Be careful of the rock stairs relatively close to the top of this portion; too much speed could doom your descent on these. Plenty of kick ups, jumps, drops, and huge berms. From here the trail narrows and skirts a rocky hillside. after the jump you will enter the trail between two trees (fairly close together). Starts off flowy with some good jumps then gets into more technical rock gardens.
Electronic shifting is worth it with the sublime shifting performance and ease of maintenanceGreat views over the valley. This trail ends at the intersection of Middle Earth. Flow trail is a bit tight at the top, but gets really fast as you transition to the lower Rush. Fun! You can find everyone out here having fun from people in body armor and downhill bikes to families testing their kids limits to xc racer types riding intervals. It can be accessed from the base at Old Fort Picnic Grounds or the base of the upper climb. The trails all run parallel to the Fountain Place paved road so they can be shuttled by car. Great trail, with amazing views, but may see a lot of traffic. This trail can be sandy during dry summer months and is best after rain, in the spring or fall.
You now have to ride down an asphalt trail and cut off onto a gravel trail before getting back to the old single track. 95% dry and/or grippy. A full suspension bike with 3+ inches of travel will greatly enhance your experience! The trail starts with a test- a skinny with a 2 ft. Long pedal up form town but best when shuttled to the top. Riders need to be at a decent skill level to attempt this trail. Then it is a gradual descent or flat on to the end of the trail at Hickory Mountain Road and Hickory Mountain Loop. Use some caution in the corners here. From there the trail stretches out and travels pretty fast into a big berm with a view out into the valley.
Brief passing showers are keeping it wet but the sun and wind are trying. If you keep your momentum you can charge up pretty much all the climbs and the descents are steep and tricky. Lost Lake starts at its namesake trailhead. Perfect flow day with hard moist dirt with only 1/2 bird baths along the way! The trails all run parallel to the Fountain Place paved road so they can be shuttled by car. Or with only moderate climbing involved these trails can keep almost anyone interested for hours. The start of the dirt road is marked on the Google Map directions on this page. 95% dry and/or grippy. There are actually three trails which make up the loop: Horse Creek-Cattle Creek-Lower Twin Lake.
Fast transitions and high berms help with the turns. Trail is now covered in snow and you can only ride the packed areas from where sledders and shredders have packed out a trail.
Be careful of the rock stairs relatively close to the top of this portion; too much speed could doom your descent on these. Plenty of kick ups, jumps, drops, and huge berms.
Ride to the top and then down and link it directly into Ridegeline
Two wheel drifting is likely if you have speed but are not riding the top few inches of the berms. Brief passing showers are keeping it wet but the sun and wind are trying.