4 – Double Boundary Trail
September 12th, 2009
Rich Capener
is the ride coordinator/owner for this event.
He will handle any proposed route changes,
pre-rides, event day sign-in/sign-out, etc.
Thanks Rich!!!
Go Here to Register for DBT
Go Here for the DBT Forum for Q&A
No more than 74 people allowed for this event!
Please make sure to read all rules for this. This is fully unsupported and you will need to be self-sufficient in order to complete this. The rules are located HERE.
When: 6:30AM – Saturday, September 20, 2008
Where: Meet at The Bean Coffee Shop (the South Shop) near Native Sons , which is on the south side of town, on US-64. Map located here;
What: Epic Mountain Bike Endurance Event. 67.62-miles, with 14,318-ft of climbing!
Up on the north rim of Taos canyon and down the south side.
GPS Track in GPX format:
– No warranty, express or implied, use at your own discretion.
– Must be member of and logged into NMES Google group to get files
– Right click on the link(s) below
- Select “Save Target As…”
– Change the file extension from “.xml” to “.gpx”
- If you have issues with the link below,
log onto NMES Google group, look under files at the bottom
to find all the GPS track files.
– Go here to convert to other GPS formats
– Go here to download TopoFusion PRO 3.20 Free/Demo
Course Profile;
Click image to go to larger version
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Route Description: The route consists of 3 distinct sections of classic Northern New Mexico back country trails; North Boundary Trail (NBT) to Elliot Barker Trail (EBT) to South Boundary Trail (SBT). Each of these sections include epic singletrack, dirt two-track, and some gravel or paved road.
Start Directions:
From the Bean Coffee Shop, turn south on NM 68 on the side walk. As soon as you cross the drainage ditch bridge, look for dirt trails to you left and follow them – these will take you NM 585 heading up Taos Canyon. On NM 585, look for dirt trails off on the right hand side of the road parallelling the road – ride the dirt trails up toward the blue water tower that you can see in the distance. Follow signs and trail markers to the blue water tower.
At the blue water tower, follow the gravel/rocky trails straight uphill ignoring all left and right hand turns. Look for steep trail straight ahead that cuts over to the bottom leg of Tr 164. This unofficial trail meets Tr. 164 (South Boundary Trail) on it’s last few miles at a prominent swithcback with a wooden trail marker shown below;
Turn left here and descend Tr. 164 down to the El Nogal Trail Head (on US 64). Right across the street is the start of the NBT at the Devisadero Trailhead.
Note: If you get lost on this small initial section, just bail to Taos Canyon/US 64 and just go to the Devisadero Trail Head (Tr. 108). Most likely you can ride with other riders on this initial section of local cutover trails as all of this section is less than 6 miles from the start.
Section 1 – North Boundary Trail: The NBT is actually an collection of trails and dirt roads is not the official name of any one trail on this route. It is in specific terms Devisadero Trail (Tr. 108) to Capulin Trail Tr. 495 to Fr. 717 to TR./Fr. 494 Fr. 10A2 to Fr. 706A to Fr. 706.
From Devisadero Trail, climb this epic route for less than a mile until you come to the first intersection that is marked with a sign. You can go either left or right when climbing Devisadero – as the Devisadero Trail is a loop and this is the start of the loop. Taking the left hand route will allow you to stay on the bike more, and the right hand side is the more technically challenging route – again your choice.
At the far end of Devisadero on a saddle you will come to the Capulin Trail Head – turn here and follow this rugged and faint piece of epic singletrack as you climb on the north side of Taos Canyon. Markers should appear in trees along with rock cairns. This is a faint trail however and do not take any side route that descend steep down into the canyon. This trail CLIMBS the north side, ok. There are also Carsonite signs on this route in some (not all) places.
As you crest the Capulin trail you will descend to Fr. 717 and follow this faint forest service road until it becomes more distinct. At the first major intersection – turn right and descend down Capulin Canyon on a gravel road. You will soon come to the intersection of 717 and Fr. 10 (The road from US 64 up to the Buddhist Monastary). Turn left on Fr. 10 and climb this until it approaches a metal gate for private property (saying No Trespassing). As you approach the gate, look over to your RIGHT and see the trail heading up the hill (if you miss it, turn around at the gate and you will see the trial heading up the hill to your left) - this soon turns into a old forest logging road and become FR 10A2. At the first major intersection turn left (uphill) and follow the 10A2 road constantly uphill and to the east ignoring all small logging offshoots or serious downhills. Some flagging and marking should exist. Follow this to 706A and eventually you will follow the Pueblo fenceline. As you come to a gate, cross through it (twice) and you will eventually descend OK Canyon on down to US 64.
Note that you can also take some of the cow-built singletrack down OK Canyon that parallels the road if you choose, or just stick to this road. The cow-track eventually disappears and you will have to cross country ride it for 1/10 of a mile. Your choice.
Cross the paved US 64 and go straight accross through the fence to the treeline. You will not see any trail in this grassy area – untill you hit the treeline straight in from of you. Turn RIGHT and then LEFT to make your way up Bull Springs Canyon to Bull Springs Meadow. Eventually this will turn into a very rough and rocky old forest logging road, and to your left will be the meadow. You will cross a grassy field to get to the top of Bull Springs Meadow and all paths should have disappeared by now – this is cow type cross country. At Bull Springs Meadow you will hook up on the Elliot Barker Trail. However – instead of immediately turning right and heading south – you must first do the lower loop of EBT! Here is a the NBT Route and Profile;
Section 2 – Elliot Barker Trail (EBT) At Bull Springs Meadow, turn LEFT (yes left so you can restock at Palo Flechado) and descend the EBT for less than a mile – look for the first intersection on your LEFT and turn here (this is where the the lower legs of the EBT loop come back together). Follow this trail as it initially climbs, then will give you an immediate fun steep descent eventually taking to a Palo Flechado – the high point on US 64. When you see the paved road, you are at Palo Flechado – which simply means Flechado Pass. If you choose to set up a SAG vehicle this is the best spot to have one for you. There is a parking lot at Palo Flechado.
If you skip the SAG and still want to go on, continue descending the EBT Tr. 1 all the way down to it’s official Trail Head on US 64, and then climb back up the EBT’s east-side back up trail then dirt roads to Bull Springs Meadow. This dirt road has whoop-de-dos, and ignore all offshoot singletrack. From here follow the inclined saw-tooth elevation profile of the EBT for several miles at the South Boundary Trail. The EBT is faint, but marked with Carsonite signs. However this is still primitive backcountry.
When in doubt, head south on the EBT. You will finish the EBT at a steel cow water tanke, so all turns west before this are not correct!
You will eventually come to an intersetion with the SBT at a metal cattle tank. This will be the start of the South Boundary Trail Section.
Section 3 – South Boundary Trail with Jaracita Trail Diversion: At the cattle tank, turn right and head uphill for an immediate steep climb up to OSHA Peak. At OSHA Peak (10,770-ft) you will intersect a dirt road (FR. 153). Turn left (yes left!) as you will skip the upper section of the SBT and start out this section of the route on the Jaracita Trail. Follow Fr. 153 south for less than 2 miles and look for the Jaracita Trail head sign on your right. Jaracita Trail is very well marked, but the turn to it’s trailhead is easy to miss. Follow this awesome and epic descent all the way down to Fr. 439 to the Rio Chiquito. Turn Right and climb this gravel road for a few miles up until you see a clearing on your right. This clearing is a rising meadow with a dirt road that takes you to Quintana Pass and will be your access point back onto the SBT. At Quintana Pass, turn left and follow the SBT all the way back to Taos. It is suggested that you reconnect the start trails back through the water tower, etc, but you may also take the paved road back into town – your call.
The final rally point is at Eske’s Brew Pub!
Free Maps.Large Map,
Osha
Mountain, Shady Brook,
Palo
Flechado
Pass,
Pueblo
Peak, Ranchos de Taos, Taos
Suggested Maps:
Website: http://www.rei.com/product/3021873.htm
Carson N.F. Map: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/maps/index.shtml
Trail Information;
CarsonN.F. http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/
Trails.com: http://www.fattire.com/Trails/Mountain-Biking/New-Mexico/Taos-Area/
Other;
The Bean; http://thebeantaos.net/
Map: http://thebeantaos.net/images/taos_map.gif
Eske’s: http://www.eskesbrewpub.com/
Route; (NOTE: Elevation Profile is for 1/2 of the ride – in red)
Note: It would be great if someone volunteers to run a SAG at Palo Flechado. This is the halfway point and it is a mountain pass with a small parking area – real easy to drive a vehicle to. Please comment here if you think you can do this. In past years another group of riders would start at Palo Flechado and ride EBT to SBT as a shuttle and leave a vehicle for the DBT riders to pull food/water out of. It would be great if we can get this to happen again in 2007.
Note 2: Please pre-ride the NBT if you get a chance. This is primitive country and requires a good level of route finding skills, which is something that can take time and slow you down. This route can be completed with minimal stopping, so please make sure you know the route beforehand.
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