If It's February It Must Be Arizona.

 

Feb 2022

Legs ready? No. Butt ready? No. Ok all systems nominal. A little bit of tough, a little bit of tour.

Joannie and I hadn't been to see our oldest son's (Kirk) new condo in Scottsdale yet since buying it during the pandemic. It seemed an appropriate time for a trip. Joannie ever obliging and knowing, mostly from experience, that 5 days of visiting and being a tourist is pretty over my limit so to drop in a 3 day variation of bikepacking the Fool's Loop would work perfect! We made the LONG drive from our home in Nevada Monday and got there in time to visit and have Kirk show us around his new digs.  Early Tuesday morning, Joannie drove me out to the Brown's Ranch trailhead. The plan was to start there and ride the loop over to Black Canyon City and she would pick me up there Thursday. 

The ride went pretty much as planned but I was a little too slow to get picked up in Black Canyon City at a reasonable time so I texted for a pickup at Bumblebee Ranch. Brown's Ranch trail system is a gem and I want to go back there to ride more of the trails. The walkway under the spillway of Horseshoe Dam was easy to find and a unique experience! Sheep bridge is another highlight.  The climb out of Bloody Basin in itself wasn't that bad but all the climbs between Sheep Bridge and the final climb took it's toll, not to mention I'm out of cycling shape having ridden only a tiny bit since November. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!) The Black Canyon trail has some really excellent riding as well as sections of rather ho-hum. Sadly, I didn't get to the lower portion below Bumblebee Ranch. Planning wise, I think I carried 4 liters of water at the start. I topped off at Sheep Bridge and grabbed another liter at the seasonal Tangle creek which had flowing water at each of the several crossings. I re-filled again in Cordes Lake at the 50's Diner and RV park. I wanted to eat lunch there but I was feeling the time pressure and reluctantly pressed on to the Black Canyon trail at the Big Bug trailhead. There are plenty of water options along the BCT including Hidden Treasure Mine trailhead. I never carried more than 5 liters total throughout the ride and that was more than enough. It was a great ride and far different desert scenery than my home Nevada desert.

 

Brown's Ranch Trailhead

Walkway under the spillway of Horseshoe Dam

Filtering water under Sheep Bridge

Sheep Bridge

Sheep Bridge

 

Tangle Cr.

The Black Canyon Trail

Bumble Bee Ranch office

 

Friday Joannie, Kirk, and I jumped on our bikes (Kirk has a couple bikes and Joannie used one of his) and Kirk took us bike sightseeing. It was a wonderful tour around on the canal trails and bike paths. We started off riding over to Water Mark. In reality it's a flood control project but unique in that it's a series of equine sculptures that during flash flood events pour water from the horses mouths. Here is a good description of the installation. 

From there we rode back through Old Town and picked up another trail leading to Arizona Falls. A historic location on the Arizona Canal where there is a 20 ft drop. In the late 1800's it was apparently a popular place to picnic and socialize. More here and here. 

Arizona Falls

We weren't done yet. We continued on the canal trail to Ohso's. A restaurant bar located right on the trail that welcomes trail users like us. What a super fun venue! Lunch and a beer and we were off retracing our route back to Old Town to meet up with Laura, Kirk's friend and owner of Bella Bridesmaids. She pulled out her bike and we rode off to get an Ice Cream at the Sugar Shack. After the fun tour we finally rode back to Kirk's place where Laura joined us bit later. Following a couple drinks he and Laura grilled a fantastic steak dinner that capped a perfect 'touristy' day. 

Wyatt was not neglected... 

 

Ohso's

Bella Bridesmaids

Laura and Kirk

Kirk entertaining Wyatt

  

Saturday we had to leave but drove over to Southern California to visit Joannie's family and stayed Sunday. Superbowl Sunday started with a trip to the beach so Wyatt could run. Wyatt was able to visit his cousins Duke and Pearl. They all had great fun chasing each other and their beach toys which Wyatt sort of commandeered. Following that I met nephew Brian in Ojai for a rip around the local trail system. There are some really nice trails out there, especially this time of year when everything is green and fresh. I would have never known all those trails existed! By the time I got back to Joannie's sister and brother in laws place Superbowl was well underway. Of course what's Superbowl without a couple beers and snacks? It was a great visit, me not having been down there in over 2 yrs.  

And that was that. Monday we had a pleasant drive home. 

 

Bikepacking stats per my Wahoo Element Bolt:

104.5 miles, 11,221 ft climbing

Bike setup: 

Bridgit (29+ Trek Stache hardtail copy in carbon)

29x3" tubeless tires, Reba 120mm front suspension.

Experimental 11/50 10 speed 1x drivetrain.

I'll leave you with photos of happy dogs.