfort zone but I was pooped by that point. Terror really takes a lot out of you. I will be heading back soon to El Prieto but getting there via the long boring grind up Brown. And then I'll face my demons and head back to Sunset Ridge and beat those switchbacks into submission. Ain't it great to have goals?

Oh. And Joe? That wasn't whining at the end. That was bitching.

Can you imagine joining up with OTBMBC as a fat 255 pound lard arse, and going on Lower Sam Merrill as your first night ride with your new HID light on your handlebars, and your second night ride ever? Most of the riders blew by my by the 1st or second switchback. I never stopped hiking or pushing my bike up that whole sucker. I've no idea how far down Kanga rode back down to play sweeper behind me, plus advise me of one very very high exposure area. Funny thing was, I had no butt pucker factor, I didn't have a light that would project in that direction... until Kanga's helmet mounted light, behind me, took a gander that way.... there was maybe 8 to 10 inches of trail to stay on that time, for 12 to 15 feet. I've still not seen that trail in the day time.

I don't know how the conditions today compared to last October, when I first tried it... maybe Kanga can advise. He has the patience of a saint for turning new riders here on to rides that grow our technical skills exponentially.

Update: Maybe my memory is fading, or else a bunch of trail maintenance was done recently. The Lower Merrill I rode in early October was sketchy as all get up, slippery rocks to ride on and hike on.

The Lower Merrill I rode this afternoon was a sanitized version of last October's. I actually rode almost all of it, except for 70% of the switch backs and some technical rocky sections, along with the hairy part near the top with unreasonable exposure on a skinny trail. The trail actually seemed "clean" compared to the last time I was up there. Clip ins really really help get that power to the ground compared to platforms. Sunset trail was bitchen! Yeah, I had to walk a couple of railroad ties and dabbed on a few switcheys, but dang was it fun!!! The forearms got mighty pumped up from that ride. Good Stuff SGV!