Sierra Nevada Adventures Multi Day Rides

MENDOCINO MADNESS ADVENTURE RIDE 2-Days

Mendocino Madness Adventure ride EXPLORES a chaotic maze of remote OFF-ROAD routes of absolute madness through the Mendocino backcountry.

Mendocino Madness Adventure ride will take you on an amazing journey deep into the wilds where grizzly bears once roamed free in the remote Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern California. Scientists estimate that over 10,000 grizzly bears once lived in California, perhaps the densest population of grizzly bears on the continent. However, through increased human settlement after the discovery of gold, the loss of habitat, and the fear of the great beast caused over hunting and by the turn of the century, the California grizzly had vanished.

Although grizzly bears are now extinct in California, grizzly bears were once common throughout the state and thrived in the Mendocino Mountains. In fact, grizzly bears were so common in the Mendocino backcountry that numerous place names in this region are derived from the grizzly bear. Place names Include Grizzly Canyon, Bear Creek, Bear Harbor, Bear Haven Creek, Bear Pen Creek, Bear Camp, Bear Mountain, Grizzly Flats, and Grizzly Peak.

Grizzly bears were hunted, along with deer and elk, for meat to feed the pioneers, gold seekers, and loggers in the cookhouses during early logging days in the Mendocino Mountains. In 1856, a pioneer by the name of James “Jim” Hull, for whom Hull Mountain over Lake Pillsbury is named, was killed by a Grizzly Bear in the Mendocino Mountains. Hull had been part of a pioneer party hunting for venison and went out alone to the site they’d butchered a deer to collect brains for buckskin tanning and vanished. The search party looking for him found a big dead Grizzly and Hull’s dead body. There was a shot stuck halfway down in the barrel of the gun and he’d turned the gun around and beat on the grizzly bear with the gunstock. During this violent struggle, Hull and the grizzly bear both died in this bloody battle in the Mendocino wilderness. Members of the hunting party buried James “Jim” Hull at the site on this tragic day. Hull’s historic gravesite still remains on the north side of the peak a short distance down from the mountain summit that bears his name.

Your journey begins on the northwest shore of beautiful Clear Lake which is the largest natural freshwater lake entirely within California, with 68 square miles of surface area. From Clear Lake, you will quickly leave civilization behind as you climb a series of switchbacks deep into the Mendocino backcountry where your off-road adventure begins. You will find yourself exploring a chaotic maze of remote off-road routes through a rugged landscape with nearly 1 million acres of densely wooded forest, steep canyons, and snowcapped mountains. The Mendocino backcountry is also part of the notorious Emerald Triangle in northwestern California. Mention the Emerald Triangle to anyone who has more than a passing knowledge of cannabis and you will invariably get a knowing look, a nod of wistful affirmation. Throughout the world, the Emerald Triangle is often acknowledged as the Camelot of Cannabis with a unique strain of marijuana known as Mendocino Madness, a remote region imbued with an almost mythical aura that brings to mind towering redwoods, rugged dirt roads, and hardy, off-the-grid farmers who grow what is arguably the best weed in the world.

The Mendocino National Forest is the only national forest out of California's 18 national forests that does not offer a paved road or highway crossing, but this rugged and remote landscape does offer a chaotic maze of remote off-road routes of absolute madness through a wild landscape of tranquility, solitude, and adventure.

Your off-road adventure explores the wild landscape known as the Mendocino National Forest that offers several climate zones ranging from nearly 1,500 ft. elevation to over 6,873 ft. elevation atop Hull Mountain which provides breathtaking views of beautiful Lake Pillsbury below to an amazing view of Snow Mountain at 7,055 ft. elevation. Mendocino National Forest is also home to a large variety of wildlife such as black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, red fox, gray fox, porcupine, raccoon, badger, black-tailed deer including a thriving herd of tule elk. Your journey will take you deep into this wild landscape where you will have the opportunity to see a herd of tule elk or possibly see a black bear while exploring on your off-road adventure!