Archipelago Ride Part I (a)

This post is part 1(a) of a series of posts on what I'm calling my Archipelago Ride. The name of the ride was stolen from MTB Bill and describes my attempt to link together several of the local rides that surround my home into one huge loop.

This morning was part 1: From home to Hodges to San Dieguito River Park to the west end of the Santa Luz loop. Or so I hoped.

I had looked for hours on google maps and google earth and topo maps and trail maps to plan out the best route. As I prepared for this first leg of my journey, I wasn't sure what detours I would have to make or even exactly where I'd be going. But I was excited at the possibilities.

I started out from home, went down 4S Ranch Parkway, and cut through the Commons to the north side of 4S ranch. I rode through some newly constructed roads with half-finished houses down each side, and spotted the gate that lead to a fire road that I had seen on google maps. I could see from my online scouting that the fire road connected to South Hodges, but didn't know how steep it was, whether it was accessible, or exactly what it would look like from ground level.

The gate leading to the fire road was completely open, so I innocently rode right through and headed up the fire road. I was pretty nervous, worried that someone would come by and yell at me for being on private property, but I had a little story planned out and figured I could always just turn around and head back the way I came if someone stopped me.

As I headed up the slight incline, I spotted several figures off in the distance. I couldn't tell at first what they were, but figured they were people who lived nearby, and stopped for a minute a safe distance away. After a minute, I gathered myself and continued riding up the road, my story ready if they stopped me. But as I got closer, I realized that the figures weren't people, they were horses. The horses were just off the road, and were grazing on the dry grass that surrounded the entire area.

Feeling foolish, but not wanting to spook them or draw unwanted attention, I rode slowly by and didn't make eye contact. I took this picture over my shoulder as I rode by:

They tracked me closely as I rode, but didn't spook or run off. Relieved, I continued up the fire road toward the northeast, hoping I wouldn't see anyone else on this part of my journey.

As I rode along that section, images of last October's fire were still evident. The morning was deadly quiet, and it was strange to ride along and see the path the fire took through this area. There was no evidence of any homes that were burned, but there were some farming vehicles and a trailer that didn't fare well.


I continued riding along, and began a short gradual climb that split a saddle between two larger mountains to each side of me.

The climb was short and sweet, and as I reached the top, I could see Hodges below me as the fire road snaked to the east. I stopped for a minute to check out this rock, which had been burned by the fire. The heat was apparently so intense that it caused the rock to flake and crack, and I walked around on the pieces that crumbled beneath my feet. Amazing.

The fire road continued past the rock, and as I rode down I could see the other fire roads that make up part of South Hodges below me, so I knew where I was. I had to hop over a chain link fence, and after doing so, found myself at South Hodges.

I rode down the fire road toward the Poblado trailhead, and made my way along the South Hodges trail over toward the North side. I stopped on the way to take this picture at the waterfall. I also should note that I did successfully negotiate the switchback right above the waterfall, which I hadn't been able to do before.


From the waterfall I rode the trail along the south side, up to RB road (because the bridge is still closed), through the ball field, and over to the main south side trails. As I started the clockwise loop near the (closed) bridge, I passed a group of riders. I recognized Dan (OldDogDan) from our SMaRT ride a few months ago, and stopped to say hello. We chatted for a minute, and I gave him and his group directions on how to get over to the other part of the south side to Piedras Pintadas. Then we said our goodbyes and I was back on my way.

I made all of the rocky sections along the south side without dabbing, but did stop to take this picture of an egret. It was beautiful and the backdrop was really neat.

From there I finished up the singletrack along the south side, rode up to West Bernardo Road, across the 15, down the onramp, through the construction site, and hooked up with the North Hodges trails.

I did the basic North Hodges ride, including the upper singletrack and the section I found during the Tour de Hodges ride near the parking lot at the launch ramp. I then continued along the fun section along the west end of the lake, and made it over to Hernandez Hideaway.

From there, I began my second scouting portion of the ride. I couldn't tell exactly how to get from Hernandez Hideaway to the Dam, but had heard that there used to be some singletrack that had been closed off due to construction. As I passed HH, I saw a road that seemed to parallel the lake, and started riding down it. I hadn't gotten 200 yards when a security guard in a white Ford Ranger stopped me, yelled at me, and said that the road was closed. So I doubled back to the paved section of Lake Drive and rode up Rancho Drive to Del Dios Highway. On the way up Rancho Drive I rode a few other streets, looking for another way down to a supposed trail by the lake, but had no luck.

I rode up a short climb in the bike lane along Del Dios and then began descending. I kept looking over to my left at the lake, trying to see when I could pick up a trail, if at all. I passed one opportunity that looked like it simply ran into a construction site, so I decided to keep going along Del Dios. But as I continued, I could see that the turn I had ignored led to a fire road that paralleled the lake. After hesitating, I stopped, crossed Del Dios, and doubled back. I took the road down to where it snaked along the lake, and saw portions of Hodges I had never seen before.

I rode that road along all the way past the Dam, until it climbed back up and re-connected with Del Dios.

After just a few hundred yards on pavement, I hooked up with another fire road that parallelled the riverbed after the Dam.

That road also quickly rejoined Del Dios, and after another short pavement ride, I spotted the bridge I was looking for off to my left. The bridge, which had been completed shortly before the October fires and then subsequently burned and closed down, was below me on my left. I had to HAB down a short steep embankment, and then hesitantly crossed the bridge. It was technically closed, as was the next section of the San Dieguido River Park trail. But I wasn't going to worry about poaching today.



I crossed the bridge and began a fire road ascent that proved a little tough in spots. Halfway up the climb I looked over to my right and saw these tracks in the mountain along side Del Dios.

I couldn't tell if they were ridable, but they looked really neat. I completed my climb, and took a right along the SDRP trails. Before this ride, I had no idea these trails existed. But before the fires they were clearly well maintained and frequently used. Since the fire, the entire section has been closed pending the rebuilding of several newly built (and subsequently burned) bridges. I continued along the trail, a section of which looked like this:

Shortly thereafter I reached the first burned out bridge.

I simply hiked around it, careful to watch where I stepped. Apparently the bridges are not able to be rebuilt until late fall because the area nearby is used as a nesting ground for some species of bird. I saw no birds or nests along this section of trail however.

I traversed a couple of burned-out bridges, and continued along my way. To my right was a lush pond area, which was pretty neat.

To my left was the Crosby golf course, which was also scenic.

I continued along the SDRP trail, and soon reached my next point of exploration. On his Archipelago Ride a few months ago, MTB Bill had told my about having to climb a series of brutal switchbacks at the end of this section of trail. It was his opinion that there was a better route through the canyon floor that would allow riders to avoid the switchback climb/HAB. He didn't know exactly where it was, but sent me a map with his best guess.

I reached the base of the switchbacks and spent about 25 minutes thashing about in the knee-high weeds, looking for anything resembling a trail along the canyon floor. After getting thoroughly scratched up and finding nothing, I resigned myself to the switchbacks.

This picture is of the area I explored, looking for a trail. It was shot from above, about halfway up the first series of switchbacks:

There was no trail.

This picture is a wider angle of where Bill thought the canyon floor trail would go. As you can see, any trail is blocked by the pond.

I completed the first series of switchbacks pretty easily. By grabbing the metal fencepost at the apex of each turn, I was able to swing myself through each switchback without having to dismount. Without the posts, I would have been HABing the entire thing, because each switchback was ridiculously tight.

After the first set of switchbacks, there was a short descent, and then another set of longer, more brutal switchbacks that lacked the convenience of fenceposts. That section was extremely steep and loose, and there were 12 agonizingly tight switchbacks. I hiked to the top, exhausted, and was greeted with this sign:

From there I was faced with some additional exploration, because I had failed to ask MTB Bill what the rest of his route had been. I had counted on finding a trail along the canyon floor, and had scouted a connection from the canyon floor to the northwest portion of the Santa Luz loop. But as I rode along the mesa above the canyon, I couldn't immediately spot a trail taking me back down the the canyon floor. I rode around for about 15 minutes, looking for a way down, but there didn't appear to be one.

From there I took my only option, a fire road that headed east. I figured somewhere along the way I would find a trail that would take me down to the canyon floor, and I could then hook up with the Santa Luz trails or the trails I was familiar with through Lusardi Canyon.

The eastbound fire road was steep, and I was experiencing significant fatigue by this point. I was also frustrated by my lack of options and the fact that I was essentially lost. I finally got to the top of the fire road, and saw another fire road that seemed to head down into the canyon. I rode down it, worried that it would be a waste of time and precious energy, but determined to take the calculated risk. It didn't pay off.

The offshoot fire road ended up being a dead end, and I hacked my way through some brush to get back to the main eastbound fire road. I continued to grind along, looking for a trail that would take me south into Lusardi Canyon, but had no luck. Eventually, out of options, I continued along the fire road, hoping to eventually hit Camino del Sur and reorient myself. The fire road alternated between steep climbs and flat sections, cutting through construction sites and new home developments. Eventually I hit a paved road (which I later discovered was Artesian Trail Road) which took me to Artesian Road, which led back to Camino del Sur like I'd hoped.

By this point in the ride, I was completely exhausted, and unbelievably hot, frustrated, and annoyed. The first section of the ride had gone so smoothly, but the last section was a horror-show. Between the bushwacking looking for a trail that didn't exist, the gnarly switchbacks, and getting lost along the mesa, a great ride had turned into a nightmare.

I finally hit Camino del Sur, and briefly considered riding south for a half mile and taking the Lusardi trails home. Doing so would have allowed me to finish the ride mostly on dirt, but I was out of energy and pretty pissed, so I elected to just ride Camino del Sur to the northwest toward home. I had to stop once on the short paved climb just before home out of sheer exhaustion. I was cramping and lightheaded, but determined to finish. I dragged myself the rest of the way up the hill and made it to my driveway with virtually no energy to spare.

My goal for this ride had been to essentially ride the route I rode, but I had intended to successfully link up with Santa Luz so that I could pre-ride this section before riding the whole thing. With my problem connecting to Santa Luz, I'm going to have to scout a new route.

At the end of the day, the ride had some successful elements. I now know how to connect 4S to Hodges, and Hodges to the Crosby area. I just need to figure out how to connect SDRP/Crosby area to Santa Luz, and part 1 of my Archipelago Ride will be complete.

Here are the stats. This ended up being the longest ride of my short mountainbiking career thus far.

Total Distance: 28.01 miles

Total Time: 4:24:38

Ascent: 2793 feet

Average Speed: 6.3 mph

Top Speed: 29.8 mph

Bike: Specialized Enduro Elite

Map:

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