The Amanita
Grind
by: Liam Wescott
This is a short, fun little ride, if you're in shape for it; a gnarly,
grungy
torture test if you're not. The total distance is about 16 miles
and
there is about 3000 feet of elevation gain. A determined rider or
group
of riders could easily complete this ride in well under two hours but
most
people take between two and a half to three hours to complete it.
If you
want to go slow and mellow, it'll take you more than three hours, fast
and
furious, under two.
Start at the Pipeline crossing on Chena Hot Springs Road. It's at
about
3.5 Mile CHSR and is just before the intersection with Steele Creek
Road.
There is a large parking area on the north side of the road, where the
Pipeline
goes under the road. Park here and ride east on CHSR for about
2.1 miles
or so until you get to Amanita Road. This is where the fun
begins. The
road goes up, and up, and up, and up for the next three or four miles
or
so. At about 2.75 miles into the ride, the road forks. Take
the
right fork. At a little over 3 miles into the ride, the road
forks again,
take the left fork here. There is one other fork in the road, at
around 4
miles or so into the ride where you take the left fork again (the right
fork is
Abbey Road) and keep on climbing up and up.
Eventually, you come up to a little clearing, where the road becomes a
double-track accessible to 4-wheelers and 4WD vehicles. Stop
here, rest
up and then drop downhill for a bit. Very shortly after you start
down this descent, the trail forks. Take the left (uphill) fork
(I have never taken the right fork that goes downhill so I have no idea
where it ends up) and begin a quarter-mile climb uphill. The
double-track has lots of deep ruts, gullies, roots, etc. that make for
a gnarly
climb. If you're in shape, it is climbable all the way to the
top, if
not, you'll have to walk up to the top. If it is early in the
season
and/or it's been raining recently, this trail gets extremely muddy and
slippery
and not quite as much fun as when it is dry. If it is a wet year,
you can count on pushing your bike up this hill.
Eventually, this double-track tops out along the ridge where you come
to a
three-way intersection. Turn left here (I haven't ever taken
either of
the other trails, the one going straight on ahead and the one going to
the
right, but they are pretty obviously not used as much as the trail
going off to
the left) and go downhill. This trail drops right down the hill
for about
a third of a mile before bottoming out. Be warned: if you're
confident in
your bike handling abilities, you can descend down this hill at some
speed. However, if you're at all not sure of your bike handling
skills,
take this hill nice and slow and mellow. There are deep ruts,
ravines,
gullies, etc. here that can easily eat your bike and give you a nasty
spill if
you're not careful.
The trail bottoms out at the saddle of the ridge, then starts climbing
back up
again. It comes up to a berm, which you can ride over if you know
what
you're doing but is better to take the detour around to the left if you
don't
know what you're doing. The trail continues on uphill for a bit
before
coming to an access road. Take the road out to where it
intersects with a
big, wide road. Turn right
here
and descend down to the intersection with Gilmore Trail. Stop
here, rest
up, then turn left at Gilmore Trail and stay on it. Your are now
on the course the Death
Ride takes. There are cars out
here, so don't hog the road. After the first hill you climb here,
you
will see a double-track heading off to the north (right) which is where
the Pipeline
Viewpoint ride goes.
(Note: the following paragraph is now somewhat out of date because as
of the summer of 2007 there is a new subdivision road being built
through the course of the Rabbit Trail. However, the course of
the ride hasn't changed, you just need to follow this road over to
where it connects up with the Hubernite Trail)
Eventually, you come out on the pavement at the end of Gilmore
Trail. You
have one little hill to climb, then it's downhill for a couple miles or
so. Just after you pass the intersection with Goldmine Trail (a
subdivision road), there is a road to your left called Hubernite.
Turn
left here and GO STRAIGHT INTO THE WOODS. Just ride right on
straight
into the Rabbit Trail and follow it for a little while. You can
ride most
of it, but it is just as easy to get off your bike and walk most of
it.
It goes into the woods for a while, takes an uphill jog, then
straightens out
and finally descends down to the intersection with Hubernite Trail.
Stop here, take a breather if you'd like then turn left. You then
head
down Hubernite until it becomes a subdivision road. Be warned:
Hubernite Trail should
not be descended at great speed. This trail is open to traffic
and if you go
down this trail into the subdivision road at speed, you could very
easily end
up being someone's hood ornament. The road you're now on is
called
Tungsten. It drops down and jogs to the left, where you have to
make one
last, little climb up to Powellite. The condition of Tungsten
Road can
vary from year to year and within a season. Sometimes there are
nasty
washboards in the road and/or it can have some pretty large rocks.
When you get to Powellite, you can turn right here and take a trail up
along a
section line over to Juniper. I haven't ever done that trail
however I
understand it's a minor variation on what we used to do here. We
used to
go to the end of Powellite to a trail in the woods and then take
another trail
down to Juniper. Then some guy built a house right in the middle
of the
trail. The trail now routes around a section line.
Anyway, you can also take the faster ride down Tungsten to where it
intersects
with Juniper. Bear right, ride up a couple little hills, and very
shortly
you are back on Chena Hot Springs Road. Turn right and your car
is parked
a couple hundred feet away. Congratulations! You have
successfully
completed the Amanita Ride!