I've been a mountain biker living in San Diego for six years and I had not been to the Elfin Forest for a ride until last week. I had heard this trail had "a lot of climbing" and was difficult. Being a climbing sissy, I dismissed it as something probably not very fun. I could not have been more wrong.
While the Elfin Forest is not for everyone, if you enjoy a good technical challenge and have some power in your legs, this is one of the most beautiful climbs you will do in SoCal in under an hour.
I came out on a Wednesday morning with a buddy who also had never been there and had no idea what to expect. We were struck by the beauty of the hills, lush and green from the recent rains, the purple heather and other flowers in bloom and spread out across the hillside like a random picnic blankets.
The trail starts off by crossing a creek, then immediately ascending, leading you on a sometimes narrow and rutted, sometimes wide and easy, and sometimes impossibly rocky trail that snakes up the hill for about 2 miles.
I found out something about myself: it's not that I hate climbing, it's that I hate boring climbing. A fire road climb is simply uninteresting. But THIS climb was so technical, you were constantly looking for a good line up the hill. It was infinitely interesting. Although I had to stop a number of times to study the ground at my feet (read: hang over my handlebars gasping and wheezing till I caught my breath), I enjoyed the climb so much I came back the next day with the GoPro helmet cam to film it.
Click here to see the helmet cam video of the CLIMB.
And click here for the helmet cam video of the DESCENT.
My only disappointment was that I didn't see any elves.
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