A few of us did Whiskey Flat Trail today from the top down. I hadn't done this whole route for many years. The top gets little use and is overgrown. With low elevation snow our options were limited so we figured we needed to check out what shape it is in. This ride is a 16 mile, point to point, xc ride and is one of the tougher trails around. It follows the Kern on the West side from Mcnally's down to Kernville. What makes the going tough is all the small creek drainages you have to cross as you progress down the river. Most of the time you are either heading down to a creek or climbing back out of a creek. There are some techy sections, some exposure, and some hike-a-bike. As we expected some of the upper sections are in rough shape. It took us 4 hours to do a 16 mile ride with no climbs more than 500'. Three hours for the upper half and one hour for the lower half. With a few reroutes this could be much better. The good news is that the local Hot Shot fire fighter crew is working on the trail and plan on fixing the whole thing during the Winter. We plan on working with them to get the trail in great shape. We started off by crossing the bridge, 5 riders and 3 dogs. There are many creek crossings. Most are ridable, a few aren't. The dogs love the creeks. The trail runs along the Kern and there are many great views. We took a break at a spot where the trail was right at river level. The dogs didn't take a break. Nothing like a nice steep hike-a-bike on a cliff. It is almost straight down to the river. After we hiked up around the cliff we had to ride back down the other side. Another short break with a cool view. In the spring this is a big class 5 rapid called Sock-em-Dog. More singletrack. We got down into the recent burn area. Some places are toasted. Here is another steep section dropping down into a creek bed. In the last few miles we started to see some evidence of recent trailwork. They built a new bridge across Bull Run Creek. It is ridable in both directions. Chris and Dave give it a go. Great ride today. I am stoked to get to work on this trail during the Winter. There is a lot of potential. I will report back later as work progresses.
Nice RR Jeff, I was not a fan walking across logs over the creek, glad to see the bridge...Thanks Hot Shots! Dean
I like the "spotter" you guys were using on the new bridge over Bull Run Creek! awesome RR and pics as always Jeff. Someday.... shitty
Nice RR, Jeff! :clap: Where is the burn area in relation to where we turn around when doing the out-and-back from your house?
Awesome Jeff; always love seeing your pics from the riding up there. Looks gorgeous up there this time of year. Now I want to ride that trail again, even though last time I did I swore up and down that I would never ride it again!
Dean, I knew you would like the bridge. It is very solid and plenty wide enough to walk your bike across. Art, the fire burned the entire lower section of the trail. Our usual out and back was all burned. I am interested to see what it will look like next Spring. Tim, it was, and still is, a beast of a trail. I hadn't ridden it in 6 years or so. Our goal is to make it more fun and less of a chore. I'm sure you will enjoy it much more the next time around. Craig, funny you should say that. It burned the lower section that gets used a lot. It didn't burn the overgrown section that actually could have used it. The rerouting we need to do would have been much easier if the top burned.
Thanks for the RR! I've ridden that trail a few times when the snow was too deep up higher as well. The bridge is great! No more tightrope walking! Please post when you work on this and any trail up there and I'll haul the trailer up there and help; especially on a weekend.
