These Backcountry pages need to be made current. I have been fortunate to be able to work on trails with the Forest Service this year in the Sierra. I was also able to ride on the North Coast.

It has been quite a month in the Central Sierra. Our national Christmas tree is from the woods here this year. Amazing. And the Tour of California will start a Stage in Sonora.

I haven't been mountain biking in Morgan Territory Regional Preserve or Mt. Diablo State Park on the edge of the Bay Area for some time—more than 6 months. I have made it back to the Olmstead Loop and I have been very glad to make at least one ride with friends from Cool, in Tahoe. I also drove to the coast for a day and rode up the climb in Nisene Marks State Park to Sand Point Overlook with the Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz. My long lost home.

The trail in Arnold has really progressed as a great trail for mountain biking.

GPS

As I organize and accumulate pictures and GPS data from the wilderness I will have more of an index of places here. I am considering developing a sytem for trading tracks and maps as well for backpacking, mountain biking, day-hiking, and camping.

>>>Go to the photo album

From my usual campsite in the Stanislaus National Forest, the ride to Bourland Summit is around 14 miles (almost 30 miles round trip) and spans an ascent from about 5,800 feet in elevation to 7,677 feet at the summit. The trip takes 4 to 5 hours, including time to stop for lunch. This is ridable on my bike almost the entire way along forest roads. Finding the route requires a map and navigational skill.

The chart above, showing my 25 mile round trip climb to the top and back, was generated in Microsoft Excel. It was created using a computer program to extract GPS data from a GPX file. My GPS track data constists of coordinates expressed only by latitude, longitude, and elevation. The spreadsheet calculates distances between coordinates using an equation derived from an assumed spherical coordinate system. If you would like an elevation profile from a track, send me a message through my contact page. I have more math on paper for other interesting GPS programs. It has been excellent to see this elevation profile information become more common on trail maps. It makes planning logistics for rides on new trails much more viable.

Wolfin Loop Ride

This is another excellent loop. I start at the top and ride down forest roads and forgotten overgrown abandoned jeep trails and logging roads, make a 25 ft. ridable shallow river crossing, and climb back up to camp on a smooth paved road. A good day. The ride requires a stop for extra water. It's 30 miles—round trip—and takes over 4 hours, including lunch time. A side ride to the Bourland Trestle is worthwhile.

A casual day ride near Auburn, CA.

Links

• Topographic Maps for California
• Elevation Data
• USFS
• USGS
• BLM

Tasmania

>>>Australia.