HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CAMARON!!! – My son currently serving in Afghanistan.
Up until a couple days ago, I was staying at the Monolith Garden Trailhead very near Kingman, AZ. It is located at the top of a 1 mile 6% grade called Coyote Pass on Route 93 just a few (2-3?) miles out of Kingman.
The hiking and mountain bike trails that flow from this trailhead are fantastic!
That parking/camping area is large and relatively flat. The Verizon cell signal and performance is very good.
Everything about this location is fantastic. Except the highway. Highway 93 which leads to Las Vegas, Laughlin, and Bullhead City runs right beside the camping area. The noise is nearly constant during the day. At night, the constant flow of vehicles drops way down but the semi coming down the hill using their engine brake is VERY noticeable. Not a quiet place.
The trails are a lot of fun. However; they are some work. For the most part, they are situated in a canyon with about 500′ difference from one end to the other. The downhill runs are fantastic, the uphill runs are some work! Many of the trails are rated by MTBProject.com as blue square or more difficult. I agree with this rating. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the technical challenge presented but I have gotten off and walked several sections as well. Now that I am an old fart, the fear of the pain resulting from wiping out on all those large rocks is more powerful than my competitive/adventurous nature that wants to say “I rode thru that!”. Nonetheless; I have been pushing myself. My arm continues to be my limiting factor – still very little strength – and this prevents me from riding a lot of areas that I would really like to try.
Getting to the parking area coming from Kingman is a bit of a nuisance. You are unable to turn left from Highway 93 so you have to go to the next exit and find a spot to turn around. In a car, this is pretty easy, in a big motorhome it is a bit more difficult but is doable.
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