Trail # 105
Description
Perhaps the prettiest and most
picturesque trail of all is #105. It's referred to by local bicyclist as "Three
Dogs". The story goes... "Once upon a time, a highly praised trail miester was
swathing a new section of trail through a mighty pine grove. The trees in that forest grew
so fast that he could hardly afford to wait one day between cuttings. As he was always
there, sweating and singing, the animals grew accustomed to the
trail miester. On one fateful day, three rabid half-breed coyote, German shepherd,
Labrador poodles emerged from the blackness of the forest to contest the human
intrusion. The trail miester met their cold, distant and collective stares with a great
song. Those 3 mutts have never been seen since. "
The long, straight section of 105 that you see on the map, coming off of the gravel road
and going NNE, is an old logging road blanketed in pine needles. Gear up and it's hammer
time! Hard packed soil and no rock equals one fast ride. Until...until the road ends and
the trail turns to the right into a pine glade. Mountain bikers will find it difficult to
enjoy the expansive view of the lake. Smart bikers will be too busy dodging trees and
hopping over roots that protrude six inches out of the ground as they negotiate this tight
and twisty section at speed. It reminds many of that "Speeder" scene in Star
Wars, where the storm troopers repeatedly lose control and slam into
trees.
Next come the rocks. Not little rocks, not big rocks. These rocks are 'just right'. They
are on the right and on the left. These are rocks with considerable heft. Slick and slimy
in the rain, they have dealt much pleasure and pain.
At one point, you have an option of taking a three-foot drop between two ancient oaks, or
riding down a steep ramp. Either way, there's a switchback waiting for you. That
switchback will lead you into one grunt of a climb (sixty feet up in 300 feet of trail)
back up to trail #104.
Trail #105 Maps: - outline | topo
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