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 $36.05 on Sunday. 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 and water at the cabin in Cannell Meadows. Any other 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 just burned but the trail is in great shape. In fact I think it is better than before the fire. 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 recent weeks as well as last fall. 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 (4+ inches)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. 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 Sunday morning and plan to get there between 7:00 and 7:30. 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. We could possibly carpool? As of Thursday we will be using my car, their driver. We will be leaving earlier (8:15) than they normally do and it will take less time in my car to reach the trail head. This will allow us to finish much earlier and get home before 6.
In order to get a bit earlier start check-in is at 7:45 not 8:00 We are going to try and leave on the shuttle by 8:15 instead of 8:30 which usually means 9:00. At this time we will be using my car and their driver so the trip to the top will take less time as well. We should be riding by 9:30 instead of the normal 10:30 and finish by or before 2 PM. Back home by 5:30