Flow Chasers: Diamond in the Rough

My entire childhood I lived in the shadows of a beautiful mountain that we call Diamond Point. The mountain is littered with off road trails that hunters, off-road vehicles, and hikers have explored for years. I myself have explored many of these trails with my brothers on our 4-wheelers. There is one trail/road in particular that we have made countless trips on. The trail/road is called Lion Springs Road. It is so named because there is a natural spring that seeps a small stream of water into the creek bed year round.

As a child, I didn't ride mountain bikes, so the thought of exploring Diamond Point on a bike never crossed my mind. We had "quads" why would we ride a bike? Recently, I thought it would be fun to change things up and take my new Pivot Firebird out for a spin on Lion Springs road. The experience ended up being more challenging then I imagined.

I left my dad's house at 9 A.M. and rode Pinon street down to a connector trail that parallels the highway. After a short time, I was at the bottom of Lion Springs Road. I began my journey up the sandy trail as it traversed creek beds, granite hills, and pine tree outcroppings. The trail climbs steadily, but I rarely felt like I was climbing anything of consequence. The trail stays low and is often buried deep in a washed out creek bed. Then all at once, it lifted out of the forest and I found myself on a scenic plateau with views of the entire mountain range.

I continued to climb virtually straight up Diamond Point Mountain until I was being stared down by a menacing steep pitch that I knew was unridable. After a short internal debate, I decided to continue to the top with my bike. I figured that there might be a trail at the top of the mountain that I would want to explore, so I might as well bring my bike. Part of me also thought I might be able to ride the Firebird back down the steep section. However, not everything you see in the Red Bull Rampage contest is possible for us mere mortals.

The view from the bottom of the last pitch

With that I threw the Firebird on my back and began the hike-a-bike up to the summit of Diamond Point. The trail was was mixture of loose rock, sand and sun baked dirt. I had to delicately dance around cactus while plowing through manzanita branches. It was difficult climbing, but the view improved dramatically with each step. Finally, I crested the top of the mountain side and took in the spoils. From the top, the view of "Rim Country" was spectacular.

I love this creepy tree sticking out of the mountain side

I could see Payson, Granite Dells, and the Matazal Mountains in one clear frame. I snapped a few pictures on my iPhone and then proceeded to explore the mesa atop Diamond Point Mountain. Unfortunatel, the road I found was a little too rock strewn for comfortable riding and I ended up snapping not only a spoke, but also my chain.

Repair Time

Broken Chain Links

After a few minutes of fussing with the chain breaker, I was able to convert the Firebird into a single speed and continue on with my journey. After the repair, I abandoned any thoughts of exploration and decided to tuck tail and ride home. I made a couple of vain attempts at riding down the steep trail, but it proved to be too loose and too steep for my skill level. Once I reached a more ridable section of trail, I was able to slowly make my way back down Lion Springs Road and return safely home. It was a fun adventure that put a new twist on some old familiar trails.