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| Description.
Begin in the Boca
del Potrero Chico and head uphill into the Potrero proper. When the
road forks, follow the right fork slightly uphill and out of the gravel
stream bed. You will pass several cottages and ranchos. About 150m
after rancho 'Los Pirules', turn right onto a gravelly road. Follow
this road gently uphill 430m until you can fork left onto a smaller
road. This road soon crosses a gully and climbs into an area of red
soil. After a bushy section turn abruptly left and climb a short technical
hill. Here begins a fun downhill singletrack - see how fast you can
go! After a few gentle curves, turn abruptly left and follow the narrow,
steepening, rocky track through thorny bushes. Watch out for the rock
step (el Escalón) and the steep downhill that follows.
Under the hill turn right and cross a large, flat, open area. Watch
out for the barbed wire on the ground near the end of this section.
Climb onto an old road and head right - you will soon reach the playground
of Agua Salada - the salt springs. Play around for a while
on the rocky circuit marked with cairns, then return following the
old road. Push your bike through a gate onto the main dirt road, and
head uphill (right). Cresting the hill, the road descends down into
another salt flat. Just before it turns left, head sharply right up
a steep singletrack. A lung-taxing, technical climb ensues. Just when
you think it's over and the trail begins to level out, take a sharp
right up another hard hill. Finally you reach the open, flat Mesa
de las Cuevas. Check out the scary, chossy chasms that perforate
the plain; they are dissolved salt veins (marked with x's on map).
An old road comes in from the left; follow it uphill and when flat
again, turn right and climb to a small summit. Turn left at the top
and descend the hill, turn left at its bottom, then fork right onto
a trail which will take you onto the old road again (this section
can be easily bypassed). Ascend the old, gullied road until you reach
a cairn. Turn left here onto the Las Palmas singletrack. This
aesthetic downhill with gentle curves is amenable to speed, just watch
out for the palm trees! It will take you to a gravelly doubletrack
which descends, at times quite steeply, back to the main dirt road.
You can also cut left when at the Mesa and descend the singletrack
you climbed previously. (It is also easier to reach the Mesa climbing
the doubletrack instead. Obviously many possibilities exist in this
area riddled with old mining roads and cow trails.) Return to the
canyon via the main road (very fast!) or huff another 1.3 km uphill
to have a dip at the spring (see Circuit 1).
If these directions are too complicated for you, let JJ take you for
a spin (see Contacts). Overall, this is
the most fun circuit in the Potrero and sees the most mountain bike
traffic - about 2 or 3 riders per day! |
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