DESTINATION Flagstaff Loop Trail 1 Photoset
2023-07-11 | | -
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| Mtn Biking | 11.95 Miles |
463 AEG |
| | Mtn Biking | 11.95 Miles | 2 Hrs 31 Mns | | 4.75 mph |
| 463 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | From the Campbell Mesa TH, I rode south on Old Walnut Canyon Rd. for ⅓ mile, then turned right onto the official loop trail at FR 301D. The forest road looked like hard packed dirt, but it was deceptively sandy. Not enough sand to stop me, but enough to make my bike squirrelly. It's also cut up with mud ruts.
You can ride the forest road to within ¼ mile of Fisher Point, but at the 1⅓ mile mark, I splits left onto signed FLT singletrack.
The FLT climbs 35 ft. in less than 200 yds. (a 6.8% grade). The trail then more or less levels out for the next 1½ miles, crossing FR 9137D along the way. Mostly smooth to FR 9137D, the trail surface gets rockier after that. Enough so that I had to make an emergency stop. Let’s just say mullein — aka “cowboy toilet paper” — is insufficient. 
The FLT then crosses FR 9157 and climbs 55 ft. in ¼ mile. Being a flatlander, the elevation and rockiness made the 4.2% grade seem steeper. I was sucking wind, so the slight descent over the next ⅔ mile was a relief. Just before crossing FR 301D, the singletrack splits. Stay left. I tried to make a sharp right, slid my front tire on a loose rock, and crashed.
Barely a minute later, making the rocky climb up from FR 301D, I got left of the trail, into the soft stuff. Another front tire slide, and down I went. Harder. Scrapes on elbows, knee, knuckle and gouged my palm. The bruises stung more. I was back on my bike in less than a minute.
At just under the five mile mark, I turned left, off FLT onto FR 301, which had worse mud ruts than FR 301D, but at least there was no sand. Where FR 301 bends left, split right towards the logged off parking area. The next ½ mile to Fisher Point was the rockiest of all.
Wish I'd brought a murderwich so I could enjoy a picnic along with the Fisher Point views.
After I turned right out the logged parking area, onto FR 301, I saw four bull elk with velvet antlers. Unfortunately, my GoPro battery had run out, and I hadn’t bothered loading my spare. By the time I deployed my iPhone, they were gone. A ¼ mile past the parking area, I turned left onto FR 301D. Since I was (mostly) riding the FLT, my return trip focused on flower photos. 
Biking Video: https://vimeo.com/845581737 |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Tufted evening primrose, purple locoweed,red & yellow pea, cliff rose, some wire lettuce-looking pink thing I've been trying to figure out for years, and either scarlet penstemon or skyrocket (did not stop to check). Should be better in a month. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
