While the Sunrise Trail is described as not "...too burly, but surely burly enough..." I can say that for my December legs it definitely leaned towards the burly! Starting from the Lost Dog Wash trailhead at the end of 124th Street, I knew it would be an out-and-bike ride: Climb up to the top and then rip it back down. What I didn't realize was that the trail, while completely rideable, is extremely rocky and that the final .25 miles to the summit is not intended for bikes. Regardless, the ride was a blast and a good strength workout for my legs. I rode everything on the way up with the exception of a few steep, tight switchbacks and the final .25 miles to the top. I did, however, bring my bike with me so I could get a shot of it at the summit. The handful of hikers I passed at the top were completely amazed to see a rider that high. It was a good, solid ride and as you can see from the pictures (taken on the way down so as not to interrupt my rythm climbing which means that sequentially they are from the top down...) the scenery was fantastic.
5 comments:
That looks like a cool ride.
I wish I worked for your company...no wait I do...go figure
Great review of Sunrise. Hope you found my little write up helpful. Props to you for hike-a-biking up to the summit.
Arizona?! That's cheating!
Hey mtbikeaz - Your site was extremely helpful. In fact, I need to check out a few more of the trails you have listed. So far my AZ experience is limited to McDowell, Trail 100, a small sampling of South Mountain and now Sunrise. There is a lot I still need to explore. Do you have any info on the Dynamite/Pima trails? I was thinking of riding out there tomorrow.
I have not mapped out the Pima/Dynamite trails yet...but one epicrider has. Find his map at:
http://singletrack.us/gallery/displayimage.php?album=54&pos=2.
If you have time you gotta ride Pass Mountain. It's a great climb clockwise (easier than Sunrise) and sweet technical downhill. Also, Casa Grande mountain is only a half hour or so south of Phoenix. The XC trails there really rock. Happy trails.
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