A cold front moved in on Monday: increasing clouds throughout the day and rain at night. Thinking that there might not be too many MTBers coming off the Whole Enchilada on a Monday, we took Milton out the river road to hike up the Porcupine Rim. While we certainly didn't see as many bikers as we would have on a weekend, we still saw 30+. It wasn't so bad as we hiked out as it was earlyish and, since we were hiking uphill, we could easily see any MTBs heading down towards us.
It was a little trickier once we turned around and retraced our steps: it was later in the day so there were more riders and we were facing downhill, the same way they were riding, so we had to keep looking over our shoulders so as to keep out of people's way. There was only one time that a couple of girls came up on us without us realizing it ahead of time and for the most part, MTBers are pretty chill. When we finished up (6.78 miles) , exiting through the tunnel under the river road, there was a group of riders rehashing their ride. When we asked how it went, they were all grinning ear to ear, super-stoked.
When you're not having to dodge MTBers (i.e., winter), this is a great trail to hike. It's gnarly but not so gnarly that bikes can't get down it. It gains elevation quickly so the views - of the Colorado River and of Jackass Canyon - show up fast. We just happened to turn around where we wanted to but if you're in mind for a longer hike, you can just keep going up and it will eventually intersect with the Sand Flats Road - ideal if you've got two cars and want to do a shuttle.
Monday's search for Crystal: We went to the Blu Pig and managed to catch up with her before it got too busy. She'd had a great West Virginia rafting trip - big water - and had already planned to go back again next October.
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