Planning Information
Parking: Very close to the beginning of the route, a pair tenths of a mile up Willow Creek Highway, there’s a y-junction with a pullout the place we left our car. It’s on Nationwide Forest land so you could possibly additionally camp there earlier than or after your journey.
Season: We rode in mid-August. Typically mid-June by way of September is an efficient time for this route, although excessive snow years might require a later begin and October might supply some openings relying on climate. The realm is susceptible to intense warmth waves in the summertime, so test the forecast first.
Bears: We noticed a LOT of bear exercise on this route, greater than I’ve ever seen within the Sierra. A number of tracks and scat, and one precise bear sighting. There are solely black bears on this space, that are typically not harmful, nevertheless it’s essential to retailer your meals correctly when tenting (take an Ursack or get good at bear hanging) and hold a clear camp.
Problem: This route is simple by way of logistics (frequent water and resupply) and largely non-technical (only a few miles of lower-intermediate degree singletrack), however there’s a LOT of climbing. When you’re not used to days with a number of thousand ft of elevation acquire, be certain that to plan shorter mileage than you usually would.
Tempo: We rode this route over three days, every with round 3000 – 4000 ft of climb and 30 – 37 miles. Granted we’re not in peak bikepacking form proper now, however we thought that was an excellent tempo and two days would have been an actual grind due to all of the climbing.
Tenting: For a route that spends a lot time on Nationwide Forest land, there should not as many good dispersed tenting spots as you would possibly anticipate. The terrain is usually steep with out many flat spots, and far of the world has been affected by fires (tenting in a forest of useless bushes isn’t an excellent thought). We camped on the Taylorsville Campground on night time 1 ($20, coin showers) and a bit off-route by the Feather River at mile 74 on night time 2.
Resupply: There’s a small retailer in Taylorsville (restricted hours) and a Safeway in Quincy, plus some eating places alongside the way in which. Our spotlight was a soothing cease for burgers and shakes at The Polka Dot in Quincy.
Bikes: This can be a forgiving route on the subject of bike alternative, with the minor exception of the non-compulsory Mt. Hough singletrack. We each rode absolutely inflexible mountain bikes with wider tires (29 x 2.35” and 29 x 2.8”) as a result of that’s what we had arrange in the mean time. You possibly can additionally do it on a gravel bike (although I would recommend skipping the singletrack) or a hardtail. I believe the largest issues needs to be mild weight and low gearing for all of the climbing.
Fires: This space, as you’ll see, is extraordinarily susceptible to wildfires. Sadly at the least half of the route has already been burned to a crisp. You’ll want a California Fireplace Allow (free and simple to get) if you wish to use a range, and you need to comply with any hearth restrictions on the time of your journey.
