12 Hours in the Wild West

Race - Apr 17, 2020

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Unknown

World class singletrack that begins in Ruidoso Village that affords brutal climbs, technical descents, tight trails and marvelous vistas of the Lincoln National Forest.

Most of the climbing occurs in the first four to five miles of the ride.

The race loop makes use of several of the trails around Grindstone Lake. The race course begins at the entrance to the Grindstone Stables behind the lake and dam.

Head up the road and into the picnic area to access the singletrack. The trails behind the dam were newly constructed in 2016 for the sole purpose of running this race. Respect to those who put in the work to make this happen. Follow the trail up the hill until you arrive at the Grindstone Lake trailhead and parking area. Alternatively, you can simply start here if you are not interested in any of the trail behind the dam.

Initially, begin on the Grindstone Lake Trail and follow the singletrack until you reach the junction with the Alfred Hale Connector. Take the Alfred Hale Connector and continue your ascent. This course basically consists of about 4.5 miles of climbing, followed by a few miles of more or less "flat trail" on top of the mountain that finishes with several miles of descending.

Continue on until reaching the Grindstone Mesa Loop and make sure you continue on said loop. Essentially, most of the race course follows a path/loop on the outer part of this trail network as opposed to trails that are closer to the lake on the inner part of this network. Continue on until you begin a fairly technical descent accented by a few rock gardens and make sure you hit the Grindstone Ridge Connector trail.

Follow this trail back down toward the lake and make sure you get on the Grindstone Ridge Trail. Take this trail down to the Lake and follow the trail back toward the dam and down into the start/finish area near the stables.

2016 marks the first year of this race being held at Grindstone Lake.