There are times when you can pour over the maps, zoom in with
Google Earth, and/or read the snowmobile club websites for trail info, AND the
adventure just doesn't pan out. Today
was
not one of those days. We
scored.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBmG9JFToXtOEZ7ROMZJYnUhAmiAh4JnV6pjEX9ZwlNQO4jxGjIVd2E6rirqblVPM-bT9gXu-2Mh-jrQ84YvrC53RzVbvViwjEtU905i0MTzmBdkbBmoVn7KQipUM9jGVgAMEnQuQPeg/s400/M+Switchback+climb.jpg) |
M, near the turnaround for today's ride |
Less than an hour north of downtown Boise is a large
network of groomed snowmobile trails waiting to be explored on fat bikes and
today we barely scratched the surface.
Ok, I cheated a little bit and found a
grooming
report on the
Boise Snowmobile Club website which indicated that the area I
wanted to ride just so happened to be groomed yesterday. Is it
wrong that when I arrive at a trail head with my fat bike and find fresh
corduroy I have similar reaction to that of a skier on a powder day?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33fGx2SC2ltN9sSLDG7FxQGvfT5TvXfzsY_PP399nGU-Qgk15qzPNn7-PWJXGMcjSFWRM9mDQG3eRIO-8ss7yyadqqIgGj3SvElVLB-nPLeUWcBt4s-IV-9YtbEVdY2lRlk4cBztREmc/s400/Idaho+City+Trails.jpg) |
We parked at the Granite Creek Trail Head |
M and I had only planned to be out for 2-3 hours so we weren't able to complete the entire 27-mile loop but the out-n-back we did was
awesome. In fact, I would say that this
was quite possibly the most perfectly graded Forest Service road I have ever been
on. From the trail head, this road
climbed at a steady 3-4% grade for nine miles. I am pretty sure it kept going for another 3+
miles before descending but we had to turn around.
Note to Self:
Bring more clothes, a balaclava, & goggles for the long descent next
time.
Why am I just now, on Feb 10th, exploring
snowmobile trails to ride the fat bike on?
Well, up until about a week ago we were shredding the local singletrack
(in its glorious frozen and snow-packed state) on the fat bikes so there really wasn't any need or motivation to go exploring.
Now that the lower trails are in a slush/mud/freeze cycle, the choices
are either road riding or heading to higher elevation and exploring on the fat
bike. Today we chose the latter and it
was awesome.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHG_o-riJs3yquvgNTy2uFSvQSRfllbH4yAINkqGVyRHC4mKzvo3crcVCQdYwvAafYWtTkW-_PZbZWiJfuu-48aTHhLaqbjR63pJthtcFYnkRqBialzXzZIoJm9RAZ9Ri02dbWQkW8Xo/s400/M+Switchback+Descent.jpg) |
Switchbacks! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFSSIlxNIhf6qbPS-OSjqrPRcTW13jQ8KDAORUdYmcostHGR2w5ZLKKEGqcnXm8qmfp2_5PQvZnh7ZPICC4NPhLyDmo_OYrPlAYROi65QsBPw3dCidSoFkT2pAU0UB5fdNgYL8NrjZ5k0/s400/Kenai+M+Granite+Climb.jpg) |
Kenai kept it in L2 today and banged out an impressive 18 miles |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fD2JYyCVn30qoIYomHujsjTzoGfyUi6CY_gXHKhih-QybJoBfZABZajPlEiG69_bL9rUlh9Gsk69-FFceDsmuTtOBOTw1AD5c2jtUejA5Wqxuu1H0gDD0vcMsFYa6rA1O_Zn_eUihzw/s400/M+Kenai+View+spot.jpg) |
Kenai looks dejected because we made him stop for a pic |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkDEH12LmyMlsT_rg2bzbW72ylap08wk4z0xVj6vSc7BRa1k5VqjNMTGLn9gO2909_GfR8eFo97ZwmnqHAkPFzdPghDW2r2rZAx89svrVcWK24IbUhD7j9SStzLgySt69To-ml4Cax70/s400/M+is+too+fast.jpg) |
Fat Biking is not fun. Nothing to see here... |
The fat bike stoke is HIGH right now and more
exploration is imminent!