Ride Report : American Fork Canyon single track - June 23 2009

We went to salamander flats, and unloaded. Took trail 159 to Summit, then went down 252. We crossed Cascade Springs road here. We went up trail 252, connected with 157 again.

At the junction to Pine Hollow trail, we stopped to decide if we wanted to go down that path, and back up, or simply continue back to the trucks. Until this point, the trails had not dealt us any hardships, and we had a bit more light to play with, so we decided to take the detour down and back up Pine Hollow trail.
There are a couple events along this trail that are tougher than other trails have offered us so far. The first two events are some switchbacks that can be interesting to navigate. There is also a drop with tree roots that is easier going down than it is going up. Near the end of the trail, closer to the parking lot, you come out on the side of the mountain, and can see down into the canyon floor. This perspective lends to an interesting ride, as your attention is drawn away from the trail, where it most definitely needs to be. The last event is a slab of rock that barely provides a trail to traverse. None of these events are unsurmountable, by any means, but they do demand a bit of respect and attention. On the way down, one of our group decided to slide off the trail 6+ feet. He struggled getting the bike back on the trail by himself, but was successful. On the way back up the trail, crossing the slab of rock proved a challenge to 2 of us, and almost unsurmountable by the third. He decided to jump off the bike, down the hill some 20+ feet, and let the bike follow. The ensuing struggle to lift the 250 beast back up the hill took all 3 of us to accomplish. I wish i had some of that wonder woman rope in my pack to assist with the lifting efforts. Too bad I didn't get that portion on video. But I did get the entire ride, up until about 15 minutes before that mishap occurred. Check them out here.

http://vholdr.com/node/31863
http://vholdr.com/node/31877
http://vholdr.com/node/31901
http://vholdr.com/node/31883

After regaining our footing with both humans and bikes on the designated trail, we went back up Pine Hollow trail, connected back with 157 and made our way back to Salamander flats.

Good times were had by all. No humans nor bikes were harmed in the filming of this adventure. Only sloppy mud caked onto the bikes and sore muscles on the human riders is the only evidence of our ride. Well, that and some tire marks left on the mountain side.