Description

While Hurricane is located in a desert environment, at 3,250 feet above sea level, it does still sometimes receive snow during the winter...

albeit infrequently.

When it *does* snow in Hurricane, the first trails to dry out are the rocky, rugged Boy Scout trails just a few miles down the highway. On a small upthrust mesa above the local Boy Scout camp you'll find a tightly-wound trail system of short interconnecting trail segments.

Around the base of mesa wind a few easier intermediate trails, but the top of the mesa? The top of the mesa is all rock! The route mapped here is a ridge top loop covering all of the upper trails in the network.

These rocky, rugged trails are janky AF, making for an uber-technical mountain bike challenge, both when descending and climbing.

The terrain is so rocky that there's essentially no dirt on top of the mountain to use to build a climbing trail that avoids the rubble.

Instead, the climbs ascend steep rock slabs, rumble up boulder fields, and surge up and over a multitude of ledges. Once on the upper reaches of the ridge, expansive views open up of the Quail Creek Reservoir below you, flanked by more red rock cliffs and, eventually, the Pine Mountains.

Getting to ride rocky desert trails with such a pristine background formed by a body of water is a surreal experience! If you work your way out to Adventure Scout (making sure to ride Adventure Scout counter-clockwise as mapped), the difficulty of this route reaches the "Extreme" level.

When it comes time to descend Adventure Scout, you'll be faced with a series of rock rolls on the edge of the mesa top, with dramatic exposure that could cause serious injury or death if you fall in the wrong direction.

Some of the corners on the descent are tight and technical, and a few of the rollers require precise wheel placement.

In some places, optional ledge drops open up even more advanced maneuvers. Some riders might consider this loop to be on the easier end of "Extreme." Still, our 5 out of 5 FATMAP difficulty rating is an "hors categorie" type rating, in which there you'll find a range of Extremeness.

Whether you consider this ride truly "Extreme" or not, you're in for a chunky, technical adventure of a ride! After Adventure Scout, the route rips down a short, fast stretch of trail in the bottom of a wash, launching off of ledges and rolling down bedrock.

The final descent on Cub Scout is fast and somewhat flowy, but again, it's filled with all manner of boulders and chunky rocks. If you haven't had enough yet, try out some of the easier trails along the base of the mesa, or take Twist & Shout over to the paved road and ride the Rhythm & Blues trails on the other side.