This Used To Be Easier

One such trail was the Forest Lake loop, way up above Tibble Fork Reservoir starting from Dutchman's Flat. You bounce up the road to Mineral Basin which is an adventure in and of itself. The road is very rough and has about a one mile section which is bench cut on a steep slope, and only one vehicle wide. Meaning that passing on it usually requires someone to back up until they can get over. At the time I drove a '85 Bronco and I'd throw my big purple (Clinton was president it was a crazy time)monster size bike in the back so I didn't have to worry about it bouncing off the roof rack on the way up. And I would drive up this road fast enough that I usually skipped the back end around the corners. I could get up there in 30 minutes from the mouth of the canyon. I used to ride the nine-mile loop in about 45 minutes.

You climb the road from Dutchman's up to Pole Line Pass where you intersect Ridge Trail. From there you ride over in the direction of Mill Canyon, but before you get there, you fork right and drop down to Forest Lake via a steep, technical trail that spits you out right on the shore of Forest Lake which is really more of a salamander pond than a lake. Then skirt around the north end of the lake and down the gnarly jeep road back to Dutchman's. The road is not horribly steep, but it is rough and rocky. You might not make it down without crashing. Think Amasa Back with more loose rocks. Cross the river at the bottom and your back at the beginning.

As my bikes got more expensive, and my knowledge of other trails grew, that drive became more of a hassle than it was worth . And consequently I hadn't been up there in many years.

So today I ventured forth again to see how it compared with my memories. Without a computer I would estimate the climb on the road to be about 4 miles. Hairpin County and Switchback city. You just settle in and climb. You are constantly buffeted by dust and exhaust by ATV's blasting up and down the road. In fact last time I rode it, I was struck from behind and knocked off my bike by a four-wheeler.

But somehow, with a much fancier bike and 14 more years of experience the climb got harder. Maybe it has something to do with the giant gut that I'm packing now. We took several rests on the climb and I could have used a couple more.

Here Chad discovers why this section of Ridge Trail is called Sandy Baker Pass. Because it's sandy. Once you top out of Sandy Baker, you level off and if you look back you can see the top of the tram at Snowbird. You can't see it here, but you can also see the tunnel they just cut through the mountain.You rise and fall several times, and after coming out of the trees, you can see Forest Lake down below. The problem with Jeep roads,.....are all the damn Jeeps(or Ford Explorers). Once again Sally earns points in this season's "Most Improved" category. She blasted into the water and cleaned the crossing first try. Then I put my camera away and promptly put a foot down right in the middle. That's her, relatively dry on the other side.The singletrack was actually in great shape. And the roads were just as I remembered them only longer and steeper. It's a fun ride to do once a year or so.