Fresh Tracks: Tish Tang Ridge

We headed north the day after our ride at Paradise Royal to check out the Tish Tang trail. Located approximately an hour east of Arcata, Tish Tang is a Humboldt County trail destination featuring a shuttle friendly descent that had us covered in huge grins.

We haven’t spent much time riding trails in the Humboldt area, but that may need to change.

As we rolled in, we passed a lone mountain biker on a 29er hardtail climbing the fire road. It wasn’t just any random rider, but Tom Phillips, a local rider and trails advocate known as one of the main trail builders behind the rebirth of the line. Tom’s a busy guy, and after hearing more about his plans to expand local trails, it’s clear we’ll be heading back up this way to ride again at some point.

Tish Tang Ridge

Tom had heard we were planning to be in the area and drove over from Arcata to find us— lucky for us, as our original guides had canceled. Armed with a bit of local knowledge we set off. Turns out this is a great time of the year to ride the trail, as blackberry bushes can get overgrown in the summer months.

We started by pedaling up from where the road was blocked off, and climbed up to ride the roller trail, a fun trail suitable for XC and trail bikes. Then we hit what was the highlight of the weekend, the downhill trail. Tom clearly knew the trails well, as he was flying on his hardtail, and didn’t let up until we reached the loose rocky sections. Littered with leaves and wet roots, the trail was ridiculously fun. Sessioning the DH trail was a treat- especially since I’ve yet to spend some real time getting to know my new ride. The slick leaves over rocks and roots made for some fun and interesting turns, and many foot-out flat-out drifts were had by all.

It was so fun we ran odd man out style shuttles for the next several hours. The shuttle is well timed, with the riders beating the van by only a few minutes each run, before loading back up to do it all again.

Tom Phillips of Arcata leads us through the Roller Trail at Tish Tang.

Local trails advocate Tom Phillips of Arcata leads on the Roller Trail at Tish Tang.

Our weekend trip consisted of a lot of drive time, but one thing is clear: we need to spend more time exploring the trails of Humboldt, the King Range area, and the rest of Northern California.