The first couple of miles where perfect, great views with long sweeping downhill sections, just what I was hoping for. Then the good times came to an abrupt halt as I ran into some very soft dirt and very steep ravines, one after another. At one point I actually blew my front tire right off the rim and had to put in a tube.
After 4-5 miles of bushwhacking across the desert I made it to a drainage system that I was familiar with and was able to use the dry washes to pick up the pace. I eventually made my way to the Santa Clara river and crossed over into the River Reserve area that I was looking for.
There are many petroglyphs in the area that you can hike/bike to. I took this picture sitting on my bike.
This next photo is a little grainy as I had to zoom in as far as I could. You can make out some large petroglyphs and 3 pioneer names. A.P. Hardy 1859, S.G. Hardy 1880 and some guy named Tom. Funny how their graffiti is really cool today.
I made it home after 3 1/2 hours and 15+ miles. To bad that my trail dreams were dashed but there is a lot more desert out there looking to be tamed.
