Santa Margarita Trail

It had been about five years since I had last been on the Santa Margarita River Trail.  This trail systems was a victim of the 2007 wildfires in San Diego County but has made a remarkable recovery.

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There had been quite a bit of rain in the previous days before I did this ride.   This place has quite a bit of sand and the previous rains had the sand nicely packed.   The flora had also quickly responded to the moisture and where flush with color.

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There were some spots of dramatic change since the fires.  After the fires a lot of the retaining vegetation was destroyed .  When heavy rains swelled the river the following river mother nature grabbed a sizable chunk of the bank.  In the picture above, the trail is now right on the edge of the back when it used to be 10-20 feet away from the waters edge.

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I love some of the variety you get out here.  The natural rock chicanes here make for some sporty flat land bike handling.

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Then there are these flowing smooth single track sections under the trees that just make you grin. It is a great time of year to get out there so I you have not been out here before it is worth checking out if you live here in the county and looking to check out some new turf.