10 miles, elevation 1200ft

Day one started with me arriving just as the group was heading out to ride Adam's Gulch. I hooked up with Walt and we drove to the trailhead with the intent of catching the group on the trail. As Walt was talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone I decided to get started as it was starting to get warm. I didn't have a map so I followed the signs along the way. Unfortunately I made a mistake and started climbing up the opposite end of Adam's Gulch Loop. While it would be an awesome downhill it was a grueling up hill especially when starting out at 6600 ft. I wasn't acclimated to the elevation or the heat. I kept climbing. Finally I ran in to a mt. biker coming down the steep trail. I asked him whether this was the best way to do the trail. He said definitely not. He said it was great riding down but up... He said it was 2 more miles up to where is leveled out. 2 miles. I could hike that. So upward I continued to the base of a rocky knob of a hill. Then to an intersection. One way said Adam's Gulch. The other said Adam's Gulch Loop. The trail that said Adam's Gulch went straight up along oneside of the rocky knob. Hmm, I'll pass. I took the loop trail since that seemed to be the one Erik said we were doing anyway.

A little bit more climbing and then the descent from the open sun baked hillside to the relatively cool cover of the forest. I descended to another intersection. Hmm, which way to go. I stopped a local and asked her. She said down was the easiest as it descended down to a road and then descended to the trailhead. The other way was Lane's trail which followed the side hill back across to the beginning of the Gulch loop. I decided to take the trail across and try to catch some of the great downhill I had climbed up earlier.

Along the way I ran in to Erik and his dad who also decided to do the shorter loop. Erik's dad was gracious enough to lend me some chain lube. I had forgotten to lube my chain after washing by bike and it was squeaking and skipping all along the ride. Now it was running smooth as silk and I sighed with relief. That chain was driving me crazy along with the lack of oxygen and the beating sun. Whoa, I sure felt out of shape.

More riding led me back to the downhill on the gulch loop and I finished off the trail with a nice descent. Back at the parking lot Walt and his car were nowhere to be found. Oh well, he probably bagged it as he had brought his single speed. I decided to ride back to camp. I had seen a paved trail paralelling the hwy.

As I was descending the gravel road down to the hwy I came upon a fox trotting along the road with some morsel of dead animal in it's mouth. I stopped to watch. He was pretty unalarmed by my presence. He stopped and looked at me, deciding if he should head down towards the houses or back towards a construction area. I was able to take a few photos before he headed off into the construction area.

(Info on Foxes in Sun Valley)

Harriman Trail

15 miles

300ft of elevation

I found the paved rail trail right along the road from Adam's Gulch. It parallels the highway but dips into the forest along the Wood river. Its a great way to see the valley without having do deal with traffic. It went to the edge of town. From there I had to ride along the road for a few miles to the North -- ranger station. I decided to stop and buy a map. Trying to find my way around Adam's Gulch without a map was frustrating. I went in and walked out with 3 maps of the area. I was set. Now I could find my way around. The Harriman trail starts at the ranger station across the road. This trail is gravel and winds through meadows and forest off from the highway. It crosses the highway at one point and follows a level hillside above the road before dipping back down and crossing the road again. It was a longer route than the road but a beautiful alternative. I rode past small creeks lined in yellow flowers. Passed through fields of yellow and groves of aspens. The flowers were everywhere. Also the views of the surrounding mountainsides were enjoyable from a cyclists speed. One part of the trail followed an old road up against the side of a ridge in a mature forest behind a camp. It was a total of 15 miles from the trailhead to Easely campground.

I arrived back at camp by 1pm and decided to set up camp and then explore the area. It was around 5pm when the group that did the large Adam's Gulch arrived back in camp. From their description I was glad I took the route that I did. Words like brutal, hike-a-bike, painful were uttered.

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