The Bank
The Bank was a completely new trail for us, and one we really didn't know anything about before we got there. We saw a network of trails on the topo map, so it sounded like a fun time to go out and explore them. We got lucky, and they were still available for offroad adventures.
We followed the BLM signs past a large parking area, and soon we were going by the Bank Campground. It was pretty big, and very nice. There were also some good signs nearby, so we got out to study the maps. We had mapped out a lot of the trails in the area, but it looked like most of them were not available to 4x4 vehicles. We had hoped to make it out to Oblong Baldy -- a geographic feature with a cool name -- but the trails out to it were no longer available. Still, it looked like we could do a pretty good-sized loop.
Right after the campground it got very bumpy. We hoped that it wouldn't stay that way, and luckily it didn't last too long. Soon enough, the trail turned to smooth dirt.
We climbed to the top and out of the canyon, and found ourselves at a crossroads. We decided to go up and follow road 5830, but it soon came to a dead end. It was pretty bumpy and didn't offer any new scenery or challenges, so we probably won't follow that spur again.
The trail weaved its way through the brush and trees, and we saw on our GPS units that we were passing many mines. We didn't get out to do any exploring, though. We did see a strange sight that had to be explored, though. A huge crack had a fence all the way around it, with a person-sized opening at the base. We parked and walked into the crack, which immediately ended. It wasn't too exciting, but it was a good chance to stretch our legs and visit.
Soon the trail started heading downhill and we could see many very nice homes. We could also see that some of the "trails" we were hoping to explore were now roads to houses.
When we got to the bottom, the trail continued all the way around to nearly meet with the trailhead in one giant loop. It ended up being a pretty cool trail with some great scenery, even though it wasn't nearly as extensive as we had originally hoped. It's always fun trying something new!
