17 miles in 6 hours. No matter how you look at those numbers, that’s slow.
As soon as I arrived in Tucson I saw the news: the Aspen fire burn area was reopened last weekend! My legs still begged me for rest, but I knew that I had to, at almost any cost, ride the CDO/Red Ridge loop. I consider this loop one of the ultimate challenges on Mt. Lemmon, not to mention its incredible scenery and remoteness. My curiosity, if anything, got the best of me. Was CDO largely spared as it appears from above, or was the Aspen Fire’s wrath too much for it?
My first task was to switch from loaded-touring to solo-epic mode. The only modifications I made to my bike were aggressive tires and replacement grips (mine were all but disintegrated). The main problem was that I have been in loaded touring mode for so long that I had to sit down and think about what gear I should carry for a solo-epic. The rule when touring is to keep everything off your person, but the opposite is true when you are facing huge potential for hike-a-bike. So everything went into my camelbak, which even when full of water did not feel too heavy. I wasn’t sure I had everything I needed.
I set my alarm for 5:00am and went to bed wondering how the day would unfold. As is often the case for a ride that consumes me like this, I jumped the alarm, waking at 4:45. Little did I know that it was actually 3:45 (I had set the clock wrong on my return to mountain standard time). I was quite confused when the sun refused to rise as I drove across the valley towards the Catalina Highway. I just figured the days were much shorter than I was used to since I had just returned from northern Montana.
At the traffic signal on Windy Point I was the only car (in either direction). Unfortunately I got out to take a photo of the sunrise while I waited. This resulted in me not taking my digital camera on the ride since I failed to put it back in my camelbak.
I parked at the Red Ridge trailhead then quickly readied myself. It was not even slightly cold, so I was happy for the early start. When I turned on my GPS it said it was 6:00am. Huh?
The climb up the access road was a treat. The air was cool, the tree cover thick, and I felt strong. It just felt good to be on a bike again. My mind and body are both so used to this bike, my position, and pedaling for hours on end. It felt even better to be riding so light. But mostly I was just happy to be back in Tucson, riding a familiar trail and with a huge sense of adventure in my head.
The top came too soon (I was still warming up and enjoying the air), where I asked a couple of climbers to settle my confusion over the time. Indeed, it was 6:30, not 7:30, so I had unknowingly made a very early start. I was a little weary of this, since big cats and bears are active in the early morning and I was riding alone through an area frequented by them, but I rolled on anyway.
As reported in Sun Dog’s harrowing tale of Sammie, Meadow and upper Mt. Lemmon trail are largely untouched by the Aspen Fire. Lemmon does have some burned spots that have opened up new views of the south side of the mountain. Kind of nice, actually. But the trails are both in superb shape and were a treat to ride.
From here it was on to the Sutherland and Samaniego trails, which lead to the top of the CDO. I actually found this section to be in better condition (riding wise) than before the fire. First, I finally benefited from my tree clearing runs, one of which was done only 5 days before the Aspen Fire began. I dismounted less times than I ever have and made incredible time to the top of CDO. The grin on my face was a mile wide.
I think that the Aspen Fire did still burn this area (an old 1990’s burn site), because many of the dead but still standing trees have been obliterated. This is good because it means the struggle against deadfall (in this area at least) is largely over. What struck me most was how burned the north side of Cathedral rock is. The view of the Catalina front range from Sutherland is still amazing, just different.
I agree with Sundog’s impression of upper Samaniego. There are still some very nice areas and everything is very familiar. The tree cover is not as thick and there is some low scorch, but it’s all in very good shape.
From Sutherland I found an impressive view of the CDO west fork (where the CDO trail meanders). As Sundog reported (and I had seen from other viewpoints on the mountain), every indication was good. The sides are clearly all burnt, but all the trees at the bottom of the canyon are quite green and seemingly untouched. I was hoping for the CDO that I remembered: dark, soft, quiet, beautiful.
I turned right onto the Canada del Oro trail to drop into the CDO drainage itself. The drop-in has always been steep, eroded and heavily overgrown. Nothing much has changed, except that it’s a bit more overgrown than usual. I was happy to see little hiker medallions on a few trees, giving me hope that the whole trail would be marked.
As the trail turned sharp left into the drainage I found myself in an unfamiliar place. I looked up to see unburned tree tops, but I was surrounded by a sea of bright green low overgrowth and burned trees. The fire had definitely raged here but it must have stayed low. I rolled on in hopes of reaching a better, untouched spot. From observing the Bullock fire’s behavior on Green Mtn, Butterfly, et cetera, I knew how patchy the damage can be. Unfortunately, such an untouched spot never materialized.
What followed was a very long haul through a heavily overgrown and burnt trail. I say “trail” in the loosest sense of the word, of course. Pre-Aspen fire the CDO trail was more of a wilderness route (and indeed it is referred to as a route in multiple hiking guides) that can at times be very difficult to follow. Now it is nearly impossible to follow.
There are many hiker medallions (first orange, then blue) as well as many rock cairns. But they are too few and far between, at least for me. I had a fairly vivid memory of the trail, having ridden it 5-6 times in the year preceding the Aspen Fire. I’d find a medallion and be happy that I was on the trail, but then would proceed to lose it 20 feet later. Where the trail follows the creek bed it has often times completely disappeared–covered by 2-3 feet of sediment. Interestingly a few more of the creek crossings were now rideable since the sediment has covered up the huge boulders that used to make them tricky.
At one point I saw a fresh track in the mud that I thought had bike cleats in it. I stopped, questioning what I had seen, turning around to look again. Oh, those aren’t cleats–they are claws. Those were not the first bear prints I had seen, and the lower section was quite thick with bear scat. I started singing whatever songs were in my head, as loud as possible, as I hiked my bike down the valley. My senses were a bit heightened, but I was able to stave off any hysteria. This was good because it took a very long time to get to the end of the trail–about an hour longer than normal.
At times I got sick of wasting time looking for the trail (and often the trail was no better than bush-whacking it) and simply rode down the (running) creek, knowing that eventually I’d see the trail crossing the creek and could hop back on. Sadly this strategy does not always work. There are portions of the creek that are filled with huge boulders / cliffs–not exactly prime for getting down with a bike. I was lucky that I remembered the approximate location of the two climbs out of the drainage (to go around these boulder/cliff sections), and managed to find both of them. I looked for the second one a bit too soon, and instead hiked my bike up to an impressive view of a very burned Samaniego. It looked pretty bleak up there. I stared back at the CDO, much greener, but still a very bleak proposition for riding. I rolled back into the overgrowth to resume the fight.
There were a 3-4 sections, maybe 2 minutes long each, where I was able to actually follow the trail AND ride at the same time. These felt great, but the rest was pure walking, maneuvering my awkward bike and jumping off boulders into sand. It took me two hours to ride 5 miles with an overall loss of 2500 feet. That, my friends, is not good time. Only in descending the non-existent Brush Corrals trail have I seen worse. 2.5 mph is a slow downhill pace even for hiking. I crossed the border from hike-a-bike into what I call “ride-a-hike” (once your riding percentage drops below 50, it’s ride-a-hike).
Nonetheless, I was actually having a good time. My hike-a-bike shoes are a vast improvement over doing these kinds of rides in stiff soled Carnacs (what an idiot), and outside of Fleecer Ridge the Great Divide ride was completely lacking of hike-a-bike, so I was primed for it.
The last mile or so of CDO, where the big trees disappear, is completely torched, Molino Trail / Prison Camp style. The trail is slightly easier to follow here, if you know which side of the creek you’re supposed to be on. Suddenly I saw a metal trail sign. I barely recognized the junction of Red Ridge and CDO. It’s nothing as I remember it. I wasn’t even sure exactly which way to go.
Now, the real challenge begins: Red Ridge. Climbing Red Ridge has always been somewhat of a dubious prospect. I was looking forward to it with some apprehension, post Aspen Fire. From other vantage points and looking at fire intensity maps it looked like it had been hit very hard.
The climb gains 3300 feet in 5 miles, with the majority of it during the last 3. Typically I ride what I can, find a brief period of super-human strength during the middle, rideable portion, then eventually collapse somewhere in the 7400-7800 foot range, admitting utter defeat to the mountain. With the trail in worse condition than normal, it could get very ugly, very quickly.
The first 0.75 miles are usually quite rideable. It’s ridiculously rocky, but not yet steep, so if you stay focused it can be ridden out. Erosion took away most of my chances of riding the first part, so I walked and cursed not sure if it was the trail conditions or my lack of skill that had me walking. The entire area, just like lower CDO, is burned to a crisp–not a single leaf or twig left untouched.
The section after the first crossing of CDO-east is normally steep, rocky and very rutted. Now it is steep, very rocky and extremely rutted. I had no chance but happily I saw green trees ahead. As I hiked my bike in the sun, with no chance of shade and at 5000 feet, my heart was nearly pounding out of my chest. I was very happy for my mistakenly early start.
As I pushed into an unburned area I was reacquainted with an old Arizona friend: cat claw. It’s mid monsoon season and no one has ridden this trail for over a year. The cat claw was thicker than any I have ever seen. Before even dreaming of riding Red Ridge, please, wear shin protection of some kind. The cat claw made mincemeat of my already cut (from CDO) legs. I foolishly rode through many sections I should have walked, but I was anxious to get my riding percentage up at least near 50.
I sat for my first real rest of the ride at the junction of Catalina Camp and Red Ridge. From where I sat everything looked exactly the same as before. The water was running and the trees were green. For the first time I was actually angry about the fire. This was how it used to be–where I sat. I should have been here over an hour ago–if CDO wasn’t burned and impossible to follow. I’ve always told myself it’s just the natural cycle of things, that the mountain will heal, and that there’s nothing anyone can do about it now. This is all true, but it still sucks. As I sat there wondering how the rest of Red Ridge would pan out, I questioned whether I’d be doing this ride again given how difficult CDO was. It wasn’t a good question to be asking; and it was all because of the fire.
I hiked my bike up the first climbs and turns of Red Ridge proper. I’d try to ride some sections only to fail, sometimes sliding off the side of the hill. Nothing was burned, but the trail had eroded just enough that it was no longer rideable–at least for me, today.
As I got a bit higher, where the trail improves, I was able to hop on and ride. Each corner I turned I was happy to not see any evidence of burn whatsoever. There were a few rock slides and wash-outs, but nothing serious. If my heart was pounding out of my chest lower down, it was now leaping out–I could feel it in my skull any time I stopped. My head felt like it was going to explode and my eyes were jittering, unable to focus still on anything. I had to stop and sit down for 60 seconds a few times simply to avoid a complete system meltdown. The summer’s riding on the divide did nothing to prepare me for this kind of anaerobic riding–it was mostly pretty mellow. But surprisingly I never yielded to the mountain. I was still trying to ride everything I could, all the way to the top. I must be in good shape and at least somewhat recovered.
From the Catalina Camp junction the first 2/3rds of the trail is for the most part unburned, just more eroded. However, the top 1/3rd is moonscape. The trees are toothpicks, most without even branches. It looks much like the top of Oracle Ridge (which is not far away). Surprisingly the trail is pretty good on the lower portion of the burned third. Only the final 0.25 miles or so is a complete mess. I usually have given up by this point and have resorted to walking, but today there was no chance anyway. The big downed tree has been cleared but the trail is rocky, rutted and very rough. Overall, I’d say that Red Ridge is fine for riding downhill. There are a few parts to look out for, but it’s still worth riding. Any damage to the trail of course hurts the uphill rider much more, but it’s still not too much worse than before.
Once I crested the top the forest came back to life. What followed was a glorious descent–all 60 seconds of it–back to my car and the cold gatorades that waited for me.
I stumbled around Summerhaven, looking for Paula, Doug and Scott at the Mt. Lemmon Cafe. They were still there, so I joined them for much needed food (though I was so sun-baked that it went down slowly) and 3-4 bottles of gatorade. My exhausted, ashen and bloody state yielded quite a few strange looks from the many tourists enjoying the cool mountain air.
We walked around Summerhaven, got some fudge, then headed down to the Zimmeran School for a first aid / CPR class. It was a joint class for the Mt Lemmon fire department and SDMB and taught by Jeanne Mayer. The class was excellent and very interesting, but what was perhaps the most interesting was all of the very recent accidents to the fire department staff. One guy, a sawyer, lost one of his fingers this week when it was crushed under a log. He was taking it better than I would have thought possible–making jokes the whole evening about it. Another guy had a 8 inch gash deep into his knee from a chainsaw (OUCH). Still another had fallen on some uneven stairs at some resort in phoenix, blowing out both of his knees which bled profusely since he takes blood thinner. Both of his thumbs were also injured from an different accident.
Overall it was quite the day. My only regret was that I didn’t get any pictures (it was too late before I realized I didn’t have the camera), because it may be some time before I venture out for CDO/Red Ridge again. I will have to think long and hard before I put myself through such a tortuous ride again.
One factor is that it is monsoon season, so even regular, well traveled trails, are overgrown. I will likely head out for the loop again either during winter or the spring, whenever other trails seem to be getting better. I also have thoughts of backpacking in CDO and doing some serious brushing, but I am not sure it is worth the effort.
17 miles, 5150 feet of climbing, 5:40 minutes of moving time
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