Ride Name: Twin Peaks
Ride Category: Loop
Ride Type Ratio: 90% Single-track
Ride Distance: 46 miles (+-)
Note: Options will vary mileage slightly, as will computer accuracy.
Ride Time: 7-12 hours
Trailhead Directions:
For the easiest route to Porter Creek CG, take
Highway 12, from north or south, to the town of Porter, then just follow
the signs into the forest. Since this is a loop, you can start from other parts of
the forest, although starting from Porter probably yields the best final descent
at the end and puts the worst sections up front. A good place to park is right
across from the entrance to #6, along the B-1000 road.
Route Description:
From Porter Creek, follow almost the entire length of Green Line #6 to #6A,
and go left in order to spill out behind Margaret McKenny CG (approximately
22 miles away). From that point get on the hardball (Waddell Creek Road)
and start pedaling towards the Sherman Valley ‘Y’. But before reaching the
intersection, as the road curves to the right, find an abandoned road to your left
and follow it to its intersection with Trail #40. This should be obvious from the
map.*
Start climbing #40 up to Mt. Molly and continue along what has now become
the Mt. Molly Trail.
Option 1: Continue all the way up Mt. Molly to the #30 intersection just
below the Peak.
Option 2: Get on to Molly-Porter #3 soon after the trail crosses the C-Line
and come up to #30 from that direction.
Mileage/climbing is roughly the same for both options. Rider disgression.
Continue up #30 towards the Peak and follow it around Larch Mountain
(clockwise) until it intersects Molly-Porter #3 for the final 11-mile descent
back to your start point near Porter Creek., OR if you decided on Option 2
above, you may simply want to continue along #3 around Larch Mountain
(counter-clockwise), OR, sticking with the the first option, may wish to
continue along the Mt. Molly trail in order to go around Larch CCW also.
Again, mileage/effort are roughly equivalent, and both routes constitute
‘essentially’ the same ride (see Ride Summary below).
Exit Molly-Porter #3 finally somewhere before the B-1200 road for the most
direct access to your truck, if you followed the suggestion above. Else, follow
it a little farther to its conclusion along Porter Creek. Mileage above reflects
the earlier exit.
Note: The 10% road time implied above reflects the 1-2 mile stretch along
the Waddell Creek Road and that 2-mile portion of the Mt. Molly loop which
was graded over a few years back, just after it crosses C-7000.
* If you prefer, you can regain the trail a little earlier in the vicinity of Middle
Waddell Trailhead. This may be a little more ‘pure’ but most riders will be
content with the novelty of pedaling along Waddell Creek Road, after 4-5
hours on the trail already, knowing that their vehicle is still parked somewhere
near Porter Creek on the other side of the forest!
Ride Summary:
The idea behind this ride is to complete a logical ‘view’ of the forest and is
related to three other rides posted here, namely, Big Red, Mean Green, and
Outer Limits. There are four major trails in the forest, two red and two green;
and two minor ones, both red (Middle Waddell and Mt. Molly). Joining each
pair of major trails end-to-end yields Big Red and Mean Green respectively.
If you select the outer arms of each pair and link them with Middle Waddel,
you have Outer Limits. So consider Twin Peaks to be the ‘inner limits’
analogue of the latter, only instead of using Middle Waddell to link green and
red, it uses the Mt. Molly Loop; and it relies on the ‘interior’ red and green
trails, instead of the outer ones. Hence the name, ‘Twin Peaks’, as you ‘peak’
twice in roughly the same vicinity as you cross and re-cross the forest. This
ride, taken together with the Outer Limits, travels all four major trails in the
forest (##1, 3, 6, 8), plus the two minor ones.
Safety Note: As is the case for the other Capitol epics -- or ‘Anti-Laps’--
this is a demanding ride and should only be attempted by strong riders already
familiar with its various stages, and who can comfortable circumvent
unanticipated obstacles – new logging, etc. -- by virtue of their familiarity with
the forest. The directions above were drafted with Cap veterans in mind and
the map isn’t always enough. So for others, it is strongly recommended to
take a step-wise approach before attempting any of these rides in their entirety,
or go in company.
Ride Submitted By: Randall Hale
For info on this ride contact Randall halera@ix.netcom.com
Ride Category: Loop
Ride Type Ratio: 90% Single-track
Ride Distance: 46 miles (+-)
Note: Options will vary mileage slightly, as will computer accuracy.
Ride Time: 7-12 hours
Trailhead Directions:
For the easiest route to Porter Creek CG, take
Highway 12, from north or south, to the town of Porter, then just follow
the signs into the forest. Since this is a loop, you can start from other parts of
the forest, although starting from Porter probably yields the best final descent
at the end and puts the worst sections up front. A good place to park is right
across from the entrance to #6, along the B-1000 road.
Route Description:
From Porter Creek, follow almost the entire length of Green Line #6 to #6A,
and go left in order to spill out behind Margaret McKenny CG (approximately
22 miles away). From that point get on the hardball (Waddell Creek Road)
and start pedaling towards the Sherman Valley ‘Y’. But before reaching the
intersection, as the road curves to the right, find an abandoned road to your left
and follow it to its intersection with Trail #40. This should be obvious from the
map.*
Start climbing #40 up to Mt. Molly and continue along what has now become
the Mt. Molly Trail.
Option 1: Continue all the way up Mt. Molly to the #30 intersection just
below the Peak.
Option 2: Get on to Molly-Porter #3 soon after the trail crosses the C-Line
and come up to #30 from that direction.
Mileage/climbing is roughly the same for both options. Rider disgression.
Continue up #30 towards the Peak and follow it around Larch Mountain
(clockwise) until it intersects Molly-Porter #3 for the final 11-mile descent
back to your start point near Porter Creek., OR if you decided on Option 2
above, you may simply want to continue along #3 around Larch Mountain
(counter-clockwise), OR, sticking with the the first option, may wish to
continue along the Mt. Molly trail in order to go around Larch CCW also.
Again, mileage/effort are roughly equivalent, and both routes constitute
‘essentially’ the same ride (see Ride Summary below).
Exit Molly-Porter #3 finally somewhere before the B-1200 road for the most
direct access to your truck, if you followed the suggestion above. Else, follow
it a little farther to its conclusion along Porter Creek. Mileage above reflects
the earlier exit.
Note: The 10% road time implied above reflects the 1-2 mile stretch along
the Waddell Creek Road and that 2-mile portion of the Mt. Molly loop which
was graded over a few years back, just after it crosses C-7000.
* If you prefer, you can regain the trail a little earlier in the vicinity of Middle
Waddell Trailhead. This may be a little more ‘pure’ but most riders will be
content with the novelty of pedaling along Waddell Creek Road, after 4-5
hours on the trail already, knowing that their vehicle is still parked somewhere
near Porter Creek on the other side of the forest!
Ride Summary:
The idea behind this ride is to complete a logical ‘view’ of the forest and is
related to three other rides posted here, namely, Big Red, Mean Green, and
Outer Limits. There are four major trails in the forest, two red and two green;
and two minor ones, both red (Middle Waddell and Mt. Molly). Joining each
pair of major trails end-to-end yields Big Red and Mean Green respectively.
If you select the outer arms of each pair and link them with Middle Waddel,
you have Outer Limits. So consider Twin Peaks to be the ‘inner limits’
analogue of the latter, only instead of using Middle Waddell to link green and
red, it uses the Mt. Molly Loop; and it relies on the ‘interior’ red and green
trails, instead of the outer ones. Hence the name, ‘Twin Peaks’, as you ‘peak’
twice in roughly the same vicinity as you cross and re-cross the forest. This
ride, taken together with the Outer Limits, travels all four major trails in the
forest (##1, 3, 6, 8), plus the two minor ones.
Safety Note: As is the case for the other Capitol epics -- or ‘Anti-Laps’--
this is a demanding ride and should only be attempted by strong riders already
familiar with its various stages, and who can comfortable circumvent
unanticipated obstacles – new logging, etc. -- by virtue of their familiarity with
the forest. The directions above were drafted with Cap veterans in mind and
the map isn’t always enough. So for others, it is strongly recommended to
take a step-wise approach before attempting any of these rides in their entirety,
or go in company.
Ride Submitted By: Randall Hale
For info on this ride contact Randall halera@ix.netcom.com
| Start/Finish |
