Ironclads
We left Dave at the trailhead because he had to head for home, then we headed up. We went the wrong way at first, but we soon realized our mistake. When we found the brown Forest Service sign for 216 we knew we were headed in the right direction.
The trail started off pretty mellow except for the ledge near the start. It wasn't too big, but the dirt at the bottom was pretty loose.
We followed the signs and soon came to the intersection at the bottom of the loop. We started up the right side and it immediately got interesting. It was loose, steep and rocky. It was fun to climb. Luckily we didn't see anyone coming down.
When we got to the intersection with 216A we took that up. The Play Hill was instantly a blast. Monica started up it and didn't think a section next to a tree was going to be difficult, but she soon found out that there was more to it than it seemed. She had to work on it a bit, but then finally got through it.
It was really loose and really steep but everyone had a good time on it. Cheryl came next and thought she was through it, then she was surprised to find out that it wasn't going to be that easy. It only took a little bit more momentum.
Micheal made it look pretty easy, but he still had to take a couple runs at it to get through.
Don tried it first without his lockers but it was proving to be a lot more work than he thought it would be. He turned his lockers on and bounced up it.
When we got to the top of Play Hill there was a huge rock that needed climbing. A few of us climbed to the top while a few stayed to wait at the bottom. It was a good climb but it didn't offer the amazing views we thought it would.
We kept going until we got to Window. It looked pretty easy, and Monica tried it first. After a couple bounces she decided it wasn't worth risking breakages so she backed out of it and took the bypass up.
Cheryl got in it next, starting off in the middle of it. She instantly slid sideways to the right and found herself really stuck in it. She couldn't back down because now a big tree was behind her, and the big rock was in front of her. The tree roots were slippery, and she couldn't get through it. She finally went at it a little sideways, and that worked.
Micheal tried it next and he got close to the tree on the left. That proved to be the line through it, and he bounced his way up. It took a few tries but eventually he got right through it.
Don tried it first without lockers, but again it just proved to be too much. He took Micheal's line on the left and bounced right up it, to cheers from the rest of us. Then he got stuck at the top and everyone stopped cheering. He backed up a bit and gave it some momentum and he got cheers again when he got through it.
We should have stopped there and walked up, but we didn't realize the trail just ended. The views from the top were nice, and you could see for a long way out past the foothills. We snapped a few pictures, then headed down.
We all went down through Window, but of course it was easy in that direction.
Play Hill was also easy because we took the line furthest to the left. It was steep, but not a big deal.
The other half of the loop on 216 was rocky but much wider than the half of the loop on the way up. It didn't take us long to finish the loop and then the rest of the trail.
When we got to the bottom we finished up Bunce School Road and headed for dinner. This is a great, fun trail.
Reports from Other Days: 3
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