Trip Report: Nelson BC

 I know B.C. is often highlighted in mountain bike videos and pictures. With deep mtb roots, amazing topography and scenery it is considered by many riders here in the U.S. to be on a bucket list of must do trips.

 Well I am here to say what are you waiting for… do it! And to share what a great time my wife Michelle and I had making a relatively impromptu trip from Central Texas to Nelson BC.

A little background… Michelle and I often travel to small communities that have an established mtb scene and/or culture. I am on my city’s Parks board and trails committee, these trips allow me to bring back methods and concepts that are working elsewhere to implement in our own back yard. Often times these are also recon missions that allow me to gather intel on logistics, make a few friends and return with my normal ride crew for a shred fest and develop some camaraderie with locals.  We have been to numerous locations in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and Arkansas… and I personally feel the Pacific Northwest really satisfies on many levels. After watching some videos that showcased the area around Nelson at a friend’s birthday party earlier this year, I knew it was going to be on the menu.

Mid-summer I picked up the latest generation of Subaru Outback and after driving it a little bit, it didn’t take long to realize this trip would occur sooner than later.

It is 34hrs from our location in Central Texas to Nelson. We have made the 16hr drive to Winter Park Co. over a dozen times, so I knew we had that duration in the vehicle in us. After looking at a map, Grand Junction (17hrs) was a perfect layover with an included day of riding. We left home Aug. 10 with bikes and isup boards.

Our riding in Grand Junction included an afternoon on the 18 Roads trails in Fruita.

After Michelle got her fill we returned to The Bike Shop, picked up 3 shop riders, loaded their bikes, and my dear wife Michelle shuttled us all to the top of the Ribbon trail for a ripping end to the day. When in Grand Junction be sure to swing by The Bike Shop and say hello to Colin, Jacob and Erik. I know I will!

The next day was 16.5hrs to Nelson. It rained on us for the last few hours of the drive, and pretty much most of the night after our arrival. We woke up to crisp cool air and hero dirt. It felt like magic was in the air …and it did not disappoint.

Let me start off that all of the local folks we interacted with while in Nelson were friendly and welcoming. Every shop operator, from the coffee shop to the local grocery deli counter, was a pleasure to talk with and freely offered helpful suggestions that improved our stay. After awaking we walked to Oso Negro coffee house for amazing coffee and a delicious hardy breakfast sandwich. Next was a stroll to Gerick’s Cycle and Ski hoping for insight to put the next 4 days together.

 

The gentleman that helped us while at Gerick’s is Travis. He seemed to be the guy that had the answers for every customer that walked through the door. He is a squared away, friendly energetic fellow that we later found out was thoroughly involved with local trail advocacy, event planning and even writing for grant requests. And he is also a shedder to his core… it seemed that he may know everybody that lives in the town.

 After introductions we had a discussion explaining that Michelle and I have totally different riding styles and the best way to accommodate that reality. He pointed us to Morning Mountain trails, gave us some specific trail suggestions, and even offered to take me on a ride after the shop closed that evening.

Those suggestions worked out just right for our introduction to the Morning Mountain trails, and even included an amazing scenic overlook off of the trail called ‘Bed Frame’ and a seemingly endless line of lift access worthy berms and tables on the trail ‘Turnstyles’. Michelle had her fill for the day by the time we returned to Gerick’s.

 

 

After Travis closed the shop he loaded his bike on the back of the Subaru and Michelle dropped us off at the trail head for ‘Bears Den’. Travis informed her that she needn’t wait for us at the bottom as I would be able ride back to the hotel from the trails. It was a wild and rugged ride that included ‘Bed Frame’ and a few trails that I don't recall the names of. I made it back to the room starved, and told Michelle that Travis had informed me he had the next day off from work and offered to shuttle us for more Morning Mountain action!

That next day (and pretty much every day) started with coffee and a sandwich at Oso Negro. Travis made good on his offer and shuttled us up Morning Mountain again, and also introduced me to a friend of his, Wally, that offered to shuttle us that afternoon and the next couple of days!

 The trails at Morning Mountain are well marked with a trail map kiosk at the base parking lot and at a main trail junction on the forest service road mid-mountain. This trail area has green, blue, black diamond and I think even double black diamond trails. All trails had defined and well-marked trail heads with signage at trail junctions. What really impressed me was the ability of this trail area to accommodate the huge difference in Michelle’s and my abilities. Everything was so well marked it was nearly impossible to get lost. All trails lead to the parking lot at the base. Trails varied from machine built bombers to rugged natural surface legacy trails. Multiple kiosks with arrows that pointed “You are here” strategically placed on the trails… and we had chauffer service! This was the ideal situation to accommodate both Michelle and my varied riding desires. Wally would drop Michelle off mid mountain, then continue up and drop me off ¾ of the way to the top. Michelle and I had the freedom to pick our own way down, regroup in the parking lot, then repeat throughout the day until we had our fill. Evenings included an evening of beers and dinner with our new friend Wally, and an evening of beers and dinner with Travis and his family.

 I originally planned to get dropped off at the very top of the mountain for runs down the trail ‘Power Slave’ …but that never happened. On the second day, in the parking lot at the base of the mountain as I was reviewing the trail map kiosk, a friendly rider next to me explained how he had been stalked by a cougar earlier that morning! Another rider overheard this and informed us that he had been charged by a grizzly bear that same morning and had to hit it twice with his bear spray before it turned away! Both riders were packing bear spray, although the rider that retreated from the stalking cougar did not get close enough to use his before some other riders came along the trail and the cougar ran off ( I took a picture of those two gentlemen further relating their stories to one another. Fellow on the left cougar, fellow on the right grizzly).

Since I did NOT have bear spray, I opted out of going into the high country where the grizzly encounter occurred…. although I did eat several handfuls of huckleberries from a berry patch I found on ‘HighBaller’. I was later informed those berries were the likely reason that grizzly was out and about!

 Throughout our time on the trails I saw several women, moms with kids and a quite a few rowdy wild eyed riders each day. I was truly impressed with this trail area’s ability to accommodate such a wide range of riders. And this is just one of several surrounding trail areas. The town of Nelson lies alongside the Kootenay River in the river valley and is surrounded on all sides by mountainous trail areas.

On our final day we set out for a day of paddle boarding. The nearby Slocan River has a few class 1-2 rapids, as per Travis’s suggestion we contacted Endless Adventures who agreed to drop us and our boards upriver. 10 miles of cool, clean and clear river with a few patches of whitewater was a perfect last dance on this B.C. adventure.

 I am not going to go into details about the amazing beer and delicious food we ate. This is about the riding, the area’s ability to accommodate riders of varying abilities and the friendly people that made us feel welcome.

We had a great time. If you’ve been thinking about it, do it! I’d recommend getting in touch with Travis (Travis_hauck@yahoo.com) as he offers guide / tour service, coaching and may be able to set up shuttle or two as well.