Trail Review: White Tanks Competitve Loop.
I did this one over a decade ago, but didn't remember a whole lot about it. What I'd forgotten was how rough some of it was, and what a uphill grind it was just to get to the interesting stuff. The trek to get to the technical stuff seems fairly gradual and or flat at times, but the legs were working hard the whole way up.
As is the case with many of the trails on the west side, and closer in to town, most of it is rocky and rough. The technical single track loop was definitely rough going on the north west side of the loop. Lots of chunky tight turns and steep wash dives with lots of smal boulders and loose rock to traverse. Much of it reminded me of the Estrella Competitve Long Loop, but without the miles of pointless switchbacks. [ Ссылка ]
I got started late due to mechanical issues. Progress was slow and I was running out of daylight. Several times I considered turning around or finding a cutoff trail back to the parking lot . I kept going, but didn't finish the final little loop on the east end. Good thing too. The sun was setting as I got back to the truck. If I had tried to finish the entire loop, I'd have been treking part of the way back to the truck in the dark.
All in all, I was glad I did the ride and rather enjoyed it once I got some momentum going.
Over all, it's not a trail for beginners or beginning intermediate. It's quite a challenge and there's lots of places to get bucked off your ride. If you're up for a technical challenge, This is a great trail for it. If you're looking for something more fast and fun, this isn't the trail for you. I would like to come back with my riding buddy Scott and do the whole loop. Especially, now that I have some idea of what to expect.
