Lake Morena - East County Mountains << EPIC >> -
April 16th, Arrive at 8:45AM, Ride at 9:00AM ADVANCED XC RIDERS
20+ miles w/ 2000' gain
Your safety is important to us. This ride is for ADVANCED riders that are strong climbers.Hope to see hard-core XC riders out there!!!
It is our desire to serve everyone. We have Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced (Cross-Country, Downhill and Free-ride) rides. The parts of Morena we are riding are for ADVANCED Cross-Country riders only. This ride is NOT for Downhillers, Freeriders nor is it for Intermediates. This is for the hardcore XC rider that loves to ride all day, with awesome elevation gain. Morena is extreme with a vertical ACCENT of 3,200 in 20 miles. The singletrack is awesome but not very technical. Therefore, if you are NOT a GREAT climber please ride with us another time.
We start at the base of the Kiernan trail. We ride a few miles up a dirt road and then cut off to the Espinosa trail (all singletrack). Sage Brush Ravine is a popular race at Morena (the course does NOT include the Espinosa or Spur trail). This is where the climbing really starts. Espinosa climbs to a saddle between two mountains; we then take a fire road to Spur Trail. This is a multi-use trail with dirt bikes, hikers and mountain bikes. The corners are banked and snake around the contours of the mountain dropping to another fire road. We climb the fire road to the Four Corners. This puts us back on the Sage Brush race course and is the first bailout point for riders who may have misjudged their abilities you will know if you have! We now take the Wrangler trail which has more amazing single track for several miles. At the halfway mark well have a devotional on a granite outcropping overlooking Mexico. At the end of Wrangler is the final bailout point. We continue on a fire road to the only hike a bike section. We are now on another ridge and drop down a fire road into a beautiful valley full of oaks, fields and flowers. Our last climb is out of the valley and back to Four Corners. The best is saved for last which is the Kiernan trail. The trail is several miles of fast downhill singletrack to our cars.
Tired just reading this???? There is a reason for calling certain rides Epics!!! R U Tough enough? If so, see you Saturday!
FYI, this is one of RockMTBs most strenuous rides. It is imperative you bring the correct supplies and arrive on time. Call or email if you have questions, especially if you are not sure of your abilities.
NOTE Helmets are MANDATORY on all RockMTB rides NO EXCEPTIONS.
This includes EVERYONE! The person who left their helmet on the table at home... Please dont put us in the unfortunate position of not letting you ride. We care deeply about everyones health and have seen too many examples of why helmets are needed.
What to bring:1. Helmet no helmet, NO RIDE, no exceptions.
2. WATER at least 100 oz!!! It may get VERY HOT and there is no water during the ride.
3. FOOD - this is a 20+ mile ride with 3,200+ elevation gain. You WILL BE VERY HUNGRY. We recommend food with sugar as a snack.
4. TUBES
5. CAMERA optional but it is spectacular scenery.
6. SUNSCREEN.
7. SUNGLASSES.
Directions:The drive takes about 45-50 minutes from San Diego State University and 8.
Take 8 East going past Sunrise Highway (Laguna Mountain). Continue on 8 for a few miles and take the Buckman Springs road. Take a right on Buckman Springs road immediately crossing old highway 80. Stay on Buckman Springs road for 2-3 miles and look for a large dirt road on your right called Corral Canyon Road/Camp Morena take this right. Continue straight on this road for a few miles until you see our group. Also look for the RockMTB banner.
