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jfsh · 07-01-2008, 10:13 PM

On Saturday, Bill and I set off on an exploration adventure into the Piute Mountains South of Lake Isabella. These are a remote set of 8000' peaks that are rarely visited. I have ridden my dirtbike on most of the trails in this range and for the most part they are not MTB friendly. There are some diamonds in the rough though and our goal was to put a few of them together.

Our plan was to shuttle up to the top of the mountains and find our way back to the lake. This meant driving to about 7000', climbing to about 8000', then descending to the 2500' valley floor. If only it were that simple. Here is a report and pictures form mine and Bill's cameras.

We got on our bikes near French Meadow and began a fire road climb towards Alaska Flat.

We then headed up to inspiration point. There was quite a bit of smoke but we could still see some stuff. We could see where we were going.

There are some really great looking rocks up there.

Now the exploring really began. It was singletrack the rest of the way. We headed down a sweet section of trail into the bottom of a drainage.

Of course we paid the price for our descent on the other side of the drainage.

We repeated this cycle many times. There were some really cool sections of trail. There was also a lot of rough HAB. Luckily they were all short hikes.

In the middle of nowhere we came across a trophy tree.

We made progress towards Dry Meadow and soon we were on a sweet 1000' descent. It was twisty, bermed out goodness. It was a welcome sight after the last couple of tough miles.

Cool rock with a footprint in it.

We stopped for lunch in Dry Meadow. After a much deserved break it was back to more climbing.

We were heading out of the trees and into the desert.

After we got to the last saddle we had 4000' of vertical to lose in the next few miles. This final descent went down a prominent ridge to the valley below. It was the payoff for all the hard work of the day. It was sooooo worth it. Steep, narrow, rocky yet flowy, this downhill was awesome. I lost count of how many switchbacks we did. I was able to clear all but 2. We didn't get too many pictures during this section. It was just too fun to stop.

We went down a long ways and still had more to go. If you look close you can see me down on the trail low in this picture.

We finally made it to the end.

An epic day for sure. I would guess that we were the first mountainbikers to do this route. I will do this again. This ride is an acquired taste but I loved it. Thanks Bill for hangin with me and making this ride a reality. Here's to more epic adventures in the future.

jfsh · 07-01-2008, 10:19 PM

I almost forgot, as we were leaving in the truck we were looking back up the mountain to scope out where we had been. Bill noticed a bit of smoke coming from over the mountains. It was a wildfire starting. Now it is Tuesday and the fire is raging out of control up there. It totally sucks. We had been planning this ride for quite a while. It looks like we got on it just in time. I am afraid to see what that place is going to look like once the fire is out. I am hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

art23rockpile · 07-01-2008, 10:22 PM

Jeff, thanks for the great RR. The trails look fun! Where is this route in relation to Lake Isabella? Also, are there any good topo maps of the area?

I'd love to do this ride once the weather starts cooling off in the autumn. My parents have a house (the domes I told you about) south of the lake, so an early start would be no problem.

dstepper · 07-01-2008, 10:47 PM

Jeff you keep coming up with the goods, excellent adventure. What is your guess on the miles? Are we talking Basin Lake type of HAB or something a bit shorter? Long ride to go back up and get the shuttle truck? The trophy tree looks like it has not been there that long, I assume they are moto trophies. Looks like a no motos sign on the lower trailhead.

Not another fire I wonder how close we are to the Forest Service starting to close down the forest.

Dean

maxwell · 07-01-2008, 10:56 PM

Man, great RR!

Short, steep, nasty, HAB's with great descents.
Sounds a lot like our Bell Ridge, but looks WAY more epic, and beautiful!

I saw the fire tonight on the news, and the first thing I thought about was the trails you've been sharing.

Hope it all turns out better than ours did down here.

dstepper · 07-01-2008, 11:20 PM

Jeff looks like that fire is getting big.
Piute (Sequoia National Forest): 7,040 acres at six percent contained. This fire is 17 miles northeast of Caliente. The fire continues to spread rapidly. Structures are threatened and evacuated.
Information: Call (760) 376-3781 ext. 625

Also three of those fires we passed last week near Downieville are still burning.
Yuba River Complex (Tahoe National Forest): 3,579 acres at 61 percent contained. This complex of three fires is 13 miles northeast of Nevada City. Several communities, hydroelectric facilities, and recreation sites are threatened.
Information: Call (530) 478-6101.

Dean

BrewMaster · 07-02-2008, 04:25 AM

Great RR. Thanks for sharing with us.

CalEpic · 07-02-2008, 04:32 AM

Nice RR Jeff. See you soon.

C

sheclimbs · 07-02-2008, 05:13 AM

Amazing what a creative mountain biker will visualize as "single track"

IMG_0074.jpg

Love your sense of Adventure Jeff. Thanks for sharing.
To Dean's question was the HAB any worse than the toughest parts of Lakes Basin?

EMrider · 07-02-2008, 06:12 AM

Great report and pics, thanks.

I've ridden that trail quite a few times on the dirtbike. The Piutes are moto singletrack heaven.

Makes me ill to see the place on fire now. That probably means no riding there for a year at least.

And my then Boxer will have designated everything in the Piutes wilderness so no access for MTB or motos.

1080P · 07-02-2008, 06:16 AM

Wow! Awesome stuff. You need a new name... I think "Sick Lines Sherm" is fitting, You have an eye for making a line out of nothing at all. Simply Mad Skillz.

bvader · 07-02-2008, 06:17 AM

Dudes...awesome.

Can you post a GPS route, KML, gpx or something that would be really great!

Abui · 07-02-2008, 06:24 AM

Photobucket has sprung a leak! No freaking pictures are loading.

edit - Ran some errands. Pictures are now loading.

jfsh · 07-02-2008, 06:52 AM

Wow! I am surprised by the number of comments this morning. It seems that most of them have some questions. Cool! I love talking trail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by art23rockpile

Jeff, thanks for the great RR. The trails look fun! Where is this route in relation to Lake Isabella? Also, are there any good topo maps of the area?

I'd love to do this ride once the weather starts cooling off in the autumn. My parents have a house (the domes I told you about) south of the lake, so an early start would be no problem.

Art, most of this route was to the South of the lake. We ended in Weldon and our vehicle was left at the Weldon Postoffice.

I got the set of topos I have off of the Sequoia National Forest website. Go on the site and look for a link to the route designation program. I'm not 100% sure they are still available. Be very suspect of any map of this area. This place is notorious for having dead ends when the map shows that the trail goes through. There are always extra trails on the ground that are not on the map, making it easy to get on the wrong trail. Many motorcyclists have spent the night out there because of this. I have spent considerable time in the Piutes and still get lost. It is not a good place to go alone.

jfsh · 07-02-2008, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dstepper

Jeff you keep coming up with the goods, excellent adventure. What is your guess on the miles? Are we talking Basin Lake type of HAB or something a bit shorter? Long ride to go back up and get the shuttle truck? The trophy tree looks like it has not been there that long, I assume they are moto trophies. Looks like a no motos sign on the lower trailhead.

Not another fire I wonder how close we are to the Forest Service starting to close down the forest.

Dean

I would guess we did about 20 miles, but it could have been anywhere between 15 and 25. It felt like more. I would say that the HAB was a similar amount to the lakes basin ride in distance. It was broken up into more shorter pieces. The one section with the worst HAB will be skipped next time. We can use a fire road to bypass some of it.

The shuttle ride is an hour one way. About half of it is dirt road. We hired a shuttle driver to bring my truck back down. That left more time for beer afterwards.

The trophy tree was interesting. Some were recent and some dated back to the 70's. I don't know when they were hung. The sign you see at the bottom of the trail is a "no quads" sign. Motos are legal, at least for now. Motos are the only things that use these trails really. If Boxer's wilderness bill goes through no one will be out there. The trails will be lost forever.

jfsh · 07-02-2008, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxwell

Man, great RR!

Short, steep, nasty, HAB's with great descents.
Sounds a lot like our Bell Ridge, but looks WAY more epic, and beautiful!

I saw the fire tonight on the news, and the first thing I thought about was the trails you've been sharing.

Hope it all turns out better than ours did down here.

Hey Darin, I have ridden Bell Ridge (you were on that trip) so I can conpare the 2. Distance wise there was more HAB on my Piutes ride but none of it was as steep and brutal as the Bell ridge HABs. The downs were longer, especially the last one. I had to stop 4 times to rest my hands. It was alot more remote and epic. I am very partial to the high country scenery as well. I love riding amoung the big trees. I just hope they are not all getting destroyed as we speak.

jfsh · 07-02-2008, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvader

Dudes...awesome.

Can you post a GPS route, KML, gpx or something that would be really great!

Sorry, we didn't have a GPS, or any type of odometer, with us. We didn't even have a watch.

Good thing we didn't end up needing any of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abui

Photbucket has sprung a leak! No freaking pictures are loading.

The pictures seem to be loading for me here at work. I don't know what the problem is.

07-01-2008, 10:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
jfsh Senior Member	The Piutes - Going where bikes rarely tread On Saturday, Bill and I set off on an exploration adventure into the Piute Mountains South of Lake Isabella. These are a remote set of 8000' peaks that are rarely visited. I have ridden my dirtbike on most of the trails in this range and for the most part they are not MTB friendly. There are some diamonds in the rough though and our goal was to put a few of them together. Our plan was to shuttle up to the top of the mountains and find our way back to the lake. This meant driving to about 7000', climbing to about 8000', then descending to the 2500' valley floor. If only it were that simple. Here is a report and pictures form mine and Bill's cameras. We got on our bikes near French Meadow and began a fire road climb towards Alaska Flat. We then headed up to inspiration point. There was quite a bit of smoke but we could still see some stuff. We could see where we were going. There are some really great looking rocks up there. Now the exploring really began. It was singletrack the rest of the way. We headed down a sweet section of trail into the bottom of a drainage. Of course we paid the price for our descent on the other side of the drainage. We repeated this cycle many times. There were some really cool sections of trail. There was also a lot of rough HAB. Luckily they were all short hikes. In the middle of nowhere we came across a trophy tree. We made progress towards Dry Meadow and soon we were on a sweet 1000' descent. It was twisty, bermed out goodness. It was a welcome sight after the last couple of tough miles. Cool rock with a footprint in it. We stopped for lunch in Dry Meadow. After a much deserved break it was back to more climbing. We were heading out of the trees and into the desert. After we got to the last saddle we had 4000' of vertical to lose in the next few miles. This final descent went down a prominent ridge to the valley below. It was the payoff for all the hard work of the day. It was sooooo worth it. Steep, narrow, rocky yet flowy, this downhill was awesome. I lost count of how many switchbacks we did. I was able to clear all but 2. We didn't get too many pictures during this section. It was just too fun to stop. We went down a long ways and still had more to go. If you look close you can see me down on the trail low in this picture. We finally made it to the end. An epic day for sure. I would guess that we were the first mountainbikers to do this route. I will do this again. This ride is an acquired taste but I loved it. Thanks Bill for hangin with me and making this ride a reality. Here's to more epic adventures in the future.

07-01-2008, 10:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
art23rockpile Surf 'n' Trail Rat	Jeff, thanks for the great RR. The trails look fun! Where is this route in relation to Lake Isabella? Also, are there any good topo maps of the area? I'd love to do this ride once the weather starts cooling off in the autumn. My parents have a house (the domes I told you about) south of the lake, so an early start would be no problem. __________________ "I don't need to go to the Arctic, to know that it's cold." SheDevil "Besides....half of this forum go both ways"

07-01-2008, 10:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
dstepper Over the Hill	Jeff you keep coming up with the goods, excellent adventure. What is your guess on the miles? Are we talking Basin Lake type of HAB or something a bit shorter? Long ride to go back up and get the shuttle truck? The trophy tree looks like it has not been there that long, I assume they are moto trophies. Looks like a no motos sign on the lower trailhead. Not another fire I wonder how close we are to the Forest Service starting to close down the forest. Dean __________________ If I'm not lost or getting bushwacked, the trail was too easy. Prescott Valley Houses The Path

07-01-2008, 10:56 PM	#5 (permalink)
maxwell Dirty Stinky PATH Love	Man, great RR! Short, steep, nasty, HAB's with great descents. Sounds a lot like our Bell Ridge, but looks WAY more epic, and beautiful! I saw the fire tonight on the news, and the first thing I thought about was the trails you've been sharing. Hope it all turns out better than ours did down here. __________________ "what if I say I'm not like the other's, what if I say, I'm not just another one, who play's the pretender, what if I say I will never surender" Foo Fighters - Pretender

07-01-2008, 11:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
dstepper Over the Hill	Jeff looks like that fire is getting big. Piute (Sequoia National Forest): 7,040 acres at six percent contained. This fire is 17 miles northeast of Caliente. The fire continues to spread rapidly. Structures are threatened and evacuated. Information: Call (760) 376-3781 ext. 625 Also three of those fires we passed last week near Downieville are still burning. Yuba River Complex (Tahoe National Forest): 3,579 acres at 61 percent contained. This complex of three fires is 13 miles northeast of Nevada City. Several communities, hydroelectric facilities, and recreation sites are threatened. Information: Call (530) 478-6101. Dean __________________ If I'm not lost or getting bushwacked, the trail was too easy. Prescott Valley Houses The Path

07-01-2008, 10:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
jfsh Senior Member	I almost forgot, as we were leaving in the truck we were looking back up the mountain to scope out where we had been. Bill noticed a bit of smoke coming from over the mountains. It was a wildfire starting. Now it is Tuesday and the fire is raging out of control up there. It totally sucks. We had been planning this ride for quite a while. It looks like we got on it just in time. I am afraid to see what that place is going to look like once the fire is out. I am hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

07-02-2008, 04:25 AM	#7 (permalink)
BrewMaster Thirsty	Great RR. Thanks for sharing with us. __________________ “Very few are meant for a life of notoriety, yet all of us are meant for a life of significance." Erwin McManus, Wide Awake

07-02-2008, 04:32 AM	#8 (permalink)
CalEpic STR Moderator	Nice RR Jeff. See you soon. C __________________ ShinKen: OOhhh helLSS YEsS!~!!! JoeTruth: As far as I'm concerned, I could really care less. Just ride your damn bike and STFU already

07-02-2008, 05:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
sheclimbs S.N.T.H.	Amazing what a creative mountain biker will visualize as "single track" IMG_0074.jpg Love your sense of Adventure Jeff. Thanks for sharing. To Dean's question was the HAB any worse than the toughest parts of Lakes Basin? __________________ It is okay to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation.

07-02-2008, 06:12 AM	#10 (permalink)
EMrider Senior Member	Great report and pics, thanks. I've ridden that trail quite a few times on the dirtbike. The Piutes are moto singletrack heaven. Makes me ill to see the place on fire now. That probably means no riding there for a year at least. And my then Boxer will have designated everything in the Piutes wilderness so no access for MTB or motos.

07-02-2008, 06:16 AM	#11 (permalink)
1080P	Wow! Awesome stuff. You need a new name... I think "Sick Lines Sherm" is fitting, You have an eye for making a line out of nothing at all. Simply Mad Skillz. __________________ You misunderstood.... I need the screwdriver not for myself but to loosen a few screws of those around me so I can fit in! Kanga "Never open a can of worms, unless you are going fishing"

07-02-2008, 06:17 AM	#12 (permalink)
bvader Its that time again...	Dudes...awesome. Can you post a GPS route, KML, gpx or something that would be really great!

07-02-2008, 06:24 AM	#13 (permalink)
Abui On the edge of chaos	Photobucket has sprung a leak! No freaking pictures are loading. edit - Ran some errands. Pictures are now loading.

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