Trail Report May 12, 2023

6:00 am

Rode from the Keystone trailhead up the 4wd road to the bacons. Massive wildflower bloom above the R and along Bacon Strip and Crispy Bacon. Continued climbing to the Mahogany Bench. Could see lots of water running over Total Recall just above the TR Bench but couldn’t see any of the snow drifts that were previously sitting above Over Easy and Lingels Loop. Given the water, I assume there is still serious mud holes on those three as well as Colpo and Bobsled. Climbed Mahogany Forest from the bench and immediately hit a snow field. Hiked across and continued up. Trail alternated between dry, flooded, soft mud, and snow fields. Hiked 5 or six large snow fields as well as at least three major mud bogs. Some of the mahogany near the trail have been laid over by the snow requiring dismounting and crouch walking the bike underneath. Topped out at the Peavine Tower Access Road and then descended the Kiowa lane road to Three Trees. There is a LOT of water coming down Kiowa and where it crosses the road it has made vertical cuts of 1-2 feet deep. The road bed itself is in surprisingly good condition, but the creek crossings were big enough ditches to make me want to dismount and carry instead of risk casing the gap. Returned via Three Trees, Norton’s Toll Road, Stagecoach, and Keystone Canyon. Everything above Keystone is dry and held up well to the winter. Keystone is still a mess but the water in the creek has gone down so it’s entirely rideable. There is a spring feeding the mudhole in the middle of the rocky technical section so that will probably stay very wet into early summer if not later. Social trail braids are starting to really burn in around where the creek ripped through the trail. Otherwise, trails overall are in great condition. I’d give Mahogany Forest at least another week or two depending on how hot it gets. There is still a lot of water coming off the snow fields up there and the likelihood of trail damage is very high. Plenty of great trails and massive wildflower blooms from the Mahogany Bench down the mountain. -Patrick S.