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“Okay, so the premise is a little off-kilter – teaming up exhausting adventure sports with craft beer. These well-written columns are fast-paced, fun and really will get you off and exploring natural areas, with a cold brew as your reward.”
James Murren is an award-winning independent writer, with numerous pieces having appeared in outdoor sports and recreation media outlets, adventure and travel magazines, newspapers, practitioners’ journals and newsletters, including:
L.A. Times, The Surfer’s Journal, Adventure Sports Journal, Mountain Flyer, Roads & Kingdoms, Backpacker Magazine, Cranked (UK), Snowshoe Magazine, Sub-Saharan Magazine, San Diego Union-Tribune, Spoke Magazine (NZ), Dirt Rag Magazine, Bike Magazine, Bicyclist Magazine, Strung Magazine, Bicycle Times, Switchback, and XXC Mag.
Currently, he is a columnist for Adventure Sports Journal (“Earn Your Beer“). Earn Your Beer is about pushing yourself in the mountains, deserts, oceans, rivers, wherever and then sitting back and enjoying a beer when relaxing at camp or home. Additionally, he is on the editorial team for Snowshoe Magazine.
I’ve a new project for 2021. Check it out here: MTBeer
Several articles and writing samples are available under Portfolio in the menu bar up top, where you can also enter the Blog for current postings.
Murren has published three books. Go Here, Go There: Travel and Workis a collection of words and photos depicting such experiences in ten countries around West Africa, Central and South America, North America, and Eurasia. The other two books are based on his work and travels in Honduras and Ethiopia. You can buy the books online via the link in the sidebar, or at the following locations: The Reader’s Cafe in Hanover, PA and Verbatim Books in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego, CA.
Member: Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association
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- Earn Your Beer #132: Digital Detox - 02/15/2024
- Earn Your Beer #131: Mendocino Redwoods - 12/14/2023
- Earn Your Beer: Issue #130 - 08/28/2023
Mountain Bike Noble Canyon
THE EARNING
Noble Canyon National Recreation Trail in east county San Diego is ten miles long from top to bottom. You can hike it, bike it, run it, and horseback ride it. While doing so, you’ll pass through some six eco-zones, ranging from pine forested slopes to a breathtakingly beautiful oak grove, complete with a mountain stream from winter through late spring/early summer, the trail then stretching into desert land with cacti, succulents, and chaparral. For mountain bikers, it is an IMBA Epic and one of the top adventure rides in Southern California. There are many ways to ride Noble, including the use of a shuttle if you set it up.
To turn it into a longer ride, I like to link it up this way: Park at the trailhead in Pine Valley > Climb up the old Pine Creek Road > Stay straight at the big tree up top and continue on the dirt Deer Park Road > Turn right at Indian Creek Trail and climb up to Champagne Pass > Go left on Pine Mountain Trail > Turn right at Sunrise Highway/Pioneer Mail and ride to Penny Pines Trailhead > Hop on Noble Canyon Trail and ride it all the way back down to where I parked my car.
A few notes:
You need an Adventure Pass for parking at the Noble Canyon Trailhead in Pine Valley because it sits in Cleveland National Forest. You can get a pass at the gas station in Pine Valley town. If you have a National Parks pass, that works too. Pack plenty of water and food, and then pack a little more hydration. There is a hand pump/water at Penny Pines, which is used by PCT thru-hikers. You cannot count on this, though, as I have been there when it has been turned off. If the water’s turned on, top off your bottle/hydration pack.
Highlights:
Indian Creek Trail and across to Pioneer Mail on Pine Mountain Trail is my favorite stretch of single track in San Diego County. It feels remote, has some tech sections, and affords vast views of the Laguna and Cuyamaca Mountains. Noble in late spring/early summer pops with wildflowers and I especially love when the yuccas are flowering. The oak grove in the middle of Noble is a favorite spot to stop and eat. Think Tolkien.
THE BEER
If you ask anyone to name the top five family brewers in San Diego, the Mcilhenney family in Alpine, CA will be on everyone’s list. They are masters at crafting West Coast IPAs. Back at it in their original location in town for a year now, they are also canning some of their beers. Stop in, have a pint, and pick up a 4-pack. I recommend their rendition of a Nelson-hopped, rye IPA called Muntz (7.2% ABV).
It is quintessential Mcilhenney Brewing Company. Their 1-year Anniversary triple IPA called Higher Times came in at 11%. I had it as a late evening summer sipper that tasted like sunshine-infused tangerine flowers with drops of melon-touched honeysuckle breezes all landing milliseconds apart on my palate the way orange blossoms flutter to the ground on a windy day (not really … I’m simply poking a little fun at some beer descriptions these days). Cheers!
mcilhenneybrewing.com
Read other Earn Your Beer columns here.
