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Help! Riding JPL -- Fern TT to Ken Burton and down Arroyo

845 views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  411898 
#1 ·
I'm from Murrieta and want to ride this loop next Saturday since I'll be in the area. Is the dh single track and worth the ride up? Any suggestions and anyone want to join? About 12 miles and 3000ish feet.
 
#2 ·
I rode it about a month or so ago. I ride Fern up to Ken Burton trail head commonly but then I turn around and head back down. Back down the upper section reminds me a bit of Monroe TT.

I'm not a "Downhiller" so Ken Burton is gnarly, IMO. Crazy exposure, very loose soil, very narrow in many sections as you switchback down the mountain face. It's truly scary. Once you get down into the Arroyo, it's easy to navigate your way out (just keep going downstream and watch for the trail). You will stay in the creek and criss-cross it many times and then you will climb up and over another section of narrow, loose, exposed trail in order to clear "the dam" (a large flood control wall), then back down into the creek where you criss-cross it again a bunch heading downstream until you end up where Fern TT branches off.

If you haven't ridden El Prieto, that's a much better option but it will be busy since it's a weekend. Ken Burton is nice if you want solitude but I would not go alone. If you get hurt or have a major failure, you will be stuck out in some serious wilderness.
 
#6 ·
Since you're coming all the way from Murrieta, it's definitely worth adding on El Prieto after doing the main Brown Mtn-Ken Burton loop. This means tacking on another 2.5 mile/1,100 ft climb after descending out of the arroyo. Total stats for the ride will end up being approximately 19 miles with around 3,500 feet of climbing.
 
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