Wahine
02-19-2012, 08:09 PM
At about noon today I looked at my BF and said, "Isn't it time we got outside for some activity?" He agreed and the next decision was whether to drive about 45 min and x-c ski or drive about 15 min and check out some of our mountain biking trails that got hit badly in a winter storm. BF opted for mtn bike.
We got over to the trail head and things looked OK from the ground. The face of the hill we would end up on is south and it looked like there was snow under the trees but there was also a lot of open ground. We started up the backside of the hill, the easiest way to climb and we were soon off our bikes to climb over a downed log. Our area got hit very badly by an ice storm about 1 month ago and there was a ton of tree damage. Many of the trails closer to our house are not even recognizable as trail but we kept going anyway, especially after running into some hikers who said it wasn't too bad.
After about 1 hour of climbing with an annoying but manageable amount of getting off the bike to go over logs and/or go through some snow, things started to get worse. We kept going. It got worse, and worse, and worse. It took us a little over 3 hours to get to the top of the ridge. We had bushwhacked around huge groupings of downed trees (4 or 5 very large evergreens) and even when there weren't downed trees there was snow. The nasty kind of shin deep snow with a crust at the top where you punch through the crust unexpectedly hyperextending your knee and cutting your shin.
Why did we keep going you might ask. Well, by the time I was convinced that the tree fall was going to be continuous, we were already far enough up that it would be just as much hassle to turn and go back and by forging ahead, I was hoping that we would get above the elevation where the icestorm had done the most damage. We were headed towards the south face of the hill which I hoped would have less snow. I cursed my decision every time I had to lift my bike up and over another waist height or higher log. I actually got very good at throwing my poor bike over things. And using it to support me as I slogged up another hill through knee deep snow.
Why didn't the BF want to turn around? He lives for this kind of thing. He was actually having fun a lot of the time. It never even occured to him that turning around was an option.
We got to the top and the snow was very deep and we slogged. We started back down the other side and the snow was still deep but the amount of tree fall was a little better, maybe spread out as much as 50 feet in spots.:rolleyes: And did I mention that by this point my feet had become numb blocks on the ends of my legs?:(
The snow did start to thin out eventually. We actually got to ride our bikes for a bit. Like maybe 25 yards at a time. :rolleyes: Then we got a little farther down on the south face and Ta Da!! Open trail, we were below the snow line and the tree fall was much thinner though still a factor. We started descending and it was terrifying. My hands quickly went numb and my feet were already numb, I had no real points of contact with the bike. I constantly felt like I was slipping off the brake levers and I couldn't tell how hard I was squeezing. If I had to unclip for some reason it was an ordeal to get clipped back in.
I rode conservatively and got down safely. BF kept a very close eye on me the whole time to make sure I was OK.
The stats: 9 miles in 4 hours, 25 min per mile, about 2.3 mph average without any stopping breaks longer than a couple of minutes. SLOGFEST!
On the upside, my extremities all have their sensation back and I got to have a great meal at the pub afterward.:D
We got over to the trail head and things looked OK from the ground. The face of the hill we would end up on is south and it looked like there was snow under the trees but there was also a lot of open ground. We started up the backside of the hill, the easiest way to climb and we were soon off our bikes to climb over a downed log. Our area got hit very badly by an ice storm about 1 month ago and there was a ton of tree damage. Many of the trails closer to our house are not even recognizable as trail but we kept going anyway, especially after running into some hikers who said it wasn't too bad.
After about 1 hour of climbing with an annoying but manageable amount of getting off the bike to go over logs and/or go through some snow, things started to get worse. We kept going. It got worse, and worse, and worse. It took us a little over 3 hours to get to the top of the ridge. We had bushwhacked around huge groupings of downed trees (4 or 5 very large evergreens) and even when there weren't downed trees there was snow. The nasty kind of shin deep snow with a crust at the top where you punch through the crust unexpectedly hyperextending your knee and cutting your shin.
Why did we keep going you might ask. Well, by the time I was convinced that the tree fall was going to be continuous, we were already far enough up that it would be just as much hassle to turn and go back and by forging ahead, I was hoping that we would get above the elevation where the icestorm had done the most damage. We were headed towards the south face of the hill which I hoped would have less snow. I cursed my decision every time I had to lift my bike up and over another waist height or higher log. I actually got very good at throwing my poor bike over things. And using it to support me as I slogged up another hill through knee deep snow.
Why didn't the BF want to turn around? He lives for this kind of thing. He was actually having fun a lot of the time. It never even occured to him that turning around was an option.
We got to the top and the snow was very deep and we slogged. We started back down the other side and the snow was still deep but the amount of tree fall was a little better, maybe spread out as much as 50 feet in spots.:rolleyes: And did I mention that by this point my feet had become numb blocks on the ends of my legs?:(
The snow did start to thin out eventually. We actually got to ride our bikes for a bit. Like maybe 25 yards at a time. :rolleyes: Then we got a little farther down on the south face and Ta Da!! Open trail, we were below the snow line and the tree fall was much thinner though still a factor. We started descending and it was terrifying. My hands quickly went numb and my feet were already numb, I had no real points of contact with the bike. I constantly felt like I was slipping off the brake levers and I couldn't tell how hard I was squeezing. If I had to unclip for some reason it was an ordeal to get clipped back in.
I rode conservatively and got down safely. BF kept a very close eye on me the whole time to make sure I was OK.
The stats: 9 miles in 4 hours, 25 min per mile, about 2.3 mph average without any stopping breaks longer than a couple of minutes. SLOGFEST!
On the upside, my extremities all have their sensation back and I got to have a great meal at the pub afterward.:D