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Annadel Trails, November 2017
A Photographic Log
14 November 2017, 10 miles
I picked up my new Surly Ogre on Tuesday afternoon, but I had to fly to the East Coast on Wednesday, so I barely managed five miles on the new bike before I departed. Naturally, I was ready to hop on the Ogre and hit the trail as soon as I returned to California.I intend my Ogre to be my bikepacking machine. It will take awhile before it's fully outfitted and ready to carry tent, sleeping bag, assorted gear, and thousands of gallons of water across remote expanses of desert and wilderness. In the meantime, I need to learn how to handle it on the trail. Annadel State Park, just a few miles from my home in Santa Rosa, seems like a perfect proving ground. I pedaled my old mountain bike around the trails in Annadel almost thirty years ago. Since then, I've experimented with my Long Haul Trucker (outfitted with Schwalbe Smart Sam tires) up there, only to prove what I already knew: The LHT is not the optimal bike for that kind of riding.
Athough most of Annadel was incinerated during the October firestorm around here, trails in the area that survived the conflagration reopened just in time for me to head into the park. In addition to bikes, hikers and equestrians are also back on the trails. By sheer coincidence, I ran into my long-time colleague and riding partner, Jeff (along with his wife, Carol) near Lake Ilsanjo. Jeff took a tumble while trail running at Mount Shasta a few weeks ago and severely damaged his shoulder. He can hike, but not bike. He's scheduled for surgery in early December, with three or four months of rehab in his future before he'll be back in the saddle. We had a long chat on the trail and plotted some bikepacking excursions.
Other than Jeff and Carol, here's what I found as I was bouncing up and down Annadel on my new bike at the edge of the burn zone.
(See also my experiments on Annadel trails with the Long Haul Trucker last year: Annadel, September 2016)
I rode up Canyon Trail, which was widened and used as a firebreak during the October inferno.
Everything within Annadel to the south—including this hillside—is scorched and remains closed.
The intersection of Canyon Trail and Marsh Trail. The latter is closed due to the fire.
The muddy puddle should be an indication that fire season is now behind us.
Share the trail!
Getting into position for a selfie.
Which one is the surly ogre?
Don't forget to retrieve the camera before you pedal away.
The Ogre on the dam at Lake Ilsanjo.
Old Grumble-Face and the Ogre at Lake Ilsanjo.
Grumble, grumble, grumble.
Scorched, charred, and burned.
The fire blazed right up to the edge of the trail.
Despite acres and acres of devastation, not everything in Annadel was completely incinerated.
Summary
Date: 14 November 2017
Time: 12:00 - 2:00
Weather: 60° F, mostly sunny
Route: Open trails in the unburned, publicly accessible part of Annadel State Park
Distance: 10 miles
Bike: Surly Ogre
Riders: Solo
Scene of the crime.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.
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