Monarch crest trail

Just a easy ride up to monarch pass on Hwy 50 and the start of the monarch crest trail... just an easy ride. The easy ride turns out to be 15kms and 1000meters of elevation. To those of you good at math it’s a pretty nice grade, it’s a hard start to a long day regardless. 

About 11kms into the ride my left knee starts to give me grief and we are forced to stop at regular intervals to stretch out and then ultimately tape the knee. At long last we make the pass and indulge in second breakfast and coffee... Peter indulges in a second second breakfast before food becomes rationed again. 

We spend a few hours hanging out and restocking at the gift shop with the through hikers before headed out on the famous monarch crest trail. It really is as stunningly beautiful as I expected, it’s not however particularly spectacular riding. The trail starts out smooth and flows but quickly degraded to narrow and rocky which more or less makes stopping to take in the view necessary, which we do regularly because the view is very worth taking in we stop for lunch at the top of Fusas creek then follow the high ridge to where it drops into the trees at Green cabin. From there the trail more or less descends down into the trees and becomes loose rocky and unpleasant. Once you pass the turnoff to silver creek the trail becomes unrideable in the steep sections (up or down) thanks to the motorcycle riders who are apparently allowed on segment 16 and 17!

Who’s stupid idea was this anyway ?

When people were complaining about the trail being hard I arrogantly felt like they were either unprepared or unaccustomed to suffering. I should have just believed them, completely and at face value. The trail is kick your but so hard you are cursing your bike, bike packing and everyone who ever said it was a good idea hard. It’s push your bike within 10minutes of leaving camp hard, it’s drip sweat before first break hard, but wow is it beautiful. When you can dig yourself out of your pit of self wallow and look up you are greeted by vistas and beautiful ponderosa pine forests, you are graced by wildlife and you are occasionally rewarded with golorious, wounderful, beautiful sweeping single track. Mostly you just suffer though. 

I think a through hiker we met up with at a water stop summed it up perfectly as he sat there tired, dehydrated and soaked in sweat “I think I actually hate hiking” 

After the morning that prompted such an extreme reaction we were pulled back into love with mountain biking on segment 3. After suffering all morning and into the late afternoon we started out on segment 3 with the destination of Buffalo creek in mind. None of us expected to make the 9 remaining miles, but instead of the punishment we had indured in the morning we were greeted with fast, fun and completely rideable single track, and just like that we remembered why were are here in the first place.