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Best southern california shuttle trails

13K views 48 replies 33 participants last post by  dirtvert 
#1 ·
Besides The San Juan Trail and Noble Canyon, What are the Best trails to shuttle in southern California?
 
#2 · (Edited)
SART - San Bernardino Mtns.
Monroe Truck Trail - Glendora
Palm Canyon Epic
Chiquito Trail - next to San Juan

Various Shuttles in the San Gabriel Mountains accessed from Mt. Wilson and Angeles Crest Highway - Many different trail combos. I like Mt. Dissapointment to Upper & Middle Merril to Sunset to El Prieto. This can also be accessed from Mt. Lowe instead of Mt. D.

Out of all these Palm Canyon is by far my fav.

A bit further north:
Cannel Plunge
Just Outstanding
Camp Nelson Trail
Bear Creek

Even further north:
Lower Rock Creek Trail near Mammoth
 
#9 ·
Newb here.

what's a shuttle trail?
A shuttle trail is a trail for people who can't climb. These people are driven to the top of mountains, then they skid all the way down the trail, blowing all the corners out, and scaring the hell out of all other trail users. These shuttlers , also never build trails, unless it's an illegal trail.
 
#10 ·
?????????

That was just an idiotic reply to a question. Way to show your true colors. Just because people want to shuttle a trail does not mean that they can't climb or skid down trails or scare anyone. Some people just like going downhill more than going uphill. The fact that you feel the need to put down how other people prefer to ride a particular trail says a lot about you. I prefer to shuttle the San Juan trail because I only have limited time to ride and I prefer to have as much fun as possible. Climbing that trail takes a lot longer than having a blast riding down it. Please keep you prejudices to yourself.

To the Newb.......shuttling a trail just means that you take two cars and park one at the bottom then drive the other to the top. Once done, you use the other car to drive back up.
 
#11 ·
That was just an idiotic reply to a question. Way to show your true colors. Just because people want to shuttle a trail does not mean that they can't climb or skid down trails or scare anyone. Some people just like going downhill more than going uphill. The fact that you feel the need to put down how other people prefer to ride a particular trail says a lot about you. I prefer to shuttle the San Juan trail because I only have limited time to ride and I prefer to have as much fun as possible. Climbing that trail takes a lot longer than having a blast riding down it. Please keep you prejudices to yourself.

To the Newb.......shuttling a trail just means that you take two cars and park one at the bottom then drive the other to the top. Once done, you use the other car to drive back up.
Instant gratifacation in other words. No work, just rewards. I also have limited time to ride, I enjoy the challenge of climbing to be able to descend. Climbers earn the descent, shuttlers don;t. Nothing idotic in my post, just the facts, deal with it. You are justifing weakness, I have no guilt .
 
#21 ·
Yup. The Plunge is close to 2,200 foot climb without the "bonus" climb. I generally do not shuttle, but after riding the Cannell Trail twice now, I cannot imagine being able to climb from Kernville to Sherman Pass with a gain of 8,400 feet. If there is a ride born to shuttle, this is it. Data below is directly from my GPS. I think there are some rides like this one, most people have to shuttle, but I really like the climb part as much as the decent...

Elevation Gain: 2,185 ft
Elevation Loss: 8,409 ft
Min Elevation: 2,734 ft
Max Elevation: 9,407 ft
 
#29 ·
Yall should quit derailling this here thread. I knew where it would be before opening it, but let's keep it information based. This has been debated ad neasuem, ad infinitum, et cetera. I mean seriously, different strokes for different folks. Accept that or remain a child.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
 
This post has been deleted
#42 ·
I like to wear golf shoes and tendorize the the trails on my way up, dragging a 45lb rig. For the way down, I take off the seat and endo all the way to bottom. This way, my seatpost creates additional holes and the trails get aerated quite nicely. Once it rains, I then shuttle it and go extra fast so I really smear it all back together.
 
#48 ·
Can't help but chime in. Shuttling for DH and shuttling for point-to-point are two different animals. On some trails like SJT, people do both - thus the conflict. Personally, I much prefer riding up SJT to earn the descent, and there is nothing on the trail that requires suspension at all, much less an 8" travel DH rig. (I ride a 5.5" travel rig 'cause I like suspension). Trails like Cannel all but require a drive to the top - is my understanding.

Then there are true shuttle trails like Telonics. It's a DH specific trail that people spend hours working on to maintain. It's built for DH rigs. Although I've ridden it on my AM rig, I much prefer it on my DH bike. It's a hell of a workout, and I've never seen anyone skidding on it. It has berms. If you skid on the steep parts, you will fall.

I think it helps to understand our sport if you think of skiing/snowboarding as a comparison. There are XC skiers and XC ski trails and there are ski areas for alpine skiing/snowboarding. They are separate sports. Each requires athleticism and fitness, and each provides its own sense of accomplishment and thrills. If XC skiers had to do their thing at ski areas, it wouldn't work. They would get run over by all the skidding and thrill-seeking downhill skiers and snowboarders. Putting the two types of athletes/equipment on the same trails is where the trouble happens.

DH mtb is an amazing workout, especially at a ski area where you can get in several runs in a short period of time. To the holier-than-thou abusive guy above, go try it some time - then chime in about how much it sucks and is not a workout. Also, I would like to see you ride up Telonics. I'll even hold the downhill traffic for you so you don't get interrupted.

As for the topic of this thread, there are many shuttle trails along the I-15 corridor between Corona and Temecula where many videos are shot and the world's best DHer lives. I guess many are consider marginally legal - but they are ridden and maintained by local riders, world-class riders and corporate sponsors.
 
#49 · (Edited)
^^ I suggest climbing up Canyon Acres or Stairsteps to drop Telonix. That's how we do it!

Btw- I think a lot of the animosity on the SJT towards shuttlers (and I've done it many times, although usually to drop Chiquito), is the fact that it attracts a fair amount of newbies who throw on a full face and try to make it to the bottom, and often don't know trail etiquette--like yielding to climbers. That gets a little old, especially if you're climbing on an SS.

As for the OP, I vote for Cannell, with Palm Canyon a close second, and Chiquito third--but I'm an XC guy!
 
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