It was billed as mostly downhill, with tons of bypassable stunts and some of the best scenery in the area. Apparently the trail wound through some amazing sequoia groves, and there was even a section where the trail went right through the trunk of a massive sequoia itself. There was no way I was skipping this one.
We started out right from camp, and the trail lived up to its billing. It was mostly downhill, and though we did stop to session several stunts and log rides, there was also more flow to this ride.
It was the scenery, though, that made the trail special. Bear Creek was extremely scenic in its own right, but Camp Nelson was even more gorgeous. 
The trees lined the trail and stretched to the sky, and it was so quiet and peaceful that I couldn't believe it.
One of the coolest parts was the sequoia that was bisected by the trail. It was surreal riding right through the middle of this massive tree.
Right after that, there were even two log rides that I tried, but after being so tentative all weekend, I locked up on both and didn't clean them. I know I could have made both if I'd had a little more confidence and another shot, but I spent the whole time at the back of the pack, and didn't want to fall behind.
Sean, on the other hand, had no such problems. He cleaned this drop, along with some hairy portions of the trail right before it, with no problem.
Others in the group got even bigger air on the jumps further down the trail.
The whole ride was under two hours, and was definitely a highlight of the trip. At the bottom of the trail, we all piled into Art's pickup and shuttled back up to camp. We had packed everything up earlier in the day, and pulled out of Quaking Aspens around 3:30.
It was an amazing trip of riding, and I had a tremendous time for my first out of town trip. I can't say enough about Sean and what he did to make the weekend a success. From planning out the entire itinerary, to handling all of the logistics, to buying and making all the food, to doing all of the driving, to providing the RV, to playing bike mechanic for me on the trail, he was a phenomenal blessing.
I was sorry Doug had left us early, but after getting a text from him during our drive home, it sounded like he made the right call. I also had hoped to get to know Brent and Sean a little better on a personal level, but it seemed both guys were relatively private, and there wasn't a lot of personal chatter throughout the weekend. They were certainly friendly, and I enjoyed talking riding and hearing a little about the work they do together at GA. Maybe as we ride together more I'll get a chance to get to know them each better. I hope so, because they were both really quality people.
At the end of the day, thanks mostly to Sean and his planning, the trip cost me about $250 total. Amazing. If someone had asked me to describe my perfect vacation for this time in my life, I couldn't have painted a better picture than this trip turned out to be.
One thing I would change lies totally with me: I would have had a much better time if my conditioning had been better and my riding skills were more advanced. I was riding above my head most of the weekend, and while I never felt like too much of an anchor, I'm unaccustomed to being at the back of the pack with anything I do. I know time and experience will help fix some of that, but I want to be generally continuing to work on my fitness level as well. Sean mentioned some winter trips, maybe to Flagstaff or Sedona, and several of the guys I ride with do a Moab trip every spring. If I want to go on some of those, and enjoy them to the fullest, I need to improve my endurance and bike handling skills. So I'm going to get to work on that.
Here are the stats from the Camp Nelson Ride:
Total Time: 1:54:31
Ascent: 2066 feetAverage Speed: 2.8 mph
Top Speed: 25.1 mphBike: Specialized Enduro Elite
Map:View Larger Map
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