"Enter the Kingdom"
- Trailhead: Darling Hill Road, Inn at Mountain View Parking Lot (UP East Darling Hill from East Burke)
- Riders: T, Anna, Mark, OMMB
- Distance: 9.31 miles
- Temp: 68
- Weather: Cool and Cloudy, some rain
- Trail Conditions: Real nice single track and double track. Well trodden with only the occasional roots to watch out for.
- Technical Level: Some beginner but mostly intermediate- Wildlife: just horses scattered throughout the fields we crossed
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: some minor root slips and tree bumps...nothing funTrails we took: (marked with green marker on map)
Up East Darling Hill Road, north on Loop, south on Bemis, up to Heavens Bench, down Ridge, north on Vast, to Bill Magill, down Pines to Riverwood, north on Sugar House Run (pictured above) to Kitchel, out Herbs back to East Burke Village.
Notes: T and I arrived at East Burke which is about 30 miles south of where we were staying (Brighton State Park campground). We parked at East Burke Sports. We were told that the Kingdom Trails office was across the street so we went over to get the scoop. The kid working the counter was a great help and mapped out our requested 8-10 mile / 2 hour ride on recreational intermediate trails. Mark and Anna had checked out of the Trapp Lodge and were on their way, so T and I decided to eat lunch and gawk at the Canadian French riders lingering around the parking lot. Being so close to the border, apparently lots of Canadians come down to ride the Northeast Kingdom, hey. We headed up to the recommended trailhead at the top of East Darling Hill road...kind of a rude way to start. It's a mega climb up a tar road but once on the trails it was well worth it. This trailhead starts on a farm that is now a wildlife sanctuary. The trails are extremely manageable so covering lots of miles is possible...no rock gardens to be found. The pictures and movie pretty much tell the tale. Favorite trails were Bemis, Ridge, Pines and Riverwood. Kitchel at the end of the ride was the icing on the cake...this machine made trail offered huge banked switchbacks and whoop-dee-doos all the way back down to East Burke...simply a blast!
Tidbits: only 15 miles to Canada, next time we are bringing passports!
Trail Quotes:
Anna: "Oh look, a hill"
Teri: "I made it up that hill, by the way"
OMMB: "Hey you got hay in your gears"
Happy Trails,
This is a farm, trailhead is where?
Fueling up before the ride...
Refueling after the ride...
Great trails make for a smiling Swede...there was even time to stop and smell the flowers (or pick some)!
No comments:
Post a Comment