Mt. Pinos -- August 21, 2004

Saturday morning saw 6 men meet at "The Y" dirt parking lot to ride the McGill Trail up to Mt. Pinos.  On this particular morning, not only were we motivated by the beautiful pine forest surroundings in which we were to climb and descend, but we were also looking forward to the invitation by Vic and his lovely wife Fran for an after-ride lunch at their Pine Mountain Club vacation home. 

We left about 15 minutes after the 8:30 a.m. meet time, heading up the road to the McGill Trailhead.  Vic, Rod, Matthew, Tal, Dean and moi pedaled up the pine-scented single track, enjoying the mostly shaded trail in the filtered morning sun.   The climb was steady with only a few steep, loose sections, primarily at switchbacks.  I had pedaled ahead and at one point stopped to look back at the group halted at one of those switchbacks.  I noticed them talking with an apparent hiker/runner......guess who?!

If you look closely at the shirtless fellow on the left, you might recognize our very own Warner!  The way I heard the story is that The Mother Ship dropped Warner off a little late, and since he did not have his cycling gear ready, he ran up the trail to catch up with us.  He turned around at this point and went back to Vic's place and spent the morning practicing his already formidable skills on the piano.  Meanwhile, we continued on our cycling journey.

A new obstacle blocked our usual path at one point....a large tree had fallen across the trail and a new trail went around the tree.

Tal negotiates the "up and around" the fallen tree

Tal watches as Vic rides the detour while Dean clips in

Rod shows how it's done

View from the base of the fallen tree (group is in the shadows on the trail at back)

On we rode.....

Dean just before the Nordic Ski Station area

(the top of the paved road where amateur astronomers set up their gear)

From the last parking lot we continued on the last leg of the climb up Mt. Pinos.

Soon we met up with Vic's wife Fran and her two hiking buddies (Beth and Aleesha, if my poor memory serves me).  They had driven up to the top parking lot and hiked to the top of Pinos.  At this point they were on their way down.

Dean urged the ladies to smell the pineapple/vanilla scent of the bark of the Jeffrey Pine

It took us about 2 hours of actual riding time to reach the top of Pinos.   After some resting, eating and viewing, we headed back down the mountain for a true "E-Ticket" ride.  It took only about 40 minutes to reach the bottom of the trail, but it was time spent grinning and spinning down the fast, gloriously fun singletrack.

Matthew speeds down the trail

Robco can't wipe the smile off his face

Back at the cars, we (except Tal who had to return home) followed Vic the 5 miles back to his vacation home.  Awaiting us at their beautiful abode was a lavish spread of food to refuel our tired bodies.  Barbequed burgers and turkey hot dogs, fresh fruit salad, fresh guacamole and much more was served to us in gracious style.  Fran even sliced off a piece of her little finger for us as she prepared the feast....fortunately Doc Rod was there to treat her injury and reassure her that she would heal up just fine.

Fran displays her bandaged digit

And, of course, how could I leave out a shot of Warner relaxing on the porch

after his strenuous hike and piano playing

And lastly, a shot of Vic and Fran's Maggie munching on a pig's ear