After a winter that consisted of much more skiing, my mind kept going back to one of the best summers I've ever had, working for Yuba Expeditions in Downieville and documenting the adventures for Mtbr. Now that the snow is melting and the flowers are blooming at the foot of the Sierra Buttes, it's time to go back to Downieville. Last summer, I only scratched the surface of all the rich history, crazy stories, and colorful characters that make this mountain hamlet so unforgettable, so this year I'm going to scratch a little deeper.

Although the news headlines would have you think the northern Sierra Nevada range got hammered by El Nino last winter, the truth is that high above Downieville, it was merely an average winter. The Sierra Buttes are still blanketed in snow; the road to Packer Saddle is still under drifts as deep as five feet once you get up the steep and narrow part of the road; and kayakers are reveling in the Class IV and V rapids on the North Yuba River. But with some rain in the forecast for this weekend, the high spring sun angle, and warm temperatures, the snow should melt off enough for the shuttle vans to reach Packer Saddle in the next couple weeks.

Ryan Thym sends it off a root booter on Rattlesnake Creek trail. Photo by James Adamson - Dropmedia.tv

Ryan Thym sends it off a root booter on Rattlesnake Creek Trail (click to enlarge). Photo by James Adamson - Dropmedia.tv​

Trail Conditions

The trails are absolutely primo right now, with virtually everything open below 6,500 feet on south-facing aspects. North-facing aspects are clear of snow below 6,000 feet, but there are still some big drifts on north and east facing slopes above 6,000 feet. The classic Downieville Downhill is snow free from the Butcher Ranch gorge down, however Sunrise Trail still has snow in spots, as does the Butcher Ranch OHV double track above the gorge. The parent non-profit of Yuba Expeditions, the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS), has been hard at work clearing fallen trees. And with extensive erosion repair work that's been done on Third Divide, the trail has never been better.

Andy Robbins of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship logging out trails.

Andy Robbins of the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship logging out trails (click to enlarge).​

On the other side of the hill, Lower Mills Peak trail is clear of snow, with upper Mills above the jeep road clear for about two miles. All of lower Lakes Basin is absolutely stellar right now, including Smith Creek and Gray Eagle Creek trails. The tops of Mount Elwell and Jamison Creek trails are still under considerable snow, as is most of the upper Lakes Basin, so figure those won't be fully rideable until late June. Just last week some friends and I were able to ride all of Mount Hough trail in Quincy, an absolutely ripping 11-mile, 3,800 vertical foot descent off the 7,200 foot peak that was completed last summer by the SBTS.

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New Leadership, New Trails

One of the most positive developments since last year is a change in staffing at the Tahoe National Forest Downieville Ranger District. After more than a decade of management by someone who was less than accommodating to recreational needs, new blood by the name of Paul Hart has arrived in town, focused on enhancing and expanding the trail network surrounding Downieville. It also helps that Hart is an avid moto rider and loves mountain biking.

Already there are big things happening, including new trail proposals connecting Halls Ranch to Chimney Rock with 12 miles of new singletrack, as well as new singletrack on Rattlesnake Creek, Big Boulder, and Lavezzola Creek trails. But perhaps the biggest news is that the first four miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Packer Saddle north to Gold Lake OHV will eventually become legal for mountain bikes and motos once the PCT is rerouted off the crest. As a bonus, once riders hit Gold Lake OHV, two new miles of singletrack will be built, connecting over to the notorious "Baby Heads" section of rocky Jeep road that's used in the Downieville Classic cross-country event.

Another important development in the Plumas National Forest, Beckwourth Ranger District, is approval for building the final section of singletrack on Mills Peak, which will make this trail an incredible 12-mile singletrack with 3,100 vertical feet of descending.

Continue to page 2 for more from the ASS Does Downieville »

Billy Epps showing off his Oxford Mine shaft.

Billy Epps showing off his Oxford Mine shaft (click to enlarge).​

Deep in a Mine Shaft

Among the highlights of my time in the Lost Sierra last week was being able to tour one of the most famous gold mines in Downieville history, the Oxford Mine, owned by Downieville native and Yuba shuttle driver, Billy Epps. Billy and his family purchased the mine a few years ago and have been doing some light excavation work on it, clearing cave-ins from two different tunnels. Dubbed by Billy as the "adult tunnel" and "kids tunnel", the former goes into the mountain 800 feet, complete with iron ore cart tracks, and the latter only about 100 feet, nicely lit the whole way.

Both tunnels are remarkably cool, with incredible geologic diversity showing off the ancient, buried riverbed blue slate and quartz that contains the gold that has made this region famous. Making the experience even richer, Billy plays tour guide, sharing invaluable pieces of Downieville history along with his classic one liners, with my favorite being, "It's amazing how quickly people get honest with me when they're 800 feet down a deep, dark tunnel."


Billy has all the old Oxford Mine maps and projects several thousand more feet of tunnel behind a rather large and dangerous looking cave-in. He says his wife worries about him digging in the cave, but his response was, "if it's my time, it's my time." I asked him what causes cave-ins, and if there are any leading indicators. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "It all depends on how the cave is feeling on that particular day."

He's hoping to clear the cave-in so he can keep going deeper and possibly find a gold-bearing quartz vein. I asked him if he's found gold and he said yes, but not much. "Just enough to keep me interested," he said with a smile. Even if it doesn't pan out, Billy eventually wants to turn the Oxford Mine into a tour. Considering there is currently no mine in Downieville that offers tours, he might be onto something. His stories alone are worth the $10 he's thinking about charging.

Evidence of a time when you could purchase a car for $200 and rally it to death.

Evidence of a time when you could purchase a car for $200 and rally it to death (click to enlarge).​

After touring the adult mine and heading back to Billy's truck, I saw an abandoned car down a ravine. It looked like it had been there for decades, so I asked him how it got there.

"Back in the 1970s you could go to Grass Valley and buy old heaps for 200 bucks," said Billy. "So my buddies and I would each buy a car, bring 'em back to Downieville, and rally'em to death. Well, just so happens that car there was mine, an old Capri. Keep in mind, back then I didn't own this property. Serves me right I guess. Now that I own the land, I gotta figure out how the hell to get it outta here."

Jon Palmer and Mason Werner getting the Yuba Expeditions demo bikes ready for action.

Jon Palmer and Mason Werner getting the Yuba Expeditions demo bikes ready for action (click to enlarge).​

Memorial Day Weekend Season Opener

Although Yuba Expeditions has been open for the past couple weekends, renting out a new fleet of Santa Cruz Hightowers, Bronsons, Julianas and Ibis Mojo3s, the official opening is Memorial Day Weekend. Also new for 2016, Yuba will be running shuttles on the half hour for that extra dose of gravity. There are still shuttle seats available, and they can be booked at yubaexpeditions.com.

For all those planning on coming up, the Stewardship will be at Yuba on Saturday with the Rolling Thunder trailer cranking tunes and serving up beers, so get ready for a good time. Just remember that it's early seasons still, so there may be some snow to hike through and the post-ride soak in the North Yuba River is going to be heart-stopping cold! See y'all up here.

Editor's Note: The Angry Singlespeeder is a collection of mercurial musings from contributing editor Kurt Gensheimer. In no way do his maniacal diatribes about all things bike oriented represent the opinions of Mtbr, RoadBikeReview, or any of their employees, contractors, janitorial staff, family members, household pets, or any other creature, living or dead. You can submit questions or comments to Kurt at singlespeeder@consumerreview.com. And make sure to check out Kurt's previous columns.