Cache Creek & Shadow Mtb rides - Jackson

We wrapped up our last 2 days of vacation riding around Jackson in the Cache Creek and Shadow Mtn areas.  Both rides were awesome but very different.

Cache Creek Area Ride:

The Cache Creek trail system can be accessed right from downtown Jackson and there are a number of trails that loop and spur off each other such that you can make it a really long day in the saddle or just a quickie ride.  I opted for something in between and took the Cache Creek trail up to Game Trail and then took the Game Trail West which looped back into the main trail systems.

Once on the Game Trail West trail, it was a little eerie....I did not run into any people and the trail was awesome but overgrown with wildflowers and ran right along a creek with really high bushes right next to it.  It was really thick and perfect habitat for critters to lurk and be drinking out of the creek or foraging for food.  Given the recent bear encounters I was a little spooked as there was no visibility for about 3 miles of riding.  The bushes next to the trail/creek were so thick that you could not see through them at all - I could hear the creek but could not see it.  I made it a point to either talk or whistle while riding in order to minimize the possibility of surprising anything on the trail.  This is not small task while trying to climb on a singlespeed...

I made it to the next intersection without incident and opted to take a that looked like it went up a gulch and then looped you back into the main trail system.  As I got about 2 miles into the ride I looked up and saw a BIG BROWN critter up on the hillside...I immediately stopped and watched this furry thing to see if it was moving or whether my mind was just playing tricks on me.  As I watched it I could see that it was moving...2 options....option # 1 was to keep going up the trail and hope that it was not interested in me....or option # 2 was to quickly turn around and pedal fast back to the intersection and take another trail up to the summit.  Option #2 seemed liked the no brainer....I high-tailed it back to the intersection and climbed up to the saddle/summit area and took an awesome trail back down.  I was able to link into Ferrin's trail which was fun, fast, mostly smooth, and did I forget to mention FAST???

It ended up being about a 16 mile day with around 2,600 ft of elevation gain over the ride.  I made it back to the car with a big grin on the face and passed that baton to the wifer and gave her the low-down on the pucker factor taking the Game trail loop that I did...she opted for the wise choice of taking the Ferrin trail up and then coming back down on it.  All in all it was a good day in the saddle - despite the possibility of having seen a grizz from a distance on the bike.
When the wifer got back from her ride she mentioned that one of the ladies she met while on her ride indicated that she had just seen a small black bear a little further up on the trail.  Apparently this trip was just destined to be all about bears...

We went back to our bear campsite and rested a little easier that night since we had not seen the bears rummaging around the gulley that they were poking around in the night before.  At one point I woke up and heard footsteps around our campsite.  I rustled around to make some noise and heard some footsteps quickly re-treating into the brush.  I did not think twice about it until the next morning when we woke up and saw one of the bears just above the campground, no more than about 40 yards away.  Me thinks that maybe we had a visitor during the night that was of the bear variety.....

Shadow Mtn Ride:

Our last day in the Jackson area was going to be centered around going out to Shadow Mtn and doing the ride out there...why?  because it included descriptions such as 'You'll climb right through a magazine photo - wildflowers and incredible views of the Tetons'...another excerpt from the trail decription: 'descends through the forest like an amusement park ride'...with a description like that, it was a must do...and it was a shorter ride which was just what we needed after all, this was to be our 3rd day in a row of riding.

A local had warned us of elevated bear activity in the area so we planned accordingly and made sure to carry bear spray with us.  It was Erin's time to ride the trail first and for me to hang with the pups while she was out enjoying the 'amusement park ride' trail.  At this point after several active days, the dogs were super tired and all they wanted to do was hang in the back of the truck and sleep.  I did take them on a little walk just to wear them out a little more but it did not take much convincing for them to hop back into the car and start chasing bunnies in their doggy dreams.

Erin rolled in and then it was my turn to grind up the hill and enjoy the views and trail.  The climb was as billed and had great views all the way up.  The climb went up a dirt road for about 4 miles and about 1200 ft of elevation gain and then dumped you at a trailhead that just called out your name and begged to be ridden.

as I descended, I once again made it a point to talk out loud to the bears so as not to spook them.  It must have been a hysterical sight to see and hear me as I pointed downhill...."Hey Bear, Who da' bear?  Where da bear? etc..."  It is a good thing I was talking to myself because about 1/3 of the way down I ran into the following freshie right in the middle of the trail!  I stepped up my trash talking as I descended and then rolled to the car and quickly asked the wifer if she had seen any dookie in the middle of the trail...she mentioned she had not (this would have been impossible to miss).  So sometime between the wifer going through and me going through a bear decided to tell us what he thought of bikers riding through his territory...this was not more than 1 hour apart...DOH!!  At this point the camera was on the fritz so the best pix were way over-exposed and not really salvageable...maybe it too was scared?  It was time to retire the camera....

All in all we got a great variety of riding in over the course of the week and have come to recognize the bear flava' of riding in the area....must be on full alert at all times!