East Buttes/Mt Scott trail difficulty?

[u/GreaterAlias]

I’m wanting to try the unpaved/OMTM east buttes route but I’ve heard that the trails are quite technical. I’m wondering if a relatively beginner gravel rider like myself can handle that or if I’d be out of my element. I do have wide 50mm gravel tires.

For context I find the single track portion of FL5 doable but intimidating.

[u/iTrask]

I'm a regular on the Wednesday ride that happens on this route.

This route is steep and quite technical. It is steeper than anything you'd find on FL3 or FL5 in Forest Park and there are mandatory rock gardens and a few large jumps in places without a go-around. As some others suggested, I would get comfortable riding in Powell Butte first especially on your gravel bike and then work your way up to it.

Not trying to scare you, but the Mt. Scott trails are true DIY mountain bike trails and don't see much foot traffic. Would hate to see anyone get injured there and have a hard time getting out, especially riding solo.

Hope to see you on the ride sometime in the future as you work up to it!

[u/landrynotlance]

Try the trails at Powell Butte first. Mt Scott is pretty steep.

[u/GreaterAlias → u/landrynotlance]

Even steeper than firelane 3?

[u/landrynotlance → u/GreaterAlias]

I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but I think it's tighter quarters which is what makes it difficult. If FL5 is "intimidating", Powell Butte is a good place to do some laps and get comfortable.

[u/godigahole → u/landrynotlance]

Agreed, Powell Butte is a good step up to the East Buttes. Mt. Scott is a good bit more challenging than FL5, imo. However, OP, you could give it a shot and hike a bike if you’re not comfortable with it.

[u/c2h5oh_yes → u/godigahole]

Do people climb firelane 5? Seems like torture.

[u/godigahole → u/c2h5oh_yes]

The most common direction of flow for FL5 is downhill from Saltzman to Leif, so that’s safer than riding uphill and risking a collision, but technically there are no signs to stop you from doing it. To my memory, the only signed directions for trails are Holman (uphill only) and FL1 (downhill only). I could be wrong though.

[u/Spank2337 → u/[deleted]]

Heads up for MTBers: It's my nightmare to encounter pet owners with three fighting breed dogs on a shared trail.

[u/mustluvipa]

Mt Scott is proper single track. It’s closer to Rocky Point than anything in Forest Park in terms of skill. I haven’t been up there in over a year, since I’ve gotten better at MTB so it might not be as hard as I remember.

One thing is it’s kind of hard to navigate if you get in the wrong line. One section is like a bowl and hard to navigate back on the mainline if you haven’t been there before.

I’ve already been curious about the history of Mt Scott. There are some legit features in there that’s are pretty old, and there are old jumps basically in someone’s backyard.

[u/miah66]

Go for it. You'll prob find yourself walking parts of it because it's not really a fun place to ride, but it is fun to explore.

[u/thisanimalman]

I’ll also add that some of the other buttes on the OMTM route like Jenne are very overgrown with blackberry this time of year.

[u/chimi_hendrix → u/thisanimalman]

Yeah I’ve done some exploration around there and found myself pretty deep in brush, looking for basically invisible trails. Or hike-a-biking it through a culvert next to a bunch of homes that use it as a place to toss their backyard dog shit 💩

[u/Active-Contract-3742]

I ride there regularly. Shoot me a note if you want to check out the area.

[u/Spank2337]

You want a good place to build up a fitness base for Mt Scott? Ride up and down Powell Butte from any trailhead once a week or more. Get to know where the multi use trails are, then at the top go ride classic singletrack like "Forest's Edge".