I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, gang. About trail reviews. I know they’re helpful and all. And I really do like writing about my favorite trails. But so many trail reviews end up being the. most. boring. ever. Sometimes I think there are no interesting hikes in Cameron Pass simply because in order to prepare for doing them, I have had to slog through a bunch of boring posts and forums that all contradict each other on difficulty, views, what to bring, and blah blah blah.

Pineridge trail at Dixon Reservoir.

So since I’ve said I’m going to do more trail reviews,  I’ve been thinking about want you really want to hear about. And see. And generally what you need to know before you go. Here is where the brainstorm stormed (also lightninged)….

1. Create a Fresh Air Fort Collins Google map (on the home page!) so you can browse trails and posts near you, or far from you, or simply in an area you are curious about or have never seen…..as soon as I get my tags to actually show up (stupid technology and it’s stupid stupidity. poop.)

2. LOTS of pictures. Because all the adjectives in the world and extensive use of the superlative is still not as good as just showing you the view.

3. Difficulty/rating. Because if I went up Maxwell instead of Pineridge for my first mountain biking ride, I would want to kill someone. Actually, my first mountain biking experience almost exactly that and while I didn’t kill anyone, I did swear a lot. But that’s another post.

4. Basic logistics. Because if you showed up without cash and then found out you needed to pay a park entry fee, you’d be pissed, right?

Tie City Trailhead. For this trail, bring a wind breaker and a $10 parking fee. Wyoming is windy. Also not free.

Now this last part is something I could debate about endlessly. Does that just mean good directions and a map? Certainly you want to know about fees and parking and all that. What should you pack? Are you used to backpacking or does getting out of your house in the morning with both your pants on and car keys in hand boggle your mind?!?? And  what about the difficulty? Should it be based on exertion or what I think is hard? How do you know what I think is hard is actually hard? And is any of that really necessary for our in-town trails? Because really, they aren’t that technical.

Is this hard for you, too? I don’t know. I’m not your cardio!

I could just list out elevation gain? But it really matters how that elevation gain is occurring. A 2,000′ on talus scramble somewhere at elevation a is not the same as 2,000′ in the horsetooth mountain park. So now we’re back to me telling you what I think is hard.

What about all the trail users? Beginner, intermediate and experienced trail runners, mountain bikers, hikers, and maybe your dog? Forget horses. I totally don’t even care at all and I’m sick of finding poop everywhere. Go somewhere else. But back on subject: what is the definition of an intermediate mountain biker?!?? And how am I supposed to know about your dog?!??

DO YOU SEE HOW THIS HAS OPENED A CAN OF WORMS!!?!?!!

Think you are opening a yummy can of Campbell’s  chicken noodle soup on a dark and rainy evening? NO! IT’S WORMS! Bad trail reviews are exactly like that. Wriggly and all over the place and gross.

And AM I TOTALLY OVER-THINKING THIS?!? Very possibly.

There is so much information and so much detail I could go into. Probably, to be safe, I should just write it all down. In a totally different order every time I do a post. To prevent you from just finding the information you want. Wait. Isn’t that how trail reviews end-up boring?

Dammit.

Actually, I’ve been doing some research, so don’t worry. I totally know EXACTLY what I’m doing. All the meandering questions and use of all caps was merely illustrative. To show you the rat hole of indecision and wishy-washy that you can get sucked into, turning your “trail review” into a Hallmark card of “how I feel about the trail today”.

So for starters, I’ll start with what is commonly established and can give you a good frame of reference for the trail and anything else I write about it. Because I’m not NOT going to tell you if i thought it was hard or steep or that the pecipitous drop off gave me vertigo. But I’ll start with the rating. According to the most established rating system for each sport.

For mountain biking, I will be using the difficulty ratings from the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA).

The IMBA uses the same kind of rating system as ski areas:

• White: Easiest
• Green: Easy
• Blue: More difficult
• Black diamond: Very difficult
• Double black diamond: Extremely difficult (aka you might die, stupidhead)

You can read more about them the link above, but the main thing to remember is that they do not rate based on exertion, perceived or otherwise, only technical difficulty, such as drop-offs, obstacles, width of the trail. If you are trying to figure out where your ability level is, they have all the types of obstacles, etc that apply to each category.

For any kind of bi-pedal difficulty rating, I will use the Yosemite Decimal System. This breaks down trails by steepness, difficulty of terrain, exposure, penalty for failure, etc.

• Class 1: Walking with a low chance of injury.
• Class 2: Simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands. Little potential danger is encountered.
• Class 3: Scrambling with increased exposure. A rope can be carried but is usually not required. Falls are not always fatal.
• Class 4: Simple climbing, with exposure. A rope is often used. Natural protection can be easily found. Falls may well be fatal.
• Class 5: Technical free climbing involving rope, belaying, and other protection hardware for safety. Un-roped falls can result in severe injury or death.

You’re used to seeing this in every guide book, hike guide, etc. But not everyone totally agrees on these definitions, of course. Some people also assign a more difficult class rating to trails that require you do some navigation.  So I’ll make notes about my perception of the accuracy of the rating. Also, I get totally lost everywhere and can barely read a map, so while I do consider that a separate issue, trail navigation is a main concern of mine. You will know if a trail requires navigation because of the lengthy post I write about it explaining about how I spent three hours lost in the woods. A mile from the highway.

While we’re talking about the Yosemite Decimal System, I may as well also talk about climbing post guidelines while we’re at it.

Rock Climbing also uses the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) as well as a few others to meet the needs of slightly different climbing pursuits on ice and boulders. And probably some others, too, but I’m not that adventurous. Or detail oriented.

The Palace, Poudre Canyon climbing

Pretty much all trad and sport routes use the YDS (with more detail than hikes, it starts at 5.5 and ends somewhere around 5.15). It’s the standard you’ll see on this blog for pretty much any climbing post. I’ll probably also use the W12-17 ice rating scale for ice climbing posts like the one from Ouray this Christmas, but unless you are a dedicated ice climber the Yosemite standard will still make more immediate sense to you.

For bouldering, instead of YDS, they use the Hueco scale which rates difficulty on a V0-16 scale. But since I rarely boulder and because that scale has such a wide spread, I would probably just let you know if it was beginner, intermediate or advanced since most climbers are used to seeing that in gyms, anyway.

So here’s the plan. I’ll start trail review posts with the basic trail information like the rating, distance, and general terrain so you know what you are getting yourself into and whether or not you even want to check out that trail. And I’ll close out with the skinny: basic logistics and directions, fees, what you should bring, etc.

Now if only I can find a trail rating system for your stupid dog, I’ll be all set.

That trail was too hard for Charlie-dog and now he is forced to spread out across the whole bed to properly relax.

Happy Trails!