Arizona Trifecta. [0]

[KRob]

Thanks Arizona!

Posted this in Passion but just in case you missed it......

My annual Spring trip had been delayed to the ultimate moment this year...... but thankfully, Spring held on for just a wee bit longer so I could get an AZ hat trick in before June struck hot and heavy.

I normally go to Moab this time of year and was waffling even up to the last moment but I really wanted to see some of the AZ stuff that's been bandied about over that last little while.

In short.... it did not disappoint.


Day 1: Preskit
Despite a few naysayers trying to dissuade me from Prescott, Enel talked me into sampling some of his local techy fare. He'd viewed enough of my posts to know that I would enjoy this little granite boulder garden. He was right.

Photo credit goes to Enel except in cases where he's in the pic on his snow camo Lenz Lunchbox tearing it up.

Steep rollers abounded.


Drop opportunities were abundant.


There were some things I did not clean. (Hard to believe, I know )


Enel bunny hopped around this tight corner and cleaned it to the top..... Me.... well not so much.


Rock skinnies and more rollers. Oh my.






No "real" elevation gain but we regained the same 30-60 feet over and over again.
This is just one of many lung-busting, leg-wrenching climbs on this ride. I'm not ashamed to say that I was toast.... even before the end of this ride.


Up one side....


... and down the other ad infinitum.




This was mucho funno. Special thanks to Chris who is the City Parks worker/rider that routed much of this route and is still out with his can of write paint adding more. In fact part of this loop he'd just barely marked and when we saw him out on the trail he said to be careful not to ride over the white dots because they were still wet! Fresh stash indeed!

And Enel was a super nice, super skilled host....... even if he did tear my legs off.

[KRob]

Day 2: Flagstaff

Unfortunately my New Mexican ride partner/photog had to bail out at the last minute due to some buddies dropping out on him at the last minute so I didn't get many pictures in the Flag. I can say that the trails were amazing, though very different from Prescott.

I climbed to the top of Mt. Elden a couple of times following some suggestions from Rockman and Dale's map. But the real find was Wasabi. Holy-freaking-cow! That was FUN!.

2/3 of my photo output for the day. Lame I know. Blame AndyN. LOL.

I think I was lost on Onceler here.... but hey, it was sinewy and buff and I just kept wondering.


About a 1/2 mile from total steep, tech, droppy, nirvana.



Day 3: Sedona

Having harangued some hapless guides into showing me around the happy, healthy, hamlet or Sedona I came away healed, hysterical, and hedonistically content.

Jeff and Scott know their way around the backways of Sedona.... and killer riders and nice guys to boot. Thanks for the trip.


We climbed.


....with a few downs before topping out on the saddle.


As we were getting ready to leave the saddle these hikers were astonished to see the route we took. "You gotta be sh%#% me" the guy said as we rolled off the edge. They even applauded our successful descent after watching slack-jawed.


There's plenty of overhangs and ledges on this next part.




Fun sketchy chutes and steep rollers gallore.








Splorin' for new lines.


Yeah, this looks doable.




And the cactus was in bloom. You just can't beat that. Wow. What a day.



Day 5: Cowboy Trails LV

I returned to LV to spend the rest of the weekend with the fam Saturday night.... but Monday morning I woke up at like 4:00 am and couldn't get to sleep (maybe it was that 12 hours of sleep I got Saturday night) so got up and headed over to the Cowboy Trails. I had a score to settle with a certain 8 footer.

Climbing. I don't care who you are.... this climb kicks butt.


So I stopped to smell the flowers a bit.




Finally topped out at the overlook and was ready to teach the Boneshaker who was boss.


You know how some days you're just "on it" and everything is just clicking? Well, this day was not one of those days. I sucked. I tipped over. I rolled up to 3-4 footers a couple of times before launching and failed to even attempt the "9 footer" that ended up being more like a 5-6 footer when I realized you don't actually launch from where the gate is.... you launch 2 feet lower. Then I flatted and realized that while my new Single Ply Minions with Exo Protection handled the semi-gnar of Sedona, Prescott, and Flag really well they were no match for the uber-gnar of the Boneshaker. So I'll mount up some gosh-awful 1400 gram two ply monsters and return again sometime to see if the Boneshaker will kick my butt again..... or if I can finally rule it.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend too.

[Silver_Slug]

Good stuff Kent...especially enjoyed the pics of Flag...? Looks like you found some rocks and xposure....hope you enjoyed your fix.

-SS

[azepicriderandrunner]

Superb post! I love the Sedona shots. Surprised to see so few comments here. Hey, MTBR AZ, wake up and check out this thread!

I'll be up in LV this weekend doing some easy/relaxing riding, I'll look up the Cowboy Trails.

[Dag Nabbit]

You dun did good. Nice snaps. You just beat the heat. It was a scorcher this last weekend. Summer has arrived! (I'm gonna try and find some of that Preskit stuff. Looked like good fun.)

[tjkm]

Great pics! Thanks for show off the goods AZ has to offer! Now that the heat has arrived in phx, need to hit up some higher elevation stuff.....

[Cenobite39]

Great post ! Love the Prescott ride. Some very cool shots ! I think that first roller pic is my favorite.

[brianb21]

Great photos! I need to get up north to ride soon!

[TiCutter]

Was the full face needed?

[KRob]

Was the full face needed?

Well, it wasn't put to the test thankfully.... but I like to wear it for the Bone Shaker downhill.

That one has bitten me before. Scroll down on this thread aways and you'll see.

I also hauled it up to the top of Elden Lookout Rd for Wasabi. Just tryin' to avoid the reverse orthodontia.

[kenbentit]

Gotta love the Dells huh? That place is like a wide open trials course

[zul]

Can't believe that I missed your post. Busy playing hookie. Great to ride with Krob and can't believe that I haven't found my way to Willow Creek in Prescott. Everyone has been commenting upon these great pics and advanced sections ... SCARY!!!!

And so for next year, all's you need to hook up would be the Hogs. And then Pyramid, Mescal Ledges, and .... Too many to mention. Hopefully Flag/Prescott and Sedona are worth a return visit??!!!

Still hoping to get your way. Gooseberry this fall. Make it happen.

Hope to do it again sometime and a pleasure to meet. Krob is hell on wheelz (or something like that )

zul

[KRob]

Hey Zul!

Yeah, I really enjoyed my rides in AZ and will definitely be back for more (Hope Flag is still there when I return.)

Thanks for showing me around Sedona. Really, really fun stuff you've got there (with lots more to see it sounds like). And, yes, you need to get over to the Dells in Prescott. It's that good.