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It was a gloomy Saturday morning, October 23, 1999 as we met in the parking lot at Wilder Ranch State Park. But the fun and the sun would greet us soon. There are numerous trails that vary from dual track through open meadows with ocean views, to single track winding through fern shrouded redwood forests. In addition to the trail system contained within Wilder Ranch, there are more trails that extend into the Gray Whale Ranch property recently acquired by the state park system. This map shows many of the trails in Wilder Ranch. Then here is a map that shows the Gray Whale Ranch trails along with the Wilder Ranch trails.
 We leave the parking area and ride to the ranch where you feel like you are in old America. Then you leave the ranch to head up the hill. We began our ride by riding up Englesman Loop, then across Wild Boar trail to Wagonwheel trail which led us to Old Cabin trail. Here you see Matthew Griffin riding past Rick Oswald. |
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 Next you see Rick Burrows followed by Chuck Giza as we approach the Old Cabin Trail. Old Cabin trail is where it really begins to get fun.
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Here is Rick Oswald riding his Tazmon through the ferns of Old Cabin trail. |
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 Chuck Giza makes his way along Old Cabin trail as well. This picture was taken shortly after he took a tumble while riding down the narrow winding trail. Fortunately for the tree, he was able to avoid it. I'm sure Chuck would have challenged the tree to a spar if it had jumped in front him.
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After descending down to the bottom, Old Cabin trail begins to climb, still single track as it weaves through the woods. Here you see Rick Burrows followed by Chuck Giza as they wind their way through the woods. |
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 Part of the way up Old Cabin was this small log to ride up and over. Most of the group cleared this little obstacle. Rick Oswald waited to give Chuck Giza some words of encouragment, but as you can see, Chuck dismounted to walk across this twig of an obstacle.
Words of Encouragement
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Then we dropped down Eucalyptus Loop trail which took us deep into the woods causing these pictures to be a little dark. This dip was a bit too steep for Mr. Giza. |
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 Here is Rick Oswald again as he manuevers his way through Eucalyptus Loop trail. This section was rather tame compared with the piece just prior to this point. But with some interesting tree roots emerging from the trail, it proved to be a challenging negotiation.
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