The Moraine Ride

Eleven miles from the farm where Jen grew up is the North Shore of Moraine State Park.  I was thrilled to have Android GPS navigation guide me to the trail head this time.  Lot's of back farm roads with 3, 4 and 5 point intersections make it much trickier with just a Mapquest printout.

This my fifth or sixth time to Moraine, but the Reba Monkey was still a Moraine virgin til today.  These trails are so sweet.  Look up Moraine in the dictionary.  Rotsa-rocks at 5 mph average speed is what it means.  

I woke at 5 at started at 6:something so they were soaked with dew, but totally puddle-and-mud-free.

Imagine big-all-tall-boulder-slabs joined with piled rock and corduroy-log-boardwalks all over the place and a little bit of healthy elevation change thrown in to mix things up around every turn.  Then throw in evening rain and moring dew to soak all the surfaces.

Picture a loamy rooty steep switchback into a Volkswagen sized boulder that drops through a log stacked trough onto a Smartcar sized bouler exit into another swtchback filled with babyheads.  Then imagine all of that soaking wet, steering gingerly and avoiding any off camber front brakage and aiming for the moss covered rock face partswith the rear tire because they gave a bit better traction than the bare rock face.  That's Moraine State Park.

Slip and slide slicky wet, no riding partner to dial 911/to show off in front off...Sadly, I walked some of the craziesr sh1t that I'd ridden in prior/drier visits.  Didn't see a soul except wildlife and didn't want to be alone and unconscious, so I chickened out;-(  

On a happier note, I didn't get lost at all this venture so I'm fully qualified to be a trail guide when you want to join me there next time.  It's worth the trip.

Reba Monkey can't wait to go back again.