The Bull fire is out. The fire was around the bottom 4 miles (where Chris is resting in the picture at left). The forest Service repairing damage to the trail itself and has given the go ahead for MRA to start the shuttle service this Saturday.The Cannell Trail is one of those epic trails you read about. Our shuttle will be via Mountain and River Adventures (MRA) [masked]. Cannell shuttle is $40. All shuttle reservations must be prepaid and once they fill at 26 it's closed. Cannell is not for everyone. It is 24 miles long and has 2000 ft of climbing at an elevation of between 7500 and 9200 ft. It also has 9000 ft of descending. The operator suggests a riding ability of advanced intermediate or above and you must be in good riding shape. There is no quick "bailout" on this ride. If you can't finish the ride it could take several hours before someone could get you down. You must have something with you to eat and plenty of water. The first 16 miles starts at 9200 feet and continues up and down, never going below 7500 ft., so it is not roasting hot. There is a natural mountain spring at Big Meadows which is about 9 miles in. After that any water would have to be filtered. The ride will take 4-7 hours to complete. The shuttle ride to the top from Kernville takes about 1.5 hours. The most famous part of this ride is the Plunge which drops 5000 ft in 8 miles (7500 ft elevation to 2500). The bottom 4 miles is where the Bull fire burned last week. As you descend this part of the trail it will gradually get hot. It's all single track some of which has exposure. Have a look in the photo albums for pictures from last fall and several weeks ago of this ride. There are sections where the ground is quite soft. I've found a fairly big tire with big knobs is best (like riding Mammoth's pumice). There are rocky descents that make a bike with some good travel nice. There is too much climbing to bring a downhill bike. Look at this link for more infromation http://www.mtnriver.c... From there you will be able to see much more about this awesome ride including a video. Don't wait to sign up. I did this ride 9 times last year and 5 times so far this year. It just opened June 12. This ride will spoil you for other rides as I know nothing that can compare around here. Be sure an tell the people at MRA you are with Paul Sylvester when you book. I will be heading up Saturday morning and plan to get there between 7:30 and 8. We can figure a carpool out depending on where in So Cal people live? You can get to Kernville via I-5 through Bakersfield, the I-15 to 395 over Cajon Pass or up the 14. From my house in La Verne it takes 3 hours of driving almost any way I go except up the 14 which takes a bit longer.