4th of July MTBing in Alpine, AZ

Headed up to the family cabin for our annual 4th of July weekend trip.  If you recall, last year, I was in full-on IMAZ training and brought my tri bike and running gear.  This time, however, it was MTB time!  Before we left, I downloaded a trail map of the area and found out that there were a few great trails near our cabin.  I won't bore you with any of the minutia, rather I'll give an overview of each ride (there were 3).

First up was the Luna Lake trail.  It has a big loop (8 miles) and a small loop (2.5 miles).  Luna Lake is about 5-6 miles from the cabin and the trail head may be another mile further in.  The MTB trails in this area are designated with a blue diamond and are marked fairly well.  I decided to ride from the cabin to the trail head, do the long loop, and head back.  Once in the thick of it, I ended up getting turned around and when I turned to the trail markers, I saw two arrows pointing in opposite directions on the same trail.  Which way should I go?!?  I ran into a few rangers and made some small talk too.  They told me that there was a big mountain lion roaming in the area so I should be careful.  Awesome.  Ultimately, I found my way back to the trail head and headed home.  This would end up being my longest MTB ride yet and it was great.

Link to the ride: Luna Lake Loop

I guess this is the trail head!

The trails were marked fairly well:

Or were they?

The scenery was much different than what I've been used to MTBing in:

Two days later, on the 5th, I racked my bike and headed over to Williams Valley to hit the trails there.  It's not far, but I just didn't feel like riding to the trails like I did with Luna.  The VERY short version of this ride is that I saw some Elk, was completely isolated in the middle of the forest, saw/heard and eagle screeching, fell over while still clipped in at a complete stop on the trail, and cut it short due to an incoming thunder storm.  Finally, the feeling of being completely isolated, in the middle of a valley, in the middle of the forest, with elk close by, was completely, and totally, out of this world, cool.

Link to the ride: Williams Valley Trails

More gratuitous pics of my bike:

The last ride was sometime after the Williams Valley ride.  After the storm passed, I headed back out.  I left my bike on the rack and made a quick 2 mile drive to the Georges Lake trail head.  I suppose I could have ridden there, but you know what?  I didn't.  The trail is a 9 mile OAB with a pretty good climb thrown in the middle.  I didn't actually see a lake, so I'm bummed about that, but I did do some exploring and had a great ride.  No pics though!

Link to the ride: Georges Lake Trail