“Wisdom begins in wonder”
Socrates
Description
– Distance: ~ 1.6 miles
– Min/max elev.: 2945’/3560′
– Elev. gain/loss: 941’/-378′
Click here for routes and maps with Wonder trail.
This is a multi-use trail with mountain bikes allowed to ride uphill only. Starting at FS 2060 about 1.7 miles up from the Fairy Ponds trailhead, Wonder intersects with Lower Wonder in the first one-tenth of a mile. It is in this 10th of a mile that mountain bikers may also descend down (after climbing up Lower Wonder).
Wonder climbs up to the so-called “lunch rocks”, a large grouping of granite boulders adjacent to some old growth trees at the intersection with the Fell on Knee trail.
History
Wonder is part of the joint FS-AWTA Ashland Trails project, started in 2011 and approved in late 2015. and was started and finished in 2018. Some design considerations included passing by some interesting granite boulders, using some existing road bed, passing by interesting, larger Ponderosas. Additionally, at the top end of the trail a decision was made to have the trail start uphill for the first 10th of a mile from the “lunch rocks” to discourage downhill mt bike traffic.
Written by Torsten Heycke 04/29/2020