Help. Want to plan a ride from Jackson Lake to Devil's Punch Bowl??

OK you Wrightwood 50 experts. I have a friend that has ridden from South Fork campground (Big Rock Creek) to Devil's Punch Bowl and he would like to do an even bigger ride. We are considering a ride from Jackson Lake to Devil's Punch Bowl and need to work up a route. We need your guidance and suggestions. How do we get to Manzanita, maps, trail info etc.?
Thanks

 

I don't exactly know how to connect the dots in a couple spots but I've been hankering for an enduro day starting at the Wrightwood visitors center and climbing up to drop blue ridge, then leprechaun, then climb up to the lake and up boy scout and work over to Vincent gap(this is what I'm not sure how to do) then drop Manzanita to South Fork, over and up to the devils chair(pretty much all HAB) and then over to the punchbowl parking lot.

 

Um... The chance to do most of that route was last weekend.

@CBone - From Jackson Lake to Manzanita isn't the problem... The problem is getting back out.

From the lake, head up the fire road to Boyscout. At the top of Boyscout, continue straight into the fire road for 1 mile or so... Fast smooth descent. At the parking lot you’ll find the manzanita trailhead dropping off to the right. 6 miles of Woo-Hoo! Look for the car in the first mile or two!

The suffering starts when you pop out on the pavement after going through the campground... Turn right and go for 3 miles and 970 feet of elevation gain. The road dead ends at the prison into the fire road. There’s a spigot here on the right at the baseball field. Then... Go up. And up. And up. You’ll eventually get back to the manzanita trailhead area... hang a left onto the fire road you came down earlier.


From the top of Boyscout, down manzanita and back up is something like 14 miles and 3000 feet. It may not be as hard as I think it is... I’ve never hit the climb with less than 6000 feet.

 

I've done the ride from S Fork CG to Devils punchbowl visitor center. It's a gnarly trail with some HAB both up and down since the trail is in bad shape but still very cool. Worth doing once for sure. Can't recall where the trail leaves S Fork CG but it should be marked. This will make it pretty epic but will also make for a long shuttle

 

Madog and I have been saying all year now that we would do the shuttle we did 2 years ago this year, but it just never happened, and now he has moved to Idaho. Our route includes a bunch of the SOT out toward Lydle Creek and then back a number of ways either on SOT or not. Up above Boyscout the SOT ( a great section of it) drops you at the start of Manz. Then shuttle our butt’s back up to insiration point were we started. I think it was close to 30 miles. Fran did it with us also. Wish I could but I seem to have brocken my ribs or something.

 

Yikes. Ribs? That is bad news. Heal up.

 

I think we would drop a vehicle at the Punch Bowl parking lot and talk a better half into dropping us at the lake.

 

But, we won't be going back up. Too smart for that .

 

This is the connector I was looking for. Sounds simple in theory but never underestimate my ability to take a wrong turn.

 

@Faust29 posted how to get to the gap. Your enduro route would kill me off for sure. At least I have seen the trail from South Fork to Devils chair so I know about the HAB switchbacks.

 

Sorry @hill^billy but what does SOT stand for?

 

Not good to read!

 

Where's Devils Punchbowl?

 

Some Other Trail. Rhymes with PCE.

 

@Voodoo Tom I found the route @Faust29 described above. When you reach the end of Boy Scout you take the Pinyon Ridge Truck Trail (also called Forest Service Rd 4N56 on some maps) down to Vincent Gap.
You can see it on Trail Forks. https://www.trailforks.com/trails/boy-scout-trail-103625/
Click on the OSM tab on the map and Manzanita shows up too.

 

Some one (@SnakeCharmer ?) needs to plan this ride! I'm in....
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The top of the fireroad descent is at mile 24.7 in this route, and Manzanita is at 25.7... Check out the elevation gain from 32 to 38. It's one of those climbs that gets steeper as you go.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1230495163#30380011254

 

Thanks for the Strava Steve. What you guys did on that ride is impressive. I’m not planning to make that climb anytime soon.

 

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Like HB was saying, instead of taking PRTT at the top of BS, continue up on the FR like we did at the IMBT gathering. Then you can take the Prefered Cycling Trail down to
the Manzanita trail head.
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I'm sure it beats the fire road but this will probably a Saturday ride. There might be some (many) hikers that have the audacity to slow the flow on such fine single track.

 

Here is a ride @Maddog @Voodoo Tom and @Mikie did that covers part of the route we want do. Manzanita to South Fork to Devil's Chair. Looks like I need to get some harder rides in and do some tough HAB in preparation.
https://www.imtbtrails.com/forum/threads/manzanita-12-2.6820/#post-111412

 

I haven’t been up there when we haven’t seen hikers on the hiking trail... some of them are pretty cool! Like the young thru-hiker we met last year from Denmark (?). Great kid who detoured down Acorn just for a good burger and beer in town.