Alright! Today was the first time I've gone on a serious mountain bike in over a year. I'll call it the Burnett mountain bike ride, for lack of better description. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The weather was cool. In the upper 60's. Winds from the north. For attire, I wore a large jersey, bib shorts, 1 base layer, arm coolers. I was comfortable. After making the brief road trip, I found the parking lot, parked, got my gear and bike ready. I took my time. I noticed that there was just one other car parked. Others came later. When I got on my bike, I wasn't sure where to go. I could see some trails off in the distance, but I had to find the entrance first. I started by heading east, as there was a trail in that direction. I followed the trail, but could not find the entrance to the trails in the mountains. I spent about 20 minutes just looking around. At one point, there were some other cyclists that were looking around. I decided to go West to see what was out there, it was a dead end. So, I headed back East and just observed where the cyclists were going. I was able to spot them in the distance on the East side of the mountains. At that point, I knew I was close to the entrance. I looked around further, and found a gate that was half open. I followed the trail by eye and it looked to be the direction I was hoping for. The trail was a switchback that made its way to the top of the mountain side. It turned out, that the ride was mostly skill, and not so much cardio. I was hoping for the latter. But that's ok, good to have variety. I was constantly assessing my situation awareness and safety. My handling skills are novice, no surprise as I have not ridden single track trails in quite a while. I was having to dismount and hike a good portion of the ride. It was just not safe enough to ride. There were places that if you slipped, you would tumble down the mountain. There were all sorts of rocks and foliage to add to what was already a dangerous excursion. I put in my mind, that I wanted to get out of here in one piece, no bruised bones or scrapes and cuts from the bushes. I was also concerned about wild life. In particular, snakes. I did not encounter any, but my focus was somewhat in a state of alert. I brought my Walkman, but turned the volume off as I needed all senses on the this ride. I made my way around the mountain side, taking in the fantastic, scenic views. I don't want to say it was an epic view, but it was impressive. I took some photos on my smart phone. At this time, I checked the signal quality, there were about 3 bars if I remember correctly. From the moment I was going on the switch backs, I noticed there were other trails branching off. I was trying to keep my situation awareness as focused as possible. I didn't want to get lost out there. As I was making my way back, I noticed, in the northern side of the trail, that there was, what appeared to be, a fire road. At least 4 or 5 foot wide dirt roads. I wasn't sure how to get there. I decided against going. I figured it would be a good place to go the next time I ride these trails. After reaching the end of the switchbacks, on the way back, I was able to relax and make my way back through the less dangerous trails. Overall, I had a good time. Pretty much set out what I had in mind. I found the trails and then some. I've reason to go back and investigate the fire road that I found. I'm not sure what I want to do next, either the local trail, the SS trail, or the Burnett trails. My concentration was a bit on the foggy side. It took me a while to get the feel for the bike in the offroad. I'm used to getting down to business, as I do on my road rides. I did encounter some gremlins. This distracted me some, but it wasn't anything I haven't felt before. In the form of the usual hecklers. My form felt good, in the sense that I was on top of the pedals. Otherwise, my handling skills need a lot of work. Gear worked great. Other notes, I saw 4 other cyclists today. I'm not sure if there's a designated out and back trail. But, there are vast amounts, that crossing paths is relatively safe.