Mountain View Trail

We Linked the Mountain View and Downtown Trails

I am calling this 7.69 mile roller coaster ride the Mountain View Trail, even though we linked it with Mammoth Mountain Park's Downtown Trail. These two trails fit perfectly head-to-toe (5.5-miles on the Mountain View and 2.19-miles on the Downtown), and we didn't have to pay the $10 user-fee because the bottom of the Downtown Trail is free!

Nicole and Kayley (daughters) dropped us off

We had Kayley (my youngest) drive us up the Minaret Summit Road (just past the ski resort) to the Minaret Overlook. From here I could see many of the mountains I had backpacked around in years past. I recognized Banner Peak, Mt. Lyell, Ritter Peak, and the Minarets. I could also see Agnew Meadows, where my oldest brother, John, and I finished a 75-mile backpacking trip years ago. I could see Red's Meadow and the area around Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls, but those landmarks lay low, hidden by the forest.

George and Me at Minaret Lookout

After a dozen scenic photos, George (my next older brother) and I prepped our bikes for the ride ... which started by cruising back down the Minaret Summit Road. We were confused as to where the Mountain View Trail started. There was a large ROAD CLOSED sign stationed right in the middle of where we thought the trail would start ... so I rode over to the toll booth for Devil's Postpile and asked the ranger about it. He said the Mountain View Trail started right at the ROAD CLOSED sign.

The Snow Started Small

I asked why there was a ROAD CLOSED sign, to which he told me there was a lot of snow on the upper parts of the trail. "So would it be okay to ride the trail as long as we didn't mind the snow?" I asked. His reply was, "You are welcome to ride there all you want." I thanked him and rode back to tell George the news. We saw no snow when we looked down the trail.

Where is the Trail?

George "Snow-biking"

The Mountain View Trail started out with tire-size hunks of snow. As we entered the trees the hunks turned car-sized ... then driveway-sized ... then ... We slowly learned how to mountain bike in snow, which we found a lot like riding in deep sand. The front tire tends to slide sideways easier than in sand, and the back tends to spin-out easier too.

Look relaxed?

We came to a place where the melting snow had caused a bridge in the remaining snow. I asked George if he thought it would hold a person ... to which he said, "Probably not." I said, "I am going to try, take a picture with my camera," and handed it to him. I inched my way out, worried that if it fell through I might break an ankle and have to hobble back to town. But it held! Good thing I only ate two chocolate chip cookies the night before.

George Rides Pumice Field

About a half-mile down the snow disappeared and trail tread was smooth and twisted. We rode across two football-field sized white patches that turned out to be pea-sized pumice. I hurtled down some well spaced switchbacks, across a wood bridge, up and over the next hill ... and slammed on the brakes. I got out my camera to take a picture of George ... who didn't show up for a minute or two. As he rolled to a stop he started talking about the bridge. "You know that log on the end of the bridge?" I answered with, "Yes, I had to lift my front tire a little to get over it." He responded with, "Well, I didn't."

The far end of the bridge must have washed out earlier this year. Instead of replacing the dirt that had washed away along that end someone had just taken a log and shoved it up against the end of the bridge. The problem was the log stuck up an extra 6-inches or so.

"Yeah, I started across the bridge and didn't notice the log until it was too late," he continued. "So what happened," I asked. He replied, "I kind of did a somersault off the end of the bridge." "Are you okay?" "I've just got a couple of scrapes ... but I've got to fix this seat," he lamented. "It keeps working loose."

McGyver Fixes Seat

He got out some wrenches and tightened the nut. Unfortunately, tightening the nut completely did not make it tight enough. Eventually he ended up fixing it by banging on it with a small log. Most of George's friends call him McGyver, because of his uncanny ability to fix things with little or no materials or tools.

We kept stopping and looking toward Mammoth Mountain, but it was never visible. We couldn't figure out why this was called the Mountain View Trail. We finally decided the trail was named with respect to the peaks visible to the North, not Mammoth Mountain.

Mountains (Viewed) to the North

As the Mountain View Trail crossed the second bridge we came to a confusing intersection ... signs facing every which way. None of them said, "Mountain View Trail." There was a sign that explained everything (I think) but it was fastened to a tree 10-feet high so the writing was too small to read. We finally decided on a direction when George found a sign that had a trail label sticker curled up on the stake.

We had started our final descent toward Minaret Road. I asked George to lead so I could videotape him. Videos are usually more interesting if there is a person riding the trail. George was riding fast when he hit a sudden patch of real loose sand. His bike slid out from under him as if he "laid it down," usually referring to a motorcycle sliding on its side. I caught the whole thing perfectly on video!

These signs are CLEAR!

We crossed Minaret Road and promptly jumped on the Downtown Trail. This trail was groomed, banked, and made for speed ... but I had a hard time riding very fast because of the contrast between the bright sun and the dark shadows from the trees. Bumps were hard to read due to this dappling effect.

We made quick work of the 2.1 mile portion of the Downtown Trail, finishing the ride right where Minaret Road enters the town of Mammoth Lakes.

We really enjoyed this ride, yet thought it would be much more enjoyable later in the summer after all the snow had melted off the Mountain View Trail. We cruised down Minaret Road ... then turned up Lake Mary Road to head to our next ride ... the Mammoth Rock Trail.

Click Mammoth Mountain Biking for a review of all rides in this area.

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