RR: My Weekend at the Kern 03/07

[stjunkie]

I left Thursday to ride Pinos on the way to Kernville. When I got to the trailhead I could tell snow would be a problem. Mine were the first tracks in about 2-3 inches of the white stuff. I made it up about a mile before it was getting to tough to climb in. After going back down I climbed the paved road to the Harvest Tr. I thought it would have less snow because it was more south facing. I got almost to Pinos CG before turning around again. I crossed over the road to ride the top of McGill trail. Got about 2 miles in before turning around. I went down a couple times in the snow and didn't want to risk injury before even getting to Kernville.


1st turn around going up McGill trail



2nd turn around on Harvest trail



Crash spot



The last snow before my retreat down pavement



I made plans to hook up with Jeff (jfsh) around 2, so I went for a short ride in the morning up the Whiskey Flat trail starting in Kernville. Jeff showed up at the TH right before I started to give me some info on some side trails I could make a loop out of. The side trail climbed partially rocky singletrack up to a makeshift camp next to a stream and dead-ended. I backtracked and found another trail going further uphill. After about ¼ mile I realized that this was not on the right trail. I backtracked even further and found the loop trail. Had to make a scary (Sidi sole) log crossing over a stream before hooking back up to Whiskey Flat. Went another mile up the trail before turning around. On the way back I had to cross thigh high water on the same stream.


A view from the side trail



Jeff had a couple options for the afternoon ride. I liked the idea of a shuttle run down a section of the Kern Cyn trail. We would only gain about 400ft from the endpoint and there would still be climbing. The Kern valley in general was greener then I had ever seen. This is my new favorite time to be in in the valley. As always I didn't even try to keep up with the local on his home turf. He talked about being out of shape but I didn't see it. This section was all new dirt for me. The trail was about 10mi of rolling hillside terrain with great views of the river below.


Climbing around some boulders



The calm before the....downhill?



Jeff in the distance





The hills are alive with the sounds of.....me huffing and puffing to keep up the pace



My plan for Sat was to explore a new trail starting near Johnsondale that would eventually lead to the Freeman Grove of Sequoias. The trail started as a dirt road and quickly turned into a 4X4 road and then sorta dead ended on the side of a hill. After backtracking, I found what looked like a game trail, but it went the wrong direction. I decided to drive to another spot to access the trail. When I got to the new spot I could tell the trail went through a burned area from the McNally fire. Instead of riding through a burnt forest I decided to take a dirt road a few miles back that went up to the closed highway. The road climbed about 1500 feet in 4 miles and had some good views. When I got to the pavement a sign pointed south to the Trail of 100 Giants. This section of road was closed because of snow and I had to hike-a-bike a few sections (yes I was HAB'n on a paved road). It was a little surreal to go through the 100 giants trail with nobody around and snow all over the place. Every time I'd been there it was filled with tourists. On the way back I went down on one of the snow patches on the road.


A water slide on the way to the second trailhead



Three giants in the snow



A size perspective



More giants



Singletrack



The last day would be a Just Outstanding shuttle with some local nuggets thrown in at the end. We started out in patchy snow that would eventually lead to tacky twisty perfection through the forest. It wasn't all downhill, but the climbs weren't too bad. Some of the normally loose sections gave endless traction. At one spot we were taking a break on the side of the road and saw some dirtbikes come from an unknown trail. We decided to do some exploring that would drop us down a canyon about ½ mile and lead to some hike-a-bike up the other side. It hooked up with the route Jeff had planned to drop us into the Keysville trails. The last section had some nasty sandy and rocky chutes that hooked up with the Keysville DH course.


Jeff in some rocky bits



Stream Xing on one of the lower sections



Still high above the River



Dropping into Keysville



More dropping



The end to a great weekend

[tkblazer]

wow! i definitely need to ride there some time, looks freakin awesome

[dstepper]

Very nice Scott.

Dean

[jfromlv]

I second what Nam said, I have got to get there sometime soon!

[OMR]

A really outstanding job on a trail report... makes us all want to go ride there!

OMR

[CalEpic]

I'm beginning to realize that a weekend up there won't be enough. I want to ride in the big trees!

C

[Pain Freak]

We've been telling people for years about the riding up there. Jeff is the local with the best hints andknowledge of the trails and it's not unlike him to play "guide" all weekend long. He knows his way around and if you're going , get your info from him on what to ride. I'll be going up in late May.

[Schecky]

Great RR! I'm in too. I've got to ride here this year.

[jfsh]

Great ride report Scott but I have to clear up a few facts here. From what I read here it seems to suggest that Scott was struggling to keep up with my pace. That is not the way I remember it at all. I remember him stopping to take pictures, then catching right back up to me while I was huffing and puffing. When I would offer to let him pass he would make up some lie about not being able to go faster. Other than that, the rest of the report looks to be factual.

[ka0t1c07]

Jeff your right. Scott always ask if im pretending to huff and puff because I stopped on a climb. The truth is I am dying. I look over and see Scott just cranking it like its a flat paved road.

[Pain Freak]

I like riding with him more then any other rider. He finds out what your comfortable speed is then keeps it at that level without trying to go any faster where everyone can enjoy the ride instead of trying to play catch up. He sets a nice pace and sticks with it. He can hurt you though, so don't piss him off.

[allison]

Those are some sweet photos!!

[dstepper]

Question for Jeff, how much long might the Kern Canyon Trail stay green.

Dean

[jfsh]

It looks like it is still green right now. This coming weekend (14-15) it should be green. Next weekend (20-21) will be iffy. If you want a green ride on Kern Canyon you need to do it now.

[sheclimbs]

Originally Posted by jfsh

Great ride report Scott but I have to clear up a few facts here. From what I read here it seems to suggest that Scott was struggling to keep up with my pace. That is not the way I remember it at all. I remember him stopping to take pictures, then catching right back up to me while I was huffing and puffing. When I would offer to let him pass he would make up some lie about not being able to go faster. Other than that, the rest of the report looks to be factual.

Yeah Jeff, he tried to tell me the story that way too. I just smiled and pretended to believe him, but I known better...