There were still lots of empty parking spots at West Bragg when we started the hike at 10 am. but it seemed as if all the mountain bikers were on the same trail as our group. On the way up we had several, somewhat dangerous encounters when cyclists came down fast on the steep hill towards the lunch spot on the Merlin Loop portion. 154 cyclists were counted on the way down, so we estimate to have encountered about 300 bikes.
We had a second short stop at the rock.
I would not recommend this trail during the summer months. There were fewer bikes during winter and the fat bikes seemed to be a lot slower too.
Participants: Madeleine,Linda,Robert,Mohsen,Douglas,Aldis,Bill,Barb,John with guests Lynn and Christina