Ride Report Norcal expats checking in from Northstar

With my full-squish bike fully back in business, and Ethan's fork issues temporarily on hold, we decided to head out yesterday and check out the riding up at Northstar, up outside of Truckee, north of Lake Tahoe.



Northstar from the road in. Not much to see from this angle...but there's a plenty to have fun on up there.

N* isn't as big as mammoth, but makes up from it with technical riding, lots and lots of features, excellent dirt, and a much less crowded feel. Whereas Mammoth caters to all levels of riding, N* definitely caters to the more experienced rider. It basically feels like one big skills park, where you can run laps on really fun trails until you're just worn out. I know for me it was perfect for getting reacquainted with having 6" of travel under me instead of none!

Our only other picture of he day came when we stopped or a breather around 1; we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures. There was riding to be had! We were getting our bikes nice and dirty though, which is always a good thing.



Around 4 we were both feeling pretty beat, so packed up and headed to Fifty Fifty brewing over in Truckee for a pint and some HUGE nachos. Then back on down the hill into the surprisingly nice Sacramento evening, and then on to watch game 2 of the Stanley Cup.



I'm stoked for more that one reason after yesterday:

1. Northstar is 90 minutes away, which is just awesome. I can hit this up whenever I want, and it's a great park, well designed and a blast to ride.
2. It wasn't a long trail/adventure ride, but it was a great summer day out in the Sierra, and you really can't beat that.
3. I am absolutely stoked for all the possibilities up in the high country this summer. With riding trips lined up for the next 4-5 weekends, I still feel like I'm just scratching the surface of what the Sierra have to offer up here.

Stoked!
:beer:

 

Drove past there yesterday on the way to the North Shore for the day. Hole in the Ground is on tap for this week. Some resources:

http://www.mtbsingletrack.com/

http://ogrehut.com/

 

Thanks BTP. Wasn't it just perfect summer Sierra weather yesterday? Man, I love that.

I'm looking at either HITG or Downieville for the last weekend of the month. Looking forward to your RR on it, since it'll be my first run out there.

Have some other ideas in play, and I still need to check out that other area you mentioned in a previous post with some under-the-radar trails.

 

North Star looks awesome, I will have to check it out on my way to Mammoth in a couple of weeks.

 

Dave, N* is about 4 hrs past Mammoth.

 

Hey Planet, HITG is one of my favorites. Let me know how you like it.

 

The Soda Springs exit is about 1:15 from dads house. Is the trail easy to follow?

Also, anything thing else to check n the area?

 

Planet, get yourself a good map and, if possible, go with someone. It's mostly easy to follow, but there are some unmarked turns, as I recall. I park on the frontage road off of the Soda Springs exit, cross the freeway and ride up to Boreal. Directly across from Boreal is a trailhead that goes to Castle Peak/Peter Grubb Hut. Ride up about 1.5 miles and the HITG trailhead is marked and on the left. You climb about a mile up to Andesite Peak (great view-get a photo), then it's mostly rock & roll all the way down. Great mountain lakes and meadows. The trail drops you off on the frontage road right by your car. Total length is about 18 miles.

 

So it's official. I have 2 cracked ribs from this trip! Hopefully
I'll heal up soon so I can hit it again!!