This loop is a good one for winter training. It doesn”t have the technical single track or fast and fiery descents. It does have lots of logging roads and back country touring possibilities. A good idea is to bring along a camera in case you run into a couple deer, mountain lion, elk, or bear. The trail started out well enough as you go along the Kim Williams Recreation Trail. There is some nice single track that runs along the river. Beware though that you might run into some transients as I did. Kind of freaky.

Now I know where I will go when I run out of unemployment. The trail continues along the rail road tracks and a little right onto some double track that quickly turns into single track. this section runs beside a firing range and a huge drop off to the tracks below. It is a quite exciting section.

From there its up Deer Creek Road to a logging road to the right about a mile up. You follow the logging roads up and through to the Lolo National Forest and finally to the Pattee Canyon Recreation Area. Here you will find people playing Frisbee golf. Something I find very very strange. It is pretty simple from there as you exit the canyon to the west and into Missoula via the Pattee Canyon Road which happens to let you coast for 20 minutes straight without peddling once.

• This has been posted to my trail review section.