Back in the mountain bike days, Stinking Springs was probably our number one go-to ride. We rode it frontwards, backwards, and sideways. Tony and I even rode it a couple of times on Christmas Eve in low snow years. I had not been back to Stinking Springs for a couple of years, so I decided to ride it today. The lower portion of the trail is wide enough and smooth enough to drive a car. It has obviously had a lot of motorized vehicle traffic. Four motorcycles passed me in the first mile or so.
Here is the paradox. The smooth portions of the trail are smoother than ever. The rocky portions are more eroded than ever with more loose exposed rock. The area just below the overlook about three quarters of the way up was reengineered a few years ago to replace the old death drop with some switchbacks. That is the only portion of the trail that is actually better than in the old days.
The rocky portions of the trail may have some appeal to the body armor guys on long-travel bikes if ridden strictly as a downhill. But, on a cross-country rig, there was not much joy there for me. Riding Stinking Springs always brings back lots of memories. Sadly, for now, I would place it prominently on a list of trails to avoid.
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