Palomar Divide "Suffer-Fest"

[Blue Rat]

Hi All ... First Post here.

On another MTB board I asked about the Palomar Divide Road which I wanted to ride for a birthday milestone.

We rode 45 miles of it yesterday for my 45th birthday ... It was a 100% fire road ride in which any vehicle with decent ground clearance could negotiate. The last 6 miles or so (to the turnaround point) is roughly paved.

To find this route:

Drive south on California 79 to the east of the Temecula Valley. Continue on the 79 to the east of Aguanga (just south of California 371) where there is a dirt area to park on the side of the 79.

About 0.4 miles south of California 371 is the lead-in for the climb up and can be mistaken as an entrance to an RV resort. This route however leads you to the south side of and then right up to the Cleveland National Forest. You'll have to pass by private property in the course of this short access way.

High Point Road (forestry road 8S05) ascends along a shelf until you reach the Palomar Divide Road. At about the 9 mile mark of this climb High Point Road joins with Oak Grove Road (forestry road 9S09). Make a hard right and continue up until you meet the Palomar Divide road (forestry road 9S07).

At this point, about 11 miles in, the pain ends for a while. Head south along the Palomar Divide which passes along the Palomar and Aguanga mountains. The trail is mainly chaparral and heads continually down towards the halfway point. Just towards the end you'll discover the remains of the Ware Mine. Nothing much to find except a stone building and some diggings.

The trail ends as it continues downwards to join in with California 79. As I mentioned earlier the last 6 miles to the turn-around point has a rough paving job. While the potential for ludicrous speeds (40+ mph) is possible there are many sharp turns with exposure, so the penalty for failing to negotiate any one of them is quite severe.

At 22 1/2 miles, not one foot farther, we turned around and started climbing back up. At this turn point the ambient temperature was 102 degrees which made the climb back up, to say the least, grueling.

At the juncture of the Palomar Divide Road and Oak Grove/High Point Road we headed back down. The decent was fun with a lot of opportunity for some "air," however there are many very sharp and very loose turns with, again, some very large penalties for failure.

The route we took has very limited shade and I can't stress enough the need to carry a "metric butt-ton" of water. I took 200 oz. plus a large water bottle filled with electrolytes. By the time I reached the top of the second climb up the Palomar Mountain I had only a few sips left.

There are many spurs of single-track off of this that warrants some further exploration. I'll be sure to check with the appropriate forestry service offices to verify the "openness" of them to bikes.

I'd like to thank my Shipmates, Darin and Russ, for accompanying me on this Birthday adventure.

Attached is the one way elevation profile ...

Scott

[allison]

This thread is nothing without photos!

Thanks for the write-up. Was it pretty enjoyable?

btw!

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by allison

This thread is nothing without photos!

Thanks for the write-up. Was it pretty enjoyable?

btw!

I kind of just figured that with my "infamy" the paparazzi, trail and others, would have been there to catch me peeing on a bush or something.

The ride was fun if climbing is your thing. There was no singletrack and absolutely nothing of a technical nature.

I enjoyed being out with friends and sharing a birthday adventure with them which comprised of risk, danger, and uncertain experiences.

[Pain Freak]

I might be in the minority here, but I do like rides like this. I'll put it on my list.

[OMR]

Many thanks! I will be sure to mark this one off the "To Do" list... too many others out there and not enough time!

OMR

[Blue Rat]

This type of ride is not my usual "cup of tea." I really prefer more technical (read fun) stuff ... although the occasional suffer-fest proves to me that, "Only if one accepts suffering will one enjoy benefit."

[tbowren]

I've always heard about Palomar rides but never knew where it was.
From looking at the profile I can see that you got to climb 4000 feet but only got to descend 3000 feet. I hate when that happens. Makes you feel like you got cheated somehow.
Either that or its a long drop back to the car.

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by tbowren

I've always heard about Palomar rides but never knew where it was.
From looking at the profile I can see that you got to climb 4000 feet but only got to descend 3000 feet. I hate when that happens. Makes you feel like you got cheated somehow.
Either that or its a long drop back to the car.

Hi,

The profile I attached was only to the half way point. We did an "out and back" ride so the second half was a 3000 ft climb and then a 4000 ft descent.

Scott

[sladnas]

that's gnarly. that is seriously one hell of a ride! nice job.

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by sladnas

that's gnarly. that is seriously one hell of a ride! nice job.

Thanks ... being 45 and still in the Military makes for some tough runs with guys younger than my child.