Pistolero trail
Headed out to the Ing's Creek road by Moose Mountain in the hopes of finding the unsanctioned and unmapped Loamzilla trail. Headed up "This Road" until there is a singletrack branching off uphill on the right side of the road, before the road drops the last bit to its end. The ride up the road is a little bit of work but not too bad and took about 20 minutes? Then about 10 more minutes on some good singletrack that heads toward Loamzilla. I chatted with another group that was heading there. They informed me that Loamzilla starts with a steep drop in, the Pistolero trail is a little easier and is what most people start with. That seemed like a good idea, better to underdo it and then decide if I want to try Loamzilla. As we climbed toward the start of Loamzilla, we passed trailheads on the right for Faith Healer, Four Horsemen, etc. Apparently, these are all steeper descents; they looked like they may head toward the Ing's Creek parking lot (although I did see several trails exiting onto the last lower bit of Elbow Valley just before the road gate as I finished my ride; maybe these are the ends of those trails).
As you continue climbing toward Loamzilla, there is a fork to the right that has flagging tape wrapped around a tree. This is the fork for Pistolero. Pistolero continues with more good climbing. The descent then starts off as blue on narrow singletrack, then blue/black, and finishes with a long steep descent that is solidly black diamond and has you near the limit of braking/skidding. Kind of unfortunate to have such a mix of difficulties in the same trail: some folks would find the final descent too difficult while others would find the start too easy. I wonder how the steep descent(s) of Loamzilla compares with the steep finish of Pistolero. I will have to check it out next.
Also, taking This Road to its end leads to the trailhead for Aunt Flo which is supposed to be easier than Pistolero and quite flowy. I'll have to check that out too.
About 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min for a full lap of Pistolero.
This webpage has a good map at the end
http://kananaskistrails.com/winter-walk-over-bens-...I wonder if the dashed line is what I descended or if I took the solid line to link up with Loamzilla (maybe this was the steep pitch at the end)? I can't remember when and where I crossed that drainage.