What is the hardest trail in nj?

What's the hardest trail?(trail/park)

  • Lumpy Bumby/ Allamuchy North

  • Tiger Blood/ Mahlon

  • Boulderama/ Sourlands

  • Four Birds/ Wildcat

  • Fugawe/ Wildcat

  • Black Magic/ Mahlon

  • Yellow trail/ Ramapo


Results are only viewable after voting.

root

New Member
The Ridge has not been mentioned
Fugawe and everything around it combines tech, rocks and climbs like no other
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
ah, so i have ridden it both ways between the Spine and Hawk Watch. Is that the section people are nominating here? It's been a while but i don't remember it being that bad aside from a couple steep climbs and 2 "unrideable" stream crossings. Maybe i need to ride it again.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
ah, so i have ridden it both ways between the Spine and Hawk Watch. Is that the section people are nominating here?

That's half of it. The other half goes from the Hawk Watch out to yellow near the reservoir.

It's been a while but i don't remember it being that bad aside from a couple steep climbs and 2 "unrideable" stream crossings.

Riding from the graveyard to the Hawk Watch is pretty tough. The only spot I haven't cleaned is the last bit just before the Hawk Watch. I cleaned everything else last night though, including the two stream crossings, in both directions :p

The other direction is hard, but not nearly as hard.

Maybe i need to ride it again.

Yes. But I would say that no matter what.
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
That's half of it. The other half goes from the Hawk Watch out to yellow near the reservoir.

Riding from the graveyard to the Hawk Watch is pretty tough. The only spot I haven't cleaned is the last bit just before the Hawk Watch. I cleaned everything else last night though, including the two stream crossings, in both directions :p

The other direction is hard, but not nearly as hard.

Yes. But I would say that no matter what.
gotcha, so i need to ride the other part past hawk watch toward reservoir. What's that like and where do i get on it? I consider that last part before hawk watch to be part of New Way Up though so i wasn't counting it :p. Doing those stream crossings is impressive, Jim. Everything i've seen besides those and the new way up part i think are doable on a good day for me but again, i don't remember the whole thing so i gotta ride it again. Maybe this weekend.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
gotcha, so i need to ride the other part past hawk watch toward reservoir. What's that like and where do i get on it?

It basically just keeps going from where you make a right to go to the Hawk Watch if you climbed Four Birds. It crosses the gravel road and there is a nice, long descent, then a wet spot and big rock garden, and then you cross a bridge and climb out. You can make a left on red at that point or keep going. If you keep going, there is a brutally impossible climb out (though I know 1-2 people that have cleaned it) and then some more fun gnar. It drops you down onto yellow near the dam. If you were coming from the dam, instead of making a left on white, you can keep going up yellow a little, looking to the left. There's a switchback to get most of the way up that first nasty bit of white, although it's rideable if you want to just grind it out. It's on trailforks.

Doing those stream crossings is impressive, Jim.

The one near new way down isn't bad, you just have to navigate the one rock or two before the water and stay balanced. The other one has an improbably looking rock bridge, which is easier to see during drought season. If you don't have a slow fat biker in front of you like Utah did last night, you can just ride across the rocks without falling in.

Everything i've seen besides those and the new way up part i think are doable on a good day for me

Once you do the first water crossing heading up, the first rock garden isn't too bad, then there is one steep and loose climb that I'm like 50% on. The rest is fine until the end, where you have a steep little climb into a long rock garden, and then a left turn and brutal climb out. Last night was only my second time cleaning it all, and I couldn't catch my breath for like ten minutes.
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@JimN do you ever ride the section of white where it starts at the dirt road up the hill from the dam? I took yellow to the dam once, then climbed the road like half a mile and hooked left on white and rode the entire thing from there... it was pretty brutal. There’s a part I think between the road and the power line that I remember being crazy technical.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@JimN do you ever ride the section of white where it starts at the dirt road up the hill from the dam?

Four Birds goes twenty something miles from the bat cave, through Wildcat, through Farny, through various parts of Newark Watershed lands, behind Craigmeur and up to Bigelow Field near Route 23. That section you are talking about might be the only part of it that I have never been on, eventhough I ride past it all the time. I've looked at it before but never checked it out. I guess I'll finally need to rectify that, although I'm sure it's terrible.

Another section of it that we rarely ride is behind the graveyard. After you come down the spine and make a left, instead of going straight toward the graveyard, make a right to stay on Four Birds. It's a really cool section with some good, rideable gnar, right up until it isn't. There's one crazy/committing spot with a tree that you can grab onto to save your life if you fuck up, but then there's another hundred feet or so of hike a bike before you end up back on orange.
 

MMuller

Well-Known Member
Probably doesn't meet your criteria and it's been a while for me, but I remember Chimney Rock as being pretty much a bone jarring bit of work start to finish. Loved/hated riding there. Some great/terrible rides. Ah, and clearing the guardrail climb always made for a good day.
 
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Haven't been to Fugawe yet, but it is on my list. Lot's of great/tough trails mentioned. IMO, Chunky Monkey is a step above Boulderama. Humbling every time! I voted Tiger Blood given the options. I'm not sure I'll ever get up and over those two gigantic boulders.
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Another section of it that we rarely ride is behind the graveyard.
I hiked up that from Orange with my wife and thought It would be an epic downhill but I haven’t tried it yet. There’s at least one spot I remember you definitely don’t want to fuck up.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I hiked up that from Orange with my wife and thought It would be an epic downhill but I haven’t tried it yet. There’s at least one spot I remember you definitely don’t want to fuck up.

Remind me about this on Wednesday.
 

graveyardman67

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@JimN do you ever ride the section of white where it starts at the dirt road up the hill from the dam? I took yellow to the dam once, then climbed the road like half a mile and hooked left on white and rode the entire thing from there... it was pretty brutal. There’s a part I think between the road and the power line that I remember being crazy technical.
Been there done that. Going from the road back to yellow is possible, coming in the other direction not so much.
 

graveyardman67

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Riding Fugawe without stopping is one of the hardest 5-10 miles of riding anywhere. The combination of tech, rock, climbing and, the danger (in spots) with lack of recovery makes it brutally hard. Everything else is either much shorter or connects with sections that allow for some moderate recovery.
 

goldsbar

Well-Known Member
Everything else is either much shorter or connects with sections that allow for some moderate recovery.
Yeah, that's true of much of the stuff listed. Lumpy, Tigers and Black Magic to a lessor extant generally have some sort of obstacle followed by pretty easy spots you can recover on and prepare for the next one.
 
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