On the 5th I went with my wife to check out Walker Valley. I was excited to be heading up there for a change of scenery, and Linda was looking forward to getting in some good hiking. We drove in the Jeep and trailered the Yamaha, and from our home in the University District it took just under an hour and a half.

When we got to the trailhead, there were roughly 20 people there in various states of preparedness. Some people seemed to have been camping at the trailhead - didn't know you could do that! First order of business was to check out the vault toilets and do some business. Smelly, those things, but effective.

Unloaded the bike, got geared up, checked maps and radios, and headed out! (by the way, I'm still having trouble cold-starting the YZF after trailering it somewhere...not sure why. The factory cold-start method never seems to work when I get out somewhere, and I end up having to alternate choke / hot-start lever until it starts up)

The first section of trail was an uphill stretch of dry sandy dirt and ROCKS! That was the rockiest section I've ever chosen to ride so far. It is the trail just to the right of the gated road on the far left of the trailhead...I think I was on the beginning of "Pat's Trail". At the top of this section there's a wood bridge, then you're spit onto a dirt road. You can go right or left.

I went left and continued on Pat's Trail which continues through a clear-cut area and proceeds up the clear-cut hillside. I got to a point where I couldn't go any further (lack of skill) due to a tight, steep switchback that was rutted out with running water (mud!) in the rut and no room to get a running start. I backtracked and took the dirt road (SW-JW-1150) up along the hill. Rode that until the trail got too tight for my taste, and rode back to the other end, which connected me with the top part of Pat's Trail via the Jeep Trail, and I did a little bit of Bigfoot Trail.

I got lonely in the woods so I headed back to the first dirt road I'd hit, (JW-1100) and followed it for a ways. Got bored on the dirt road and hopped onto some trails running along the road, Muddled Meanderings Trail, Walker Valley Trail, and over to the quarry and some of the Scratch 'N Sniff Trail. At this point I was getting thirsty, and having no camelback with me I decided to head back towards the trailhead. I got back on (JW-1100) and headed back, but didn't want to go back the way I'd come so I got on the Jam Trail since it looked like it was heading in the direction of the parking area. This was marked "easiest" difficulty and so I got ready to have lots of fun. The trail was well shaded, so there was plenty of mud, puddles, bunches of small whoops, and little berms to kick through. I must have gotten a little too cocky because after jumping a root I hit the gas and only *then* realized a turn was coming up very fast....TOO FAST!!! I hit the bushes on the left side of the trail as it turned to the right and I parted with the YZF. It went over sideways and landed upside down. I landed on the concrete blocks that are all over the place covering up the super rutted and muddy areas, and skidded a little bit. In short, I got a quarter-sized chunk of flesh removed from my right side, plus some bruising on my abdomen on the left side. The bike was almost entirely unscathed. The right side of the bar is just barely bent back a little bit.

Anyhow, the fall ended my day riding because of the serious smacking I took on my right side. I slowly got the bike right-side-up, got 'er running, rode back to camp, and called for Linda on the radio. Thankfully she was on her way back too, so she came and took care of me. The drive home was uncomfortable, and I decided to go to the ER and have them remove some mud and gravel from the gash; it was pretty gross - since the skin was pinched off there was no skin to cover the wound, and I was scared something might have poked further into me.

I can't wait to go again! Overall impression: lots of trails of varying difficulty. LOTS of rocks and roots, but still well maintained trails.

Here is a topo map showing a dotted red line where I rode - not much of the trail system! My GPS lost satellite signal a couple of times due to the trees, and I turned it off for the last bit of riding after my fall.

For comparison, here's a map of Walker Valley and its trails: