Pausing to appreciate the natural canopy of trees. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Thank goodness for young people and maps. Without them, who knows where I might have ended up.

I’m not a big map person. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the car, on my bike, at a ski resort or some other place where those things are useful.

The irony is using Google maps started my adventure. I plugged in Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino. It didn’t surprise me to see a U.S. Forest Service like gate, but the other direction was off-limits in a bigger way because of the state Department of Corrections facility farther down the road.

Luckily, young “official” people were there. Two worked for CalFire, which owns the demonstration forest, and two were from UC Davis. As the two college guys loaded a large canister into the CalFire vehicle, I asked what they were doing. Research—that was the answer. Since I wasn’t on the clock as a reporter, I left it at that. That doesn’t mean I’m not still curious to know what kind of research.

Trail conditions in Jackson Demonstration State Forest vary. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

I asked if this was the demonstration forest, adding that I wanted to go mountain biking. A woman came over, shaking her head saying Google delivers people to this spot all the time and it’s not where one wants to ride. The good riding is across the street. The better riding is closer to where I came from.

Ah, maps—see, they aren’t always reliable.

I hadn’t loaded any maps or routes onto any apps I have nor had I looked at any routes on my apps. I was planning to wing it. I didn’t even have a map of the overall forest.

The young woman, probably in my nieces’ age group, asked if I had Avenza Maps. I do. She took my phone after I was a little slow to do what she asked, pressed some buttons and suddenly the demonstration forest was loaded. She also handed me a paper map.

I took her advice to head back toward Mendocino by taking a left on Highway 1 and then a left onto Road 409. I followed it until it dead-ended at a distinct trail area with a kiosk that had a large posted map and other information.

I asked a couple horse women about the trails and off I went.

Remember, I don’t like maps, so I didn’t study what was on my phone or the paper one. I just went. I started my MapMyRun app which give me the start location so I knew where I would want to end up.

It was soooo much fun. Well, my thumb hurt for a bit and that’s never a good thing on a bike ride. This was because I hit a section that was straight up, or least felt like it. The thumb ache was from that digit being on the walk button so long as I trudged up the hill.

I found myself in this predicament after going off the main road because it was boring—just a forest road. I wanted single track.

Kae enjoying the solitude of riding new terrain in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino County. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Into the woods I went. I was smart enough to take pictures of road/trail markers so if I did look at a map, I would have a better idea of where I was. Also, if I got super lost or hurt, perhaps someone would have the wisdom to look at my photos in the cloud to give to clues to where I was if a ping from my cell phone didn’t do the trick. Fortunately, only I needed the info to find myself on the map.

In all, I ended the day pedaling 9.9 miles, with an elevation gain of 931 feet. All of that elevation wasn’t walking—just so you know.

The ride was through fields of ferns, single-track, old logging roads—some of which were heavily rutted.

It was a good thing I had the map on my phone and started MapMyRun because I was checking them more often than I expected. I zigged when I should have zagged. U-turns were necessary to stay off the main gravel road.

Instead of going back the way I came, I crossed the main road and headed down. Yes, what goes down, must come up. I paused at one point trying to be smart about my decisions. It was going to be a climb to get out. I was in a secluded area. No cell service. No one knew where I was—well, the four young people knew where my car probably was, but they weren’t going to know where I was or know if I went missing.

I kept going. It was just too darn pretty not too. Plus, I had enough battery on the bike, had a charger for the phone, water on my back, and food to fuel me.

It was so worth it. The decent was a fun ride even if I couldn’t handle the hairpin turns.

The phone apps saved me when I came to a main road because I would have gone in the opposite direction if I were to have guessed.

In the end I made a loop. It was perfect.

Next time, though, I might download a specific trail and figure out elevation gains and difficulty levels—or not. It might not be as much fun.