RR: Flagstaff, AZ. Mt. Elden

[dstepper]

The route I planed on taking today changed because of weather. Weather reports stated that Flagstaff winds were to be 45 miles an hour by mid afternoon. So I got up early to get my ride done before the wind. Got to Flag about 7am and it was 20 degrees, so decided on breakfast to wait for things to warm a bit. By 8:30 it was getting near 40 at Mt. Elden. The wind never was a problem because I decided to stay in the trees and by the time I traversed to the summit I would be on the leeward side.

This is the forth time I have spent the day on Elden and the first time from the Buffalo Park Trailhead. Prior times I have climbed up Schultz Creek. Today I went up Oldham Trail to Mt. Elden Fireroad then took Red Onion over to Sunset; this is where I changed my intended route. Red Onion is not an official trail. In Arizona terms it is a social trail maintained by MTBers, absolutely outstanding and screaming to be ridden back down. Couple that with the amazing singletract trail that parallels Mt. Elden Fireroad and my ride became an out and back. Any way at Sunset Trail I decided to climb Sunset Trail through the Hobbit Forest and Catwalk up to Sunset Lookout and return.

Mt. Elden is a must destination; there are so many trails on that mountain that it could keep you busy for a week. There are some good maps of the Mt. but they only list a small percentage of what is there. Luckily I have found a Flagstaff MTBer transplant living in Prescott that hooked be up with Red Onion Trail.

My GPS decided to take the day off and went to sleep after 6 miles. So my guess is about 15 miles and 2500 ft climb. Starting elevation was 7100 and top of Elden is 9168.

Wish the sun was out so my pics were better. My pics do not do the area justice.

Dean

[Waldo]

I like the way the notch on top of the stem lines up with the gap in the rocks on that handlebar shot. (It's late, I'm paying bills, and I'm easily distracted. Ooh - is that something shiny over there....)

Congrats, Dean - sounds like some great riding.

[dhshuttlemonkey]

Looks like there's a skull on the face of the big rock.

[CalEpic]

I'm going to be in Prescott and Flagstaff mid May. If you're in the area we should ride.

C

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

I'm going to be in Prescott and Flagstaff mid May. If you're in the area we should ride.

C

Very possible, I sold one of my houses so I need to be out here May 18th for close of escrow.

[guero]

that place looks like a blast! thanks for the rr and pix steppie!

[Geronimo]

In my next life I want to be dstepper. Thank you for the pics. My mom's moving to Prescott Valley, I'll be looking forward to riding the trails out there.

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by El Borracho

In my next life I want to be dstepper. Thank you for the pics. My mom's moving to Prescott Valley, I'll be looking forward to riding the trails out there.

Arizona has some world class trails. You may find yourself visiting alot.

If you mom is looking to buy a house in Prescott Valley, I can hook her up before the real estate agents get their piece...buy directly from the builder. Spec or custom builds...I have the dirt.

[allison]

Sweet pics! We had wanted to hit up Flagstaff last March, but AZ had a huge snow storm that weekend.

[JimN]

Originally Posted by dstepper

This is the forth time I have spent the day on Elden and the first time from the Buffalo Park Trailhead. Prior times I have climbed up Schultz Creek. Today I went up Oldham Trail to Mt. Elden Fireroad...

Dean

Lower Oldham from Buffalo Park is a great way to start a Mt. Elden ride. Not sure why it's so much less popular than starting up Schultz Creek or Mt. Elden Fireroad. Probably because the return on Oldham requires you to do a bit of climbing at the end of the ride. The Elks Club Trail used to be a fun and fast way to get back to Buffalo Park. Too bad it's long gone now. There's a bunch of new development where portions of the trail used to be.

[BeantownRider]

That's the same trailhead that started at out in Flagstaff in December. I tell you it was hard to leave that town, great laid back atmosphere and I know I only put a small dent in the amount of riding out there and it was unreal. I think it was about an 8 hour drive with the Uhaul trailer attached....