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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
I found out about this region via the internet on the home page of Rene Hokans. I chose the trail that was at the highest altitude and that contained the most singletrack and that the author liked the most. The Los Burros Trail #631 was chosen and lived up to its reputation.
I took it in a clockwise directions to get some of the steepest
uphill over with and to save the majority of the singletrack until
last. The total loop was 14 miles. I imagine that about 8 miles of
that was singletrack, and it was all handmade (narrow and low
impact). As I left the campground the Aspens and Ponderosas became
much larger, and the understory became mostly Bracken Ferns. In fact,
I have NEVER seen such an EXPANSE of ferns! I wouldn't expect it to
be moist enough up here for ferns to grow, but I suspect that the
volcanic soil holds enough moisture to allow the ferns to survive
between the time that the snow melts and the summer monsoon season
begins. In other regions Wild Roses became the dominant understory
vegetation, varying from white to bright red. In one region the
understory was nothing but volcanic rocks with trees growing right
out of the rocks! Most of the trails were fairly level and just
zigzagged between the trees, although there were some steep climbs
and descents, and some really rocky sections. Although the trail is
clearly marked with small blue tags, it is very easy to miss a
turnoff from a dirt road section to a single-track section. If you
travel for more than 1/4 mile without seeing a blue tag, GO BACK! It
only took about 3 hours to ride this loop at a leisurely pace...
Please be aware that the sign for Vernal Road is VERY small, and that
the road leading to the campground and trailhead is 8 miles long and
all DIRT -- very DUSTY dirt! The campground is free, but has NO
water.
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
Alpine Ranger District
Box 469
Alpine, Arizona 85920
(602)339-4633
Minimizing Trail Conflicts On Singletrack Trails
Minimizing Trail Impact On Singletrack Trails
Hints For Beginning Singletrackers
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