Coyote Point, Area 51, Hogan Trail… trails names for this South Sierra Nevada Beauty
I spent this past weekend in Stockton, California (half hour south of Sacramento) with the family. Stockton is where the wife is from so we visited family and spent a lot of time eating!
Knowing that I would be stuffing my face all weekend, I brought along my X-Caliber to get in some riding. The first thing I found out about Stockton is that there is NO mountain biking within 45 minutes of it. Bummer! The closest I was able to find was some riding at Lake Hogan on a trail called Coyote Point, people on MTBR refer to it as Hogan Trail.
My sister-in-law and I made the morning drive to Lake Hogan. Thankfully there was no traffic and we were able to get there quickly. We parked in what we believed to be the right parking lot and then took off (following the directions on another website) to find the trail. Half an hour later, we ended up back at our car wondering “where the heck is the trailhead?�
After heading off in a different direction (through the campsite) we finally found signs indicating where the trailhead was hidden. If you want to ride Coyote Point, I would disregard the directions written on ANY website and just go to the Acorns Campground. Find the ranger working the booth and ask him/her for directions. If the ranger is not available, as he was for us, ride around the campgrounds towards the most vacant spots, also known as towards the back, and look for a thin vertical sign with a picture of a bike on it. This is just about the best way to find the trailhead! Good luck.
Hmm… the grade is even steeper in real life
Oh, but it was worth it. There are actually two trails in this area, a technical/moderately aerobic version and a non-technical/non-aerobic version. We chose the technical version and were richly rewarded with rock strewn thin singletrack, steep switchbacks and lots of “dabbing� and some hike-a-bike. This trail is not for beginners.
Jeremy climbing more rock strewn trail
For those of you who have limited time, want to get in miles (about 10) of technical singletrack climbing/descending and are in the area, head over to Lake Hogan. The views of the lake are beautiful (at least to a Southern Californian used to seeing tract housing and dry vegitation just off the trail) while the singletrack trail is wickedly fun and a challenge to ride.
Thudbuster update: My X-Caliber is currently outfitted with the Thudbuster and that suspension seatpost was amazing! I love the way it takes off the edge off the hits and makes the ride soooo much more comfortable. I know that some people think it looks atrocious, but I’m willing to bet those people have not ridden one yet. After riding one, looks and weight become fringe considerations superseded by comfort. Putting it simply, the Thudbuster delivers on comfort. Keep checking back here for a full review, coming soon.
