LONELY VALLEY

“THERE ARE MORE TRAILS THAT AREN’T HERE – THAT WERE HERE – THAN THERE ARE HERE NOW.”

The worn-out gears in my head turned, trying to make sense of what Dylan Renn said about his childhood Sierra Nevada California. Sandwiched between a volcanic ridge to the west and a massive granite formation to the east, Bear Valley is a glacially carved canyon in the heart of a geologic transition, with the valley itself a lush meadow that stays green and brilliant with wildflowers well into fall, especially after a big winter. This dynamic zone makes riding Bear Valley like eating a layer cake; there’s varied goodness all the way through. Above treeline, there’s a dusting of loose volcanic soil, giving way to a savory mix of decomposed granite and dirt in the trees, followed by thick, rich loam, and finishing with a hard foundation of granite slab.