First time on this trail or in this area for that matter. My trooper of a wife dropped me off at the intersection of NF-9712 and Mission Ridge Rd. Due to my poor planning I was not aware she could have driven up 9712 to the trail head! Worse, I passed the Devils Gulch T/H and rode up to the Mission Ridge T/H. That was some extra pain I did not need ;)

This trail ride was unreal. I encountered a few small puddles on the trail but rode around or through with little to no mud. The upper Mission Ridge trail was very rocky; don’t know what the upper DG trail would have been like in comparison. I will have to try that next time. So rocky that I lost my rear wheel from the vibrations. Will always double check my quick releases from now on. Could have been bad if that were the front wheel…..

Being that I bypassed what I would imagine as a young man’s game to come up the trail, I was rewarded with nothing but the sheer joy of running the trail from the top. This ride was better than I imagined. I found myself hooting and hollering the whole way down.

 It was a perfect day and the entire trail is in good shape. At the upper T/H the weather was cloudy and in the upper 50’s. By the bottom it was mid 70’s and sunny.

Passed two motorcycles on the way down but passed without incident.

Nice work to all guardians of this trail, it’s a gem.