I've been spending the last week vacationing in Plumas county, North of the tahoe/truckee area. My wife and I have been staying with her brother in law in Graegle.
I've been to Downieville many times before and knew there was much more to ride in the area. Monday I decided to get the obligatory downieville ride in, was pleased to ride the new butcher ranch trail which chopped out some fire road. Upon finishing the ride I picked the brains of the folks at Yuba expeditions to find out what I should check out closer to Graegle. Mills peak trail was the first thing mentioned and I took that as a good sign.
So Tuesday I decided to bribe my brother in law for a shuttle up gold lake highway to mills peak. A few miles of scenic alpine lake views and a few more miles do moss encrusted from trees and we reached the peak. Mills peak has a forest service lookout tower at the peak with a spectacular view of the valley. Once I geared up and dropped in I was treated to some sweet Sierra singletrack. More raw and natural than downieville, with rocky outcrops to launch off. There were many swoopy corners to roll. 9 miles and 2800 feet later I was at the bottom wondering how I can squeeze another run in. It's not perfect, there's some fire road even a hundred feet of climbing, but it's only adding character to the experience. I rode mills peak again this morning and attacked it with a little more confidence of what's around the bend. It was over too soon again and I'm leaving early tomorrow. It's going to be while until I get to ride this again but I'll be back. I'd like to thank the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship for all the hard work they pour into the trails here.
I've been to Downieville many times before and knew there was much more to ride in the area. Monday I decided to get the obligatory downieville ride in, was pleased to ride the new butcher ranch trail which chopped out some fire road. Upon finishing the ride I picked the brains of the folks at Yuba expeditions to find out what I should check out closer to Graegle. Mills peak trail was the first thing mentioned and I took that as a good sign.
So Tuesday I decided to bribe my brother in law for a shuttle up gold lake highway to mills peak. A few miles of scenic alpine lake views and a few more miles do moss encrusted from trees and we reached the peak. Mills peak has a forest service lookout tower at the peak with a spectacular view of the valley. Once I geared up and dropped in I was treated to some sweet Sierra singletrack. More raw and natural than downieville, with rocky outcrops to launch off. There were many swoopy corners to roll. 9 miles and 2800 feet later I was at the bottom wondering how I can squeeze another run in. It's not perfect, there's some fire road even a hundred feet of climbing, but it's only adding character to the experience. I rode mills peak again this morning and attacked it with a little more confidence of what's around the bend. It was over too soon again and I'm leaving early tomorrow. It's going to be while until I get to ride this again but I'll be back. I'd like to thank the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship for all the hard work they pour into the trails here.
