A lot of slow, hard stuff (the Lyman-Willson climb, the Cross Canyon climb(s), the Mahoney Meadows wall to Lost Spring) is served up front - and during the night. Some of the more technical descents such as Timm and the traverse of Cross Canyon should provide a good challenge and adventure in the dark. Cross Canyon, Willow Ridge trail and China Hole offer awesome and fast descents.
The Hard COEre 100
A Coe dirt century. One giant loop. No quarter.
100 miles and 20,000 feet of climbing.
New: the 2012 edition will (provisionally) take place Saturday 2012/10/6, 6am.
100 miles and 20,000 feet of climbing.
New: the 2012 edition will (provisionally) take place Saturday 2012/10/6, 6am.
1 big loop, 100 miles, +20,000 ft of elevation gain and loss
The route is shown on the (live) map below. Click on 'Trip details' on the bottom right of the map to load the MTBGuru trip page where you can find more details (and .GPX, .KML, .TCX files etc).
Update 2011/09/25: an update on the conditions out there after some recon rides the last few weeks:
- Unlike our ride last year (which took place mid-November), the trails are bone-dry. It hasn't rained here in over three months and you should expect loose, slippery conditions, and poor traction on many descents, so be careful.
- There are several late-season downed trees on the course (e.g. on the descent into Cross Canyon), so again, be prepared and careful.
- It may be hot out there - there is water available in the locations mentioned below, and in addition it can also be filtered from e.g. Mississippi Lake (~mile 50), Coit Lake (~mile 83) and probably Camp Willson (~mile 91). Also, it is very easy to get lost if you're not familiar with the park - if that's the case make sure to carry a good map and/or a GPS, with enough battery power to last a very long time. Again (you know the drill), be careful, heat stroke is no joke. Cellphone reception in Henry Coe park is generally intermittent (varies from having a strong signal on some ridges and peaks, to nothing in the canyons).
- There was an army of gnats and flies out there the last weeks which can be very annoying during breaks or slow climbs; consider bringing some deterrant (e.g. Deet spray). Also, don't bring socks or leg warmers you're emotionally attached to - they will be covered in resilient little burrs. There is also a lot of poison oak near or on some trails - right now the 'evil weed' is fairly easy to spot as it often has turned bright red. It probably does not need mention, but stay away from it if you're sensitive to it.
- Bike choice: hardtails will do ok on the terrain though there will be some bumpy sections and descents where you'll be dreaming of full suspension. A light full suspension bike is probably ideal. Singlespeeders should expect to walk many climbs (20% grades are very common), unless you have a very small gear. Tires: remember the loose conditions. Goatheads (puncturevine) and their ilk are very rare in Coe, though yesterday one of my riding partners suffered a flat from one.
- Bowl trail (at the very beginning of the course) now has a new bypass section around the pond with the washout. You can either stay on the old trail (which is recorded in the GPX-file) and walk around the washout, or ride the new bypass (recommended). The bypass splits off to the left side of the old trail and runs above the pond.
- By sheer coincidence, the Tarantula Festival takes place on October 1st at Coe Headquarters. You could buy food tickets ahead of time to get food from their BBQ and refuel - expect there may be a crowd (and line) though. The riders hit HQ at around mile 35. Food will be served there starting at 11.30am.
Update 2011/09/24: keep an eye on this section for last minute news. Meanwhile, below are some discussion threads on forums with more info and/or reading material:
- mtbr.com Norcal forum
- mtbr.com Endurance Racing forum
- Bikepacking.net Ultra Racing forum
Update 2011/09/21:
A small modification to the course has been made (see image below): Phoneline trail has been added, bypassing an uninspiring section of Coit Road. This is thanks to the tireless efforts of Charlie (also known as Skyline35) and Greg (lokoyokel) who made resurrecting this trail in its former glory (it's a fun singletrack descent) one of their projects this year. The new route is available here as GPX file. Note, due to the last minute nature of this change and the fact that it's a pretty minor one in the grand scheme, last year's route (2010 GPX file, as downloaded from my Garmin Edge 705) will be accepted as well.
The start is at the Hunting Hollow parking lot (indicated by the red balloon on the map) - note that there is a $6 parking fee.
Here's a short hand notation of the route and trails covered* (Phoneline modification is underlined):
Hunting Hollow Parking Lot > Hunting Hollow Road > Lyman-Willson Trail > Bowl > Steer Ridge Road > Spike Jones Trail > Timm Trail > Coit Road > Anza Trail > Coit Road > Coit Spring Trail > Cross Canyon Trail > Willow Ridge Road > Hoover Lake Trail > Willow Ridge Trail > Narrows Trail > Lost Spring Trail > China Hole Trail > Manzanita Point Road > HQ > Flat Frog Trail > Hobbs Road > Middle Ridge Trail > Poverty Flat Road > Schafer Corral Trail > Narrows Trail > Blue Ridge Road > Bear Mountain Road > County Line Road > Mississippi Lake Trail > Willow Ridge Road > Heritage Trail > Pacheco Creek Trail > Coit Road > Pacheco Ridge Road > Phoneline Trail > Coit Road > County Line Road > Turkey Pond Trail > County Line Road > Dutch's Trail > Yellowjacket Trail > Tie Down Trail > North Fork Trail > Kaiser-Aetna Road > Burra Burra Trail > Center Flats Road > Wagon Road > Live Oak Spring Trail > Coit Road > Crest Trail > Kelly Lake Trail > Coit Road > Wasno Road > Dexter Trail > Grizzly Gulch Trail > Grizzly Gulch Road > Wagon Road > Vasquez Road > Long Dam Trail > Wagon Road > Hunting Hollow Road to Parking Lot.
(*) On the live map, select 'OSM' as map type, zoom in, and you'll be able to see the trail names.
Some advice: don't even think about attempting this unless you are able to navigate on your own (using maps, GPS or memory) and get out of Coe by yourself if needed. It is not a good place to take wrong turns, get lost or rely on others for your well-being.
Here is a cue sheet with a.o. detailed directions and the mileages for all segments of the 2011 route, as well as an elevation profile:
Route highlights
The route can be thought of to consist of 4 legs: 1) Hunting Hollow (HH) to Headquarters (HQ), 2) HQ to Pacheco Camp (PC), 3) PC past Dowdy Ranch (DR) to the top of Wagon, and 4) Wagon back to HH.
Regarding logistics: both HQ and DR have potable water (no need for filtering), HQ has a coffee and vending machine (accessible during office hours), PC has a reliable source of water but needs filtering or chemical treatment, and there are many small ponds and lakes along the way with varying degrees of water quality and level that can be used to source water for filtering.
Coe hazards (or highlights, depending how you look at it) include mountain lions, rattlesnakes, wild boar, deer, ticks, poison oak, sharp snagging branches and other overgrowth, and of course: brutally steep trails.
Click below for more detail on the various parts of the route:
[+] Leg 1: HH to HQ (36 miles)
[+] Leg 2: HQ to PC (24 miles)
[+] Leg 3: PC to top Wagon (20 miles)
[+] Leg 4: Wagon to HH (20 miles)
Why this time of the year?
A tradeoff: in spring, there may be a lot of water running through the various creeks and otherwise easy trail sections or creekbeds may become serious barriers - at the least they'll slow you down quite a bit. Also, trails tend to get overgrown, poison oak (everyones favorite weed) can be rampant and there's an army of ticks out. But there is often also a great wildflower show. Dry periods during the winter would work but the days are short. In summer it gets brutally hot. So fall seems to be a good compromise.
Why such an early start?
Coe tends to slow one down - too many bumpy and steep trails, wildlife running in the way, assorted hazards and nice photo opportunities. Count on 16 hours of riding, or more. You may be faster though, let's find out!