Middle Kingdom trail is a 1.8 mile almost-loop connected to the Canyons trail (it actually needs a part of Canyons to form a loop). Most people seem to ride it clockwise, which is what I did. The first half of the ride was a steady 300ft climb on the narrow gravel singletrack that's common in CGSP. The trail winds back and forth thru scrub brush covered hills that are punctuated with granite slabs that sometimes protrude from the ground at interesting angles. There were a couple opportunities to ride the slabs, but there were fewer of then than I had hoped and the ones I did find were pretty short. That said, they do provide interesting scenery. When I reached the top, there was a sign with a map of the play area. The map showed multiple lines, hitting progressively bigger hucks. However, I had trouble translating the sign into the trial intersections I saw in front of me. I wandered around, but didn't find any interesting challenges. I suspect I picked the wrong route right off the bat. The line I took wasn't very interesting. The switchbacks with loose gravel really limited my speed.
Adding an initial review.
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