Gallup, NM is marketing itself as New Mexico’s Adventure Tourism Capital. In my opinion, they are doing a swell job!
This weekend I rode the several of the trails defined in the Gallup Waypoints trail guide.
I had previously ridden several of the trails near the Hilso trailhead. Quaking Aspen, Y2K, Lone Pine, and several others not in the guide but listed on the trail marker posts.
This weekend, I decided I wanted to explore something new. So, I headed down highway 400 past McGaffey lake to the tailhead for the “Red Rocks” and “Surfin’ the Rincon” trails.
This is beautiful drive up and over the continental divide. The forest and scenery are not dramatic, per se, but are very beautiful. I found myself driving at about 5mph just enjoying the scenery.
I started with the as published “Red Rocks” trail and found it to very peaceful and enjoyable ride.
The ride thru the Aspen forest is amazing! I suspect this feeling of riding thru a canopy of trees and foliage may be what you eastern riders experience all the time. It is a bit different for a guy that is used to riding thru pine forests.
After this, the ride out to the slick rock in the Twin Springs area is mostly two-track. Not difficult to follow or challenging to ride. The site of the “Red Rocks” is pretty amazing.
I maintain that I should have been a geologist as this type of thing is super fascinating to me. I’ve never ridden my bike on slick rock before and it is different. I fear heights so getting near the edges was just a bit more than I could handle. Still fun, nonetheless. Being clipped in, I have a sensation of being trapped when I get near a vertical drop. I don’t know why but it is very unnerving and I generally have to unclip to feel reasonably “safe” – weird, I know. I’m hoping to go over it with enough experience.
The published route back to the Jeep is just the route reversed. I elected to do some exploring and see if I could find the trail for “Ridin’ the Rincon” and get kind of a two-fer-one ride out of it. Thanks to the topographical map provided in the guide book, finding the route went smoothly and I found my way. Again, the terrain was not dramatic or breathtaking, just very pretty and peaceful.
For some reason, I just cannot get enough of silence and solitude. I’m currently bookdocking with my motorhome near the Hilso trailhead and find the routine noise very annoying (cars driving around). Getting way back into the mountains, all of that noise is gone. Nothing more than the wind and nature! I stopped several times along the route just to sit back, relax, and enjoy the sounds (and lack of sounds).
The weather was not forecast to be particularly good and the storm clouds were certainly brewing. I could have stayed out for 2-3 more hours but figured it is better to be safe than sorry. So, I reluctantly headed for the Jeep. I could not have been more than twenty minutes later that the rain started! 🙂
These two trails are a bit of a drive to get to, certainly out of the way. However; they are worth it. Bring a lunch and spend some time riding the slick rock – it is a blast!
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