There was some discussion about the condition of the Mt Wilson Toll Road in a recent thread. http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-conditions/57515-mount-wilson-toll-road.html#post830546 In order to clear up any confusion, I sacrificed my Tuesday morning and rode up that 9 mile beast. I started from the gate at about 7:45 am. The weather was overcast, gloomy-but at least not misting or raining. First thing I noticed was the sides of the Toll road coming up from Eaton canyon were lined with dog poop. Not just one or two random tootsie rolls-we're talking some big piles of sausages that needed evasive maneuvers in order to avoid. I would have preferred the blue plastic bags to that! Dog owners clean it up and pack it out! Rant over. The Toll road is in great condition all the way up past Henninger Flats. The deep ruts have lost their edges and are starting to fill in. There were some campers up at Henninger and the smell of their fire and some bacon cooking left me wishing I had eaten more than a banana before I started. After Henninger, the marine layer was really kicking in and the resulting fog severly limited my vison and made for some spooky moments when a rabbit or squirrel (or bear/deer/lion) would scamper through the brush. Again the road was in great condition and I was leaving the only tire tracks in the moist soil. Idlehour trail called me for some singletrack goodness but my mission was to ride the road. onward and upward I went. Finally I was reaching higher elevations and bright patches of sunlight shone through for the first time all morning. About that time was when I ran into the landslide. Fine piece of mass wasting for you geo-heads. As evidenced by the photos, the slide completely blocks the road about a mile and a half downhill from the intersection of the road and the Mt Wilson Trail. Sorry no GPS. The huge boulders and smaller brethren are passable by hike-a-bike but be very careful. Some of the boulders are unsteady, move when weighted, and I would hate to see or hear of anybody getting "Ralstonized" up there. Further up the road, past the Wilson Trail junction, there was a smaller slide that I passed in January. It is no longer there. I took photos of the broken trees and debris where the Forest Service pushed evrything over the edge. I finally made it to Mt Wilson about 9:40 am. The clouds were preventing any good photo opps but I tried. It was cold, I was wet, and I wanted to test out my new (warranty) Yeti 575's downhill abilites. Lets just say I am impressed. Definitely better than my '07, though a tad heavier. Made it back to the gate after dodging the canine landmines about 10:10. All in all, it was a great ride and one that every SoCal MTB'er should do. Enjoy the photos...
