Trail Overview
Valve Stem is an extreme rock climb area that can be pretty much completely bypassed up the left side of the trail. There are a couple of lines to choose from, all containing large boulders. The extreme exit is almost impassable with undercuts that will swallow a 43-inch tire. The first section of the trail is like a funnel that widens as you climb the hill, with multiple exits to attempt towards the "top". Once you complete the first section, you can choose to attempt the second half of the trail (straight) or turn left, and it will connect you to Grape Vine, which will lead you to the Middle Rock Garden.
Difficulty
The trail is essentially broken into 2 sections, both with bypasses. The first section is a large boulder hillside with various lines that are hard to extreme in difficulty. The left side of the trail is a bypass up the entire hill. The first section exits onto the connector trail to Grape Vine. You can choose to complete the second section (straight), which has a buggy line and extreme line. Or you can turn left, and the connector will take you to the bottom of Grape Vine. Turning right is not advisable, as the washout is pretty bad, but it does also loop around to Trail 23.
