Epic Mountain Biking Missoula
This was my last ride in Missoula I decided to put an Epic together, I just connected 4 trails to create what I thought would make a fantastic full day Missoula Epic.
The trails I combined were :
- Woods Gulch Trail [loop]
- Spring Gulch & Wallman Trail [loop]
- Stuart Peak Trail [ Up]
- Curry Gulch Trail [Down from Stuart Peak]
Trail Stats & Information
Nearby City: Missoula
Length: 33.7 miles
Trail Type: Loops and out & back
Skill Level: Aerobically: very strenuous; Technically: moderate
Duration: 7 hours
Trailhead Elev: 3,500 feet
Top Elev: 7867 feet
Book Description
This is not mentioned as a trail in any of the books, however info about each of these trails can be found [ see my other Missoula trail posts].
My Experience
This Epic is very strenuous, and although I like climbing at a steady pace, there were times that I felt like calling it quits. All in all I spent just under 7 hours on the trail, and of those 7 hours about 6 were spent climbing and just one hour of downhill on the various trails, but that combined hour of downhill was well worth all the uphill slog.
Conclusion
If you are in or near Missoula for more than a few days, I would take things a bit slower and just do these trails as individual trails, because although the fun factor is high coming down these trails, the climbs are very long and very tedious. However, if you are just passing through Missoula and would like to get the best of what it has to offer Mountain Bikers then I would definitely and highly recommend this epic, just take along extra fluids and plenty of nibbles… But remember, if you don’t like climbing, then these trails are definitely not for you. If you don’t mind climbing then the reward is well worth it.
Other Info:
Traffic on Trail : around the trailhead was busy but in the 7 hours on the [ real] trails I only saw one mountain biker
Wild Life : none this time
Scenery : too tired to notice while climbing, and going too fast to enjoy while on the downhill
Other : Free map at trailhead, Trails are VERY busy during weekends
My Trail Rating : 8.5 / 10
.
VIDEOS COMING SOON
Follow Me on Twitter
