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Pot Hollow via East Side Ridge (Suffer-o-Rama) You've looked at Pot Hollow, and noticed that there's a loop of singletrack trail around Mill Canyon Peak. Wow. Looks like a great add-on, doesn't it? OK. This trail is mean. Brutal. Painful. It's only for the most skilled and strongest bikers. Still want to do it? Read on. View of Lone Peak and the Snowbird Ridge from Ridge Trail 157. Photos August 12, 2006. |
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| If you haven't already, go to the "normal sane
person" Pot Hollow Page, and read about
the trail. That page shows you the official ride. On this page, I show you
the areas you WON'T see on that ride, but would see if you're tough enough
to ride the East Side Ridge Trail.
Pot Hollow via the East Side is an 18.7-mile ride, 23.7 if you start from Cascade Springs. There will be only 2900 hundred vertical of climbing, but the steep and technical spots on the East Side Ridge Trail will beat you up. Done as described below, you can expect some short push-a-bike uphills and some spooky mountain-surfing steep downhills. And don't underestimate the difficulty of pushing your bike uphill at 9000 feet. On Ridge 157, we're heading south toward Forest Lake. |
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If you ride this trail, the payoff is I make somebody else
suffer as much as I did. No seriously, there's beautiful mountain scenery,
plus a chance to really challenge yourself. But it is a very, very hard
ride.
Staying on Ridge 157, you'll climb an extra 700 vertical feet to Rock Springs. There are fantastic views, and except for a couple of short painful steeps just past Forest Lake, it's not a bad ride at all. At least, so far. We're at Rock Springs. I don't see a "No Swimming" sign... |
| Just past Rock Springs, you'll fork left onto the East Side
Ridge Trail. From the fork, you'll climb gently toward the southern ridge
of Mill Canyon Peak. Then you'll traverse along an old erosion trench back
toward the north. So far, so good.
Now it gets ugly. You'll suddenly plunge 500 vertical in less than 1/3 mile through torn-up rough switchbacks. Then it's another 3/4 mile of technical up-and-down riding. Pedal what you can; walk the rest. Then the mountain mellows a little. No, it's only toying with you. It's another plunge of 400 vertical in 1/3 mile. Then more up-and-down. We're on the East Side Ridge Trail, heading slightly uphill southwest toward the ride's high point on the southern flank of Mill Canyon Peak. |
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The ride mellows out a little now. There are some long
descents, a few flat meadows, and an occasional short grunt climb. The
trail takes you gradually downhill. You may see an occasional faint
horse-trail forking off in the draws. Don't take any sucker-trails
downhill until you're sure you've found Trail 37, the Pot Hollow Trail.
You'll know it when you see it.
We're at the top of the ridge, 9700 feet elevation. That's Deer Creek Reservoir in the distance. |
| The Pot Hollow Trail forks sharply 150-degrees right
downhill, just 1/2 mile from the fork at Sandy Baker Pass where you
followed Ridge 157. There's an initial steep plunge, then the trail runs
down the draw toward Little Deer Creek (Provo Deer Creek).
Bomb down Pot Hollow, then hang right when you hit the dirt road. Another two miles of dirt road, and you're back at the road fork where the ride started. Many of the climbs on the East Side Ridge Trail are difficult in the extreme. This little hill, for example, is steeper and trickier than it looks.
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Loop ride, starting from fork of Road
220 and |
| Getting there: Drive to the top
of the Alpine Loop, either from the North Fork of Provo Canyon (past
Sundance and Aspen Grove) or from American Fork Canyon. Just 1/4 mile east
of the summit, turn east on Road 24 (Cascade Scenic Drive). Drive 7 miles.
Just before Cascade Springs, the paved road takes a hard right turn. Turn
left onto a gravel road here, labeled "Wasatch
Mountain State Park" and "Little Deer Creek Campground."
Drive uphill 2.5 miles to the fork in the road. You can park at the side
of the road and start the ride here, or proceed straight to Little Deer
Creek Campground (fee required) and start the ride there.
We're looking east down the Pot Hollow Trail, shortly after passing Big Spring. Note the ferns in the understory. |
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| Riding resources for this trail: Single-page riding guide GPS track files and route (right-click and "Save as..."): Garmin National Geographic Google Earth GPX High-res topo map (1,200 KB): view |
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