Gear Grinder

Gear Grinder is an intermediate single track in the Cibola National Forest in a high desert terrain. Although less than 2 miles long, this one is harder than some of the other nearby trails because it has very tight turns, slightly bigger obstacles, and some more difficult rocky climbs/descents. It has hairpin turns through the pinyon pine trees that are covered in loose rock and embedded slab rock. It has climbing sections where it's a 40-foot-long stretch of small ledges that have loose rocks and stair-steps and roots that are more challenging. It has sections like this going both up and down, so it would be the same difficulty in either direction. It's a short trail but a fun challenge. It parallels the Pinyon Trail, which is much easier and can be taken instead if you want to avoid this challenge.