This is a well marked trail that requires a lot of attention for those unfamiliar with it, as it's easy to get slightly off-course with all the intersecting trails in this area. In the first mile, there's a really great downhill to bomb, along with a rocky area known as Devil's Kitchen. There are two road crossings--one early in the figure 8, one later--and a fair share of mud, stream crossings (including one that requires some balance on three unsteady planks suspended about 3 ft. above a rushing stream), and a gravel path that used to be a road, complete with a rusted-out car. The vert sneaks up on you at different parts of this course, and though it isn't always well-traveled, we did have to contend with hikers, make way for mountain bikers, and even help bring a dog who would've rather run with us back to her owner, all of which cost us moments along the course. We didn't encounter any bears along the trail, but this area is known for them.