Author: Larry

Foothills, GPS, MTBing, Racing, Ride Routes

Cerro Fortin Trails

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Cerro Fortin is a large hill that dominates the skyline on the north side of Oaxaca city. In pre-Hispanic days it is where the Aztecs built a garrison to exert control over the Zapotec & Mixtec population of the Valles Centrales. Today it is the site of the Fortin Plaza Hotel and the famed Guelaguetza outdoor amphitheater where a regional folkloric dance festival is held each July. The top of the hill is studded with an array of telecommunications towers and an observatory, as well as an imposing statue of Benito Juarez, the local Zapotec boy who became president of Mexico and held off the incursion of the French in the days of Emperor Maximilian. There are a number of trails atop the hill which are popular with downhill bikers. The trails are steep and gnarly, and several ramps and jumps have been built to add to the challenge. There is no ready road access, however, which means bikers usually have to ride or push their rigs to the top to enjoy the thrill of careening downhill. Downhill races are held here periodically.

The loops shown on the map below cover 3.2 miles (5.1 km) and entail a gain and loss of 946 feet (288 meters) along the way.

Foothills, GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Photos, Trail Work

San Felipe Sampler

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Sad to say, as of late summer in 2021 the terrific trail network described below was closed to hikers and mountain bikers. People buying property in the hills and constructing homes there prevailed in posting notices that the area was off-limits to recreational users; fences and gates were put up and the major access routes closed by chains or other barriers. What a shame that such a wonderful asset – one that had drawn people into the outdoors for generations – was lost to the public.

The “Trails” page on this web site lists all of the short trail segments that make up the San Felipe trail network. Here’s what you get when you link several of those sections together on an afternoon’s ride. The loop ride shown covers 8.2 miles (13.2 km) and has an elevation gain & loss of 1418 feet (432 meters). Some sections of trail are steep – two with a 16% grade and one short piece with a 22% grade. The Toro, Toro, Toro trail is an old jeep road, and so is generously wide (except where badly eroded). It can be pretty rocky in places, though. A good part of this ride is on the Maquey Mi Dia trail — a singletrack thread through the woods that is narrow, with sharp turns, dips and sudden steep climbs.

When we set out on this ride we intended to wrap up with a ride on High Flyer ridge and a final descent on the Martillada trail. However, one of our party crashed and ripped the righthand shifter from the handlebar. That meant giving up any further uphill efforts and settling for a downhill run back to home base. Still, it was a fun day on the San Felipe trail network!

GPS, Mountains, MTBing, Outing, Photos

La Cumbre to Huayapam – Cabeza de Baca & La Reina Trails

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What better way to spend a Sunday in mid-January than to enjoy a terrific downhill ride from the mountain trails at La Cumbre to the little town of Huayapam on the outskirts of Oaxaca city? While friends in Colorado are aching for spring and the chance to get their mountain bikes out of cold storage, it is warm and sunny in Oaxaca — perfect weather for a ride!

Today’s outing requires a shuttle to drop off riders and bikes in the high country of La Cumbre. The bike ride can commence at the entrance to the forest preserve on Highway 175, if you like, or at the point where a mainly-singletrack trail intersects the road that leads to the ecotourism camp (which is what the map below shows). 

Breaking the ride into segments, the outing goes like this:

0.0 to 2.3 mi – Road from entrance station to start of trail  /  817′ up & 50′ down over distance of 2.3 miles

2.3 to 4.1 mi – Cabeza de Baca Trail through the forest  /  710 ft up & 163 ft down /  mostly singletrack that winds for 1.8 delightful miles

4.1 to 7.1 mi – Logging road winding gradually uphill to high point of 10512 ft  /  954′ up & 244′ down  /  clock another 3.0 miles for this segment

7.1 to 14.7 mi – La Reina Trail  /  Screamer descent on rough service road with loose scrabble ends at church in Huayapam /  4895′ down & just 56′ up in the course of fast 7.6 miles

14.7to 20.1 mi – Gradual downhill to center of town in Oaxaca  /  698′ down & 150′ up  /  paved highway and city streets add another 5.4 miles to finish the ride

The stats for the whole adventure: 20.1 miles (32.3 km) with 2687 feet (819 meters) of climbing and 6050 feet (1844 meters) of downhill. The entrance station at La Cumbre sits at an elevation of 9288 feet (2831 meters); the high point on the ride tops out at 10512 feet (3204 meters); the church in Huayapam is at 5680 feet (1731 meters); the Zocalo at the center of Oaxaca city sits at 5124 feet (1562 meters).

 

Countryside, Foothills, Mountains, MTBing, Photos, Trail Work

Trail Maintenance

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The San Felipe trail network needs occasional maintenance. Once or twice a year the brush along the trails needs to be trimmed back – especially the shrubs and trees sporting thorns and needles! Steps also must be taken to minimize erosion. Drainage channels can be created in strategic spots to keep rainwater from washing out the trail. In places the trail needs to be rebuilt, either to moderate the gradient or to change the side slope so that water coming down the mountainside in a rain storm can flow across the trail rather than being captured by it and then creating nasty gullies that eat away at the trail itself. Finally, there are places where culverts need to be placed under the trail and/or rock barriers put in place to keep flowing water from eating away the very mountainside. All the work is done by volunteer labor following the suggestions found in “Trail Solutions: IMBA’s Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack.”

GPS, Hiking, Mountains, MTBing, Ride Routes, Trail Info

Ixtlan Revisited

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In November of last year (2013) we visited Ixtlan de Juarez. Unfortunately, cold, rainy weather cut short our exploration of the miles of logging roads that create a maze in the hills above the town. We returned yesterday (5 January 2014) in excellent weather and rode a very satisfying 11 mile (17.7 km) loop, beginning and ending at the main church in town.

Except for the small portion on paved city streets, the entire loop is on dirt roads which are in relatively good condition and have decent gradient. There are numerous junctions with lesser trafficked logging roads (we stayed on what seemed to be the most-used road) along the route and a couple of single track trails that dropped off into the woods.

The loop can be ridden in either direction, but clockwise is recommended, as that way the grade going uphill is a  manageable 5.8%, whereas the descent averages a “Yee-haw!” 9% for a fast paced, brake-burning downhill run.

The ride begins in the center of town, at an elevation of 6505 feet (1983 meters) and tops out at 8556 feet (2608 meters). The total elevation gain pedaling 7.0 miles (11.3 km) to the top amounts to 2119 feet (646 meters), with a scant 33 feet (10 meters) of downhill along the way. The blistering 4.0 mile (6.4 km) descent is even more consistent, with a meager 20 feet (6 meters) of climbing thrown in for grins.

Give yourself a whole day to play in the forest and enjoy riding this and other nearby trails.