Ride Report Hurkey Creek - Idyllwild

Tim (Grandpa), Noel (Hanzo) and I decided to stay with Simon, who lives in Idyllwild and a short drive from Hurkey Creek. I'm so glad we did this as it's been freezing here @ night. Some of the campers I spoke to yesterday said it wasn't that bad and some others said it was freezing. All I know is we had a nice warm bed and all the comforts of a home. You can have your camping!

Tim still has a bad ankle from our Utah trip and he didn't think he can do a lot of pedaling on it so being the team players that we are, we agreed to make our ride on Saturday a shuttle of sorts. Still had to do the nasty 1 mile uphill climb and other little climbs along the way but nothing in comparison to what the STR folks did from Hurkey. Especially if you consider they threw in Earnie Maxwell as a bonus in the middle of the ride. As we were getting ready to ride, the first fast STR group started rolling in. These guys were hammering. Lots of nutty SS'ers in the pack. I recognized some and didn't recognize others. It was a large group. 20, if I had to guess. I said hello to Al, Collette, Darin and a few others as did Tim, Noel and Simon. They went on their way to Ernie Maxwell and we began our ride. Once we reached the top of our short but steep climb, we noticed Ann and Andy, Johnny Dirt, Dillon and their friend rolling in. So we did the rest of the ride with this gang. Pace was fun and we hit trails I've never ridden before. New dirt is always cool. The top section was a little too sandy and loose so it required some surfing but past that, it became fast and fun. Nothing hairball or over techie. Just flowy and fun. Scenery was great and the weather was hovering around the 60's by mid day with clear blue skies. After the ride, we ate lunch and Tim and Noel headed home. Simon and his wife Kelly took a walk while I took a great nap. Upon them returning, we went to the store and Simon managed to cook us a kick-ass dinner (thanks, Simon!) accompanied by some good wine and company. We got comfortable, warm and lazy and never managed to make it down to campground to hang-out. Thanks for the hospitality, Simon and Kelly!!! :beer:

Pics...

True shuttlers eat a hearty breakfast before a ride so we did. "Pull my finger!"...




True shuttlers drive pick up trucks and pad-up...




Tim and Simon approaching the summit of the short climb...




Here comes Ann...


The group (with Andy riding Ann's steel Voodoo hardtail...


Ann...


Tim...



Simon...



Mini rock roller...












Hanzo rolling a easier then it looks () log roller...






Ann...



See how many riders can you spot, making their way up this twisty little climb...


Traffic in Idy...


Tim...


Our host...




Andy on his new steel SS rigid Voodoo...



Good riding, good company and good trails. Can't ask for more. Doing a short ride today and heading back home.
Hope everyone @ Hurkey had a good camp out and great rides! :wave:

 

Nice Joe. I wanted to be a camper, but my bed is comfy. Plus I just did not have the money to spend on a road trip. Missed another Hurkey, ah well. To be honest, im kinda glad I did not make this one, for reasons I will not elaborate on.

 

So sorry we missed it! Will someone take me there for a day trip once I am back riding???

 

Yes, me too, please?

 

It was cool to meet all of you yesterday morning. I had to bail early to be back in o.c. I made it home right at 3:00. Simon, thanks for the hook up on that fork man. It sure felt sweet in comparison to the steel fork I was riding with. I dont know if I will go back to the steel rigid after being spoiled by the carbon. I even stuffed the front end really hard on a rock drop that really shook me up but the bike just kept rolling.

 

Simon sorry can't make it up tonight, but is this the ride were doing in the morning if no one takes wants to go on the Romona trail.

 

Thanks for posting Joe. It was great having Tim, Noel and you over and hitting some trails. Thanks Andy and Ann (the rest of the guys on the ride too) for showing us the extension. I was happy to do a little bit of pedaling to get the extra few miles in. I think next time I will combine the original route I planned to ride and then hit up exfoliator instead of that fire road bit.

Hey mike. This was a Southridge + extension ride. We can do it in tomorrow but later as I have promised to do some trail work down there tomorrow in preparation for the upcoming Spring Challenge. It should have been Tuesday but the day just got changed , so sorry about that. Call me tonight and we can make plans.

 

Thanks again Simon to you and Kelly for allowing us to stay at your house:bang: I had a great time.

Also want to apologize for all three of us for ruining the air quality in your home8-[ Hope it is back to normal now:lol:

 

Nice RR and pics Joe! I've been up there with Simon and he is a cool guy and a GREAT trail guide! I hope to get up there soon!:bang:

 

me too, although i did ask for ride share (over 100 miles one way)
and nobody answered (boohoo)

 

pulled into camp at 9pm Friday night to this

and it only got colder it seemed. I'm glad I got their early because hilarity ensued with the pogo stick and the hours around the campfire.


So many of us rolled out around 10am Saturday morning from camp and started some stupid long singletrack climb. Stuff up there may not have been all that hard to ride up, if it weren't at such high elevation. #-o

At the first regroup we got a sense of exactly how many people showed up. I don't quite think everyone was captured in the group photo as people kept coming and coming so the fast group took off ahead to be seen later.

About half the group almost 2 miles in



As they came up....

Ken aka freekengo


Charlie and ??? aka Donny's sister and brother in law


Dirtmisstress pushing Jay :lol:


tradersancho


Gabe and Randy


Collette aka Impy then everyone else in the long line of continuing riders...






where is that camera pointed Gene?


Nan aka Dusty aka Brownie Provider.


Mike aka PainFreak


Willie

Pat


Many more pics to come later but I first have to say thanks to Tim aka Jasonmason convincing me to bring my singlespeed and letting me crash in his campsite. Granted, I never really saw him again after we took off but once I sort of got used to the altitude the lack of gears weren't that much of a problems as I thought. I never found a hill I couldn't walk. Neither was riding rigid because all those trails were perfect for that type of bike. :bang: When I left this morning Tim was out on another ride, geared squishy bike still locked to a tree. :lol::-k Thanks man!

Second, dead tired and about a mile from camp Dirtmisstress told me to follow her and Gene up another hill, while Nan tried to convince me otherwise. I chose Liz and went up a bit more and down two very fun trails for a total of a 25 mile loop. I think Gene, myself, painfreak and a few others were the last ones to roll into camp. Everyone else had cleaned up and were enjoying cookies and chips

Some of the best 25 miles I've ever ridden




(red line = where everyone else went)

Saturday night was windy as hell and a very interesting night in a tent with no stakes. No energy to ride this morning and apparently I wasn't the only one even though there was much talk about a group ride this morning, at 10am most everyone was packed up and leaving.
Still rocked for such a far place from me and I look forward to the next one.

 

Great stuff davidb... More power to you for doing it all on a rigid single speed...especially the extra credit Gene and Liz talked us in to for the last loop on Tunnel of Love. Perhaps a front fork with 80mm is in order? Offer still stands if you would like to try riding my RIP. More later, have to go see the GF's family for diner tonight.

Friday started off great, I made Hemet an hour early, traffic being much lighter than I anticipated. Jay and partner Donny showed up for some fine Mexican food, then TraderSancho called to say he was running a tad late. We pulled in to camp, and set up between Gene and jasonmason. shortly afterwards, Dean, StJunkie, She Climbs and artrockpile23 were getting warmed up to ride under cold cloudy skies with a brisk wind. Finished up adding some oil and a retro needle and shim valve kit to TraderSancho's forks, and the doctoring work was finished for the weekend, no mechanicals.

Since we were running late, TS and I got suited up and ended up playing some catch up with the group. It was eerie riding up the wide meadow, viewing the mountains above capped in a shroud of low, fast moving clouds, just cool, perfect temps if you were moving, but damn cold if you stopped on a ridgetop and let the wind cut through the fabric and chill you to the bone. Good riders, good company when we finally started the sweet single track down. We did Snakeskin, Dos Hombres?, and Exfoliator, and in the process with all the manpower, wrestled and muscled a couple of fallen trees off the trail, sending them out of the way and down the canyon. The hike a bike sections in there were great break spots to catch our breath.

Friday night was with Damian, TS's father and TS, with some forays over to Cal Epics fire, along with the regulars like Dean, STJunkie, Lynn, Art, PainFreakMike, and a few others I'd not met before and can't remember their names. The one liners from Zink Gabriel, speckled trout, Liz and others had me worried about sore ribs on Saturday, from all the laughter. I can still hear Timmy's "Ho, ho, ho" laugh, it's contagious, his laughter.

Saturday was cold and clear, with a scrumpious breakfast put on by Damian, truly a guy who loves to cook. Trader Sancho and I washed and dried dishes gladly to saviour his hot cooked meals, fresh blueberry pancakes and saugage, hot brewed coffee, fresh squeezed Orange Juice and rolls.

As we were finishing up, The Rut started calling off starting time in 30 minutes, so we did once overs on the bikes, and got the riding gear and Camelbaks all filled up to be ready to Rock and Roll, not really knowing where we were going to go ride for the day, but filled with faith that Gene and The Rut and friends would get us back to camp on great singletrack.

I've no idea how I ended up with the group I did, we just kept on going, with OMR taking the lead, as he knew the way to Ernie Maxwell, so onwards and upwards we headed. At the top was Tahquitz Peak, truly a beautiful sight after such a climb. We regrouped at the top, with people refueling and drinking, while basking under a cool sun at 6500 feet in early spring. Snow was still on the ground in the shaded portions. After a good rest, down we went. DavidB decided to follow me down the slope on his rigid 18 pound single speed. Knowing that Dave won the Beginners class at Mount Sac, made me, uhm, feel the pressure, knowing he could nip at my back end at will. I guess I picked one line through a rock garden on my RIP that was not nice at all to his rigid with racing wheels and tires, when he caught himself and decided that that was a hell of a spot to stop and take some pictures of the rest of the group.
We got to the bottom, and that was when Gene and Greg (OMR) talked up doing South Ridge. Holy MoFo! I was not ready for that. Not particularly long, but loose, steep, unrelenting and brutal. I tried my best to keep OMR in my sights on the climb, but this one damn section was killing me... I was making all kinds of painful awful sounds from my legs protesting in anguish. I told myself I loved pain, but it wasn't working. One section was so steep, that Greg was getting away from me pedaling, so I got off my bike and walked up it to use some new leg muscles, and was actually gaining on him. I have a whole new respect for the will of OMR over keeping his legs pedalling and having mind overcome all obstacles in front of and above him. Damn goaters! Then there was Jay... very very impressed with your climbing ability, for a big guy, you can mash and spin up most anything.

I'm not sure of the name of the trail off the top of South Mountain, but it was loose, slippery in some spots and just an amazingly fun descent. At one point, I was behind Dusty, and feeling a bit lazy so I was following her lines as best I could. We came up on this one 70 yard section of technical rock gardens and rain ruts, big rain ruts, with very, very narrow lines between the jutting rocks to make if you were going to clean all of it without getting bounced around. Damn if she didn't stick every line and clean every little narrow gap between all the rocks and boulders. I busted out laughing, hot on her heels after she cut loose with a huge "whooo hooo!" after cleaning all of it. Well deserved, that gal can ride with the best of them and stick a clean line. Good job, Dusty!

I think we again did snakeskin, exfoliator and Dos Hombres? before getting close to the bottom about a mile from camp and regrouping. Liz, Gene, davidB and a few others decided that the Sage Race trail to Tunnel of Love would be the last climb. I was toast... bonked near the end. I'm not sure on the mileage and vertical, maybe 24 or 25 miles and 5000 feet of vertical? It was a memorable ride, with great people, great trails, great camp out, and simply a great weekend. I met some people that I finally got to put faces to (PainFreak, BrendaG, Jay, AndyRut and Heather, Cal Epic and wife, Speckledtrout, Gabriel Zink (sick, but funny), Letyrides and got to see some faces I've not seen in a while (Queenie Willy and her pink machine, cuuuute!), Epicrider, Aosty and Impy, as well as the cool folks I camped with, TraderSancho, his father, Wizard, and Damian, who kept us well lubed and fed.

This was a weekend for the books, I'll remember it for ever. It's clear to see why it's been an annual event, it was worth the drive, the friendship, and just amazing, the folks, the trails, the weather, the campfire talk. The weather was typical of the spring, and the riding was the "you should have been there" quality. Thanks to everyone that made this happen.

 

It was great getting together with old friends, meeting new ones, and generally having fun. Sorry, no pics (at least that's what Geronimo thinks )

 

wow. what fun.

it was great meeting and riding with some of the legends. big thanks to gene for leading our group. painfreak was tough as nails in just his 2nd ride in 10 weeks. steppie was a perfect sweeper (i'm keepin' my small blocks!). and nan, as always, was a great ambassador for mtbing (even to the lady who said: "i'm trying to have a good hike"). dirtmistress was jokin'/smackin'/ripping even after 5+ hours in the saddle. and impy saved me with the perfect cup o' coffee (i hope al shared some of my cookies with you).

i was way too sore to ride today, but i can't wait to get back.

 

We had a great time on the ride Saturday. It has been a few years since I have ridden there and it was well worth the drive. But I'll take my warm bed over freezing temperatures and wind. :beer:

 

I had a good time.

 

It was so nice seeing everybody, I love hanging around campfires and getting to know people better. Stayed up way to late both nights and did not get into my tent until after 1am both nights. Heavy winds last night did make sleeping tough.

Sorry I missed the shuttlers but there was so many peeps that it was hard to say howdy to ya all. If i missed ya, I am sorry, I tried to get around. Did not take any pics on Friday or Saturday but will do a RR on my solo exploration on Sunday.

Note: The meadow near Keen Camp, with the granite craigs in the background is among my favorites rides in So-Cal and you so miss it when you shuttle.

Dean

 

I love that bit too. I am not sure that I have ridden a finer, faster, flowier ribbon of single track in SoCal either. :clap: Another possibilty is to shuttle and then add on that extra loop plus exfoliator and coyote run. One of the reasons i like to shuttle Southridge is that I live in Idyllwild which means that I have to drive down there anyway unless I want to do the climb out as a finish to the ride. Personally I prefer to ride down as a finish to any ride, which rarely happens up here on normal rides from my house. They usually end with a asphalt climb home, so a shuttle is a bit of a luxury for me.

 

Had a great time out there on Sat! Had to split off at the snakeskin cutoff due to time constraints, but ended up with Tradersancho, his dad, Speckledtrout, and some other guy to finish off the loop. Ended up going on snakeskin, missing link, to the top of hell hill, then down rage through the sage, then tunnel of love back to the campground. I haven't been on Missing Link in years and that trail is an absolute gem! Gotta make plans to go back up to ride that area again soon!

Great to see everyone out there!

:beer:

 

Just kidding of course I've got more to say. My weekend started on Saturday morning as I weighed the pro's and cons of going up Friday evening. It was cold here in Fontana so I knew from past times up at Hurkey it'd be really cold and as David pointed out it was. I got up there in about an hour and couldn't believe all the riders. The front parking lot was also full with riders but these were people training for the upcoming races. I got to the sites where everyone was and got the lowdown on the ride for the day and found it was an old favorite but with a twist, this time we would be climbing Ernie Maxwell instead of shuttling it. Oh well, I wanted to ride and I' don't care what we do as long as it's got some technical riding involved. The ride started off and some how I got mixed in with The Path guys and that's not good for a guy who is as out of shape as I am. But it didn't last for long as I blew up and they all went flying by:wave: . John had his dog Maverick along and a lot of this A group didn't know he was a welcomed visitor. He hung onto my side for quite aways and soon john was there and off they went. That is one strong, cool dog. Knew how to stay right with you but out of the way. It was cool to meet some people I've known about for years but never got the chance to meet ( Hi Impy) and to meet a few others I'd never met.

I thought the trail comnditions were very good and I had a real fun time except for on the return down Ernie Maxwell I did a OTB into the rocks but was fortunate and landed between the boulders. I'm not really sure OMR didn't push me out of his way but I can't prove it yet so I won't say anything :lol:.

On to the pix.........

Starting to group






The best thing about groups this size is that were not under pressure to stay together as there are just to many riders of different abilities. I ended up in the front of the second group and was having a great time. Following Gene was really good as he picks some really good lines and if you follow him there is some real fun stuff.

On the way up the fireroad I found myself riding alone in between groups and seen the big pile of lumber that is still there for a long time

I put my bike up nest to it to give some perspective



And since I was stopped I thought it would be a good place to take some pics of my friends as they were having some fun......














Cont........