{"id":792,"date":"2011-01-30T19:56:26","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T03:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=792"},"modified":"2011-01-31T16:59:11","modified_gmt":"2011-02-01T00:59:11","slug":"a-windy-and-chilly-romp-through-the-cuyamacas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=792","title":{"rendered":"A windy and chilly romp through the Cuyamacas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I decided to go check out Cuyamaca Rancho State Park<\/a> as I had not been there after the 2007 wildfires.\u00a0\u00a0 We have been having some awesome weather as of late here in San Diego so I was blissfully expecting more of the same for the ride today.\u00a0 The early morning clouds hovering over Vista made me think all was not going to be well up in the mountains.\u00a0 I keep just about all of my cold weather stuff in a small bag, so I chunked it in the truck and was on my way.\u00a0 At the the trailhead it was overcast and the truck thermometer read 40 degrees.\u00a0 Not heinious by a long shot and I had the right gear.\u00a0 However, upon opening up the truck door the breeze was quite biting.\u00a0 As I was getting all layered up\u00a0what I would guess were gusts of up to 20mph were letting me know that today could get real interesting.\u00a0 I started off from the Sweetwater staging area and \u00a0headed north up the\u00a0west side trail towards the vistor center.\u00a0 I had barely gotten started when I came across a flock of wild turkeys.\u00a0 They were quite content to run ahead of for quite some time before veering off the trail.\u00a0\u00a0 I had\u00a0only brought along my ultra wide angle lens for the camera so trying get a good shot of them would have been futile so I just enjoyed the encounter and rolled on.\u00a0 Once at the visitor center\u00a0I hooked up with the Upper Green Valley Fireroad and continued northward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Taking the Upper Green Valley fireroad is part of the large counter clockwise loop known as the\u00a0“Grand Loop”\u00a0 that I was intending to do today.\u00a0 The cruise\/mild climb up Green Valley was pretty nice as I was mostly sheltered from the wind but I could watch the clouds spill over the top of the ridges to the west and continue on with great haste.\u00a0\u00a0 Often times I could hear the winds rippinng across the top of the ridges.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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At the bottom of Soapstone Grade I veered off the traditional loop to check a trail I had not done before.\u00a0\u00a0 While the trailsign was not up, I believe it is called the Upper Green Valley Trail but I have also heard it referred to as the La Cima trail.\u00a0 The singletrack climbed gradually for the most part and it had some nice rocky character here annd there.\u00a0 I was getting a little more exposed to the wind the further I went up.\u00a0 About 3\/4th of the way up this trail (about a mile)\u00a0I left\u00a0Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and entered the Anza Borrego State Park.\u00a0\u00a0 The trail ultimately went out to the two-laned Sunrise Highway and loosely paralled it both to the east and west.\u00a0 I went to the west and after a bit of climbing followed by some swoopy descending I connected up with the California Riding and Hiking Trail (CHRT).<\/p>\n

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Once I was on the\u00a0CHRT, I was not sheltered from the\u00a0gusty winds much and\u00a0the intensity of the winds had built up.\u00a0\u00a0(I later learned the winds were 25-35mph with an advisory out for gusts\u00a0up to 65mph)\u00a0\u00a0 I often\u00a0had to countersteer into the wind and just put my head down and pedal on.<\/p>\n

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The CRHT was in great shape and I was amazed at how much water was in Lake Cuyamaca.\u00a0I had not ridden this section before\u00a0and I was impressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The open alpine meadows were exceptional to look at and the singletrack was swoopy and fast once things turnned slightly downhill.\u00a0\u00a0 Even with\u00a0a now biting cross wind, there was some zippy sections along through here.\u00a0 I also came across a pair of coyotes in this area.\u00a0\u00a0 They were certainly not the acclimated to humans types like we often seen in the semi-urban areas.\u00a0 This couple\u00a0were definitely not interested in\u00a0being anywhere near me and they were heading up\u00a0the ridgeline\u00a0in\u00a0 a hurry.\u00a0\u00a0After 2.4 miles the CHRT\u00a0connected up\u00a0the\u00a0top of Soapstone grade and I continued back\u00a0along the traditional Grand Loop\u00a0route.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Once\u00a0I made it out to HWY79 I\u00a0headed over to Milk Ranch Road, I had a decision to make.\u00a0 The wind\u00a0was gusting pretty bad and my\u00a0toes were getting pretty darn cold despite the winter wool socks I had on.\u00a0\u00a0 I could climb Middle Peak and descend the Black Oak trail or just skip it and\u00a0stay on Milk Ranch Road.\u00a0 After grabbing a very quick bite to eat and shaking out the feet I\u00a0decided to do the climb even though I could see\u00a0that the clouds were completely engulfing the\u00a0upper half of the peak.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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This place has never been the same since the 2003 wildfires.\u00a0 It is such a\u00a0tragedy the awesome old oaks and goliath pines on this peak burned in that fire.\u00a0\u00a0As I made my way up the mountain I could not help but be once agained saddened by the loss of such a forested treasure.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

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As I neared the top I entered the clouds and while\u00a0I was sheltered fairly well from the wind coming from the far side of the peak, I could hear it howling above me.\u00a0 The Middle Peak fireroad does not go directly over the peak, instead goes close by it\u00a0 as it circles around to the other side of the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0 I was not interested in any side trip up up to the actual peak here as it had gotten colder and moister.\u00a0 As the fireroad transitioned over to the east slope and topped out at 5,800 feet the shelter from the wind disappeared.\u00a0 It was now in a very stiff cold and gusty headwind.\u00a0\u00a0 Luckily it was time to turn downhill on the Black Oak Trail.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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I last remember this as a ripping fun singletrack with lots of rocky character.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While most of that is true, it was a very segmented ripper today as there were at least a dozen deadfalls across the trail.\u00a0 The visibility was also an issue due to the clouds and the fact that I had to keep wearing my glasses to keep my eyes from being dried out in seconds.\u00a0 Once down to the lower half of this trail the deadfall was no more and things got zippy was again.\u00a0\u00a0 Somebody somewhere downwind may have heard the faint sound of giggles riding along with the\u00a0clouds as I descended through here.\u00a0 The Black Oak Trail drops down to Milk Ranch Road where I hooked up with the Azalea Springs, Fern Flat, West Mesa and Japacha series of fire roads to get back and my truck.\u00a0\u00a0 The visibility was rather short through most of this route and the wind was still often stiff.\u00a0\u00a0 My feet were freezing, and I was ready to get to the truck.\u00a0 The good news was most of this route was a zippy\u00a0descent\u00a0and who was I to argue with gravity.\u00a0\u00a0 Fireroad or not, it was plenty of fun.\u00a0 I even got to see a herd of deer up close along this route that included two sizable bucks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I was happy to see my truck and was once again was thrilled at exceptional quality of it’s heater.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While the elements made today a bit of challenge, it was once again a good day out on a bike.<\/p>\n

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