Kentucky Camp, Arizona

On my life-long quest to cross off all the IMBA epics on my to-ride list, I took advantage of being in southern California (it's not a tumor!) to head over to southern Arizona to seek out the Kentucky Camp epic ride. Nestled among old mining camps just next to the Mexican border, it included part of the state-long Arizona Trail. Arizona. Home of some of the best mountain biking on the planet, from the mountains of Flagstaff to the red rock of Sedona, and the desert trails of Tuscon.


I recommend Belgians to post this sign along their dutch border:


Stupid me had a slow breakfast and even slower preparation, so that by the time I started it was almost 40 degrees (over 100). I had the camelback full of ice cubes and plenty of food to keep me going.


But food and water was not going to be my biggest obstacle. Being in a network of trails and roads meant that following any directions or maps would be nearly impossible. I had to stop about 10 times in the first hour, and just barely missed getting hopelessly lost. Not appealing in a country full of rattler snakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. Ok, call me a softie. But a GPS and even better yet a ride leader is the way to go out here.


The riding was, of course, fantastic. Rocky jeep trails mixed with high desert singletrack. Loose soil and rocks to keep you honest. Big climbs, big descents...it was awesome. At one point the trail came out into a area hit by wildfires within the last couple years. The vegetation was just starting to recover.


The singletrack (tasty as it was) made a pretty clean trail through the damaged area.


And the cacti proved to be stronger than the flames.


The area wound through some old mining areas, there were flume trails, old houses, and old mining machinery here and there. Kinda cool.


With time limitations, heat, and map issues, I had to cut my ride short. Which means, I'll be back.