By Tom Clark
This can be a taxing, technical, and very long ride requiring
considerable
skill and endurance. You will be riding for at least four and possibly
as long
as six hours. As described here, the total distance is around 33 miles.
You
really want to be in shape to attempt this ride. Be nice -- don't bring
beginner friends on this one. Bring lots of water and several energy
bars
and/or other food. You will need it.
Start at the pipeline viewpoint on the Steese Highway. Follow
the pipeline
access road east, towards town. (That's away from Fox...) Go easy for
now
because your first climb is coming up. Crank up the steep hill and
shortly
after you top out you take your first or second trail to Gilmore Trail,
a paved
road. Turn left on Gilmore Trail, which is paved for the next two
miles. You
climb a couple of hills and just past the bottom of one, the pavement
ends and
there is a "State Maintainence Ends" sign. Continue on up the hill.
Follow the road for about two miles or so of rolling hills
until you get to
a double-track going off to the left, roughly northeast. This is one of
those
trails that just keeps getting wider, and it now accomodates 4x4
traffic. Watch
out for ruts. The double track is level for about a quarter-mile or so
and
generally has several deep ruts and puddles. Then the fun begins as you
descend
down a hill, level off in a saddle, then begin climbing again. The
trail forks
at this point. If you take the left fork (the longer way) it skirts
around this
hill and is easier. If you take the right fork, it is shorter but
considerably
harder because it climbs straight up the hill. Either way, you come out
on the
other side of the hill where you drop down another saddle, do a short
climb,
and come out on a road.
Turn left on this road and go down a tenth of a mile or so to
where another
road goes up to the right. You can't go straight anyhow, as the road is
blocked
off with very bold NO TRESPASSING notices that you should NOT ignore.
Take the
right-hand turn and climb up to where you pass a radio antenna
surrounded by a
fence. Skirt around it to the left, drop down into another saddle,
picking up a
power line which drops down into a short saddle, climbs back up,
descends
quickly and then comes to a small clearing, about a mile and a half
past the
antenna. At this point you could go straight or right. Go right, to
avoid more
"No Trespassing" signs.
You will climb a hill for about a mile or so. Off to your right
you will see
the Fort
Knox
Gold Mine through the trees. The double track you are on comes out
on a
road. Tempting though it is, DO NOT ride on this road. This is a
private road,
owned by Fort Knox, and it is not open to the public. Watch for big ore
trucks.
Cross the road, and either take the "Cleary Summit Trail" that sort
of parallels the road, or experiment with your own way there. If you
follow the
Cleary Summit Trail, it eventually intersects with the Fort Knox Mine
Road. A
short 1500 foot section is shared with the public, along which you
ride. Turn
right at the intersection, onto Fairbanks Creek Road. Zoom along up a
short
grade, then down the other side, all the way to Cleary Summit. (Yes,
you
actually descend down to Cleary Summit.)
If you are totally spent or have some other emergency, you can
bail out now
by turning left onto the Steese and bombing down the hill, and then
pedaling 6
miles back to the cars.
If you are still good, cross the road, and follow the dirt road
up a short
grind, and then stay on that for a ways. It intersects (again) with
Fort Knox
Mine Road, and again you share a 2500 foot section of road with the big
ore
trucks. Give them LOTS of room, they cannot stop in a hurry. As soon as
you
can, take your next left, and you are back on Pedro Dome Road or
whatever it's
called. Continue along it for a mile or so, and then veer left at a
fork. The
right one pretty obviously goes up to the golf-ball looking radomes,
which you
don't want to do.
After three miles or so, you will be headed due west on this
road. Be on the
lookout for a sharp left. If you miss it, the road starts steeply
dropping off
towards the True North Mine, where you don't want to go. Come back and
look for
the turn. The gnarly descent used by both the Silverfox
Mine Road ride and the other
version of this ride can be found down this trail, which you'll
find out about soon enough.
After jamming down this hill for a mile or so, you come to an
overgrown
clearing (isn't that what "woods" is?). If you veer left, then you do
the following: it drops downhill for a little while, makes a sharp
right,
levels off, then drops down an incredible, heart-stopping descent that
finally
comes out behind Pedro Monument. If you are feeling up to it at this
point, go
ahead and take it but be warned. This descent is EXTREMELY dangerous and not for the faint of
heart! You have
to have good brakes. If your brakes die, kiss your butt goodbye.
Assuming you
don't tank into the woods on a sharp corner, never to be seen again,
you will
come out near the Steese, and with a winding mile long ride through
subdivision
roads, you'll come out at the Pedro Monument, near the bottom of the
big
descent (had you bombed down the Steese from Cleary Summit) and then it
is
about six miles of road riding back to your car.
As shown on map
Going back to our "overgrown clearing", if you instead go straight,
the road drops down into a saddle, levels out, then does a short climb
up to a
knoll. You then take a fast, quarter-mile technical descent down a
usually
rutted double track which comes out on Silver Fox Mine Road. Follow
this road
(a smooth gravel road) for the next mile and a half, where it meets the
Elliott
Highway.
More decisions. At this point, you can turn left and take a
fast three mile
long descent down to where the Elliott intersects with the Steese. Take
the
Steese back to your car (about three miles or so).
This next part isn't mapped - easy to find though
Or, you can cross the road and ride for two miles on Old Murphy Dome
Road. When
you get to the wide swath (the pipeline is buried under the road) hang
a left,
and follow the pipeline service road all the way back to Fox. You don't
add
much distance, but you do get another 600 feet of elevation gain, plus
some
excellent descents. Since you are probably pretty tired now, use extra
caution
going down these hills. You need to be in control of your bike on these
descents. Ride within your comfort level, and try not to scare
yourself. At the
bottom of the last nasty descent, you cross a creek, getting wet.
Follow the
only road out of there, out to the pavement. Go left, out to the Steese
Expressway. Go right, and your car is just around the corner.
If you've done the entire loop and
not stacked,
you've done well. Welcome back to your car. It's good to be back, no?
Total
time, 3-6 hours, distance, 30 to 35 miles.