This is my first visit to Pacheco State Park situated on Highway 152 at Pacheo Pass. Conditions were prime. Green grass, wildflowers, and perfect weather:
We started with the Dinosaur Lake Trail (more or less):
Pesky cattle fences:
Paul seen through his bike:
A good portion of the park is a wind turbine farm. We checked out a few of the nearest:
Eric checks to see if it's hot:
Dinosaur Lake Trail:
Tom and Paul at Diamond Lake:
Another first for me was seeing some Tule Elk:
Even at this distance they were very aware of us and retreated.
Lunch at the highest point in the park, Spike's Peak:
Paul on Canyon Loop West
The trail fizzled out, where to go?:
We picked the steep Up & Over Trail:
In the background is San Luis Reservoir and the wind turbines.
We reached the top at about 3pm and descended Shadow Spring Ridge Trail & Nun Lake Trail. I began to have difficulties. On Shadow Ridge Trail, I ran out of front brake pads, and riding to Nun Lake, I fell in a dry creek-crossing bending my rear derailleur.
Nun Lake:
I had to nurse the bike the rest of the way from here, but it was only 4 miles back to the parking lot and not much climbing. By going 3 X 1 with the gears and only using my rear brake, I rode most of it.
The rear rear derailleur is bent about a half-inch to the left:
(Adding a little follow-up: fixing my bike was easy, just needed to straighten the derailleur mount (hanger). I had a spare in my Camelbak and if that had occurred earlier in the day, I would have swapped it out.)
Some old ranch stuff near the main parking area:
Start at main parking lot » Spike's Peak Road » Dinosaur Lake Trail » Windmill Road » Dinosaur Lake Trail » Canyon Loop East » South Boundary Loop » Diamond Lake Trail » Spike's Peak » Diamond Lake Trail (alternative) » South Boundary Loop » Spike's Peak » Spike's Peak Road » Tunnel Monument Trail » Canyon Loop West » Up & Over Trail » Spike's Peak Road » Shadow Spring Ridge Trail » Nun Lake Trail » Whiskey Flat Trail » Main parking lot. 20.90/3:46/5:41/3,850'
Pacheco State Park:
