Most conversations about the Sugarloaf trail among those adventurous enough to give it a go eventually have a component of is the juice worth the squeeze. You can’t shuttle it and it is a bunch of work to get up to the summit that will include some hike-a-bike. There is good easier riding all over the area so this trail does not see a lot of MTB action.
One of the reasons I like the trail is a its raw nature. It’s not a gnarly big rock chunkfest but something between micro-chunk and a blanket of scree almost always on a grade. Oh yeah, you also at 9,000 plus feet for most of your outing.
On this outing I did the short option of starting at Horseshoe Meadows and doing it as an out-and-back. If you really want to do something cool add the Wildhorse trail into the mix. For an epic adventure leave a vehicle at the bottom of the Mill Creek Road by the Santa Ana River and when you get to the bottom of the Wildhorse trail coast down HWY 38 for three miles and pick up the Santa Ana River Trail and take it back to your vehicle.