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From the Desert Back to North Mountain

There is still 12"+ at the upper shuttle lot and above so we got another couple weeks before Out of the Blue's upper meadow will be clear. The top of Skyline to just past the upper bridge has snow and slush.The midpoint entry to Skyline and Jackpot at 2900' is all clear. The lower three segments of Out Of The Blue are all clear also. So as of now, you can do most of the mountain if desired. GPS track and pics are here.

I've been in Palm Springs, CA and a week in Mesa, AZ since mid January (right before the deep freeze we had). I only had the gravel bike down there and was able to do many excursions.

Palm Springs:

Desert Hot Springs Tower
Snowshoe hike to Wellman Divide
Indio Badlands Trail Loop
La Quinta Cove Trails

Mesa:

Bulldog Canyon section on the AZ Trail
Southside of Usery Mountain Park

Before we went South in January, I did one last ride with my Levo to North Mountain and put the bike away a bit wet and figured it would dry in the garage. During the 2-week, deep freeze we had, the garage never got warm, a pipe froze and burst, and the Levo drivetrain never dried. When I got home the third week in March, my bike was rust.

DrivetrainRust1

So instead of getting home and getting an immediate ride on the great WA trails, I sent it to the shop, and $600 later, I was able to hit Darrington and was back in my happy place. Lesson Learned. Next winter I'll make sure I bring the Levo and have much more fun!

Submitted by tomvale on 04/10/2024