Is it possible to bike down Highway 39 from Islip Saddle to the gate near the West Fork. I mean is the road in good enough condition or is there major damage somewhere that would make this impossible? Also... what is enforcement like in the closed area, am I likely to get in somesort of trouble for doing this since the road is closed. I have been thinking about doing this for a while, so I would apperciate any comments anyone may have......Thanks
Yes you can ride a bike from Highway 2 to the gate near west Fork.
The washout is bad but the whole road is not gone. Emergency vehicles still are able to drive down there so if they can make it,you can too. I've biked up to Crystal lake and have seen bikes that have come down from the 2.
I finally biked highway 39, up insted of down. My gf and I rode from the lower gate up to Crystal Lake on Sunday. It was extremely hot the whole time and there is virtually no shade, we started at 10:30 in the morning. It took us about 4 hours to get to the lake. On the way up we ran out of water and had to filter from the North Fork SG river. We each brought 3 liters but because of the heat and very strenuous nature of the ride on heavy ass mountian bikes it proved to not be enough. We saw a lot of bikers on rode bikes easily climbing up the road and coming down, while we were struggling, I didnt think it was actually that difficult but my gf on her walmart bike was ready to quit not that far into the ride and I had to constantly motivate her not to give up. Once we made it to the intersection for Crystal Lake the gate was open, as we made our way to the lake we saw 5 deer in West Pine Flat, they seemed to be everywhere. And we saw 2 more near the lake itself. After leaving the lake I told my gf that we should look for bears, but her legs hurt way too bad for any additional uphill riding so we decided to ride down. It only took about 25 minutes to get down to the lower gate which was almost completely downhill the whole way. Overall this ride was alot of fun but difficult. Next time after some more physical training I want to go all the way to Islip Saddle.....
Zé wrote:ooh nice job! that seems like a great idea...
so at what point is the road closed off to cars? how many cars passed you on the way up/down?
I'd like to try, I'll just have to make sure Taco isn't cruising around in his Subaru at the same time
I'll aim for you.
There is a gate just before R39 turns north into the damaged zone... so that's basically just west of the Crystal Lake area gate. One can ride immediately south on the ridge which terminates at Peak 5495, then carefully get down to the saddle between Smith Mtn and 5495... not a bike-y area... probably still closed, and if they find you, they'll cut yer arms off or whatever.
there is a sign on the trail to islip Mt saying Crystal Lake Rec area Closed.
Is no hiker allowed to go? I have seen bikers cruising down that old road before.
edenooch wrote:there is a sign on the trail to islip Mt saying Crystal Lake Rec area Closed.
Is no hiker allowed to go? I have seen bikers cruising down that old road before.
Yup, it's closed. They're "planning on opening it", maybe before 2010.
[dont_trespass]That said, one can go through there without issue...[/dont_trespass]
Zé wrote:ooh nice job! that seems like a great idea...
so at what point is the road closed off to cars? how many cars passed you on the way up/down?
Highway 39 is closed off to cars about 2 miles past West fork road at 2000 feet elevation. Crystal Lake is about 11 miles past the closure and at 5600 feet. It's a great uphill ride the whole way, and the best part is that you have the road to yourself and you dont have to worry about getting ranover by someone speeding around corners. Another cool thing about this ride if your not satisified with 11 miles up and 3600 feet of gain to Crystal Lake you can easily go approximately 8? miles further and another 1000 feet up to Islip Saddle, if your the really ambitious type. .......
Sorry for taking a while to repond ive just been really busy lately....
We made it to about 6000' yesterday. Without crampons and poles the rest of the way to Islip would have been a slo-go....black ice and some hardpack on the road that was fairly deep still.
I mean is the road in good enough condition or is there major damage somewhere that would make this impossible? Also... what is enforcement like in the closed area, am I likely to get in somesort of trouble for doing this since the road is closed. 
I have been thinking about doing this for a while, so I would apperciate any comments anyone may have......Thanks
