4 Prescott Monstercross

When:
At 7:30 am on Saturday, April 13, 2013

Where:
Meet outside of Prescott at the Costco parking lot on State Route 69.

What:
There will be two route options this year! GPX files are posted below. If you plan on attending, please sign up below. This free ride is limited to the first 50 people that sign up.

Shorter route (miniMonster): 52 miles with 8,000′ of climbing. It will be similar to the 2012 route (shown below) with a few changes along the way. Anticipated completion times for most riders will be 6-9 hours.

Longer route (megaMonster): 71 miles with 12,000′ of climbing, showcasing the both variety and difficulty of the riding Prescott has to offer. This route will let you explore the western side of the Sierra Prieta and test your climbing legs. It’s only 20 miles longer than the shorter option, but obviously, these are 20 absolutely grueling miles. However, the views and riding are both absolutely incredible. Anticipated completion times for most riders will be 9-12 hours.

Here are what the routes and profiles look like for 2013:

GPX files:

miniMonster: http://topofusion.com/GPX/AES/PMC/PMCshort2013v3.gpx

megaMonster: http://topofusion.com/GPX/AES/PMC/PMClong2013v1.gpx

2013 Prescott Monstercross Cue Sheet:

Cue Sheet Caution: Please be warned that you also need to use tire tracks and common sense to complete this loop. A GPS is highly recommended. One section of the short course will be particularly difficult to navigate without a GPS. The long course will be fairly easy to follow using the ques.

BOTH SHORT AND LONG ROUTES
Go west up highway 69, then right on Prescott Lakes Parkway just after ”In & Out.” Go down to bottom of hill turn right on Sundog Ranch Road.

Turn left into the trailhead parking lot for the Peavine Trail. Go across parking area and take the Peavine Trail to the right for just over a tenth of a mile. Then turn left and drop down off the railroad grade on another wide trail. Follow across bridge and up west side of Watson Lake. At the boat launch parking lot, look for the singletrack on the far side of the parking lot to continue east just above the shoreline. Follow the main trail for ~0.5 mile toward another boat launch. Stay OFF the tiny singletrack trails that go down to the shoreline (Fisherman Trail).

Turn right on the pavement to reach the boat launch, and at the launch, look for a trail on the left/north side of the launch area. This is the North Shore Trail. Take it, and follow the white dots. After some very technical trail, you’ll reach an intersection with “Steep” and “Steeper” options. Take either one down. Just past the bottom, look for a trail (unsigned High Trail) heading left/north up some rocky steps. Follow that. Do NOT continue east on the Over the Hill Trail. Continue west on this trail, turning left at the only intersection, until the trail ends at Granite Dells Road.  Turn Left on Granite Dells road, take it to HWY 89

Turn right on HWY 89 (busy and fast). Go 200 feet and turn left on Twisted Trail Road at an open (?) gate.  Take this road down and around, staying right until it ends at a gate.  Go around the gate and continue to Boulder Creek Lane.  Turn Left.  Stay straight on Boulder Creek until it dead-ends at a cul-de-sac.  Go through gate and head into Willow Dells.

Everything in the Dells is left turns.  Turn Left at first available trail and take it up over a slickrock climb.  At the trail just after the climb, turn left.  Take this around a mile, initially going east, and circling around the Dells until you are heading west. Stay on the main trail and avoid any side trails until you hit another large slickrock area.  Follow white dots across slickrock and turn left at the trail they lead to.  Take this trail up and out of the Willow Dells area going west.  It will end at a parking area.  Continue straight across the lot to find the Willow Lake Trail. There is a drinking fountain at the bathroom building just up the hill to the north. Take this trail 1.5 miles until you see a tunnel on your Right. Go through tunnel and under Willow Creek Rd.

Follow to double track turn, left on double track. Continue toward baseball fields, then make a hard left and circle clockwise around the fields. There is a drinking fountain at the building between the four fields. Head out the main entrance to the ball fields, stay straight, and go across the road into Pioneer Park. Look for trail north (right) of the dirt parking lot in front of you. Go up trail to singletrack on left and take singletrack until it ends at double track. Turn uphill on double track take this trail straight up hill. You will be looking directly at Granite Mountain heading West. Dirt road ends at parking lot on Pioneer Parkway.

Turn left on highway and follow it down road to Williamson Valley Rd. Turn left on Williamson Valley Rd at traffic light, and after, about 1 mile turn right on Dineh St. Take first left at stop sign then first right on Katahn, go to end of street. There is a dirt parking area and the start of real trails. Climb up #347 then right on #341 take this until you see gate on right. Take #347 and follow it down until left on #348. Follow 348 PAST gate on left; turns into #352. Bomb downhill to Mint Wash Trail #345 (watch out for other trail users!) and then go left up to lake. just before restroom, turn left turn on #351. Follow #351 to another restroom at the Cayuse TH. There is a water spigot at the bathrooms.

LONG ROUTE
Look for trail #349 ~100’ past the spigot heading south. Follow #349 southwest, cross a road, and stay on #349 as it passes #350 and then begins to wrap back around to the north. ~2.6 miles after the Cayuse TH, the singletrack will cross a 2-track and then shortly thereafter join another 2-track. Look for Clark Springs Trail #40 heading off to the left. Follow it. Climb #40 until hitting a gate at Trail #37. Turn left and bounce down water bars. At next intersection, turn right on the quad trail #619, and follow this roller coaster down until an intersection with #620. Follow this under Iron Springs Highway until you are dumped out on the dirt Dosie Pit Road.

Turn left and follow the road for 2.6 miles. Then turn left on West Spruce Trail #264. This turn is easy to miss, but it is signed. Follow the singletrack. You’ll cross a stream (water source, if treated) after ~0.75 miles, and then begin climbing steadily. When you hit a jeep trail, turn left, and continue climbing. It gets steeper. And steeper. Stay on the main jeep trail until hitting a barbed wire gate at the top. Go through the gate, and then look for a faint, unsigned singletrack on the right/south side of the road. Take this. It is still called #247 here. Follow #247 on the ridgeline, ignoring all the trails that drop off the ridgeline to the left.

Eventually you’ll get dumped out on a dirt road. Turn right and climb up to the Sierra Prieta Overlook. At the overlook (the top of the climb), turn left on #366, climb a bit more, and then begin descending. Stay to the right at the next intersection. After a rather steep, loose section, you’ll hit a major trail junction.

Turn right on the unsigned trail #327. All other trails at this intersection are signed. The short and long routes rejoin here.

SHORT ROUTE
Look for trails #346/349 ~100’ past the spigot heading south. Follow #346 southeast. Then turn right on trail #332. Cross Granite Basin Rd and go through gate. Continue on #332 until Iron Springs Road. Cross road, proceed to dirt trailhead parking lot, and climb uphill between some rocks on an unsigned 2-track. DO NOT continue straight on #332, the old rail grade.

THIS SECTION IS CHALLENGING TO NAVIGATE WITHOUT A GPS. Climb 2-track for 0.3 miles, and then turn left on unsigned singletrack. Follow singletrack for 0.25 miles to a [likely] dry stream bed and turn left on the far side of it. Follow this old 2-track down for 0.25 miles. Then it veers to the right, and follow it for another 0.25 miles. Turn left onto another 2-track. Follow this for 0.5 miles before turning right onto singletrack. After 0.35 miles of following the most obvious trail, turn right onto a wider trail. Follow this south for 0.2 miles. Turn left. Follow the main trial for 0.3 miles. Turn right. Stay right at 0.15 miles. After another 0.2 miles, turn right onto trail #332.

Follow #332 south. Stay on #332 where it crosses #318. Then cross dirt Thumb Butte Road and turn right on trail #392. Climb south, up through some switchbacks, cross #326, and then turn left on trail #327. Stay on #327 where #387 goes left. Descend to a major trail intersection and stay straight on #327, which is the one unsigned singletrack leaving the intersection. The short and long routes rejoin here.

BOTH SHORT AND LONG ROUTES
Follow #327, which turns into #393 if you just stick to the singletrack. Cross Copper Basin Road, and continue on trail #48. This follows a stream for a bit and then switchbacks up. Turn right on the two-track (#9401), and follow the two-track up, past where #48 continues right (DO NOT TURN RIGHT with all the other bike tracks – that is the Whiskey course). Eventually you’ll hit a gate, go through, and stay right on the singletrack. This is Wolverton Mtn Trail #9415. Follow this down, sticking to the main trail/singletrack at any intersections.

Cross White Spar Road at the end of #9415 and continue straight into the parking lot on the other side of the road (there is a water spigot just uphill to the left next to the first outhouse you’ll see in the campground). Look for trail #396 and follow it all the way up until it ends at Senator Hwy.

Cross Senator Hwy and look for trail #299 on the left/north side of the dirt parking lot. Follow that steeply up. After 2.1 miles, trail #299 turns right, and trail #9854 stays straight/left.

LONG ROUTE
Turn right to stay on #299 and climb very steeply up. Follow trail through a series of ups and downs until you hit Spruce Mtn Road. Turn left, and climb for 1.1 miles to Smith Ravine Trail #297, which starts on the other side of a fence on the left/north side of the road. Descend #297 to the bottom, cross Walker Road, and turn left on #305. Follow #305 down, through the campground, eventually again crossing Walker Road. At the end of #305, you pop out in a trailhead parking lot. Turn left on Walker Road, and follow this back to Costco. Done!

SHORT ROUTE
Stay straight/left on trail #9854. After 1/4 mile, turn right on unsigned moto singletrack that drops steeply to the right. Enjoy this descent through the trees. Rejoin quad trail and stay on main trail all the way to Walker Road. Cross road and look for trail #305 crossing a dirt lot after ~400’. Turn left on #305 and follow it. You’ll again cross Walker Road on the trail. At the end of #305, you pop out in a trailhead parking lot. Turn left on Walker Road, and follow this back to Costco. Done!

COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Use the comment section below to ask questions or make a comment about this race.  This ride is limited to 74 participants.