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WELCOME! If you arrived at this page directly, you may want to read the introductory page: Roger's Favorite Singletrack Mountain Bike Rides
Please realize that I am an older, strong, intermediate mountain biker with a passion for singletracks and am suggesting these trails to others such as myself. Please do not rely totally on my descriptions -- get maps and trail guides locally.
Suggestions for minimizing trail damage:
-do not let your tires slide when climbing, descending, or
turning.
-ride over water bars, not around them.
-avoid riding on wet trails.
-carry your bike over or around deep mud.
-ride under control so that you do not run off the edge of the
trail.
Two books are necessary for any visit to Arizona:
Fat Tire Tales And Trails by Cosmic Ray
The Mogollon Rim occurs between altitudes of 7000 feet and 8000 feet and supports extensive forests of Ponderosa Pines. A HUGE recreation area exists on the edge of the rim near Payson. I had read Cosmic Ray's description of the Drew Trail/Hiline Trail/Military Sinkhole Trail/Rim Trail loop, and decided to try it out. I feared that it would be too technical for me, but decided to give it a try anyway. Since it was the middle of the afternoon in the middle of June, I decided to start the ride at the beginning of the Drew Trail so that I would be pushing back up to the top of the rim as the sun was setting. The Drew Trail loses about 1500 feet in one mile. Much of it was too steep and loose and rocky for me to ride, but some of it WAS ridable. The Hiline Trail was a combination of everything from extremely technical to smooth and fast. I probably got off my bike a hundred times, but the sections that were too technical for me were short. If anything, my skills improved because the trail was not on the side of a cliff and seemed quite forgiving, thus encouraging me to try to ride through some stuff that I would not ordinarily try. It was another one of those trails that not only makes you a better rider but that also makes you feel successful. This section of the Hiline Trail was a lot of work because it kept rolling up and down, but it was so much fun and required so much concentration that I was not aware of the energy it required. At first the Military Sink Hole Trail moved slowly up through dense old growth forests of pines, firs, and maples. Then it hit a long section of steep and rocky "push it up". Once it got to the top, a mellow trail (Rim Trail) traveled along the rim, paralleling the road, back to the car. In most places the trail was a few feet from the edge of the cliff, affording FANTASTIC views of the forests below and the mountains (far) beyond. It took about 3 hours to do the loop, just as Cosmic Ray suggested. Not only did this loop provide some great scenery and unbelievable biking, but it also had great wilderness value -- it did not connect with any jeep trails or dirt roads. And, of course, I did not see a single person during those 3 hours. Many thanks to Cosmic Ray and his book for bringing me here!! In the Recreation Area there is a small & expensive grocery store; MANY campgrounds, some that charge and some that don't; and water. I decided to camp at a free, undeveloped campground at the edge of the rim near the beginning of the Drew Trail with an endless view to the south.
if you do a ride and enjoy it, please let the land manager know that you did enjoy it and that the existence of singletrack trails is important to you! A small donation for trail maintenance and development might also be helpful! I will slowly add email and snail mail addresses and phone numbers of land managers of the trails that I have described so that you may more easily contact them.
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
Box 640
Springerville, Arizona 95938
(602)333-4301
Minimizing Trail Conflicts On Singletrack Trails
Minimizing Trail Impact On Singletrack Trails
Hints For Beginning Singletrackers
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