Rocky Branch Trail

September 29th Ride
Tomorrow looks like a good day to explore the Rocky Branch Trail in Bartlett. The weather forecasts seem to agree on one thing - Tuesday will start with partly cloudy skies and it will probably rain in the afternoon. So this should be a beautiful morning ride through the colorful woods next to the Rocky Branch of the Saco River.

We'll start at the winter parking lot on Jericho Road and pedal about a mile and a half to the end of the driven part of the forest service road. From there we will ride two miles on a gently ascending old rail road bed to the Rocky Branch Shelter #1. Then we have the option of continuing up the trail another three quarters of a mile before turning around at the Wilderness Area boundary where bikes are not permitted. There is a section of the trail here where it appears that the rail bed was washed out and we will have to walk the bikes for awhile going up a steep but short embankment, along the ridge and the back down to the old rail bed.

This rail trail is not as wide or as smooth as others we have ridden and we will cross Lower Stairs Brook on foot, (preferably dry). There are also water ditches and trees across the trail in a few places. These aren't really a problem and can be easily walked or ridden over. When we turn around it will be a fun glide back to the forest service gate. The skill level is advanced novice. We will cover 7.5 - 9 miles depending upon our turn around point.

Directions: Take routes 302 and 16 north to Glen. Stay on route 302 when 16 diverges to the right and in about one mile from the stop light take a right on Jericho Road. The winter parking area will be on your left 2.6 miles down Jericho road. We'll ride out at 10:00am.

If the weather looks sketchy check back here tomorrow morning around 8am for a possible cancelation notice. Otherwise I'll see you at Jericho, Joan