TR: Woodside Anticline

[Udink]

It's been awhile since I rode in the Swell. It was still a little warm, but in a few weeks the weather will be perfect for riding. I wanted some easy riding/exploring this weekend so I hit the Woodside Anticline area again. There are so many roads/trails in that are that I think it would take a good year or so of casual riding to hit them all.

The first trail I hit climbed up the eastern slope of the anticline, and at many places ran across bare rock and was a bit hard to follow.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HP1l_qNI/AAAAAAAAGKY/VxnVcPgIPfM/s800/IMG_9774.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GpSsmELsWkZmRA1YQQnxLQ)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HQyzCQZI/AAAAAAAAGKc/BuKgjNnyNbA/s800/IMG_9776.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Wq_x17goIUiI9llSxYtnhw)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HSDl8mSI/AAAAAAAAGKg/ueZvrr83Rug/s800/IMG_9779.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aDJ8et_WX8kdlUaRLvYtEA)

Once the trail reached the top of the ridge, there were some nice views.

Looking east toward Mt. Elliott:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HUv4d3GI/AAAAAAAAGKo/K3nJdDA-jZU/s800/IMG_9782.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9F93XhsapS5BAx5l_l80Tg)

View west toward the highest point along the anticline:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HVrlfGTI/AAAAAAAAGKs/uFy3QEGZZ1Y/s800/IMG_9789.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0NMDT9N7tm2N1asvYMxfsg)

The trail then descended some switchbacks and ran in to the heart of the anticline:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HXYh97_I/AAAAAAAAGKw/JFnLXIzQnNI/s800/IMG_9792.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Pq0LTQuBtynY2EGNwyHyhw)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HYLn7_KI/AAAAAAAAGK0/iLsSnBuewBo/s800/IMG_9810.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DgISqLdQ1R6VXCBXBlAcWw)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HZFJjrFI/AAAAAAAAGK4/-0T8P0hRcgg/s800/IMG_9811.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NpuRoDv8MuTtFoUfldC03Q)

Bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HabF4LtI/AAAAAAAAGK8/KH3Cyum_5V0/s800/IMG_9813.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jt6FZONetFSBra0K0pivvg)

Another trail I rode on runs through a valley between the San Rafael Swell and the Woodside Anticline. Here you can see the Swell rise up on the left and the Woodside Anticline rise up on the right:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7Hb3WryvI/AAAAAAAAGLE/VEGkKS7ia9o/s800/IMG_9818_stitch.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PxAnPltskYQ20DeCX--ZAA)

A stone quarry in the Morrison Formation:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7Hcgrid0I/AAAAAAAAGLI/sS42VjAasuo/s800/IMG_9823.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zONNWpT4om2GzoZFERjlDA)

View toward Curtis Point:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HdvAxpFI/AAAAAAAAGLM/mOOQyv6Bxd4/s800/IMG_9834.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W7Y5bleoVWCOwEdN0itAcQ)

A couple of interesting rocks:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7Heke8kJI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/tMKIQvWH7NA/s800/IMG_9837.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/shwuVQNRrZfm4qQvv3RkLw)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HgCsuZmI/AAAAAAAAGLY/QFmaoG1mOIE/s800/IMG_9842.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/49QvaxoCHZU5uhW6Kswg8A)

This is an old uranium prospect. It's marked on the USGS topo map, though the adit marked on the map is several hundred feet off, so it took me a while to find this small shaft.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HhY8fXMI/AAAAAAAAGLc/aa-nCPGoIwA/s800/IMG_9854.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CkiMFKmSe8Iz59S-S5pObA)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/Sr7HiRNJR1I/AAAAAAAAGLg/0P8oQ0WAfcI/s800/IMG_9856.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qKRa1cm12-Gy_3yvhrpoOQ)

I cut my ride a bit short because my wife was at home with a sick kid, but I'm sure I'll be back several more times this year.

Here's my GPS tracklog with some waypoints, in Google Earth .KML format:
http://castlecountry.org/geo/WoodsideAnticlineSeptember2009.kml

And there are a few more photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/WoodsideAnticlineSeptember2009#

[asdf]

As always... great TR.

Is it safe to travel around woodside these days? :popcorn:

[IntrepidXJ]

:2thumbs:

[Udink]

Is it safe to travel around woodside these days? :popcorn:Yep, our friend is still in jail (Beaver County for now), so it's safe to travel/park around Woodside for the moment.