Hot and Nasty

Dogs Off-leash

E-Bikes Unknown

A hard to find entrance and several crosses over Roan Cliff Chaos make Hot and Nasty a bit confusing to follow. Don't give up on this one though as you'll be rewarded with a lot of fast, flowy sections, one of the more lengthy sustained downhill tracks in Rifle, and multiple places to catch some air.

Finding this trail can be a challenge and the MTB Project mobile app will likely be your saving grace on this one. At the intersection of Lower Faceplant and Faceplant, head east on on an obvious Jeep road for about 150 yards. The Jeep road comes to an end at the BLM road that connects the Hubbard Mesa area to the JQS Trail. Cross this gravel road and you'll be into an open area of sagebrush that appears to be empty. Pedal 15-20 yards to the south and the track will begin to appear in the junipers.

Soon the trail becomes obvious and you'll pass a lightning-struck tree on rider's left. This marks the beginning of Hot and Nasty. From there, follow the trail through the juniper and over loose soil. Drop a ledgy tree root transitioning into an abrupt gully that gives you plenty of speed to launch the mounded jump on the other side. Bank left and fly back onto Roan Cliff Chaos trail.

Here, you'll stay on Roan Cliff Chaos for about 0.25 miles. You'll be going fast! As the trail curves right, look to your left to pick up Hot and Nasty. Usually, a discarded pillow marks this turn. Continue along as Hot and Nasty follows a steep bank to your left and criss-crosses Roan Cliff Chaos several times. You'll encounter a ledgy steep drop into another gully before shooting out the other side to cross several more gullies.

The trail then pops out into an open area where you'll snake across the top of two dirt mounds. Head southwest to pick up the trail again. From here, the character completely changes to an open, rocky area. Dipsy-do around, over, and through a few fun technical features. The trail eventually drops back into a sage field.

Bank right and fly down a super fast section, slaloming through the sage. As you encounter a steep creekbed, turn hard right to head back up towards the road. You'll finish the trail here with a short, mellow climb or you may choose to cross the creekbed to continue your ride on Salty Rim.