I've never really explored the area around Bartlett Lake, so I decided to remedy that.  After taking the highway all the way to the lake, there didn't seem to be any decent trails near the perimeter of the water, so I backtracked to Indian Springs (a few miles from the lake) and headed out into the desert. 

The trails in this area are a blast -- nice and tight with plenty of bends, hills and berms.  However, you really have to watch out for ruts. In many cases, the only viable line is smack dab in the middle of one for a short while. If you're not careful, those things will dump you faster than you can spell polygamy. But it's those little obstacles that make riding so much fun.

While the initial trail was nowhere to be found on the GPS, the unit soon showed a dirt road a few miles to the West. (Of course, a few miles on these type of trails can take a little longer than usual.) I finally made my way to the "visible" trail and started plotting a course that would loop me back to Cave Creek Road, near my house.  According to the GPS, it was doable.

After another couple of hours of great riding, I came to one stretch where the trail shown on the GPS wasn't readily visible to the naked eye.  After about 35 minutes of trying various tributaries (that always led nowhere), I started pondering my situation.  I could either continue to look for the connecting trail and make the loop back home or I could turn around and double back the way I came.  It was getting late, and I had a date with the wife that evening, so I couldn't really afford to get lost or waste more time. But the stubborn side of me really wanted to find the connection and blaze forward. Lo and behold, I went on and soon found the right trail.

As I was basking in the afterglow of my victorious bout with the trail demons, I suddenly noticed a small sign standing by the side of the trail... "Private property - no trespassing."  (That'll teach me to bask.)  Now, I'm normally very good about obeying these signs.  After all, I wouldn't want some uninvited yahoo riding through my back yard.  But in this case, turning around would mean another four hours of backtracking (in the dark). So I put on my best friendly face and slowly advanced down the trail.  I soon came upon a couple of cabins, where one woman was unloading her car. (Oh good, a road nearby...)  I quickly apologized for my intrusion and informed her of my situation. She was cool about it though, and told me how to get to the main road.  Ten minutes later I was back on Cave Creek Road and headed for home. 

Shown below are a few images from the ride. 

Nearing Bartlett Lake	View of the lake from the trail	Northern tip of the lake	Scottsdale off on the horizon	More great desert scenery

Four Peaks in the background	A little further back	Trying to get creative with the shot	Desert valley to the North	Looking back at the trail just traveled

And the trail ahead...