{"id":997,"date":"2012-07-01T11:54:59","date_gmt":"2012-07-01T19:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=997"},"modified":"2012-07-01T11:55:00","modified_gmt":"2012-07-01T19:55:00","slug":"messing-around-in-the-san-jacinto-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/?p=997","title":{"rendered":"Messing around in the San Jacinto Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekend I decided to head out for an overnighter in the San Jacinto Mountains.\u00a0\u00a0 There are a lot of great trails around here and we were interested in messing around in some lesser ridden areas.\u00a0 Bill O’Neil and I\u00a0met up fairly early in the morning and the temps were already quickly climbing.<\/p>\n

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We did a bit of driving around on some of the back dirt roads to finalize our game plan and investigate all of the options.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This gate showed much promise<\/a> so we decided to add this area to the two-wheeled investigation efforts.<\/p>\n

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With a\u00a0plan\u00a0negoiated that included such\u00a0phrases like “Do you think those thin brown lines are too\u00a0close together on the map”,\u00a0 “It sorta flattens out after the first seven miles” and “Just for the record, this segment is your idea”\u00a0\u00a0we started turning the pedals into the dry 90 degree heat.<\/p>\n

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After what I would consider a rough opening bit of terrain, heat and grade we got up onto a small plateau were thoughts of tasty steaks and carne asada burritos started running through our heads.<\/p>\n

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This\u00a0small herd of around 10 or so cattle\u00a0were following the old ranch road we were taking.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Special note on Trail Etiquette – Bikes\u00a0yield to horns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The old ranch road turned out to be a nice route that we took.\u00a0 We soon worked our way over to the\u00a0next segment that turned out to be a bit brutal when combined with the growing heat and pockets of dead air.\u00a0\u00a0 My hiking calves got some work in here and there on this segment.<\/p>\n

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As we neared the top of the ridgeline sadddle we were shooting for we got into some trees and a breeze picked up which made a huge difference.\u00a0 We were already considered with rationing our water considering how far we had to go still.<\/p>\n

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Once at the saddle we proceeded along a trail that followed the ridgelines for\u00a0quite a long way.\u00a0 There were some great views along this route.<\/p>\n

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This was most definitely a pretty cool trail.<\/p>\n

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Cool rock formations on the ridgeline.\u00a0 The wind was often howling up here which was great for beating the heat but it was enough to blow me off my intended line a time or two.<\/p>\n

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This was really cool bit of exploring we did but it was certainly no cakewalk with the heat that was out.\u00a0 By the time we got back down to the truck, we were more interested in our first liquids being water more so that tasty hop and malt goodness.\u00a0\u00a0After a\u00a0bit of truck-side recovery we were off to the\u00a0 Paridise Valley Cafe<\/a> were some excellent baby back ribs with the fixins were chased with a couple of tasty beverages.\u00a0\u00a0 After that\u00a0we\u00a0found a back corner of the Garner Valley area to\u00a0set up camp in the dark.\u00a0 We spent the rest of the evening\u00a0\u00a0recounting the festivities of the day while sampling tasty San Diego area micro-brews.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/p>\n

The view from my tent when I first opened my eyes.<\/p>\n

More Stuff Like This<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t East Mesa and Oakzanita<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t San Diego Flume Trail<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t New Review Up! Crestridge<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n<\/div>