7-up

After some research, we came up with a brand-new (to us) MTB trail for Friday: 7-Up.  In order to get some miles in, and because we didn't have an extra vehicle to shuttle, we did it 7-Up and then 7-Down, leaving us with a downhill finish.  Sort of.

At the start

The lower terminus (elevation 4,900') is just off of Route 313, on a wide slickrock area on the left of the road (as you drive up), just past the hairpin turns.  We have seen folks actually parked on that slickrock but we drove up the road a little further and parked in the scenic overlook's parking lot.  You're probably not supposed to do that but since it was 7:30 .m. on a July Friday, we figured we'd be back before anyone really needed our spot.

Lovely desert meadows

We suspected that most people shuttle to the top and ride down from the Gemini Bridges/Bull Run area, especially since all the signs were facing away from us as we rode up.  The trail is easy to follow, however: well-signed, with blue blazes on both the single-track and the double-track.  The single-track was really nice and hardpacked; the double-track, although old jeep roads, was looser but not too sandy. 

Non-technical doubletrack

This trail is really scenic.  The air was pretty clear as we crossed meadows and followed the rim of Seven Mile Canyon, which provided outstanding views.  The route then turned southwest-ish and started really climbing over rocky ridges as we went through the Horsethief area towards Gemini Bridges. 

Seven Mile Canyon

The heat was creeping up on us at this point.  I was going really slowly on the rockier singletrack so I sent H on ahead.  While he churned his way to the upper trailhead (Mag 7 area, elevation 5,800'), I paused for a snack with a view (photo below).  When H met me on his way back, I turned around and we started the long descent.

Nice place for a snack

Being mostly downhill, our return trip (this was an out-and-back for us) went noticeably faster: it took us 2 hours 15 minutes on the outbound leg but only 1 hour 45 minutes to go back.  We were able to roll down over a lot more of what we had had to walk too, especially on the stretches of well-used jeep roads in and around Gemini Bridges.  Jeeps and ATVs make trails loose and sandy and much less fun to MTB.

Upper trailhead

Because of where we had parked, we had a quarter mile climb along 313 once we finished the trail.  It was hot when we finished.  7-Up is a good ride with fantastic scenery and we had it all to ourselves, having seen just one other rider, an older guy, riding downhill.  I absolutely would ride it again - but in the fall when it's cooler.


Ride stats:  20.72 miles; 4:07 total time; 1,900 feet of climbing