DURANGO- exploring the tighter trails

[fuggy]

Originally Posted by McRuss

PS, wonder why you turned back on Hermosa Trail? The trail goes all the way through to Hermosa Park and comes out at Purgatory Ski Area, have done it several times on various bikes, last time was solo on an XR500. Perhaps it was the pavement getting back to Durango?

We did an out-and-back on Hermosa. We'd much rather ride the trail backwards than loop around on the highway or past the crowded resort.

Originally Posted by nagel

They allow moto bikes on the downhill trails?

It depends on the trail. The specific DH trail we rode up and down was 'pirate' trail built by the locals who practice their gravity defying skills on specific DH bicycles. Many trails in this area are shared by both motos and bikes, which is totally cool in my opinion. I wish my home state of AZ did a better job of this.

Originally Posted by RZRob

Wow that looked awesome. Video looked great, but I could only watch so much. Personally the CRF is music to my ears - Styx isn't (anymore). So I'm guessing you had to gear down significantly? That looks like the kind of riding most of us only dream about. I've done the Durango/Silverton train. Are you in that general area?

RZ Rob

The Hermosa Video has lots of CRF soundtrack for you to enjoy: 11 minutes of 4-stroke symphony!
http://youtu.be/XHB97LUE-0w

None of us geared down, I have stock gearing on the KTM 450xcr-w and I believe the two Honda's also kept their desert gearing on....we just used a lot more clutch and of course the Rekluse Clutches made it much easier.

All of our riding was within 40 minutes of Durango, Hermosa is north of town and the other trails were NE of town. In the winter time there is also some good riding south around Aztec.

On a side note: I've been visiting Durango for the last 20 years and I think they have done a great job catering to such a vast population of outdoor users. I used to race mtn bikes and enjoyed the Iron Horse events, Roostmaster Shoot-outs on Chapmin Hill, racing the road bike up to Silverton, etc. The town seems to have doubled the number of trails nowadays and most of them are marked and mapped out for everyones enjoyment....which is a hard thing to do considering the population of Durango has also probably tripled in that same time frame.

[fuggy]

Please support your local chapter of the USFS to keep these trails open.


(took this photo on my way to coffee one morning passing the neighbors home).

[Slowred]

Great RR Fuggy!

That is the most amazing USFS sign I've ever seen!!!

[redninja]

Originally Posted by Foot dragger

Ive camped at the top of the Hermosa Creek trail then rode down it on my mt bike,long,long fun downhill with some carrying of the bike through icy mountain streams. Really,Really fun!!!!!!! Also theres a great Ice Cream place in Durango,home made on the spot I believe,excellent! Ive ridden the motorcicle out of Steamboat Springs, some great singletrack that goes on and on.

AHA...we used to own that ice cream place, and did make the ice cream ourselves. We sold it to another guy who ran it for a few years. It's not there any more !!!

[Gaston Gagne]

That is waaay the best use of a GoPro I have ever seen. Thank you. I have been zeroed in on Northwest CO, but this changes everything.

[still southern]

If you ever need a break from trails, check out Mesa Verde National Park which is closer to Cortez...we loved it when we road through earlier in the summer.

The trail riding looks awesome!

[fuggy]

My buds talked me into another trip to D-Town since they missed the first one due to a sick family member in the hospital. This time five of us on motos went back to ride the great trails the first week of September for 4 days. One of us ended up staying in Durango for an additional 4 days....hospitalized from a freak moto accident! Luckily we had cameras and video to document the trip for everyone to enjoy.


First, I'll start with the riding. After a 7 hours crammed in a truck from PHX, three of us arrive in Durango and hit the Hermosa T.H. around noon. We decided to take Jones up to Flagstaff-Pinkerton and then drop down Dutch Creek back to Hermosa Tr. Having never done this route before, it ended up being a great warm up ride with some nice technical bits going down Dutch.

Jones was a pretty trail. Nice and smooth, climbs were easy, and switchbacks were wide and flowing:




Jones intersected Flag-Pinkerton. We took a left(trail on the right in this photo) and immediately hit some nice aspens.


Flag-Pinkerton is a great trail! Has everything IMHO. Steep uphills, downhills, downed trees, rocky climbs, and a good mix of different trees and scenery.


Dutch Creek was also nice (take a left turn and drop down this trail, motos are not allowed on the upper end of Dutch). Trail was mostly all downhill with some tricky rock sections and narrow momments to keep you focused. I could see why some of the intermediate riders would not like this trail going up or down.


We met some local dirt bikers to the area that were out for a stroll(near top of Dutch):

[fuggy]

Day 2 on this trip two more guys from PHX arrived. We decided to do Hermosa out and back. Nobody was having any fun and the scenery sucked!




Taking a break, enjoying the green stuff:


Wheelie over the bridge (near top end of Hermosa creek trail).


We pulled into Purgatory and it was dead empty on a Friday afternoon. We flagged down one lady and she pointed us to a small deli that was still open. Luckily they had just 5 beers left in the cooler as we were thirsty!


Had fun riding around the 'empty' ski area, rode off some jumps and steps, and then hit the dirt road back down to Hermosa T.H. We took a few breaks along the way...


Video: Mix of Jones, Flag-Pinkerton, Dutch, & Hermosa (for best results watch in HD)

[refokus]

Nice video and pictures. It looks like you had another great ride....

[fuggy]

Day three was a little more rainy and dramatic! A storm had rolled in but we decided to ride anyway. The five of us rode some trails near Vallecito Lake, around the 8k-10k elevation range. The fog was thick, the ground was damp, and most of us desert dwellers doned our rain jackets. The ground was very saturated and of course the roots and rocks were slick. We all did good making it up some tighter technical trails(810c).

contemplating what to do in the weather:


"Should we turn around or go forward?" Dan says to me. "Forward mate!"


Two of the guys in our group had to rush back to PHX that day so we cut the ride short and were all headed back to the trucks....when disaster struck!
With about a mile to go on easy singletrack back to the road, our buddy Randy had a little incident with a tree. He went off a small jump and landed fine....but a slick tree branch caught his tire and he 'supermaned' into a sharp fallen tree....stabbing himself in the gut!

scene of the accident:


tree that stabbed him: (see the blood?)


Luckily our buddy from behind caught the entire incident on tape: (crash happens @ 1:20)
"we were just cruising along at an easy pace back to the trucks! we'd already ridden on the hard stuff" lol


We were all surprised how big and deep the stab wound was in Randy's side. After we sat him down we all worked quick to bandage the wound. I used my jersey to wrap a tight tourniquet around his waste and we put a clean cloth on the wound to stop any bleeding (it really didn't bleed much in the first 20-30min after the accident). His bike also wedged into a fallent tree...the front wheel/fender had a dead tree wedged up in his fork legs. Took 3 of us to get it free. After about 10 minutes of calmly assessing our situation(no cell reception, 9 miles back to the truck w/1 mile of easy ST, continuing rains), Randy stands up and is determined to ride his bike down the hill. We straighten his bars and help him throw a leg over his Yamaha 426...which is a beast to kick! One of us clicks it in gear for him (he can't raise his left foot) and away we went! We all safely made it back to the trucks...approx 30 min later...and we got Randy in the truck and headed down to the hospital. He did great riding down and didn't get woozy or lightheaded...until he got to the hospital (he was starting to fade pretty hard). The ER nurses didn't take his injury seriously....until he lifted up his shirt and showed them the gash wound....which was starting to splurt out blood! Needless to say 3 nurses swarmed him and he got immediate medical treatment and bypassed all the other ER Room Fakers!

Randy with his wound, his dressings, and some drain tubes to clear any fluid:

[fuggy]

We were all bummed to see Randy get hurt. We thought the doc might release him the next day but that didn't happen. My buddy Kyle and I hung around Durango for an extra day thinking he would get released....but a small fever developed and they were woried about infection, etc (the fever ended up being from a tetnis shot they gave him).


Sitting around helplessly waiting to hear about your buddy in a hospital sucks.


Instead of sitting around pouting about Randy's predicament....Kyle and I decided to go ride more epic trails!

Another friend had suggested we ride from town up past Hermosa and connect with a 4x4 Jeep route that takes you up to Flagstaff-Pinkerton trail. I forgot the name of this road, but it is 3.1 miles past the Conoco Gas station @ Hermosa. The 4x4 road had a tunnel back under the 550hwy and was legit as it pointed up the mtn! I think we climbed 3-4 miles up a loose rocky ledgy primitive road. The Flag-Pinkerton trail at the top did not dissappoint! Awesome views, great singletrack, lots of different scenery to reward us from the climb.

Kyle on top of the ridge(views on both sides!):


We stopped to share some near-beer and give a toast to our fallen friend: 'This one's for you Randy!'


This section of trail was probably my favorite, as we scooted across the top of a ridge and dropped down to Hermosa:



Hopefully this video does it some justice. I got part of the climb to the top and then most of the trail/ridge/downhill. Kyle had a small crash at the end. Five days of riding a Beta 525 will do that to a guy.



There is already talk of going back soon to grab the 'tree' for Randy so he can mount it on his wall...or something. He ended up staying in the hospital a few more days to heal up and then took a flight home and is healing great.

[OldtimerTC]

Hey Chad,

Great ride report pics and Vids. Glad to hear your buddy is healing well.

We went up that Pinkerton flagstaff trail and got hit by a HUGE downpour when we got to the top, so it was nice to see what it looks like up there in the sunshine.

Dutch Creek ? Did your group make it up the steep rock step by the creek near the Bottom ? We had to lift our bikes up the SOB, I think my Oakleys may still be up there.

I visit Durango 4-5 times a year, maybe we an connect for a trip sometime

[HAPPYTRAILSINC]

Originally Posted by fuggy

Do you like the tighter trails with no room for error? This thread is for you!

chad, awsome stuff, no wonder u dont want to come ride w/us-cant blame you!

so, u got a new bike huh, nice

what tire are u running, looks like one we used to run A LONG time ago on our converted xr's!
grand sport??? or irc???

maybe someday i can join u guys!

[azredline]

Wow. What a ride. Glad your bud is ok. Cajones Grandes award for riding it out!!!

[fuggy]

Originally Posted by RidingSolo

Hey Chad,

Great ride report pics and Vids. Glad to hear your buddy is healing well.

We went up that Pinkerton flagstaff trail and got hit by a HUGE downpour when we got to the top, so it was nice to see what it looks like up there in the sunshine.

Dutch Creek ? Did your group make it up the steep rock step by the creek near the Bottom ? We had to lift our bikes up the SOB, I think my Oakleys may still be up there.

I visit Durango 4-5 times a year, maybe we an connect for a trip sometime

Thanks! I was surprised how high we got on Flag-Pink trail in such a short amount of time. Bummer you guys were in a storm since the views were the best I've seen yet on that ridge. I think I know the rock step you speak of on Dutch, which is now filled in and braced with logs on the drop-off. Everything can be ridden without too much difficulty. (we were going to go up Clear Creek and connect into Jct. Creek but there was too many downed trees)

Originally Posted by HAPPYTRAILSINC

chad, awsome stuff, no wonder u dont want to come ride w/us-cant blame you!

so, u got a new bike huh, nice

what tire are u running, looks like one we used to run A LONG time ago on our converted xr's!
grand sport??? or irc???

maybe someday i can join u guys!

Thanks Scott. That tire in the photo is a Kenda K270 Dual Sport tire (5.10-18"). It came with the bike when I got it. Thought I would hate it, but it has worked really well in all types of conditions (except sand). For this last trip I slapped on a new Dunlop Geomax M51 and I felt it worked just as good as the half-worn Kenda (the rubber is soft and pliable on the K270).

One of these days I'll get to Cali to see the 'good stuff'.