The Plunge

Trail Overview

The Plunge is one of the more difficult single tracks in the Hardscrabble trail system due to a very steep and loose rocky hill that gains several hundred feet from the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountain. From Hockett Gulch in the wash, it starts with a huge hill climb up to the ridge above you. The hill climb is loose dirt, with ruts, roots, and small rock, making it intermediate difficulty. It is very steep and you need to keep momentum. Just below the top of the hill climb, the trail turns right and starts side-hilling through pine trees on a narrow trail. There are a couple downed big trees, but they have been cut. Follow the trail up a couple of switch backs and keep climbing. The last hill climb is steep and rockier than the beginning, with more roots. The climb ends at a saddle with a great view of the surrounding mountains, then keeps going along the ridge line in the pinyon pine. There's a spur trail down to a road that is a steep loose hill. The trail is made more difficult by a ton of brake bumps and whoops on top of the ridge. This is one of the rockier trails in the area with lots of small rock boulders in the trail and on the climbs. The trail ends when it connects to 8385-D, or you can take spur trail 8385-CS down to dirt road BLM Route 8385.