If the names don't indicate that this is a mountain biking trail I don't what would... 😂
With a two-hour window available this hike seemed like a good option. I have been meaning to try it out for a while now, and today was the right day to give it a go. The upside: ten-minute drive from home, well-defined looping trail, good quick workout, sits beside Prairie Mountain so is pretty much neglected by everybody. The downside: only a couple of peak-a-boo views.
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| Interesting Rock Band At The 2/3 Mark |
The trail can be accessed in a few places, but is probably easiest at the Prairie Mountain trailhead with all of the other cars. My original plan was to head up Loamzilla and back the same way. Fortunately I ran into a few friendly mountain bikers at a fork in the trail. They let me know that either way went to the top. The fork on the right is Loamzilla, and the one on the left is Pistolero. They recommended Pistolero, but I decided to go up Loamzilla as per my original plan, but descend via Pistolero. The trails were a mixture of bare, icy, and snowy. I have no idea how the bikers made it down in one piece (especially the one with no studded tires), as there were quite a few steep sections covered in glare ice. They seemed to be having fun, though, and there were no broken bones at that point so good for them!
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| Peak-A-Boo View |
I enjoyed this hike, and feel that it is a good one to have in your pocket when you just need a quick outdoor adventure. As mentioned before there are limited views, but the trail is quite nice. The summit is basically a clearing underneath Prairie Mountain summit with a decent view towards Mustang Hills and Swany's Ridge.
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| Trail Marker At Summit Approach |
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| Summit Clearing With Prairie Mountain Summit In Background |
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| Felt Like I had To Take A Selfie Due To Lack Of Scenery Shots (Apologies To The Reader!) |
