The Crux on Los Pinos Ridge, A Breezy Backcountry Ridge
Channel: Darshan Ahluwalia
Date: 2023-04-03

This is the hardest section on Los Pinos Ridge. Los Pinos Ridge descends from the top of Los Pinos Peak in the Southern part of the Santa Anas in Cleveland National Forest. You can approach the peak from San Juan Trail for a nice 5'k, 21mi loop (about 4 hours for me). From the summit of Los Pinos back to the road it takes me a little over an hour; the first time it took me about 1:20.

I've ridden this trail about half a dozen times in the past two years and I only recently tried cleaning this section--every other time I simply walked it. This was my second time trying this steep section. I rolled into it without stopping and successfully cleaned it for the first time. Yeah!