yesterday dave (dcrfx) and i decided to do a chiquito shuttle. long version, which includes counterclockwise lollipop loop and viejo tie. First off, the west end of Long canyon road is closed (thru march, apparently) so we had to take the long way around to blujay on north main divide. Started down san juan, dirt was perfect and tacky. there were a few fallen tree go arounds in the meadow which were no big deal. Cocktail Rock to Viejo tie was clear and fun. the first section of viejo tie with teh rocks was in great shape, but when we got a little farther down the hill, it was just blowdown after blowdown, large shrubs and trees blocking teh trail so we had to do some clearing just to get through. we cleared out what we could but neither had a folding saw so could only do so much. Seemed to take forever to get to the Chiquito junction. We walked a bit down Chiquito and it tehre were several fallen trees, but they had been somewhat cleared away and passable so somoene had been clearing it. However, we wisely decided that since there were another 7 miles to go and we had no idea how far down it had been cleared or if it was passable down below we should pedal back up to bluejay.(which Ive never done before..wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. Kind of a fun climb, actually so that was good). Partway back we came across some forest service guys who said they were on the way to work on viejo tie and onotehr crew was working on chiquito starting from teh bottom. They also said there were trail closed signs down at the bottom at the san juan creek trailhead, which we didnt see earlier. So hopefully at least Chiquito should be cleared pretty soon; maybe call the rangers HQ and inquire before you head out tehre. which I'm going to do from now on after a big storm! I think it was the once in a lifetime snow event on new years, combined with drought-weakened wood and high winds, that did the damage. I had no idea it would be that extensive. ran into some volunteers at candy store that said bear canyon and other trails in san mateo where impassable. On a side note, I got my first dropper post for xmas, but had to send it in for warranty repair almost immediately. Was hoping to get it back for yestredays ride because that route is where a dropper would really come in handy! but didnt get it back the day before. Lo and behold I get home yesterday after the ride and tehre it is! (and working now!)
Good adventure! But I think that's my limit on bushwhacking. A day later and Viejo Tie is most likely cleared by that crew we saw. And perfect timing on the seatpost also! Just to reiterate for any of you potential shuttlers, Long Canyon Rd (usual driving route to trail head at Blue Jay) is closed through end of Feb. It takes maybe an extra half hour to go up to Main Divide then up to Blue Jay.
