Adventures in Pisgah

Black Mtn.

2012-01-23T12:11:00.001-05:00

Pressley Cove > Black Mtn. in 37:24:52 on foot. I guess I'm running again.

Middle Fork and the Big Nasty

2012-01-17T09:33:00.002-05:00

I'm super busy these days. Not much time to do anything but still enough time to steal away for quick rides. Yesterday my day ran much later than expected and by the time I made it to Mills River it was after 6. I sat in the truck forever trying to get motivated to go ride. I finally did and decided I would ride the Never Ending Rd. to Middle Fork. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly because it did not occur to me that is a 18 mile ride and as such would take two hours. It is a long way from Fletcher Creek to Middle Fork and it was a nice night to be all the way out there by myself!

Saturday I had limited time so I opted for a short ride that still feels big - Black Mtn. > Buckwheat Knob > Bennett Gap - The Big Nasty. It was cold and I focused on moving forward fast. Due to an unexpected glove change it took me 1:02 to make it to the intersection with Turkey Pen Gap, which is a few minutes slow but I was back on track and at Buckhorn Gap in 1:30, Club Gap in under 2hrs and finished right at 2:30. Fun stuff!

The VerticAle Mile

2012-01-09T09:16:00.004-05:00

Three years ago at pmbar as we climbed up Squirrel Gap Toby told me about a local group of trail runners who do lots of really fun and somewhat crazy runs. When we got to Cantrell Creek there they were in the midst of a half marathon. They led us on the climb up to Laurel Gap and we chatted for a few minutes. Since then I have been monitoring their site and have been wanting to join them for a run but my long string of running injuries has stopped me from being able to until yesterday. I saw that they were doing a one mile beer run - the VerticAle Mile - and knew that even with a hurt foot I could run a mile and drink some beers. I might not be the best of runners but a mile isn't far and I've got the beer drinking down pat. So I signed up and took the dog out to see how we could do.

The idea was that we would drink four beers over the course of a mile run with a 650' vertical gain. First beer at the start and then another one every quarter mile. Easy enough, right? I figured I would be DFL but that was okay with me.

The route was up the gravel and then across the bald on Bearwallow Mountain - a place that Duma and I know well. We started by hiking up to the top to drop our beers along the way. On the way up it seemed like a really long way and the road seemed very steep and I was a little bit worried. Fortunately I knew that the four beers would help drown out any anxiety soon enough!

On the way up:

We walked back down dropping our beers along the way and then lined up at the start. Someone said "Go" and it was time to chug the first beer and then start running. I went to open my beer but my fingers were too cold to get under the tab to pop it open! Great, the 'race' had started and I couldn't even get my first beer open! I grabbed a stick off the ground and used it to pry the can open. Four long chugs and it was gone and I was finally out of the shoot. There were only four runners ahead of me so I figured even though my beer opening skills were sub-par at least my drinking skills were still sharp. I forced out a few burps along the way, squeezed through the gate and then was at beer #2 way too fast.

I got number two open without a problem, four more quick chugs and it was gone and I was off again, this time with only three other runners in front of me. A few more burps and I started to feel the heavy carbonation swishing around in my stomach but before I had a chance to think too much about it we hit the half way point and beer number three. Once again I got it right open, four gulps and was gone again, burping my way up the road.

Beer number four was at the point where we left the road and worked our way up the bald on a 16.67% grade to the top. By this point I was feeling pretty good about my beer drinking skills. I did my four gulps and was off again but this time had actually managed to beat Adam H. who had been in front of me out of the beer zone! I took off across the bald at a snails pace with a belly full of carbonation and realized that Terri had been right when she told me pounding beer and running was a lot harder than pounding beer and riding a bike! I was relived to see a runner in front of me walking so I did the same. Adam was right on our heels and Duma and I did our best to hold him back but there was only so much we could do and he passed us without a problem.

Adam on the final quarter mile:

The final stretch hurt but we staggered our way to the finish in 4th place with a time of 14:26:38! I was fully expecting to be ten minutes behind everyone else so we were happy with our performance. Of course everyone else there had run at least a mountain marathon the day before (like I said they are crazy)!

This was the most fun I have had in awhile and it was a great bunch of people. Even when Duma decided to show his butt they were all still very hospital to a drunken mountain biker and his crazy dog. Now I'm just hoping that I can get healthy enough to join them on more runs this year. Thanks for having me guys!

The group at the finish:

I took Terri's watch with me and managed to track my splits:

Beer one: 24.17
First 1/4 mile: 2.17.01
Beer two: 34.89
Second 1/4 mile: 2.47.38
Beer three: 34.49
Third 1/4 mile: 3.21.65
Beer four: 38.32
Final 1/4 mile: 3.48.41

After we ran back down picking up our cans along the way some of us chose to run up the trail to the top again to enjoy our buzz so Duma and I managed to go to the top three times total. Two times more than I anticipated but too much fun. Anyone who hasn't hiked or run the new trail to the top of Bearwallow should get out there and check it out as it is a really nice piece of single track!

While all the other runners had been out on Saturday running on the Tanahwa Trail on Grandfather Mountain I was out on my bike in Pisgah with Broussard. It was just another great day in the woods with the only notable things being that we rode over to Bent Creek and back and I finished by taking the entire length of North Mills River to finish. Nine river crossings in January is always fun!

Christmas In Pisgah

2011-12-25T19:48:00.004-05:00

What could be better than to spend Christmas Eve with a friend riding Black Mountain?

Discovering the Forest

2011-12-19T19:07:00.007-05:00

Saturday's ride was good but it had a lot of hiking. Normally I'm fine with walking next to my bike but with a bad foot it did me in. It isn't often I get to ride Graveyard Ridge, Ivestor Gap, Flat Laurel Creek and Summey Cove though so I'm not complaining in the least.

We had a group of five show up at the Fish Hatchery and took off for Black Balsam. The route quite simply kicked ass. Everyone who missed this ride missed one of the best rides of the year. It was almost as much of a hike as a mountain bike ride but the weather was unusually warm for this time of the year and we took in some amazing scenery on trails that mountain bikers normally do not get to enjoy.

At the start here was a 12 mile climb which was punctuated by two mandatory hike-a-bikes but accented by wide open views from above 5000'. Somewhere along the way I managed to flat while carrying my bike. No clue how that happened. Once we could finally ride again we were treated with the always wet, and rarely used by mountain bikers, Graveyard Ridge.

The whole stretch of Graveyard Ridge > Ivestor Gap > Flat Laurel Creek was pure gravy. Then we had a 5 mile 45mph roadie downhill on highway 215 that ended by slamming right into a hike-a-bike up Summey Cove. Wash it all down with a nice dose of Longbranch > Cat Gap and everyone was happy.

After doing so much hiking on Saturday I could hardly walk on Sunday so I took the dog out to a few of the last little pieces of Pisgah I have left to explore. Starting from the Pink Beds we hobbled our way around Forest Discovery trail and Biltmore Campus trail.

Forest Discovery was surprisingly long and hard (thanks to the foot) but still fun. We took it slow and read all the signs and enjoyed having this ribbon of asphalt all to ourselves.

I've heard rumors of abandoned train engines in the forest before and finally found one!

The history was great and I learned quite a bit. It was fun imagining what it was like a hundred years ago and marveling at how the forest has changed.

Biltmore Campus was thankfully much shorter and had all the old buildings to look at. I'll have to go back when it is open so I can see inside the buildings!

too much of everything is just enough

2011-12-10T18:41:00.005-05:00

I probably should have never mentioned having started running again. I went running Friday:

South Mills River > Mullinax > Squirrel Gap > Pounding Mill > ? > Mullinax > South Mills River

And now I can hardly walk. I don't know what I did to my foot but whatever it is isn't good. Saturday, I was sure it was broken; Sunday it felt just as broken. Today it feels a little better so there is hope.

The best I could manage on Saturday was to hobble a little way up Andy Cove:

Then I stumbled my way back to The Hub where Duma and I spent the rest of the afternoon.

A man can't just sit around and do nothing for long so Sunday morning I went out to Pisgah to try and keep up with a PAS group and see how the foot felt. It hurt. So I got my feet wet at every opportunity to keep it numb. That plan worked fine but I still bailed at the bottom of Bennett.

cadillac rainbows

2011-12-07T18:38:00.005-05:00

I've started running a little again and with today being a rainy and dreary day I decided to make the best of it so I loaded up the dog and headed to Pisgah for a fun little six mile out and back. When we got to the trail it was still raining hard so we sat in the truck and listened to Pink Floyd's Sheep and once the song was over the rain had passed and the sun peaked out for the first time of the day.

Our trail of choice was an overlooked little gem in the Cradle of Forestry:

I have only been on Barnett Branch one other time and had forgotten about all the unmarked turns. Outside of the wilderness areas Pisgah is very well marked and tricky turns are very few but Barnett has a few. This big arrow pointing the way is reminiscent of the very big arrow on Little East Fork:

The whole way to the top there wasn't a drop of rain in the sky and the sun was playing games behind the clouds making for a perfect late fall mountain run.

Up at the intersection with Black Mtn. trail on Soapstone Ridge was a spectacular experience. A single moment after that picture was taken the wind blew in a deep and heavy fog:

That immediately gave way to a steady freezing rain and we turned and started our run back down in winter conditions. The descent was good and fun with the rain making me feel like a kid splashing my way through mud puddles.

At the bridge just past the intersection with the Pink Beds the rain let up and once again the weather turned on a dime and the sun peaked out. That could only mean one thing and I looked up to see a rainbow over the Pink Beds:

end of the fall

2011-12-06T10:34:00.003-05:00

Late fall in Pisgah is one of my favorite times. The leaves are down and the views are open and the weather is as unpredictable as it gets.

Last Tuesday I took Duma out for a after work run to celebrate the first winter weather day of the year. Out and back on Black to the top of Hikcory Knob seemed like just enough.

Wednesday was notable because I actually made Wednesday Night Drinking Club for the first time in Months.

Saturday I was up before the sun and Duma and I headed to Montreat for a good hike. I haven't explored Montreat much and have been wanting to go up to the top of Greybeard for awhile now and Saturday was the day. I'd wanted to be on the trail before sunrise but a last minute decision to hike instead of run slowed me down and we weren't started until just after sunrise.

Within ten minutes of being on the trail the sun broke over top of the nearest ridge and from then on we were hiking in splendid sunshine with plenty of warmth.

We made good time on the way up and were at the top in well under two hours. Fantastic views abounded and we took a minute to enjoy them.

At the intersection with the West Ridge Trail there was a gate and a lot of signs warning about the trail ahead.

We had planned on going out and back on Greybeard but with an invitation like that we just couldn't pass it up so the West Ridge it was. This stretch of trail is also known as Seven Sisters and immediately became a favorite of mine. It is a ridge top run that at times gets razor sharp and has plenty of rock shoots to keep it interesting.

It alternated between buff dirt ribbons of trail and twisted rocky bits of shoots and ladders like hiking.

And matter where you looked glorious views abounded.

Real good stuff! We'll be back!

I was home by noon and was back out to the woods to meet Dennis for a Pisgah ride just a few hours later. We started out by taking a gated but unsigned and unmapped road that I have always wondered about. It wasn't very exciting but I did finally learn where this sign leads:

From there it was on up to the top of Black.

Black back down was a blast. Super fast descending. We got done just as the sun was setting and I was done for the day.

Sunday morning it was right back to Black but this time straight up to Pressley Gap for a little trail work. I did my part to ensure that really big rocks stay a part of this trail.

Hey look it's Nick! Hi Nick!

balling that mountain

2011-11-20T21:39:00.004-05:00

I worked all weekend but still got out to have some fun when I could.

This afternoon I got home at 4 and grabbed the pack and the dog and headed off to hit the top of Ball Mountain. As I was jumping in the truck I spotted my headlamp on my workbench and threw it in the pack at the last possible moment. That was a good move as the days are growing short and even the smallest of mountains take a little time to get to the top of and of course you still have to get back down again.

Ball Mountain as viewed from the parkway:

Wide open woods and easy bushwhacking, at or around Ball Gap:

At the top there were a score or so of very old stone mounds. Who can tell me what these are?

View from the top:

Saturday after work I met Dennis and we did:

South Mills River > Mullinax > Squirrel Gap > Cantrell Creek > South Mills River > Wagon Rd. Gap (HIKE) > Turkey Pen Gap

It was four years to the day I broke my hand on Cantrell. Here is Dennis on Cantrell riding some trail work I did recently:

Friday I rode with Dennis after work as well except I suffered multiple flats and bailed back down to the truck before anything was photo worthy.

Thursday I rode with Pura Vida Joe. We did:
477 > Clawhammer > Black > Buckwheat > Bennett

Joe on Black:

a half mile less

2011-11-14T18:54:00.002-05:00

There are only a few miles of designated trails in the Pisgah Ranger District that I have not seen. Mainly a few very small pieces of the Art Loeb and Mountains to Sea but also an entire trail - Pilot Rock Extension. You'd think with so little left I'd be in a hurry to knock off those final miles but I'm not. For the last year I've been waiting for the right time to explore those final trails and instead have been spending my idle time crawling through rhododendron in search of waterfalls and mountain tops. Saturday afternoon I found myself on Yellow Gap Rd. with the dog and instead of bushwhacking to the top of Rich Mtn. as I had initially planned we decided the time was right for the Pilot Rock extension trail. I'd been past the trail many times but had never gone more than 50 yards up it.

At a half mile long I wasn't expecting much out of the trail but like always I was wrong and the trail was a nice surprise. There were several nice overlooks and lots of little rocks and of course one very big rock. I was tempted to walk/climb up it but decided not to do anything stupid so I settled for just looking at it.

Once we hit the end of the trail we just kept going. We skirted the edge of the rock until it ended and then we did a short bushwhack down to FR5014. Since Pilot Rock had been so much fun I set our sights on the base of Slate Rock. Slate Rock has always intrigued me more than Pilot Rock so I took a bearing on it and we bushwhacked in a straight line for it. We hit Pilot Cove - Slate Rock trail without a problem but soon after crossing the trail the going got very rough. Lots of very tight rhodo and green briars made for an unpleasant experience for such a nice day. If that wasn't bad enough there were three very steep and deep gullies that we had to traverse. I kept checking the map to see why such an apparently flat trail was so dense and angry. I was expecting a casual walk through a nice fern forest but instead we were wrestling our way through a rain forest. Imagine that.

We got very close to the base of the rock but I decided that was enough and we turned around and began wresting our way back. The return trip was slightly easier and when I saw a mountain biker gliding through the woods just a few feet in front of us I knew we were saved. I'm guessing there is a much easier way to the base of the rock, likely by skirting the edge via the switchback on Pilot Cove Loop, and I plan on going back and exploring it further.

On the return trip back to the truck we hit one more rock I have been wondering about. From the top of Pilot Rock you can see a flat rock on top of a little knob somewhere near the bottom of the trail. A short bushwhack and we were there. Dividing Ridge:

Sunday I met Dennis in Pisgah for a fun little loop:

276 > 477 > Clawhammer > Buckhorn Gap > South Mills River > Pink Beds > 276 > 477 > Club Gap > Buckwheat Knob > Bennett Gap > 477 > 276

At Buckhorn Gap we heard brakes coming down the backside of Black and this gentleman came through the trees. It was his first ride in Pisgah and he had just come up Black. He asked "Are the Blue trails more difficult? There was a lot of walking back there." But he had an enormous smile and remarked how incredible the ridge top was.

I assured him that continuing on Black to Buckwheat and Bennett was a better idea than taking the entire length of South Mills River, all 14 river crossing, and then going up Turkey Pen Gap. And we went our separate ways.

The Pink Beds kick ass!

Dennis is just coming back after having surgery and has graduated up to big wheels. He used to be an extremely impressive technical climber and I was curious to see how the big wheels and hard tail would change that. Well, he almost cleaned Club Gap:

Now that the leaves are down Bennett is riding better than ever!

Lance Mountain and Grassy Knob

2011-11-09T09:13:00.002-05:00

Now that the weather is turning cold again the snakes and bees are back in their holes and the briers are receding, off trail travel easier and safer so Duma and I headed out over the weekend for a little peak bagging, Pisgah style. Starting from Walnut Cove overlook we first headed to the top of the 3000' Lance Mountain. We found a surprise at the top that had us looking for the fast way back down instead of poking around for a summit marker. I was hesitant to even take a picture but did snap a quick one of Duma near the top before we made our hasty retreat.

Then it was back on the Mountains to Sea and on to the top of Grassy Knob. We opted to bushwhack up the East face instead of circling around on the MTS in search of a trail to the top. It was a fun but very steep little bushwhack with amazing views all the way around. Not much to see at the top and no marker to be found. There was a trail, as expected, and we took it back down instead of doing more bushwhacking.

Looking up at Grassy Knob:

Sunday I spent on Cantrell Creek doing a little trail work. We got this mud hole drained and rock armored:

Four years ago I broke my hand at this very spot on Cantrell Creek:

More drainage work there as well as at this spot a little further down the trail:

shoot out at candy bottoms

2011-11-03T20:25:00.003-04:00

I guess I'm not going to do a full Double Dare race report, whatever that might be, but I am going to share my checkpoint pictures.

Club Gap:

Saddle Gap:

Black at Turkey Pen:

Wagon Road Gap:

Mullinax at South Mills River:

Laurel Gap:

Sunset on the way to Turkey Spring:

Mount Pisgah:

Out of time:

double dare dfl

2011-10-31T12:31:00.006-04:00

When Lee Simiril asked me at the top of Pilot Rock if we were headed up Mt. Pisgah I lied and said we didn't know. He then he said they were planning on it but were worried it was going to take too long. I told him I knew how long it was going to take. He had been told an hour and a half round trip and I said that was ambitious unless they were running. We were thinking it could take up to three hours round trip and knew we would really be pushing it to get there and still make it back to Cove Creek before midnight. The Simirils did the correct thing and skipped the six mile hike while we went for it.

The question was how many checkpoints do you need to win the Double Dare? Based on previous years we knew you need at least 19, if not 20, to win. When we got the passports at noon on Saturday we knew we couldn't get all 12 cps. We could easily get 7, probably 8, and maybe 9. But seven would never be enough to win and eight probably wouldn't cut it either but if we could get nine we would be in good shape come daybreak on Sunday. So, nine it was. Sometimes you have to take the gamble and that is what we did.

We lost the gamble. While it is disappointing to only have raced one of the two days I have no regrets over our decision. It is sort of strange when I think about it: I used to do these races with my goal being to simply finish but now I find myself actually trying to win. It is strange because I'm not a very competitive person but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. It used to be that just going for the finish really pushed my limits, which is what I am after, but now that I have done the race five times it takes more than just finishing to test myself like that. This year it was about the gamble. We took a chance and lost and that is it.

It was still a great day in the woods - some of the most fun I have ever had! Just 60 miles with 18,000' of climbing on single speeds made it more of a hike than a bike ride. Add some freezing temperatures and a late night of drinking and raising hell and it was an Adventure in Pisgah for sure! Full details and pictures to come.

Here is the head honcho at Farlow Gap on Sunday. I'm never riding a bicycle up there again!

i double dare you

2011-10-28T11:20:00.002-04:00

The day before my first Double Dare it rained. That was 1996, which seems like an eternity ago, I'd only been riding for a year and it was my third race ever. At 5pm that rainy Friday I got a call from the LBS that the shock I'd been waiting for had just come in. I rushed over to pick it up before they closed and then rushed home to get it installed. I had to transfer all the parts off my hard tail onto the squishy bike so it was quite the process. I got it all done around 10pm and when I tried to test ride it in the kitchen I discovered the new shock was the wrong size. There was no way it was going to work. So, a quick run to the store for a second pizza and a second twelve pack and then it was right back to transferring all the parts from the squishy bike back to the hard tail. I won't even go into how I still had to pack for the race and drive from Charlotte.

That year I think we got four checkpoints the first day and three the second day. It was my partners first time riding Pisgah and those meager seven checkpoints still made for quite a challenging weekend. It was won by Zach Broussard and Nick Kindt who reached an amazing 20 checkpoints over the course of the race. If you would have told me then that five years later I would be racing with Broussard for the second time as real contenders I would never have believed you!

I haven't been doing much this week. Just standing around watching the world glide by:

Of course I had to do some light bike testing so I hit Bear Branch one day and got a few geocaches in the process.

Gnome Freedom Project:

Death to Film Canisters:

Yesterday I went to a hidden little corner of Pisgah where I go sometimes when I just want to get in an easy little mini ride.

I'd tell you where it is but that would spoil the fun!

season opener

2011-10-17T21:43:00.002-04:00

The seasonal trails opened at midnight on Friday and WNDC was there to celebrate on Bennett. The night started with three of us getting lost on Sycamore Cove (seriously) and didn't let up from there. I've never had such a good time in my life before!

Saturday I went right back out to where we had been the night before and stopped to take a few pictures of the waterfall on Avery Creek before heading up Clawhammer Cove with the dog. After that it was to The Hub, of course!

Sunday it was off to The Pink Beds with a few fine ladies for a fun little loop. After the ride they drove back down the mountain to get lunch and I rode back down via Bennett and Coontree. When I got to the bottom of Coontree I turned around and went right back up and then down the bottom of Bennett to avoid as much of 276 as possible. Then it was off to The Hub once again!

gnome games

2011-10-09T19:22:00.002-04:00

Saturday Yuri, the Pisgah Gnome and I took Big Creek to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then hiked to the top of Mount Pisgah. I had a work appointment at 4pm in Lake Lure and was going to bail down Trace Ridge when Yuri came up with the brilliant idea of just going back down Big Creek. What took over an hour to hike up took less than ten minutes to ride down. That is what Pisgah is all about, fuck the world!

cover up the blank spots

2011-10-06T22:09:00.003-04:00

Not too much to say recently, just more of the same old same old. Lots of good rides along the way. Autumn has come to Pisgah and what I consider the start of the big riding season has begun. Laurel to Big Creek solo in the dark last night was way too much fun but somehow still leaves me feeling a little empty inside.

Sometimes I wonder where I'm going and what I'm going for. I still very much have Trans Georgia on my mind. Lots of unfinished business there. Tray Mountain still haunts my dreams and makes my nightmares. Often I find myself wishing I was drinking in a bar in Helen, a hundred miles into some 'race', with 250 more miles still to go and all night left to ride. Or walk. Is that what it takes to feel alive? Being beyond exhausted and walking up yet another mountain, wondering where and when I'll finally collapse and call it a night? Do you think about these things? The why and the what for? Is there something wrong with me? Am I talking to myself again?

I don't know what I'm going for, but I'm going to go for it, for sure.

Hit me on the head! Here are some pictures, I know that is all you came here for anyway:

Caution: Do not stop on tracks!

At least someone likes to play:

Somewhere along the way:

Broussard on Avery:

Black:

Sycamore:

Do I win? I think I win!

Oh, wait, maybe I don't win. It looks like my one sock is all wrong!

Lower Greasy Falls

2011-09-19T09:40:00.002-04:00

Saturday I took the dog out to Shining Rock Wilderness to look for a waterfall or two that I've heard are on Greasy Cove Prong. An internet search reveals several pictures of various falls on Greasy but I couldn't find directions or anything else about them and considering that the Greasy Cove trail is perhaps the most remote and seldom used trail in Shining Rock it sounded like the perfect place for us to go looking for a waterfall.

We took the fast way there - Bridges Camp Gap and were into the wilderness right away.

I've been on these trails many times and am always amazed at the logging relics that are still scattered about. Hard to believe they were able to get rail lines up these mountains.

I only had a vague idea of where the waterfalls might be and had to stop many times to try and figure out where the best place to leave the trail to find them was. Often times there are established trails that lead to waterfalls, sometimes they are very faint but usually I'll find some sort of hint of where people are accessing them from. There were no signs of people leaving the trail anywhere on Greasy Cove so when we hit the 4800' point where the trail leaves the stream side and begins to climb steeply I knew it was time to start the bushwhack. This was a very tough bushwhack and I would only advise attempting it if you are very confident with off trail travel. It took a lot of work to get back down to the stream and once we were down there it proved impossible to hike up the stream. If I didn't have Duma with me I probably could have made it up the stream bed but there was no way a hundred pound dog was going to be able work his way up and around all the boulders so we had to go back up the hill a little and keep working our way upstream that way.

Greasy Cove Prong was full of small waterfalls. It seemed like every time I caught a glimpse of the stream there was a waterfall or two.

I knew none of these small falls were what I was looking for. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for but knew I would know it when I saw it. After wrestling our way through the brush for an eternity longer we popped out onto a cliff edge and there it was.

It was a major waterfall with at least three levels but we couldn't get to a decent vantage point from the cliff where we were perched and had to once again bushwhack through the heavy brush to try and get to a spot to take a picture. It took us three tries but eventually Duma and I made it down to the base of the waterfall and got our picture.

It was tough to shoot and the picture only shows a very small portion of the waterfall and doesn't do it justice at all. This is a very big waterfall that I'm guessing very few people make it to and we felt lucky to be there. At the base was a very nice swimming hole that we had to take a quick dip in regardless of the air temperature.

During the bushwhack back out Duma chased a bear for a few minutes and after he came back I decided not to push our luck by heading further up the stream to look for more waterfalls. The terrain was very challenging and we had already gotten what we came for so back up to the trail we went.

If you go looking for this waterfall be sure you know what you are doing and be careful!

Big Butt

2011-09-12T13:36:00.003-04:00

It feels good to be home and not really training for anything. Saturday I went for a mini Pisgah ride: 276 > 477 > Clawhammer > Maxwell Cove > Black > Thrift Cove > Grassy Rd > Sycamore Cove. Just 14 miles.

Sunday I loaded up the dog and headed into the Blacks for a good old fashioned hike. I headed to a trail that has intrigued me for awhile: Big Butt. Starting from Mile Post 360 on the Blue Ridge Parkway this trail traverses the Brush Fence Ridge which is approximately one ridge West of Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountain Crest trail. I've been eying this trail on the map for awhile as it is a high ridge that would seem to be fairly remote and with a knob named Point Misery it has been on my to do list for awhile.

I didn't do the whole trail - I only went as far as the top of Big Butt (via a bushwhack, of course), saving the last knob and 1500' descent for another day - but what I did see was not what I expected but also did not disappoint.

There was active trail work going on. It looked to be contracted and was quite impressive. It was all hand done and was several miles into a rugged trail. They were tearing out old steps and putting in new ones as well as cutting drains into the trail.

There were hundreds of these 8' 8x8's that they were carrying by hand two miles down the trail. They probably weigh well over 100 pounds each and all two guys did all day was move them around.

New staircase:

Point Misery was anything but miserable. In fact, it was actually quite pleasant. The grade was gentle to get to it and the trail in great shape. Not much to see though.

The climb up to Little Butt was extremely steep for a short stretch. There was a long staircase built, without it this would have been a very tough 250' scramble. I have a hunch all the 8x8's they are staging are going to be used to rebuild this staircase that snakes up the mountain:

There was a nice look out at or around Little Butt:

Point Misery in the foreground and Mt. Mitchell in the background:

The rest of the Black Mtn. Crest:

After Little Butt there was an out of this world high rhododendron tunnel section that was unique and a real pleasure to walk:

Fall is coming:

A quick bushwhack up to the top of Big Butt was required to find this marker:

Big bears like Big Butts?

TNGA Day 2

2011-09-12T09:43:00.002-04:00

I didn't get much sleep for the few hours I laid down thanks to the local wildlife but at 7am Sunday morning I didn't feel too bad as I got ready to get back on the bike. As I was packing up Fusco, Party of 3, came up the road and we said hello as they rolled over the top. Then as I worked my way along Helton Creek I passed Justin Pokrivka camped in a picturesque spot along the creek looking like he was having a nice and leisurely Sunday morning. He later passed me past Vogel State Park as I slowly walked my way up some mountain.

I wasn't feeling too good at that point. The big miles and big climbs of the day before combined with a lack of sleep and poor nutrition had taken their toll on me. My knees were fine, or at least as good as could be expected, but my right Achilles was killing me. I was a little worried about it and couldn't decide if walking or riding was better for it but decided walking was easier so that is what I did. I also noted how much the various factors played a role in my moods. At this point it was all a mental game so the more I knew about what was going on the better chance I stood at beating it. When it was hot and I was walking up yet another mountain I wanted to quit and go home. When I was hungry I wanted to quit. But when I got a long downhill or a nice cool stretch it was the BEST THING EVER and I felt like I could ride forever.

I got my first real food of the race at a gas station around Cooper Creek. It was a grilled cheese and took forever for the guy to make but patience is a virtue so I waited patiently. As I waited up rolled who else but Fusco, Party of 3. They should have been way in front of me but when I pointed that out Curtis told me that I was the one who was supposed to be in front of them. I ate my grilled cheese and followed them on down the road.

It was flat and easy cruising and I had some real food and once again I was having the time of my life. After a nice stretch along the river there was a gas station with a restaurant and Fusco, Party of 3 were sitting out front. I had just eaten but it seemed like a good idea to eat again so I ordered a fish sandwich and we sat around and chatted while it was cooked. Of course it took forever to cook but it wasn't like we were in a race or anything. When it did come it was the best food I have ever had. We ate fast and prepared to roll out when up rode Ruth. It was like we had the band back together again. We all left the restaurant separately but arrived at the next section of trail together.

I must say I was very impressed with the race route from what I saw of it. Although there wasn't much single track in the first half of the race the gravel was surprisingly enjoyable and it made for a good single speed route. The course seemed to either be straight up or straight down without too much flat stuff. The single track that was there was fun, often fast and flowy but also at times technical.

It took us a minute to find the start of the Long Branch trail as it seemed to have been recently rerouted and didn't quite match up to the gps track. Once on it the trail started climbing steeply and Ruth put on one of the most impressive climbing clinics I have ever seen. For most people even when fresh this trail would have been a push but Ruth managed to ride almost all of it. Her climbing prowess is right up there with people who can climb most of Black Mountain. Very impressive, especially for already being 150+ miles into a race!

About halfway up this mountain I ran out of water. It wasn't 100 degrees like the day before but it was still quite hot and I knew I would need water soon so I tried to heed Ruth's advice that it isn't hard as long as you don't try too hard and got back on my bike and pulled ahead of the others in search of something wet. The climb took longer than expected and I was seriously thirsty when the trail finally topped out. There was a long and fun downhill that followed but all I could think about was finding something to drink. Once I got back to the gravel road there was a muddy little stream and I dipped my bottles in it and took a minute to fiddle with my gear as I waited for the bleach to take effect. The others passed me as I stood on the side of the road and I was sure that was the last I would see of them as a flat section was coming up and with their fancy big rings I didn't stand a chance of keeping up.

The imminent rain was still very much on my mind and somewhere out on the pavement it started to rain. This day had been taking longer than expected due in a large part to the leisurely pace I had been taking and with still well over a hundred miles to ride rain didn't sound like too much fun and I knew I had to try and plan for as much comfort as I could manage. So, at the first drops of rain I took off my mostly dry jersey and put it in my dry bag so when I finally crashed for the night I would have something dry to wear. I went on ahead in just my bib shorts not planning on seeing anyone else along the way.

Of course Fusco, Party of 3, and Ruth were a short way up the road stopped at a church getting water so I pulled up to join them and we all got a kick out of my Strong Man at the Circus outfit.

At this point we were getting close to Mulberry Gap, or we should have been getting close anyway, and Ruth was going to stay with Fusco, Party of 3, for the night and I kind of decided to just tag along with them as well. We were having fun and being with friends really helped keep my mind off the suffering at hand. There was a long climb up to Watson Gap and I felt good and strong. It was over 12 hours since I had walked up the climb past Vogel and now I was actually riding my bike again – crazy how things change! I still took it easy and got off and walked some just to keep it mixed up. After the climb up to Watson Gap there was yet another climb up to yet another gap and I kept doing the math in my head of when we should get to Mulberry Gap. We had been thinking it was 210 miles to Mulberry but somewhere along the way we realized it was 225 miles. Fifteen miles might not sound like a lot but it is. We all talked about how far we were trying to get that night and what our plans were.

I desperately wanted to get past Mulberry Gap before I crashed for the night. My truck was at Mulberry as well as a lot of other comforts and I was worried if I stopped there I wouldn't be able to bring myself to start again in the middle of a tropical storm. I think the rain was on all of our minds. We knew it was coming and knew it was going to make for an absolutely miserable day or couple of days. My plan was to ride as long as I possibly could before the rain came. I was hoping to make it past Mulberry Gap but would just have to see how things played out. We weren't making good time and with several mechanicals along the way seemed to be doing more stopping than riding. It didn't bother me, we had all night and there was no need to hurry. Somewhere along the way we rode some single track and got our first taste of the Pinhoti.

Around midnight the others decided to call it a night while I kept going. I dug out my safety kit, got my mp3 player out, had a few swigs of whiskey and kept rolling trying to beat the rain past Mulberry Gap. The single track was slow going but was still a lot of fun and I felt like I could ride all night. My navigation system was working perfectly – I had no idea where I was but had no need to know, my gps would beep any time I approached a turn – and there was no place I would have rather been than where I was right then - somewhere in Georgia in the middle of the night by myself with just a bicycle and a few things on my back.

There was an enormous 400 year old Poplar tree on Bear Creek trail that I just had to stop at. You don't often see trees this big and I was thinking how it would be a great place to camp under other circumstances when the first rain drops fell.

I was within five miles of Mulberry Gap but didn't want to stop there out of fear of not starting again so I decided the big tree was good enough for the night. I scrambled to try and find two suitable trees for my hammock and once again fumbled with the knots before finally getting it set up. I picked the two worst possible trees and got set up just 15 feet from the creek. I quickly found better trees I could have used on higher ground but it was raining hard by that time so I decided what I had was good enough. I took off my riding shorts for the first time of the weekend and was greeted by a very rancid odor. Maybe I had used too much chamios cream or something!

I got in my hammock around 3am, had my last few swigs of whiskey and tried to find a country station on my mp3 player. I was down in a hollow and there were no fm radio signals so it was off to sleep while a tropical storm settled in overhead. The rain was very hard but my set up was surprisingly good and dry and I actually got a full night's sleep.

Monday morning I slept in. At 7am I woke up but the rain was very hard so I rolled over and went back to bed. At 9am I woke up again to still more hard rain and tried to decide what to do. I wanted to finish the race but with a full day of hard rain ahead I wouldn't be finishing that day. I was tempted to just stay where I was and wait out the storm from my hammock under my tarp but my set up was far from ideal and was too close to the creek which could easily have flooded. I knew I couldn't ride out the last 130 miles to the finish in the middle of the rain storm and even if my body could have handled it my bike and especially brakes would not have been able to. So I packed up in the rain and decided to try and make it to Ramhurst or Dalton where I could get a hotel room and wait out the storm.

The next few miles down to Mulberry Gap came easily enough even with the rain. It was a tough decision what to do. I wanted to finish and to set the single speed course record but even if I did the record would not have held and two days of misery seemed to be on my horizon. When I got out onto the gravel road that leads to Mulberry Gap I kept telling myself not to go to Mulberry Gap and instead to just make the left turn onto the Pinhoti and stay on course and finish the thing out. I had myself resolved and convinced and was going to keep going when a car pulled up and told me they were calling the race. “Okay,” is all I said and rode off to Mulberry Gap. No need to argue.

Fusco, Party of 3, a few hours later:

TNGA Day 1

2011-09-10T08:28:00.003-04:00

The Trans North Georgia Adventure is a 350 mile mountain bike race across the North Georgia mountains. Racers start at the South Carolina border and then race across the state to the Alabama border. It is a self supported race in the same spirit as the Tour Divide and Colorado Trail Race. Georgia might not sound like the best choice for a trans state race but with a wide variety of terrain and 56,000' of climbing along the way Georgia might just surprise you.

I went into the race well prepared in my mind. I'd been preparing for the TNGA since spring and had done multiple gear tests and had practiced riding at odd hours and on little sleep. I did two 100 mile Pisgah rides over the summer. I had never done an event like this before but had a hunch about what to expect so I tried to prepare the best that I could. My goal was to set the single speed course record. I knew I was going to face competition but figured I stood a real chance at it but it wasn't going to be easy.

In the two weeks leading up to the race my left knee became inflamed again and I was secretly more than a little concerned that it might not be able to 350 hard miles. When a tropical storm entered the forecast for Monday and Tuesday I made some last minute gear changes and headed down to Mulberry Gap with a head full of questions. There was an odd vibe at Mulberry Gap, a lot of nervous energy, so I kept to myself and tried to relax. I got to bed late and with the shuttle leaving for the start at 4am I was sleep deprived before the race even started.

Two other single speeders were there: Scott McConnell and Mark Sackett. Both are strong riders so I knew I had some competition indeed. My plan was to go slow and steady and to ride for a long time each day. I had never ridden or even seen any of the course before so I was going into it blind. I had my gps with the route and track loaded into it and the cue sheets but had opted not to carry maps. At 8am we rolled over the state line in the middle of the Chattooga River and I settled into dead last as the race started with several flat miles. Last is where I wanted to be as I wanted to let my knees warm up slowly and wanted to test my navigation system. Everyone else took off at what seemed like a blistering pace. I knew I would be catching and passing riders eventually but was surprised when I didn't see the first rider until the second climb, ten or so miles into the race. Shortly thereafter I passed a half dozen or more racers on the way to highway 441 where the town of Dillard offered the first chance of resupply. It was off course and I wasn't planning leaving the route or stopping for a break until I got to Helen at the 100 mile mark so I rolled right past the turn and stayed on route.

I was now 30 miles into the race and from what other racers had been saying the first 30 miles were supposed to be the hardest. Regardless of the amount of climbing I knew for me there was no way the first 30 miles could be harder than the last 50. As I worked my way across some backroads and then through the flats along the Tallulah River I was feeling good. My IT bands had been rubbing and threatening to agitate my knees but that had worked its way out as I gradually warmed up. It was very hot out, pushing 100, but I was drinking a lot seemed to have my electrolytes in check. I was feeling good and looking forward to the race ahead but in the back of mind I was having visions of hanging in my hammock somewhere along the Pinhotti as a tropical storm passed by overhead.

Somewhere along the way I had passed a trio of riders I knew: Matt and Jeff Fusco and Curtis Burge and they passed me back just before I pulled into Moccasin State Park. We would continue this game of hopscotch for the remainder of the race. I stopped at Moccasin for water and more chamois cream (in the end I would go through almost an entire tube of the stuff) and Fusco, Party of 3, were right there with me. Ruth Cunningham pulled in a minute later. Both Ruth and Matt had done the race last year so I took a minute to ask them some questions about what was coming up and where they were planning on spending the night. It sounded like there were two big climbs before we got to Helen and then one big climb shortly after Helen. I made a mental note and resolved to at least top the climb after Helen before calling it a night.

On the climb up Wildcat the five of us stayed pretty much together with me pulling slightly ahead as I walked my way to the top. I rolled over the top and had a nice gravel descent to recover on. Then a short pavement stretch before heading up FR698 which took us right back up the other side of the mountain we had just climbed and descended. This climb was a dozy and I took it nice and slow. I knew Fusco, Party of 3, and Ruth weren't too far behind but no matter how slow I walked they never caught me. Somewhere along the way the sun set and I put on my lights but there were still no lights behind me. Down the backside of Tray Mountain I went with Helen so close it seemed like I would be there by 10:30.

The gravel roads I was riding got very rough and then at what I know now is the start of the Hickory Nut Trail I had a hard time finding the trail and got stumped for the first time of the day. The road I was on ended and there were two old roads to the left and the right. I took the right and it quickly died out and I was off the track. I went back to the gap and took the left road but it too died out and was off the track. So, back to the gap I went. I was 100 miles in and had only stopped long enough to get water all day so I decided it was time for a break. I sat down and called Terri. She asked how it was going and I said good, but slow. She said, what do you mean slow? I've been watching you on the computer and you have been in 4th or 5th place all day. Huh? How can that be? I had thought that everyone else was still in front of me. It never occurred to me that a lot of people had likely gone off route to resupply along the way. I knew I was in front of one of the single speeders but figured Mark Sackett had to be one of the four in front of me.

I then told Terri how I was currently stumped at a section of trail and was thinking about pulling out the hammock and getting some rest and then pushing on to Helen in the morning. She told me it was still early and to take a quick nap if I needed to but reminded me I was prepared to ride long hours. It was 10:30 at night, I was somewhere in Georgia, perhaps near Helen, and had already been riding a bicycle for 14 hours and my girlfriend was telling me to keep going. Now that's support!

I decided to take a quick break and then to just follow the gps track even if it meant bushwhacking all the way to Helen. I hung up the phone, pulled out my safety kit, had a swig of whiskey, got my mp3 player and cued up a 1973 Dark Star for the adventure ahead. Just as I was getting ready to follow the gps track four lights appeared in front of me and Fusco, Party of 3, and Ruth came rolling up. We all figured out the trail together and took off on our first real bit of trail of the race. It was fast and technical and very overgrown. It was surprisingly challenging and I could not have been having any more fun. While walking up Tray Mountain had been a low point, riding Hickory Nut in the middle of the night with friends was a soaring high point. I felt like all of Georgia was mine and I could ride all night! At the bottom Matt Fusco broke his derrailluer hanger and everyone else stopped at Unicoi State park as he fixed it while I pushed ahead.

It was after midnight when I got to Robertstown and the gas station where I so desperately needed supplies was closed so I had to ride all the way into Helen. I didn't want to leave the route but I needed to eat something other than gels and bars for a change. Almost everything in Helen was closed except for the many bars and a single gas station. I managed to stock up on some food and fluid and headed right back out of of town aiming for the top of the next climb at Hog Pen Gap.

It was 7 miles up scenic highway 348 to the gap and those 7 miles tested me like I have never been tested before. The high from the Hickory Nut downhill was completely gone and I was hitting yet another wall. I was completely spent and was walking almost everything. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't bring myself to get back on the bike. I had my mp3 player on and that helped but didn't make the miles come any faster. Seven miles is a long way to walk and I wasn't surprised when near the top a bicycle light appeared behind me. I kept walking forward and eventually Shey Linder caught up to me. He has started the route several times and got off and walked a bit and we chatted some. He had slept in Helen and was looking strong and fresh and was intent on finishing. Just as easily as had appeared behind me he quickly disappeared in front of me.

Like always nothing lasts and those seven miles eventually ended and I found myself at the top of the hill at Hog Pen Gap. I knew there would be a long downhill and somewhere down there a place called Vogel State Park that was supposed to be a good place to spend the night but it was already 3am and I knew I should sleep soon so Hog Pen Gap it was. If I would have known that bears would prevent me from sleeping I would have probably kept going just a little bit further.

The Bear Story

2011-09-06T11:39:00.004-04:00

When I hit the gravel Mulberry Gap road late yesterday morning I was 52 hours and 225 miles in to the race and was looking for any good excuse to quit. I was tired, that was an excuse, but not a good one. It was raining but I wasn't hypothermic and could always just hold up somewhere and wait it out in my hammock under my tarp but that didn't seem like a good excuse either. I was resolved to try and beat the mental game and finish the race when the car pulled up and told me they were calling the race due the weather. I said okay and let them quit for me and went to Mulberry Gap and had a shower and a beer.

I'm too tired to write up a full Trans Georgia race report right now but will tell you a little story from it:

It was 3am Sunday morning and I'd been going at a steady clip for the past 19 hours when I pulled out my hammock at Hog Pen Gap for a little rest. I'd made it one third of the way to the finish line and was right on track for finishing in under three days. It was a brutal 7 mile walk up to Hog Pen Gap and I was done for the night. After what seemed like an eternity of looking for two suitable trees for my hammock I got it set up and walked up the hill a little bit to urinate when I saw the signs warning against bears. They were very explicit in the warning: Aggressive bears in the area and you should have all odorous items in a bear canister. If you didn't have a bear canister it said you must properly hang anything no less than 12' off the ground.

Fuck! The drunk local guy in the bar in Helen I had been bullshitting with a few hours ago had warned me about bears up there as well. I was tired and was going to crash there regardless. I managed to get most of my food about seven feet off the ground and crawled in my hammock.

I woke up to them around 4:30. No question about it - there was at least one bear very close, if not two. I yelled and blew my whistle and threw rocks and sticks and they retreated.

Thirty minutes later they were back, this time about thirty feet off my left side, and were focused on my food bag. I'd worked hard to get to Helen to buy that food and I needed that food and I'd be damned if I was going to let some pesky bears take it from me so I yelled and whistled and threw rocks again and they very slowly retreated. A little while later I lifted my head and shined my red led light around and picked up two very big eyes sitting just up the hill a little way looking at me. I jumped out of the hammock and put the spot light on and threw rocks and yelled and ran up the hill and he very slowly ambled off again. Thirty minutes later he was back on my right side. Thirty minutes after that I decided to just pack up and get back on the bike.

And that is the way the first night went for me, just a little minor episode in the midst of an epic adventure.

so many roads to go

2011-09-02T09:41:00.002-04:00

Well, the Trans North Georgia Adventure will be starting soon. I have never done an event like this and really don't know what to expect. I think I am well prepared but now the question is what gear do I carry. My stuff is already packed and ready to ride ultra light style: emergency bivy, hammock, tyvek rain jacket and twelve hours of food. Checking the weather has become compulsive and yesterday ultralight seemed like a sure bet but based on this morning's weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday I'm tempted to take the tarp and rain jacket. This race is going to be more of a mental challenge than anything else and a little morsel of comfort could go a long way. I'm guessing it is going to be an adventure for sure!

If anyone wants to follow along at home here is the tracker link:

http://trackleaders.com/tnga

tsali

2011-08-22T20:55:00.002-04:00

I finally made it out to Tsali. Terri and I were looking for a little getaway close to home and Tsali seemed like as good as place as any to head.

Saturday morning I was up before the dawn and on the bike early for a Mouse Loop.

Then back through the campground to scoop Terri up for a little Thompson action. The trails were indeed very beginner friendly and we had a good time.

Then off to the NOC to hang out and watch all the white water action.

Sunday I was up early again and on the bike for the Right and Left Loops. The two trails were slightly different from Saturday's options but as I was cranking out the last few miles of the last loop I found my mind wandering to the point where I was on the verge of falling asleep. No need to do them again, not that day anyway.

Hey, what's that on the trail?

Good times, good times.

Gear Check

2011-08-15T18:47:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted anything in awhile and it is time I do so here is a short little post:

The TNGA is on my mind. I've been riding plenty but not too long and not too hard but I'm not sure how much that will matter once the race starts. I've been working to get the navigation dialed which is a little challenging since I have never seen any of the course. And I need to do more work to get all my gear together. I was going to carry everything on my back but have since decided to let the bike carry some the weight. For my ride on Saturday I tested it out:

1206 > 476 > 5018 > Horse Cove > Squirrel Gap > Bradley Creek > 5015 > 1206

I hadn't been up Funnel Top Mtn. Rd. in a long time and was pleased with how gentle the climb was and how wide open the views were:

Horse Cove had some new bench cut work done to it. Very soft but good to see groups are out there doing tread work. Contrary to popular mtb beliefs hikers and equestrians do much more than just clear dead fall.

Bradley Creek, oh how I love thee!

The ride was good and the gear set up seemed to work just fine!

Bonus picture, Dennis passing someone at 20mph across the Little River crossing during last week's wndc:

The Mountains Win Again

2011-07-31T18:07:00.002-04:00

I read the news today, oh boy...

A few rides, and pictures:

Wednesday with The Hub Drinking Club:

Turkey Pen Gap (out and back!) > 66 Jumps > Bradley Creek > Squirrel Gap > Laurel Creek > Bradley Creek > Riverside > Vineyard Gap

The top of Sharpy Mountain?

There were no less than seven trees down on the first mile of Turkey Pen Gap:

Sam on Laurel Creek:

Riverside, oh how I love thee!

The Pisgah Picture Game on Saturday:

276 > 475 > Davidson River > 475 > 471 > 471D > Butter Gap > Longbranch > 5095 > 475 > Cove Creek > 475B > 225 > 475B > 276 > 477 > Club Gap > Black Mtn > The Hub

Butter Gap?

Obligatory photo shoot:

I found these two things just like this very near the top of Black Mtn, itself:

So, of course I took the time to finally go all the way to the top and see what all the fun was about. Ladies and gentlemen, The Top of Black:

Somber Sunday Morning Coming Down:

276 > 477 > Clawhammer > Buckhorn Gap > 477 > Clawhammer > Maxwell Cove > Black Mtn. > The Hub

Dennis on Buckhorn:

Queen Creek Mountain and the 5th Point

2011-07-26T10:09:00.002-04:00

Saturday Zach I went out for a Pisgah ride. We hit Lower Sidehill starting at The Hub (of course). At just 98.5 miles it is hardly worth mentioning except for the fact that I put the gears back on the bike as my singlespeed wheel was awaiting a part. The gears are interesting. They make riding much faster out on the flats and make climbing easier but slower. I had been thinking that I would do the TNGA singlespeed as it is usually my preference but I foresee a lot of steep, but relatively short gravel climbs that would mean a lot of my time would be spent walking with my bike. Then there are likely going to be a lot of flat paved and gravel stretches where I am hopelessly spun out and going nowhere fast. I'm guessing singlespeed could take me a full day or more longer than 1x8 so I'm undecided. What do you think, brave readers? Should I do it singlespeed or 1x8? This is not a rhetorical question, please post your advice via comments!

Sunday I took the dog out for a mini adventure. We drove to Yellow Gap and hit a trail I'd always wanted to check out and in the process knocked off another mountain - Queen Creek. At the top of the first knob we found this survey marker that had been interestingly chewed or filed down by something:

We were following a property boundary and all the signs had similar damage:

I checked the back and whatever was doing it was also hitting the backs, if ever so slightly:

I've never seen anything like this before. It has to be from an animal, duh, but what animal eats metal? Anyone know?

I also found some painted over boundary blazes. I've been told by a local surveyor that this is a standard correction technique for when they discover errors during retracement surveys. Interesting!

It was just a short walk but along the way we did find the top of Queen Creek Mountain. Here is Duma looking up at it:

And proudly at or around the top:

Yesterday I was up around Candler for work and during my lunch break I headed out to check out a gated forest road I had never been on but have wondered about - FR5096. It was short but pleasant and along the way I found something interesting: Have you ever wondered about Five Points in Bent Creek and why there are only four points there? Well, there aren't! As I was making this discovery the thunder started roar and the lightning cracked so back to work I went.

The Top of Black Mountain

2011-07-20T21:13:00.003-04:00

Instead of going to WNDC tonight I headed into Pisgah to get some thinking done with my best friend. I drove up to Yellow Gap and from there Duma and I started running up Laurel Mountain. After one fall (something I'm getting good at these days, there was last week's wndc crash and then Monday I went down on my road bike at 36.9mph when a van decided he didn't like bikes and came to a stop in the middle of the Howard Gap Rd. downhill) we made it to Rich Gap in good time. I didn't feel like going any further up the trail and didn't feel like turning around either, so we went the other way. Other way? That's right, the other way, towards the top of Black Mountain (check your map!).

Those of you keeping score at home have likely noticed that I have stopped bushwhacking for the summer as crawling through rhodo for hours is probably not a good idea with all the plants, bugs and snakes out but this really isn't a bushwhack and I had done part of it before coming from 5051 so I had an idea of what was going on. We followed the faint trail and quickly hit what I thought was the top of Black Mtn.

I had been there before and it sure seemed like a top but I had no map, no compass, no gps, no altimeter, nothing with me to confirm where I was. Shortly after the picture I realized it was just a knob and the real summit was just in front of us. A minute later and there we were. No doubt about it.

Downhill from here:

On the way back down we were following the ridge line and hit a place where two fingers broke off in completely different directions. For a second I wished I had brought something with me to help confirm direction, my watch with compass and altimeter would have been perfect, or a piece of a map, but told myself I knew exactly where I was and continued on down the spine of the mountain. The overgrowth finally opened up into the trail I was expecting.

From there it was wide open and we went from hiking to running once again. For a moment it seemed like we were dropping a lot of elevation and I started to second guess myself once again and was praying that I wasn't completely wrong and was going to find myself somewhere on Big Creek but then a road appeared before me and a second later we popped out at Yellow Gap, just as I had expected.

I gave the dog a high five and reached for my water to take the last sip and realized I had dropped a bottle somewhere along the way. So, much to his chagrin, I told Duma we were going back up for it. The whole loop had taken less than an hour so even walking I knew it couldn't be that far to the dropped bottle and didn't want to leave it up there so back up we went. Luckily it was about halfway up so the dog was spared too much more in the heat. We ran back down and just before reaching Yellow Gap we ran into this guy stretched across the trail.

Duma was in the lead, and on leash, as always these days, and he was inches from it when I saw it and thought rattlesnake! and pulled him back as hard as I ever had. I think we scared the snake more than he scared us but I wasn't about to take any chances with that!

wndc - black and blue all over

2011-07-14T21:28:00.002-04:00

I don't feel like saying much these days. Or maybe these days are such that I just don't have time to say much. And it is easier to just post pictures anyway.

But I made it out to Dupont for a little WNDC action last night. And I took a beating, as did J. Maybe black and blue aren't the colors to wear after all. I went down hard on Corn Mill Shoals, my computer says my max speed for the night was 25.9mph and that was probably about when my front wheel washed out or my chain dropped or whatever caused the crash. I think I had been down for several minutes when Valerie came up behind me and I came to. Ouch! But I got my saddle back on and finished the ride.

WNDC for life! FTW!

Shrimper taking aim at the IMBA sign (don't worry I hit it many times!):

Trying to act casual:

Note the saddle. Flashbacks to my first pmbar!

Valerie walked the river crossing on the trip out but on the way back she tried it:

And then she went back and tried it again, and again, and finally made it!

Fish are rising up like birds

2011-07-11T22:17:00.002-04:00

Photodump:

The 4th of July Pisgah Style

2011-07-04T16:05:00.004-04:00

Friday afternoon I headed to Bent Creek with the intention of riding across Pisgah and into the Nantahala National Forest to Wolf Mtn. and then back to Bent Creek. A big ride, but of course I would be spending the night along the way to test my Trans Georgia gear. Holiday traffic had I26 at a near standstill on my drive and that delayed me by about 30 minutes or so. I had planned to stop at the Hub to resupply and hydrate and when I wasn't on the bike until after 3pm I was worried that I would not make it to the Hub before they closed at 6. How long does it take to ride from Bent Creek to the Ranger Station?

I knew I was pushing it and really had to hustle my way across 1206 and then Clawhammer seemed to take forever but in the end I made it there with ten minutes to spare. My best drinking buddy Pura Vida Joe was there, of course, and before I knew it the PBR's were going down and I was feeling good about getting a good ride in.

Nothing lasts and the Hub finally closed, so down the road I went. I put some Good Ole Grateful Dead on my mp3 player and settled in for the ride. With all night ahead of me there was no reason to hurry anymore and I took my time and enjoyed the ride.

My route was mainly gravel as I'm still worried about my bike breaking. It is going to break eventually and 2am on Farlow didn't sound good and the Trans Georgia route is mainly gravel so I felt fine about taking the easy route. Even for an easy route I still seemed to be climbing some mountains and 5003 > 140A seemed a lot like a trail at times. I made it out to highway 215 and was immediately greeted by a long line of motorcycles. Then a bunch of cars going very fast and I made the call to skip the Wolf Mtn. loop and stay off the highway for the night. If it isn't fun why do it? Wolf Mtn. isn't going anywhere and I will get there eventually. Plus I was kind of eager to get in some miles fast and make it home early on Saturday as I had some work to do Saturday afternoon. So down the road I went.

I took the easy way. 9:30 pm and still light out!

Before I knew it I was back at the Hatchery and was scouring the vending machines for the best use of $2.25. A diet Coke (nesttea was sold out!) mixed well with my emergency whiskey and a bag of Buggles and a bag of Sun Chips and that was dinner.

After my ten minute pit stop I pulled out and headed up 475B feeling good. It was full on night time and there I was riding my bike in Pisgah. It doesn't get any better than that! There was a very surprising amount of traffic on the gravel roads. I don't know where everyone was headed and they actually seemed to just be out joy riding so I took it easy and made sure I was seen and gave them all plenty of room. Bailing on Wolf Mtn. wasn't an easy call but if I was dodging traffic on 1206 I could only imagine what 215 would have been like at that hour.

I made it across 1206 in good time and it was still early, well only midnight anyway, and I could have easily ridden back to my truck in Bent Creek without a problem but one of my reasons for doing this ride was to test my gear so I pulled off the road shortly after turning onto 5000 and set my hammock up in a couple of trees and settled in for the night with 85 miles in for the day.

I built a small fire, played some one handed solitaire, listened to a fuzzy FM country radio station out of Charlotte and sipped some whiskey out of the bottle. 1:38am in Pisgah.

After a full night's sleep I was up at 5:30am but waited until first light to get back on the bike. 6am and I was rolling home by the dawn's early light.

I stopped at Bent Creek Gap for breakfast and to text Terri that I would be home earlier than planned.

From looking at the mileage I realized I wasn't even going to break a hundred miles so I took South Ridge on the way back to add a little mileage. In the end I still came up a little short. Story of my life.

I was home by nine and had a five pancakes and three eggs on my plate before ten. The back of the worm and a wooden leg...

I took the rest of Saturday off and most of Sunday as well but did manage to get Duma out for a run in Mills River. It was hot so we did North Mills River trail out and back. 18 river crossings will keep a dog cool!

Today Terri and I went out for a fun hike. Pilot Cove/Slate Rock Creek > Pilot Cove Loop. Three years ago on our first date I gave Terri the choice between High Falls and Slate Rock and she picked High Falls. Today we did the second option. It was threatening to storm the whole way up as we did the loop clockwise and shortly after we reached the rock it started raining. By the time we got back down it was a full on storm and we were drenched but there was nothing we could do but laugh.

Independence Day in Pisgah in the rain. Six years ago to the day I rode Pisgah for the first time under the same conditions, I've told you that story before so I won't bore you with it again. Downhill from here indeed!

summer's here and the time is right

2011-06-27T19:26:00.003-04:00

So Saturday's ride in Hot Springs was a good one. I've ridden some of the trails up around Paint Rock before but for this ride picked a 40 mile route mainly on gravel roads that I had never seen before. I uploaded the route to my gps and used it as a way to test my Trans North Georgia navigation. I had a small map and a real compass with me but the plan was to do it all via my top secret gps trick that Broussard taught me. If everything goes as planned for the tnga I should never have to consult a map or cue sheet. If everything goes as planned...

I started out up the highway and when I got to my first turn there were these signs showing me the way:

But I hadn't really looked at the map and didn't know the names of the trails or roads I was headed for. My gps was telling me that both right and left were wrong and that I was supposed to go straight. So I poked around for a second and found an old gated road that headed straight up the mountain and looked a lot more like a trail than a road. This was a big climbed and quickly turned into a hike a bike.

After a few thousand vertical feet the road spit me out close to Hurricane Gap and my gps told me to go left down FR422. This road was a big question to me on the map. It was one of those broken lines that means unimproved road and could be much more like a trail than a road but as it turned out it was very much a road, one that is heavily used by 4x4's at that. Lots of big, deep mud puddles that made riding it all impossible.

At one point a bobcat ran in front of me for a few hundred yards and there were signs of other wildlife.

When it finally ended I wasn't sorry to be done with it and headed right back for Hurricane Gap.

A quick detour up to the top of Rich Mtn. to take in the view:

And then back down the road for a little lollipop section across Golden Ridge.

It started out as a grassy road and on the map looks like a road so down the road I went. I followed the gps the best I could but as I was trying to make my way to the next waypoint the road dead ended. Hmmn, that can't be right. So I backtrack and find another old road off to the left. Okay, this has to be it! But no, it dead ended as well. So, I said screw it and decided to hightail it back down the mountain to the party. But on my way back out I found a trail sign tucked just off the road and a little piece of sweet looking single track turning up the hill 180 degrees from the road. This must be it!

It started out as a really nice bit of single track. It was tight and climbed steadily with some fun switchbacks and I was feeling really good about riding this Golden Ridge.

But as I got to the top it became very overgrown very fast. Riding was impossible and getting a bicycle through it was downright difficult. I've done some hard bushwhacks before but not in the summer and not through this much thorny growth. After a half hour or so of trying to push my way through it I turned around and went back the way I came, completely defeated.

There is a bike in there somewhere:

I finished by going down the same gated road I had come up at the start of the day which was a really fast and fun downhill. The ride came in at 40 miles with 10k of climbing and was one of the best I have had in awhile.

Back at camp it was just one more Saturday night, wndc style!

7am comes early when the nights run late but nothing is better than getting up before anyone else and getting on a bike, even if everything is still a little hazy from the night before.

Back up the Rich Mtn. tower via a ten mile gravel climb. It's okay, Jonathon I was walking the same stretch the day before.

Carolina in the morning!

Too much fun, all weekend long! I can't wait to do it again!

WNDC Sank - Shunned Event

2011-06-26T20:59:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I finally met my match on a mountain bike. The Golden Ridge trail in the Hot Springs area completely defeated me and I turned around and retreated at the top of what I suspect would have been the final descent. Downhill from here and I put my tail between my legs and went back the way I came without completing the loop. Of course the trail itself had been hard to find and after finally finding it and then an initial nice single track climb it quickly became so overgrown I was having a very hard time pushing my bike through all the rhodo and briers. Nobody had been on that stretch of trail in years and it was harder than any bushwhack I've ever done. With already 30 miles and ten thousand stout feet of climbing for the day turning around and heading back to the party was an easy decision.

And what a party it was. The occasion was Dennis's birthday and him and Diane went all out and rented Slivermine Group Camp in Hot Springs and threw a blowout. Sometime during the long night of celebrating I evidently made plans with Jonathon to ride at 7am this morning. So at 7am there we were on the bikes and up a 10 mile climb for a 3000' downhill and back at camp before right as everyone else was just starting to wake up.

I wasn't the only one who took a beating on Saturday's ride - I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a new bike frame very soon. Jonathon says it will be fine but everyone else seemed to be under the impression that a catastrophic failure is imminent. Since I don't have the money to buy one what I think I should do is just get sponsored. Anyone want to give me a bike? It should have big wheels and the capability to run gears or single speed. Of course, if you just want to give me two different bikes that would be fine as well.

It was an epic weekend. Thanks Dennis and Diane for having us all!

Pictures to come.

wind and rain and falling rain

2011-06-21T09:00:00.003-04:00

So Saturday I headed out to do Stage 2 of the pmbsr with Cook, Yuri, Cissy and Yuri's friend David. Since I was on a silly single speed and we would be riding through Brevard to get to Cathy's Creek Rd. I started a half hour ahead of them figuring they were bound to catch me with their fancy gears sooner rather than later. So through town to Cathy's Creek I went.

The long spin out wasn't as long or as flat as I thought and I was on the gravel in no time at all. I thought about stopping at the bottom for awhile to wait but went on up to Cathy Creek Falls to clear my head instead.

After a few triangle poses the rest of the crew hadn't showed up and not knowing exactly when they started I decided to keep heading for Farlow Gap slowly. I had never climbed Cathy's Creek Rd. before and was surprised just how mellow of a grade it is. It never gets steep and has enough rollers you could really fly up it. Along the way I stopped to leave a note for the others just in case they were wondering where I was.

I stopped at Farlow Gap to work on a poem I had in my head and Yuri came up behind me. By the time we hit Shuck Ridge Creek we had all regrouped and headed down the rest of Farlow together. A short while later on Daniel Ridge Cook tore a sidewall and it took a little while to fix with some hilarity thrown into the mix. We went down Cove Creek which I knew was part of the route but didn't realize that we would be taking the connector over to 5046 at the bottom. That seemed like a silly and unnecessary turn that added little mileage or elevation and immediately bored me and turned me off to the route. I've been up 475B way too many times this year and after that turn made the call to bail on the race route. Instead I opted to take 276 to 477 and then head up Clawhammer to Maxwell Cove for the Black Mtn. Light Finish.

Shortly after I started up Clawhammer I realized a storm was imminent. The air pressure was plummeting and a storm was blowing in fast. I could have just turned around and probably out ran it but kept heading up anyway. A short while later on Maxwell Cove the heavens opened up with a furry. The wind was blowing very hard up from the Avery Creek valley and the rain was coming at me sideways. I could hear tree branches breaking all around me and started to get a wee bit worried about lightning. When I hit the top of Hickory Knob it was so bad I couldn't visually tell if that was indeed the top. I went down Black as fast as you can go in a raging storm but by the time I got to the bottom the storm was gone. Out on 276 there was a long line of cars backed up past the Ranger Station as all the river users were making a mass exodus from the forest. I was very glad to have parked at the Hub!

Sunday there was a group who was planning on doing Turkey Pen Gap the wrong way and never having been the type who likes to do things the right way I decided to join them. Yuri came as well but this time had the sense to bring a single speed so the two of us started out 276 slightly ahead of the others. A short ways up 477 there were reminders of the storm we had both ridden through on Saturday. This tree wasn't here when I went up this road the day before.

Near the top of Clawhammer it started raining and we decided to head to the Buckhorn Gap Shelter. Both of us had enough of riding in a storm the day before and walking across Turkey Pen Gap in one didn't sound like fun at all. Yuri headed on to the shelter and I waited for Patrick and Chris at the gap to tell them what we had decided. They headed to the shelter with me and we all just sat around and waited for the rain to blow through.

After it did we all made the call to bail on the proposed route and just did Black > Thrift Cove > Grass Rd. > Sycamore Cove instead. A nice little 20 mile ride!

stealing time

2011-06-17T11:34:00.003-04:00

When my alarm went off at 4:30am yesterday the last thing I wanted to do was get up and go ride my bike. A full night's sleep sounded like a much better idea and I could easily have just gone riding twelve hours later after work. But Terri, being the supportive and disciplined type, told me to get up and go so I did. I was at Turkey Pen and rolling down South Mills River by 5:30 just as planned.

Early mornings are one of my favorite times and it isn't often I am on the bike and rolling before the sun comes up. The full moon was still lurking around the clouds and it was nice knowing I was the only guy out there on a bike right then. Right away I encountered the first of the downed limbs from Wednesday night's storms that would seriously slow down my ride.

There was something a little bit erie about clearing dead fall in the dark by headlamp but it needed to be done and with all day to finish the ride I did it.

In case you missed it I have signed up for the Trans North Georgia Race this fall and that is one of the main reasons I am trying to do these rides at times I would not normally be riding. One of the biggest challenges of ultra racing is the mental game that you have to play. After a certain level of physical fitness is achieved I believe the most important thing is mental fitness. Being able to convince yourself to keep going is not necessarily an easy task. I have had a lot of things on my mind recently, some of which are simply silly and petty and some of which are actually quite serious and with just myself, the moon and my headlamp I had a really hard time focusing on the ride and having fun instead of the mental dialogue that keeps running through my mind. I wanted to use the dead fall as an excuse to just turn around, drive home and get back in bed but instead turned on my mp3 player and listened to the music play. If you get confused...

I decided instead of slogging across the river a dozen times to head up Cantrell Creek for Squirrel. By the time I got to the chimney dawn had broken and once again the forest was coming back to life.

I love Cantrell Creek but I guess I really just love Pisgah. Cantrell has the feel of being in a real rain forest and ever since I broke my hand on it a few years back seem to have a deep connection to it. It probably is better ridden down than up but I've never been fond of the better directions for trails. I rode most of the way to Horse Cove where I had planned to stop for breakfast but when I got there tarps were strung up and campers were sound asleep so I pulled my sandwich out and started eating as I walked up the trail. I ended up walking almost all the way to Squirrel from there. It was very wet and I just didn't feel like putting in the effort to ride it and it is likely not much slower to walk it. I reminded myself I was 'training' and having the discipline to walk certain stretches of trail might just be good training for the tnga. Squirrel came easy enough and I stopped at the intersection for a second breakfast.

It was now fully light and I didn't need my light. I checked my watch and saw it was when my alarm would normally have been going off and there I was at Squirrel and Cantrell and there was no place I would rather have been. I was feeling good and knew I was going to be back at the truck sooner than later and was having ideas about prolonging the ride. The surreal early morning hours on a bike often seem like free hours that really don't count as time and I wanted to ride all day. As I reached Laurel Gap and saw the sun for the first time of the day I used mental discipline again to force myself not to keep going.

I headed all the way down Squirrel to Bradley Creek and eventually Riverside to Vineyard. Along the way there was still plenty of downed limbs that required almost constant dismounts to clear and considering my walk up Cantrell it was starting to feel more like a hike than a ride. I scared a group of backpackers who were just waking up at the intersection of Squirrel and Mullinax and chatted with one of them for a minute. It sounded like they had quite the night in the storm but had made the best of it. I then encountered another group just waking up and looking for the rest room on Bradley. I got the impression most backpackers aren't expecting some idiot with a bike to be on the trail at 7:30 am!

A short distance later Bradley Creek trail was completely blocked by a very large tree that had fallen the night before. I can only imagine what it was like huddled under a tarp the night before with trees like this crashing down around you!

The only way around it was to wade up the river and even part of the river was blocked by it.

I guess the storm had also put a lot of water in the river as the crossings on Riverside were as deep as I have ever tried them. The final one on Vineyard was waist deep on me and very swift. I almost slipped at one point and thought for sure I was going to loose my bike. It was yet another case of tragedy narrowly adverted and I made it across and up Vineyard without incident. I was back at the truck and home in time to still get a full day of work in!

Be Double E Double R You In

2011-06-09T20:50:00.002-04:00

I made it out for the Wednesday Night Drinking Club last night for the first time in awhile. I had planned on parking at one of the closer lots and riding across the forest but once I got to Dupont it started storming so I just kept on driving all the way to Fawn Lake. It was one of the rare times when every official card carrying WNDC member was present and made for a very fun night.

We headed straight for the river. Dupont is not technical riding and the trickiest spot in the forest is the Little River crossing on Corn Mill Shoals. When I first started riding with this group I was a little surprised when everyone walked the crossing as I was accustomed to riding it but then a year later everyone was riding it. I think one night we had a pace line of eight riders make it across. Now after a few close calls only a few of us will even attempt it.

Here is Broussard making the best of a failed squishy attempt:

David Cook has always tried it and if the dab isn't caught on film it isn't a dab:

Dennis Kuntz usually makes it as was the case this time:

As for myself, well, I have it dialed.

From there we went and rode some of the new Cascade Lake stuff. Lots of fun. Very fast and flowy just like Dupont is known for. I must say I prefer the gnarly Pisgah trails but Dupont makes for some fun and easy cross training.

Somewhere along the way the group fell apart as it always seems to do and I headed for the top of Cedar Rock as I wanted to make sure I got in as much riding as possible to make up for the long drive.

A brief pause at the top and then down the steep side of Cedar:

I don't know that I have ever stopped on the way down Cedar Rock but I had to this time. The clouds and the mountains were just to breathtaking not to try and capture on film:

From there it was just more of the same Dupont goodness. All alone I had no reason not to hussle and get in some easy miles, Corn Mill Shoals > Shoals > Laurel Ridge > Mine Mtn. > Beer > Mine Mtn. > Lake > Sunset > Home. All good, hardly a troad in sight!

I hung out at Fawn Lake by myself for a little while and then Jonathon and J came riding up and jumped right in. I tried my hardest to follow suit but chickened out. Then, at the last possible moment, went for a swim myself. The water was warm and invigorating and washed all sins away. These are days to remember.

carolina in the morning

2011-06-03T11:47:00.002-04:00

This morning I stole away before the dawn and managed to get in a fun little Pisgah loop. Starting from Fisherman's at 5:30am my route was:

1206 > Laurel Mtn. > MTS > BRP > Big Creek > 197 > 5000 > 1206

Starting in complete darkness I had Yellow Gap Rd. all too myself and I was free to just let my mind wander. By the time I made the turn onto the single track dawn was just breaking and the forest slowly started to come back to life. I still needed my light in all the rhodo tunnels and with all the flowers it made for quite a surreal experience. Before long it was completely light out but I wasn't able to see the sun until I got near the top.

I walked almost every inch of the 'gnome' section of Laurel to the parkway because I wasn't in a hurry and was just enjoying being out in the woods by myself.

Downhill from here:

Big Creek is one of my favorite trails and it is also one of my most loathed trails. I love the downhill at the top but the bottom three miles just might be the flatest in all of Pisgah and make for a slow slog on a single speed. Check out the new sign at the top:

Seasonal for horses? I think what they mean is part of the trail is open to horses. it would be nice if it was all open to them though as there are a lot of trees down that really kill the flow and the equestrians often carry saws.

Up on the parkway I had spotted what looked like big piles of ice and sure enough it was:

Hail, and lots of it. I never thought I'd be riding down Big Creek on ice in June but sure enough I was. It was literally a foot deep at times:

Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina in the morning!

midnight on a carousel ride

2011-05-29T21:35:00.002-04:00

I had to work all day on Friday and didn't get home until after seven. Then I took the dog for a run and enjoyed a nice and relaxing dinner with Terri. Afterwards I loaded up the bike and gear and headed out for a fun little ride. It was almost 10pm when I finally was on the bike and rolling out of the Black Mtn. trail head. Since it was the middle of the night I figured my best bet was to keep it sensible so I headed for Farlow Gap via Black Balsam. I planned to sleep at Farlow Gap for a few hours before resuming the ride on Saturday morning.

My route for Friday was:

276 > 477 > 276 > 475 B > Case Camp (mandatory hike) > BRP > 816 > Flat Laurel Creek > 215 > BRP > Art Loeb (mandatory hike)

477 and 475B were both very fast and I was walking up Case Camp before I knew it. Case Camp is a hiking only trail so that gave me a perfect opportunity to relax a little and settle in for a fun night ride. When I popped out onto the parkway a half hour later there were a thousand stars there to greet me and it was a good night indeed. The single speed is really feeling good these days and up there on the parkway with the slightly skewed perspective that the darkness brings it was impossible to tell if I was moving fast or slow but I just fell into the perfect rhythm and everything was right in the world for a brief moment or two.

I was in the midst of a big 17 mile climb and by the time I made the right turn onto 816 I was second guessing myself and was wondering what I was doing out there. I was out of water so I went straight to the spring on Ivestor and filled up my bottles ate some food and just hung out for a minute getting my head straight. It was cold so I put on my rain jacket and reminded myself I wasn't in any sort of hurry. Farlow Gap wasn't far away and I had all night to get there.

With that in mind I took off down Flat Laurel Creek. It is a very fun and fast trail and it being midnight made it all the more fun. From there it was up 215 back to the parkway and then past Devil's Courthouse before turning onto the Art Loeb and yet another mandatory hike a bike. This one was downhill and was frustrating but Farlow lay just on the other side. I got there right around 2am and got my minimal gear set up and then spent an hour or so trying to get wet sticks to burn.

I didn't even try and sleep until 3:30 and was back up and on the bike three hours later for a little Farlow Gap at sunrise action. I didn't even bother to try and ride any of the hard stuff and instead just enjoyed being there. Before I knew it I was on Daniel and then out 225 for the home stretch. I was out of food before I even got to 477 so I skipped the All of Black finish and opted for Maxwell Cove and the Black Mtn. Light finish instead. My stomach was grumbling hard and I was a little worried I might bonk just a few miles from the end but I made it to Hickory Knob where it was all downhill from there. I was done and at the Hub with a cold beer well before noon.

My route on Saturday was:

Farlow Gap > Daniel Ridge > 225 > 475B > 276 > 477 > Clawhammer > Maxwell Cove Rd. > Black Mtn.

It was a fun trip and has me excited to do more bike packing. My gear worked pretty well but I'm going to tweak it some and drop the pad and ground sheet and take a hammock instead. Here is what I took:

It weighed 5.06lbs without the bike repair gear and 6.06 with the repair gear. Food is heavy but even with 10,000 calories it should be under 10 pounds.

Here it is all packed up on Hickory Knob:

Wildlife:

Nothing but flowers:

a high point

2011-05-23T11:49:00.002-04:00

There are only a few miles of trail on the 780 map that I haven't seen yet. So Saturday I dusted off the road bike for the first time in months and headed for a pesky little trail that I have been eyeballing for awhile: Richland Balsam. At 6410' this is the highest point in the Pisgah District. It isn't clear just where the district ends so the trail might not even technically be a Pisgah trail but I wanted to go up there anyway just to have a look around.

I parked at the Hub and took hwy 276 to the Parkway and headed 20 miles south for what ended up being a 35 mile climb culminating with a mile long hike a bike to the top. I could have just stashed my bike near the bottom but it was rather fun pushing it up there.

Downhill from here:

There weren't many convenience stores along the way where I could buy a Snickers bar and a couple of tall boys so I had to stop at a little stream I knew of on the MTS just off of the Rough Butt Bald overlook. You know it is a good road ride when you have to dip a bottle in a stream!

Sunday I went back out to the Trace Ridge area to do something I've been meaning to for awhile but when I got there I just didn't feel like it so I just did a fun little afternoon loop:

5000 > 142 > Never Ending Rd. > Fletcher Creek > Spencer Branch > 142 > Trace Ridge > Fisherman's

It had been awhile since I'd spun all the way out the Never Ending Rd. which was fun as was the bottom section of Spencer Branch. Have you ridden it recently?

mini adventures in pisgah

2011-05-17T11:46:00.002-04:00

Friday the 13th I headed out to Pisgah for a little short spin to get my head straight but on the way there Yuri called trying to get me to run with him but I said no, I would bike while he ran.*

When we go to the parking lot everything was all wrong. Friday the 13th indeed!

That changed everything and instead of riding and running we did something completely different. Yuri does a lot of exploring and a few years ago he found ________. He had told me about _______ many times and without an exact location there is no way I would ever stumble to _______ on my own so I've been waiting for him to take me. So, Friday he took me and ______ was all I'd hoped it would be. Thanks Yuri!

I only had my riding gear so I had to bushwhack in it which actually made it easier because there was less to snag. On the run back up to the cars I wasn't about to carry extra weight so I had to drink my PBR while running.

Saturday I met up with David Cook for a purely fun little Pisgah ride.

1206 > 5050 > Yellow Gap > North Mills River > 142 > Fletcher Creek > Middle Fork > 5097 > Fletcher Creek > 142 > Trace Ridge > Wash Creek > 142 > 5000 > 1206

Sunday I went out to Pisgah again for a fun little mini. I headed right back up the river to where David I had ridden the day before but this time I was headed for something rather interesting that I had noticed on the map for the first time on Saturday night. I had an idea that I what I saw was going to lead to a big bushwhack with my bike up to the Blue Ridge Parkway which would be okay as then I could ride Big Creek back down.

My gps batteries must have died and I didn't pay attention to the map or compass or anything and the bushwhack never came. I stayed on unimproved, and as far as I can tell perfectly bike legal, roads that looked a whole lot like pristine single track. I only know of one biker who has been on this stuff though it is used by other users. I thought I knew where it was headed but ended up being wrong and was very pleasantly surprised. If you want to ride this you got to find it on your own.

The lack of a bushwhack made it a fast loop so I decided to go out and back on Big Creek just for fun at the end. I have the single speed back together and it was a nice day for a walk in the woods.

The local horse group has been out on Big Creek clearing dead fall and doing tread work. Next time you see them thank them!

*Could be good training for the upcoming Pisgah99. That's right, it is going to happen again, but this time there is going to be a slight twist as runners are going to be invited as well. There has even been mention of a possible ride and tie team - 2 runners and 1 bike! Could be interesting and will be fun for sure!

reading comprehension 101 - pmbar 2011 race report

2011-05-10T09:59:00.005-04:00

It was just over two hours into the race and we were 11 crossings deep up Bradley Creek when it dawned on me: I only knew the location of four of the five checkpoints. In my haste at the start to read the whole passport I had somehow not only missed the wooden nickle but also an entire checkpoint!

"Toby, where is the fifth checkpoint?" I asked.

He didn't know. He trusted me and was just along for the ride. Toby has been riding Pisgah for something crazy like 17 years but these days he only rides here twice a year at most while I ride more times than that every week. He handed me the passport and I checked to see what I missed. I had thought they were at South Mills River and Bradley, North Mills River and Trace Ridge, Top of Laurel, Daniel Ridge and Farlow Gap and as such we were going clockwise and had smoked our way across Turkey Pen Gap trail to get to where we were now.

The passport told me exactly what I didn't want to know: South Mills River at Squirrel Gap was the missing check point. Wolf fucking Ford! The exact opposite end of Turkey Pen. So that is why everyone else was going over the top of Black. The right route would have been Black > Buckhorn > South Mills (cp1) > Squirrel > Horse Cove Gap > Cantrell Creek > South Mills > Bradley Creek (cp2). We, or I should say I, had made a huge mistake. There was no going back there now. We would have to keep heading for North Mills River and then Laurel > Pilot after which we could decide what the best way to get to Wolf Ford was. There was a little relief in knowing that two very fast teams, Same Koerber and his partner, and Marshall Hance and his partner, were going the same way as us. By my educated estimate we had lost at least 45 minutes, if not twice that, and would have and additional 2500' of climbing than the teams that took the direct route.

Nothing could be done about it then so on we went as fast as we could. There was no more time for screwing around and this would be a No Stop Signs sort of day. We took 5000 to Trace Ridge to get our second checkpoint and then climbing back up Yellow Gap trail, Rich Dillen and his partner passed us near the top of Yellow Gap trail and I had to wonder if they were already a cp up on us then. Dicky is very fast and I thought it was possible which would mean we were really screwed. But then once we were out on 1206 Brad Kee was leading a paceline of three teams down the gravel and I had a hunch Dicky was just as screwed as us and these were the leaders. We were an hour in front of them but they were an entire checkpoint up on us.

I'm beginning to really loathe Laurel Mountain in races. It is way too long and meandering and takes way too long in either direction so I thought it was perfect that pisgahpro was making everyone do the entire loop instead of being able just to run up and down Pilot Rock. All those teams who were a cp up on us were also just right on our trail so unless we wanted to loose even more time we would have to hold them off by going up Laurel as fast as we could. Laurel sucked and on the way up cramps were threatening so I had to slow a little but was able to rehydrate and refuel and by the time we reached the cp I had corrected the problem. Toby cleaned all of Pilot Rock except the downed trees while I slowly walked my way down.

Once we got to the stream at the bottom we needed water and needed to make an important decision about our route and our day. How were we going to get to Wolf Ford and Daniel Ridge? There was no easy way. Our blunder was very serious. No matter how we went we would be going a very long way out of our way. No matter how hard we had been riding it didn't matter - we would not be doing well at this race. So the real question was how bad did we want to get all five checkpoints? The answer, of course, was very bad. Getting all five and having fun were my goals but this looked like it was going to be really painful so we decided we would head straight for Wolf Ford and decide from there if we would get Daniel Ridge. Charlie Roberts and Chris Brown came up behind us for water and I knew they were the leaders of the race at that point. There was no need to rush any longer, we had been caught. I looked at the map and passport one last time and then I saw it:

Highway 276 was open between FR477 and FR475!

That is why Sam Koerber was going the same way as us. We hadn't necessarily made a mistake at all! We could go get Wolf Ford and then climb up to Buckhorn Gap, drop Clawhammer and hammer our way out and back up 276 to the Daniel Ridge checkpoint. I ran the calculator in my mind and deduced that our route was no longer than the 'correct' route and had no more climbing. That changed everything and my mood switched dramatically for the first time of the day. We weren't losing and were top ten for sure as long as we kept it up. I told Toby my realization and assured him we would get all five and finish well. Understandably he was not necessarily convinced but hammered on as always.

We hauled ass to Wolf Ford and then up to Clawhammer. Toby was paused and looking longingly at the turn onto Maxwell Cove Rd. but I rolled right on past to the highway. We acted like roadies drafting and stuff but it still seemed like a long way up to Daniel Ridge. Toby started to get a little tired on the way up Daniel for the first time of the day - keep in mind his longest ride of the year before this was 20 miles and at this point we were 70 miles and almost ten hours deep in Pisgah - but we hammered on to our final cp. Chris Strout and Greg Liester as well as Kee and Fusco passed us on the trail and our suspicions that we were actually still in it were confirmed. We weren't winning but we weren't losing either.

At the final checkpoint I could confidently say it was all downhill from there and we turned around for the final stretch home. Stienforth and Clark caught up to us at the bottom of the trail on singlespeeds and I remarked to Toby I wasn't sure we should be trying to race them. We were both tired and he agreed. But once we got out onto 276 they ducked into our draft and we used our gears to drop them off the back. We stopped at White Pines for water and they pulled up behind us for water as well. Once up on Clawhammer we walked a little to save our legs for Maxwell Cove. Clark caught us but not Bruce. I had a hunch they were tired as well but know Bruce is insanely fast downhill so holding them back all the way down Black and Thrift would be a real feat. I ride Black all the time and ride it somewhat fast and Toby took the lead and it was all I could do to hold his wheel. When we hit the bottom we were still in front of them and knew we had it.

We were the 7th team to finish with five checkpoints with a time of just over 11 hours over 85 miles. Mike Brown asked if we still had our nickle which of course we did which meant we got a two hour penalty and 7th place slowly dwindled to 20th. Not much to do about that but laugh. All that work and a nickle made all the difference!

This pmbar was another epic day in Pisgah. Many thanks to pisgahproductions and everyone who particiapted. I can't wait to do it again!

sunday morning coming down

2011-05-08T12:58:00.002-04:00

I just got back from a nice Sunday morning stroll in Turkey Pen with Terri and Duma. Our plan was to retrieve the Bradley Creek checkpoint and spend a nice relaxing afternoon hanging out in the tent. We had a lunch packed and books to read and when we got there of course it was already gone. All that remained of the previous day's insanity were a few lonely flags and some gel wrappers. Sometimes that feels like the story of my life.

We walked around some and I looked for a geocache in a likely spot and sure enough one was there. No pen though.

I had stayed at the finish last night to watch David Cook and Yuri finish (very impressive riding guys!) and then helped pisgahproductions pack it all up. I got home after midnight and then stayed up to 4am sorting my gear and trying to unwind. Needless to say I was a little tired and when I took Terri up Vineyard Gap to see the trail work I did with PAS on Thursday this little bench that Carlos made sure came in handy.

PMBAR yesterday was an adventure in Pisgah if there has ever been one! We had a huge day and pushed our bodies and our minds as hard as I've ever pushed mine. Toby was a monster and regardless of what the results say I couldn't be happier with our effort. A full race report will come once I've had a chance to fully decompress.

pmbar time

2011-05-06T09:49:00.002-04:00

I guess I won't be writing any sort of race report for the Big Frog. There really isn't much to say about that.

I will say the first race I ever did was pmbar. My seat post bolt broke at the halfway point on Laurel Mountain and I stuck it out and finished. As epic as it gets. It has been all downhill from there. It is perhaps my favorite race.

It is a race of the unknown. You don't know where the checkpoints are going to be. You don't know what roads are going to be closed and which will be open. You don't know if you picked the right route. You don't know how long it is going to take. You don't know if your bike, and your body, are up for the challenge. You don't know how well you are doing until you finish and even then you still might have to wait hours until you know. You do know you are going to have fun.

I'm having visions of crossing the entire length of South Mills River, pushing Turkey Pen Gap East to West, nightmares of mandatory checkpoints on Summey Cove and some secret bridge on North Mills River and dreams of a high speed All of Black Grande Finale' with other teams hot on our tails. It is going to be too much fun and I simply cannot wait. Bring it on! And Eric, Thank You!

Wednesday I went up Black and got this pesky tree out of the way:

Yesterday I went out to Turkey Pen for a variety of activities:

The Big Frog

2011-05-01T18:50:00.002-04:00

I lost. My excuses are as follows:

little sleep + 10 miles without water + nowhere near the advertised 11k climbing + cramps = fourth place singlespeed

But those are all just excuses. I got beat and that is that. Funny thing is somehow 4th place counts as on the podium and I still won some prizes, lol.

I don't need to do that race again. In fact I don't think I need to do another race similar to that again. They simply are not my style.

It was a fun weekend though. I have some pictures I need to upload and will probably type out some weak race report but you will have to hold tight for a day or two to get it.

plundering pisgah

2011-04-22T22:51:00.006-04:00

Friday:

We encountered a trio of backpackers on Clawhammer Rd. at the second intersection with Buckhorn Gap who were looking for Twin Falls. They thought they were on FR477 and were looking for Avery Creek trail on the right. No map and trying to call someone on the phone for help. I explained they got the road wrong and gave them directions. I hope they made it.

E911:

Serenity Now:

Seeing Double:

Saturday:

Our drinking buddy from The Hub, Pura Vida Joe, joined us out in Pisgah. He is a real guide so of course we had to guide him. I'm tapering so we kept it nice and casual by doing the traditional Black > Turkey Pen Gap > Squirrel except we added a twist near the start and I bailed on the Top of Black finale.

Climbing Black:

Lost along the way:

Squirrel:

Sunday:

I got Duma some boots to help keep his claw clean and took him out for a little stroll up a secret Pisgah road to get a multi geocache. The riddle was surprisingly hard and when I finally figured out the error of my ways had a good laugh.

NC-1360:

my only friends are pirates

2011-04-17T20:55:00.002-04:00

After surviving yesterday's senseless adventure in Pisgah, Duma, my faithful Lakita, managed to tear a claw to shreds in my backyard while chasing bunny rabbits. It is a bad injury and he is likely down and out for quite awhile.

Sucks for him. If anyone wants to send him a steak or something email for my address (he likes t-bones and sirloins but will take what he can get).

So, about that mini adventure: after all the storms on Friday night and Saturday morning I didn't want to drive too far and I still felt like I had unfinished business on Bearpen Mountain so that is where we headed. Bearpen is the mountain highway 276 wraps around between FR477 and FR475. If you are looking to take a trail up it the closest you are going to come is Coontree or lower Bennett but those really aren't even that close.

Last time I went up via Coontree, which was too easy, so this time I parked on 477 at White Pines and tried to find the little stream that comes down off the saddle. I wasn't quite sure where the stream on the map was (the woods were very wet and there were streams everywhere) and after some investigating decided this branch was it based on the culverts.

So, we headed straight up the mountain from there. Straight up is the key phrase in that sentence. This was a thousand vertical foot bushwhack over less than half a mile. Straight up. Steep and treacherous and no signs of other people dumb enough to walk, crawl, or climb up there and so of course we discover our first waterfall.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you Bearpen Falls:

This was a triple falls and was flowing quite good. But I must say that I am not sure it would have been flowing if we hadn't had a few inches of rain the night before. The stream is not on the 780 map (I haven't checked the USGS quads yet, but it should be on there) and I can find no record of a waterfall there so if when I go back to check in a dryer time and find water falling this indeed is Bearpen Falls.

If you want to go up and check for me, great! Just please be careful (remember the part about 1000' over half a mile?). I slipped and fell three times and for a quick second felt like I might be pushing my luck but still I pushed on up.

Nothing dangerous about this, I'm thinking I'll get this waterfall added to the dime tour:

Duma could handle it just fine though:

After the waterfall I pulled out the gps and realized we weren't on the branch on the map. Oh well. The terrain was still extremely steep and getting to the top of this 3400' mountain was not easy.

We came up this drainage and still had 300' to go from here:

The gps is a fun novelty but the map and compass are much more reliable.

At the geographical top of Bearpen Mountain. There were a few signs of human life including some cut branches and the hole in this rock at the exact top of the mountain. An interesting summit marker.

From there we headed North for the saddle which required the compass as the rhodo quickly got very dense and my best bet was to hold a bearing as I crawled along. A brief opening in the rhodo allowed me to take a real good bearing:

After last weekend on Buck Mountain I'd had enough of crawling through rhodo for hours and was ready to bail back the way we came when I stumbled, crawled actually, across this trail. It was a yellow brick road if I have ever seen one and I have never been so happy to have seen one. Seriously, this little trail was the most welcomed sight I have seen in a long time. I'm not sure it sees too much traffic though:

This took us to the gap we were aiming for:

And from there we headed down the stream we initially planned to come up. It was steep but there were old road and rail cuts as I had expected:

And even some signs of fairly recent human activity:

But not much in the way of waterfalls. It was very scenic and very rugged but nothing like what we had come up:

A nice little mini adventure. Perhaps the last for poor D-Man for awhile...

Today I met up with my pmbar partner Toby for a quick and easy shakedown ride. Last year Toby showed up at my house on the Friday night before pmbar and told me he hadn't ridden his bike since the pmbar the year before. Seriously. We finished ninth - that should tell you something about Toby Porter!

But this year he wanted to do a little training (please don't tell him I've been slacking!) so we went out for 25 or so miles. Dennis met us for the start, straight up Black, of course. Dennis on the technical switchback:

From there it was just more Pisgah. Buckhorn Gap, Club Gap and all of Black to finish with some roads and stuff in between.

Dennis cleaning the root move on Buckhorn. Freaking gearies!

At Club Gap I asked Toby where he thought a geocache might be and then I looked around for a few seconds and saw some interesting looking roots. Goecachers like interesting stuff and sure enough there one was. The last sign date was over two years old.

From there we finished with all of Black. Why not?

Toby at or around the geographical top of Black Mountain itself:

Then off to Pescado's for a little lunch:

As far as pmbar goes, well Toby legitimately dropped me on the climb up 477. I'm sure we will do just fine! Thanks for making the drive up, Toby! Happy Birthday!

wouldn't you like to ride it one more time

2011-04-15T21:36:00.002-04:00

The seasonal trails close at midnight tonight and with that in mind Dennis and I met to ride some of them one last time yesterday after work. It had already been a long week so when Yuri called on my drive down I wasn't overly thrilled about riding at perhaps a quick clip in the need to see who is the fastest*, but told him to meet us at The Hub if he wanted to ride but warned him we wouldn't be done by his 6:30 desired finish time.

I had thought of a good loop on the drive down:

Clawhammer > Buckhorn Gap > South Mills River > Pink Beds > 276 > 477 > Bennett Gap > 477

That way we would get the Pink Beds and Bennett wrapped up in a nice little loop. A few PBR's pdq thanks to the Hub and Dennis was game but I don' think Yuri believed me as he set off with a single water bottle. I used this as a real training ride (perhaps the first ever) and tried riding without a pack and tested my ever witty climbing banter (Have you ever noticed how all the climbs in Pisgah are really false climbs? Take something like Clawhammer Rd., for example, it starts off with a very brief uphill stretch but then quickly goes flat for a mile before turning downhill for another mile, then another flat stretch and then you are at the top. No climbing at all on that road - a false climb! I can go on forever and when you try and put a little jump on me I just pull right back up and start up a new tangent. Should work great!). My banter helped keep us all together but when we got up to the gap Yuri went left on Black while Dennis and I headed on for the Pink Beds.

It turned out to be a perfect ride. 21 miles, 9.2 mph avg (lightning fast for Pisgah. Seriously, as flat of a 21 miles as you can do!). Dennis and I thoroughly enjoyed each other's company on a fine Thursday evening in early April. How lucky are we to be living this life?

*One of the hard things about having a blog like this is everyone wants to know how they ride against to me. (Yuri, this is nothing against you, it is just my bitching about how bad it sucks to have this blog to maintain.) Honestly, I'm not very fast, fair to midland at best, but I can be determined at times. Anyone wanting to race me is welcome to do so at the following events: Big Frog, Wild 100, Trans Georgia, Double Dare. That's my season, if there is such a thing!

crazy train

2011-04-12T18:45:00.002-04:00

Crazy times. Working too much and too hard and playing too much and too hard. Since I have a few races coming up I feel like I should be training really hard but I'm nursing several over use injuries and can feel another case of tendonitis starting so I'm not. Besides, I'm not really feeling very racerish these days so I've decided it doesn't matter. I'd like to do well at the Big Frog but since it is a set course there is a fair chance I could get bored half way through and decide to do something else instead. I'd like to have a lot of fun at pmbar, which shouldn't be hard, and get all the checkpoints. So, I'm not worrying about it. My road bike is waiting patiently for me in the garage for the day I decide to start riding again.

So, Saturday I met some others for a little pmbar training ride. We put 12 cp's in a hat and pulled five: Butter Gap, Bridge on North Mills River, Laurel at Bradley, Club Gap and Saddle Gap. Four of us started and Chris Strout and myself managed to reach all five, sorta. Chris beat me to the Butter cp that ended up not being Butter and back to the trucks. I was wishing for a few more climbs at the end and could have gotten them by climbing up 475B at the end to finish with Black but already 60 miles in that seemed a little unnecessary. Thanks for coming out everyone - it was a lot of fun!

I love Bradley Creek! An amazing trail!

The group all still together at our first cp:

Still together looking for the North Mills River Bridge cp. It would be a lot of fun if this was a cp in pmbar!

Found it!

From there it was back out the entire length of 1206 - which makes for a nice nightmare on a single speed. Charlie Roberts dropped down into his middle ring and we chatted away the 12 miles out to 276.

Charlie managed to clean the climb up Club Gap with just a dab. There was lots of impressive riding this day!

Charlie looking down the Squeeze Box on Bennett:

Saddle Gap:

Down Coontree for perhaps the last time of the year and then Charlie and I bid farewell as he headed home to rest up for a 24 hour adventure race next weekend and I headed for the Hatchery and Butter.

On the way up Butter I started to wonder where the real gap was. Not here:

Or here:

Both looked like gaps, kind of, but didn't really make geographic sense as such. Combined with the new Butter Gap Bypass sign I figured the real gap was a short distance away on the Art Loeb near the shelter. But I didn't feel like going to look for it then so it was right back down Butter and then out 276 for the long spin back to the truck. A fun day in the woods!

Sunday was for the dog and a bushwhack was in order. Out in Turkey Pen on Saturday I'd been looking up at the various mountains and decided I needed to knock those off the list so me and Duma headed straight for Buck Mountain. We started on Vineyard Gap and then took one of the social trails down to the river at Riverside trail.

Buck Mountain as seen from the Forge Mountain ridge. This face looked too steep and vegetated to me but I somehow forgot that when I got to the base of it.

Crossing the river:

A nice spot in a peaceful little cove. From here the bushwhacking really picked up.

Right away the mountain was covered in very dense Rhodo and I was wishing I'd picked another flank to head up. I only had 500 vertical feet to climb but it was tough.

Crawling quickly became the easiest option and in the middle of it I stopped at this nice open spot to eat lunch.

From there it just got worse and several times I thought hard about turning around but didn't. We made it to the top after about an hour of crawling and the only sign of human life we saw was this bottle and beads that someone had placed as a summit marker, I removed it.

For the trip back down we headed down the West Ridge which was thankfully actually walkable and quite pleasant.

Using my compass I aimed for Pea Gap on Bradley Creek and hit the trail within 20 feet of it. From there it was a very pleasant hike back up Bradley and then South Mills to the truck. Next up, Buttermilk and Rich!

on the road

2011-04-06T20:30:00.002-04:00

The Blue Ridge Parkway is open again between Bent Creek Gap and HWY 151 so yesterday after work I headed to North Mills and did Trace Ridge real fast taking 5000 to the parkway instead of Spencer. I only saw one car the whole time I was on the parkway which was nice for a change and for an added bonus I got to enjoy every last bit of Trace Ridge. I was feeling good and managed to clean the tricky little rocky climb up to the the knob and was thinking that I was going to be able to clean the whole trail until I encountered the dead fall from Monday night's storms. There was quite a bit near the top but I got it cleared so all of Trace is wide open now. I flew down Lower Trace without a problem and charged full speed across the river. Normally I ride this crossing without a problem but everyone once in a while it is deeper than usual and the rocks have moved and I don't quite make it. This time was one of those times and it resulted in me falling completely into the river. Total submersion, I'm glad nobody was there to see it!

nothing but pictures

2011-04-03T22:29:00.002-04:00

on the road to ruin

2011-03-29T21:14:00.002-04:00

I bought new shoes last week. Not because I needed them but because they were 60% off, which is a good deal. So that means I now have two pairs of shoes which means it doesn't really matter if I get one pair wet, not that that ever really stopped me before.

Monday after work I parked at Fisherman's and headed up 1206 with no real plan. It had rained a lot recently and I didn't really feel like getting my bike all muddy so my original plan was to ride 1206 out and back to 276 but by the time I made it to Yellow Gap that didn't sound like fun and I didn't feel like going up Laurel or over to Squirrel so when I saw the left turn onto Bradley Creek that sounded like the perfect choice. It is still March and Monday was the coldest day in a long time so Bradley it was.

Has anyone else noticed what is going on with the signs in Pisgah? They are being changed to reflect what is on the 'new' 780 map. This is potentially bad in some instances for mountain bikers, FR229 and 140A, for example. The start of Bradley Creek on 1206 used to be hard to find but it was there and signed such. The sign is now gone and the official start is now at the YG9 campsite as shown on the new map. Here is the old hidden entrance:

This means anyone riding Bradley gets one extra creek crossing! I love this stretch of Bradley - it is truly a thing of beauty.

The old Hendersonville reservoir:

From there it was up the false climb that is 5015 and back down to the truck. A fun little loop.

Yesterday after work it was right back to Fisherman's but this time in the new shoes and up 5000. I felt like doing something crazy so I went all the way up to Bent Creek.

But I didn't want to get to crazy and actually ride in Bent Creek so I turned around and went back down to 5001A or 5006, whatever the old Spencer Gap trail is now called and did the classic Spencer > Trace Ridge route.

Unidentified riders on Spencer:

Down Trace to Wash Creek and back out 5000 to finish with dry feet.

gold mining and mountain climbing

2011-03-27T21:50:00.001-04:00

Rain came to Pisgah this past weekend, or perhaps I should say that the forecast was for rain came to Pisgah this past weekend. So, after Friday's short ride I decided to lay low and just walk the dog some for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday afternoon I stopped in at The Hub for a pint, of course, before taking Duma for a little exploration. We picked the first mountain you get to once you enter the forest: Johnson Mountain. We started out by going up Sycamore Cove but immediately left the trail and headed straight for the top. It was steep but only a few hundred vertical feet so we were there in no time.

From the top we headed down off the back ridge to make a loop out of it. Along the way we found this hunter's stand:

Then we found this old post and brackets but no other signs of past development. Of course we were only a quarter mile from highway 280 so I'm sure there used to be something up the creek.

I guess old rail is common marker.

The fog moved in and for a second we got turned around and it seemed like we were headed the wrong way but compasses and gps's don't lie so I followed the course and we made it out just barely alive. Our route looked like this:

Sunday it was supposed to rain but of course didn't but that didn't stop some wndc members meeting at Turkey Pen for a little fun time on foot. Our destination was one I've been looking at for a long time: the Forge Mountain gold mines. We took the hard way, including a side trip to the top of Tarklin Mtn. but it was a fun day to be out walking in the woods. We started on the trail and then just had to plunge down the side of the mountain.

Successfully bushwhacking down to the site of rumored abandoned mines is not necessarily an easy task but with both Zach and I navigating both by map and compass as well as gps and altimeter we did indeed find the gold mines. If you go out there looking for some old wooden entrance to a secret mine, well you are likely to find it, as we did.

That is just a spring, but if you find it take a step back and look around you at the mine. Strip mine that is. Not much to see, much less photograph.

If you are looking for something a little more concrete, well, there is this:

And of course more of the now ever so common old rail:

Then back up sort of the same bushwhack way we came and then off to The Hub! Lots of fun, thanks for the adventure everyone!

I rode Bradley Creek from the North Mills Campground today. Maybe I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

the spearfish has landed

2011-03-26T09:38:00.006-04:00

There is a new weapon out in Pisgah: Zach now is the proud owner of a full suspension Salsa Spearfish. This thing looks seriously fast and dangerous however a more discerning rider would be wise to go with something a little more flashy and expensive. Something like a Santa Cruz or a Niner or a Carbon Fiber Something would have to be faster but this bike looks like a good first step for Zach.

So, we met at Fisherman's last night after work to break it in. After swapping out the stock rear shock in the parking lot for a new one from SEX (smart move, suspension is not to be taken lightly) using my carpentry tools we headed up 5000 for a loop that would put some of Pisgah's most technical single track in front of the spearfish. Our route was:

5000 > Spencer Gap > Spencer Branch > Never Ending Rd. > Flecther Creek > 142 > Lower Trace Ridge > Fisherman's

I was able to drop Zach repeatedly both up Spencer and down Spencer but that is only because he didn't have the right tires on. I got a new fork and it was amazing how good it felt coming down the very steep and technical Spencer Branch as well as lower trace!

bad moon rising

2011-03-20T15:26:00.004-04:00

Saturday morning I had to be in Pisgah not to ride, hike, run, waterfall hunt or bushwhack but instead to sign some papers so I could be put on the official list of trail work volunteers for PAS, our local bicycle advocacy group. My decision to join PAS and volunteer to be on the work crew was not an easy one and I had typed out a long thing about my take on trails but deleted it and will just say that I'd really like to see regular trail maintenance done by mountain bikers in Pisgah and I'd like to be a part of it.

Not much was said at the meeting but the Forest Service representative made a good point: their are volunteers who have been doing trail work in Pisgah on the same trails for 40 years. They were working on Black Mtn. long before anybody ever dreamed of pushing a bicycle up there and now they are jumping out of our way. The Forest Service has greatly limited what can be done - we can't leave the trail corridor - which is perfect with me. Pisgah area trails have a distinctive character and however dated their design might be there is no reason not to maintain what is already there.

After the meeting I rode the North Slope real fast to look for a gel flask I lost Friday night and as I was finishing up the loop I bumped into Mike Brown who was out hiking and we chatted briefly. He is nursing an injured elbow but has a good spirit about it and it was good to talk to him as I think he shares at least some of my philosophy on trails.

Then it was back the Hub to meet Zach for a hectic rush to get ready for a quick backpacking trip. It was my idea to go to the top of Cedar Rock Mountain for the 'super' moon and Zach seemed to think other people might have the same idea but we went for it anyway. When we got to the Fish Hatchery the parking lot was full and we literally had to wait for a parking spot. Not a good sign. We headed up Cat Gap towards John Rock and quickly got away from the masses of people. It is a three mile, 2000' climb to the top of the mountain and on the way up I had time to admire plenty of kick ass old school Pisgah trail work.

It was hot and the local wildlife was out soaking up the warmth. Winter is over.

At Cat Gap I ran down the social trail to get water for the night and then we got a little rain before heading up to the top.

The final push to the top was tough and we were all tired and ready to be done except we got all the way up there only to find others camped there. That sucked. A quick peak and back down to Sandy Gap we go.

Sandy Gap was no good for camping so we went on down the Art Loeb a little bit to the last known campsite we passed and then settled in for the night at a nice little spot. The super moon was hidden by the clouds but it did make a few brief appearances.

We were up and on the trail by eight and back at my house eating breakfast just after ten. That left me plenty of time to dust off the road bike for the first time in a month!

it's friday today

2011-03-18T21:51:00.003-04:00

So, after a long hard week of work (seriously?) I stopped in at The Hub for a quick pint before a quick ride and as I was getting in my truck Terry from Canada sent me a text saying he was headed that way for one quick last ride before he left town. So I stuck around for a few minutes so we could ride The North Slope together. 75 and sunny in the middle of March - welcome to Western North Carolina!

It was a great ride. One of the best in awhile. There is nothing I like more than sharing these woods with other people and taking Terry and his brother Brian on their first Pisgah ride was a real honor. The North Slope made for the perfect coda to their vacation. Terry has only been riding mtbs since September and did a really good job of holding my wheel on a tricky little trail that I ride all the time!

Of course we were right there at the Hub so why not have another pint?

Tomorrow I think I'll paint the fence and mow the grass and beat the dog and skin the cats.... or maybe I'll go camping. Here is my gear all laid out:

Packed up and ready to go!

Full Moon Over Pisgah!

mid week blues

2011-03-17T22:02:00.004-04:00

So these two guys from Canada, Terry and Brian, found this blog and emailed me last week to say they were coming into town and wouldn't mind having a guide for a ride while here so I said sure. They got into town Monday night but it was raining all day Tuesday so we rode Wednesday. Since there had been so much rain I decided riding somewhere reasonable like Dupont was unreasonable and they said they trusted my judgment so Pisgah proper it was of course. I gave them their choice between Spencer > Trace or Laurel > Pilot and of course being wise Canadians they decided riding up a road is not fun so Laurel Mountain it was.

I went easy on them and we skipped the prologue climb up 1206 and drove all the way up to Yellow Gap. As we started the climb up Laurel we starting talking for the first time and they remarked that this was their first ride of the season. I guess when I picked Laurel I wasn't really thinking that they live in a snow bound country and hadn't touched a bike since October. D'oh! Nobody saw that coming, right?

But here's the thing, they kept right up with me all day. There was a very heavy fog but it was a great morning and they were great company. These were big, burly Canadian wrestlers, real men and keeping up with me on my silly single speed didn't seem to be a problem. I realized right away maybe Dupont or Bent Creek or Sycamore Cove might really be a better choice for a first Pisgah area ride but I like the big stuff so that is what they got. They were great sports and we had a lot of fun walking up, and then back down, the mountain.

Terry:

Brian:

We even hit Slate Rock on the way back. Once we finally got back to Yellow Gap Rd. Brian remarked that gravel roads weren't so bad after all.

After the ride there was only one place to head: The Hub. Thanks for being such good sports, guys! It was a great ride!

Yesterday I took Duma out for a walk that got rather interesting. I didn't want to drive too far but wanted to do something interesting so I picked a little mountain I've never climbed and bushwhacked to the top of it. While out there I found all types of interesting stuff and because of the nature of the area I am not going to tell you what all I found or where it is. If you want to find this stuff you'll have to find it on your own. The only hints I'll give is that at least part of it is on a mountain in Pisgah and I didn't drive too far to get there. The most interesting stuff I found is not pictured. Amateur archeologists and free riders alike would enjoy the surprises found in this hidden corner.

Pristine single track:

The summit:

In the middle of the bushwhack, which was very dense, I caught a glimpse of something a little out of place way out there. It took me a good ten minutes to work my way to it after first seeing it:

I'm going to dismantle it and sell it for scrap, piece by piece!

double head

2011-03-14T21:43:00.003-04:00

Is it really still winter? It hardly seems like it. With another busy weekend come and gone I have to wonder what spring and summer will have in store for me. More of stuff like this, I'm sure:

Friday I woke to a little snow but by afternoon it was warm and sunny so I met up with Carlos for a fun little ride starting from the Hub. We did:

Estatoe > Sycamore Cove > 5061 > Thrift Cove > Black Mtn. (out and back to Hickory Knob

Along the way I decided to climb this vine but of course it didn't like that too much:

photo courtesy of Carlos.

I borrowed this fancy video camera they have at the Hub and tried to shoot the Black Mtn. downhill from Hickory Knob but flatted near the top so the video is in two chunks. If I ever manage to get a copy of it from them I'll be sure and post it here as I'm sure everyone wants to see what it is like to ride very slowly down Black. Of course it wouldn't be a Friday without a cold beer:

Saturday I decided was for the dog. I couldn't think of any trail that sounded like fun so I decided not to do a trail at all and instead to go bushwhacking. Trails? How do they work?

I didn't want to drive too far so I decided to hit the top of Double Head via Brushy Ridge. Brushy is on the logging chopping block so it sounded like a good time to head up there. Being the reasonable type I started out on a trail, Bear Branch, but immediately left it and tried to put together the old single track that once made it a true loop. That worked okay and put me out on FR5001 where I wanted to be. From looking at the map it would appear the easiest way to the top of Double Head is to start the bushwhack from the top of Bear Branch but I was concerned that was going to be too steep so I left the road and headed straight up the ridge right away.

As we worked up the ridge we kept crossing old road cuts and it is not hard to see why they picked Brushy to be logged. It is ready to go. All the old roads are still there, they just need to be opened back up again. This area is going to change drastically. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but that is another story.

Somewhere along the way I found this skull that I offer up to you to identify:

Edit: I found this really cool website (google, check it out!) and identified the skull myself. As suspected it is a coyote! Yuri, are you excited? Want to go back up there and get it with me?

It was a nice walk up the ridge and eventually the old roads and trails disappeared completely as we neared the top. It started to get steep and as I paused to rest and enjoy the view over my shoulder I had to hope that they don't log up this high.

Pisgah, as seen from the top:

On the other side I could see Asheville, Skyland, Fletcher, the Cliffs, Ferrin Knob, everything. It looks like someone is using this old piece of rail for a summit marker. I'm not sure where it came from. There was no sign of old rail that high up.

From there we headed East over the second little hump that makes it a Double Head. While the bushwhack up Brushy had been steep it was all in old growth hardwood forest but the trip over the second hump was through a very tight tangle of rhododendron that required me to crawl for a good distance.

Once we got off the top of that mountain and started down the ridge to the gap the rhodo let up and it was actually a very nice walk. We found this hollow tree somewhere out there. It was big enough I could have stood in it but neither Duma or I were anxious to go poking around in there.

We hit 5001A easy enough and I started to go up to Double Knob but my stomach was telling me to head home so that is what we did. Down 5001A to 5001 and then down Bear Branch and back to the truck. Here is Double Head as seen from 5001, this is the face that I decided against going up. Looks steep to me!

My dog thinks I'm crazy tromping up and down mountains, ignoring perfectly good trails but he would follow me anywhere. Our route:

If I hiked Saturday that must mean I biked on Sunday, right? Dennis, Zach and David George and I all met at, where else, The Hub for what would be an interesting route selection. We had no plans and no leader and tried our best to improvise. After a little discussion it was decided we would ride up the North Slope and then do the mandatory hike a bike over to Horse Cove Rd. Up the trail, down the road. From there we were headed for Daniel but had forgotten that 475 was closed so we had to go up Cat Gap, up Butter and up Long Branch before going down 5095. Up the trail down the road. Once back out on 475 we realized our route wasn't working like we hoped and after more discussion it was decided the proper thing to do was head up Cove Creek towards Club Gap. Once we got out onto 225 Zach and Dennis decided to head for the beer by riding down 475B to 475 to 276. I couldn't bring myself to ride down another road and was not really done for the day yet so I turned left on 475B and finished my ride with an actual downhill - Bennett Gap.

35 miles, 8k climbing, an interesting route but I had fun!

snowy gnomes and hungry bears

2011-03-09T21:53:00.003-05:00

What do you do when the forecast is for heavy rain in the middle of the week?

You ride early in the week.

Monday I got away for a quick ride. Just one trail, Vineyard Gap, one look at the river and out and back it was. The push up from the river to the gap sucks, but after that I think Vineyard actually flows better in that direction. What a great trail!

Tuesday I got away for something a little bigger: Laurel > Pilot with two twists. First of all I did the unthinkable and drove all the way up 1206 to Yellow Gap. I can't remember the last time I did that. It made the climb much easier and when I got to Turkey Spring Gap I stayed on Laurel Mountain all the way to the Mountains to Sea. As soon as I ducked into the rhododendron tunnel at the start of the 'gnome' section of Laurel winter reminded me that she hadn't gone anywhere yet. At first it was just a little ice but by the time I got to the switchback there were several inches of snow covering the trail. You can't really ride that section of trail anyway, so I had fun walking in it.

I carried my bike on the Mtns. to Sea and up Pilot Rock to just past the top of Little Bald Mountain where the trail becomes bike legal. This gave me a little more of the kick ass Pilot Rock downhill than I would have gotten from the Laurel Connector.

Two interesting things happened on the way down Pilot Rock. First of all, I encountered a very angry hiker who was complaining that someone had been sabotaging the trail by overturning all the rocks and logs. As I made my way down I realized that he was right, someone is out on that trail throwing around all the rocks and logs, the only thing is that someone is a bear. All the telltale signs of a bear foraging for termites and other insects were there - I wish I could go back and explain it that hiker! Second, I realized my fork isn't holding air or oil and likely hasn't been for a while, like August. Freaking forks, how do they work?

even lambs roar

2011-03-07T09:03:00.002-05:00

Friday afternoon Dennis and I met up for a quick, but fun ride. We did the North Slope and then 5061 > Thrift Cove > Black Mtn. After a long week I was tired and run down and Thrift Cove hurt more than it ever has before. I was concerned that The Hub closes at 5 on Fridays which would mean we would only have time for one beer but as it is it closes at 6 so we had time too knock back a couple. So, how cool is it that we have an outfitter right at the forest gate with a tavern in it? Have you checked it out yet? There is nothing better than a big day in the woods and then meeting back up at the bar/bike store!

Saturday the forecast was for rain and big Pisgah rain riding, though at times fun, is usually very uncomfortable and takes an enormous toll on equipment so instead the plan was for a hike. Zach, Dennis, Diane and I all met up at Black Balsam for what was to be a fun day in the woods. The parking lot at Black Balsam is usually full, but when we got there only two other vehicles were there. It was 40 degrees and heavy rain was blowing horizontally at us, you could see it freezing in mid air as it blew past us and I was glad I brought my rain gear with me.

Zach said he thought the best idea given the conditions was to avoid Ivestor Gap trail which was blocked from the worst of the elements by the ridge above and instead to head straight up into the heart of the furry. I agreed, naturally, so up the Art Loeb Spur we went with the idea being how many sixers we could get before we got too uncomfortable. Normally these high mountain balds offer panorama views and navigating to the top of Black Balsam and Tennent Mtn. is just a matter of walking there but we given the conditions we could not see the mountains so even though I know those trails well I did have to consult my little piece of a map a few times to make sure we were headed the right way as I didn't want to be wandering around aimlessly in the freezing cold rain. I also have this new gps thing I've been playing with and though it works I'm reluctant to trust it too much and honestly sort of like my map and compass. As we worked our way up the steep social trail that leads to the top of Black Balsam the weather just got worse and worse and could not have been anymore fun.

From there we continued on towards Tennent Mountain on the social trail. I'm assuming this was once a major trail and after a hundred of years it has eroded away and now makes for a tough bit of hiking.

Once we met back up with the Art Loeb and started the turn to the East and top of Tennent the wind really picked up and the rain was even worse and there was no need to stop for a photo shoot as we trudged past the summit.

You can't get much higher in Pisgah than Tennent Mtn. and as we started descending Graveyard Ridge (the ridge, not the trail) winter made her presence known once again and unleashed her full furry at us. The wind was very, very strong (I'd love to know just how high it was) and in the middle of the big switchback off the ridge Zach, Dianne and I all paused for a minute just to take it all in. It was reminiscent of being in a hurricane. A very cold hurricane that is. The rain was actually blowing up the mountain. We shot a lame video I won't bore you with and then went off chasing Dennis.

When we finally made it down to the intersection with Ivestor Gap trail Dennis and Diane headed back while Zach and I decided to go hit Grassy Cove Top as well. It turned out Dennis and Diane were not wearing rain pants, um, I bet they were cold!

Zach and I paused in the little pine forest before the gap which provided a little relief from the elements. The stretch down off Tennent was really crazy and we needed the quick break.

From there it was straight up to the top of Grassy Cove Top where we shot an even lamer video that I won't bore you with as well. Grassy requires taking yet more social trails and on the way down we started down the one off the West face of the mountain. This would mean that we would intersect Ivestor Gap trail and would turn left and head South back to the cars. Easy enough. Down we go, we hit the trail and turn left. After awhile Zach asks if should be concerned that we haven't made it to the gap. We check the map, then the gps, then the compass and saw that we are headed North. The gps track doesn't lie and I set a way point at the top of Grassy Cove Top and it was saying we were headed the wrong way. As I learned a few years back in the Middle Prong compasses can be reversed so I double checked it to my watch. Still North, still the wrong way. Visibility was still very low so we couldn't see the mountains around us but I could see the trail and know those trails well enough by sight to know that we were not on Ivestor or Art Loeb. We deduced that we had somehow circled the top of Grassy so we did the logical thing and turned around and headed South. And then sure enough we hit the Art Loeb just before Ivestor Gap. How we circled the top I don't know but we did.

Downhill from here:

Ivestor Gap was a slog if there ever was one. The road was basically a river and after a half hour of walking down it the cold finally got to me and I was very glad when we got back to the parking lot.

Duma was a trooper as always and for a reward got to go to The Hub with us for a few pints!

back on the wagon

2011-03-04T09:03:00.005-05:00

I'm standing on a cliff, in one hand there is something small, perhaps a pebble or marble, in one hand there is something big, a boulder or a bicycle. I'm not sure if I should jump or if I should fly. I'm wondering how I got here and where I will go from here. Round and round and round we go. So many trails, so many roads. I feel the wind draft up from the valley below, look out at those mountains I have climbed time and time again and time slows, then fades and then, there is peace. Here on this cliff, in these mountains, here I feel free.

Hi, my name is Clay and I have a Pisgah problem. I can't get enough. I'm an addict, always sneaking off to get my fix, a common junkie. All it took was one ride and I was hooked. After that first time it wasn't long before I quit my good job packed up everything I owned and moved closer to the source of my high. And it has just been downhill from there. Over five Pisgah hundreds rides later, countless miles of hikes and then runs with plenty of bushwhacks and waterfalls thrown in for good measure and Pisgah still never ceases to amaze me. There is always something new, something different, something that always draws me back. On most days there is simply no place I would rather be.

Pilot Cove/ Slate Rock Creek > Pilot Cove Loop yesterday:

always finish clean

2011-02-27T17:25:00.011-05:00

Broussard's are dangerous creatures. When you have already been in front of one on the climb up 477 at the start of the day (he stopped to shed layers, but hey, I'll still take it) and then again all the way up 475B near the end of the day you'd better be very careful as there is no way you can stay in front of one on the final climb up the backside of 477 at the end of the day. If you happen to be so lucky that the Broussard dares you turn left onto Club Gap, already 40 miles deep, for a solo All of Black Grand Finale, you best option is to hedge your bets and take the left, if you go straight he is only going to drop the hammer and you'll be left sucking up his dust. So left on Club Gap is what I did. Except when it came time to turn left on Black I hedged my bets again and turned right to push up Buckwheat Knob to for a Bennett Gap finish.

That is how the weekend ended, a fifty mile ride from, and then back to, The Hub. It started with quite the opposite type of Pisgah ride and was sandwiched with a nice fat dose of dogwalkbushwhackpaddywhackgivethemountainabone.

Friday's ride was as small as you can really get in Pisgah. From Fisherman's:

1206 > 5050 > Yellow Gap > North Mills River > Lower Trace Ridge > Wash Creek > 142 > Lower Trace > Fisherman's

Have you ridden Yellow Gap recently? My god that trail is fun! Fast fast fast!

Of course once you get to the bottom there is a river you have to cross a few times but what is a river anyway?

Saturday was a day for the dog. If you haven't heard Yellow Gap Rd. is now open all the way through so we loaded up in the truck and headed for the center of it - Shooting Ridge Rd. - and the top of Funneltop Mountain. We took the road up until we hit the dividing ridge and started our 600 vertical foot bushwhack to the top. I was really hoping we'd see a trail off the road but didn't and I feared that if we went all the way to the gap between Funneltop and Rich Mtns. we would find the Shooting Ridge itself to be unscaleable so we opted instead for the longer albeit easier bushwhack up the the North Ridge. It was very steep but there were lots of trees to hold onto with lots of unique to me views of Pisgah. Usually I view Funneltop from Laurel, Pilot, and Slate Rock, but here I was looking at them and even caught a glimpse of bikers on Pilot Rock.

After hanging out on the top for awhile taking in the now 360 degree views we decided to head down Shooting Ridge to try and bag the top of Rich Mtn. as well since we had made such good time. We managed to drop 200 vertical feet down the very steep and knife like ridge to just 200' above the road and gap below but were unable to go any further down. I'd estimate the grade was somewhere around 75% for those final 200' and it was heavily treed so it was probably actually descendable but it looked very intimidating and I didn't feel like taking any unnecessary risk so we retreated. Going back up the ridge didn't seem to make sense so we skirted the edge of what was basically a cliff and then followed the coutours around and down the mountain until we reached the top of the drainage for Darby Branch and then took that down to the road. We'll get Rich Mtn. soon - it isn't going anywhere!

So Sunday's ride was a big one. David Cook and David George both joined us as well and with temperatures in the 70's it was hard to believe it was really February. I don't know why we felt the need to do a 40+ mile 10,000'+ ride in February but we did. Ouch!

Estatoe > 276 > 477 > 276 > 475B > Log Hollow Rd. > 225 > Cove Creek > 475 > 471 > 471D > Butter Gap > Cat Gap > 475 > 475B > 276 > 477 > Club Gap > Buckwheat Knob > Bennett Gap > 477 > 276 > Estatoe

leave a note

2011-02-24T11:55:00.003-05:00

Recently a member of the WNDC started a group email after watching 127 hours to remind us to leave a note before going on solo adventures. That group email led to a whole lot of 'reply all's' which somehow diverted the whole subject to hats which led to us all getting the world famous hats you have seen but we completely dropped the issue of the notes. I'm especially bad about this, always sneaking off for a quick ride, or to find some remote waterfall that even if I did leave a note nobody else could find anyway, but am trying to get better. So, last night I left a note.

The timing was wrong for me to make the WNDC last night and I was going to be in Pisgah Forest anyway, so Pisgah it was. I haven't been to the Fish Hatchery in forever so that is where I went. With 475 closed it meant I had to do a full loop:

475B > 225 > Cove Creek > 475 > Daniel Ridge > 475 > Longbranch > Butter Gap > Cat Gap

Not bad for a Wednesday. Pisgah is fun at night by yourself!

Monday night I did:

1206 > 5000 > 5006 > Spencer Gap > Spencer Branch > 142 > Trace Ridge > Fisherman's

Not bad for a Monday!

back on the train

2011-02-21T07:45:00.002-05:00

Who would have guessed that four months ago when I topped out on Grassy Cove Top with Yuri that it really was going to be all downhill from there? I guess it isn't very surprising that I wound up injured considering what lead up to it: there was the Double Dare which had me dig as deep as I've ever dug out on Yellow Gap Rd trying to make it back before midnight on day one, then the next weekend there was Shut In where I decided that even though I could barely walk out on the flats after the 14 mile mark I decided to run the final (steep) stretch to the finish. I made that stretch in record time and collapsed at the finish but the next weekend still decided it was a good idea to run up to Shining Rock from Big East Fork. I took a bad fall during that run that might have compounded my impending injury but that still didn't stop me from thinking that running up Turkey Pen Gap trail was a good idea the following weekend. So, how did this happen again?

It doesn't matter, what is done is done and I've resigned myself to the idea that my running career is over. Oh, well. It is fun but distance running is very demanding and I do not have the discipline to properly train for it so I'll stick with the bike and beer thank you very much. I'd like to be able to run a little - say six miles or less - with the dog, just for fun, so it has been a tough winter hobbling around on one leg staring up longingly at the unclimable mountains, cursing my own stupidity. But Saturday I took the dog for a walk and as an outstanding version of the Phish song "Back on the Train" rang in my head and the full moon rose in front of me I found myself break into a little run for the first time in months. I didn't let myself go far or long at all and when I stopped there was no pain. I'm going to take it slow and might wait another week before I try again but it appears that one way or the other this darkness might finally give.

That was Saturday night and I have more to report than just that. Most notably is yesterday's excursion to the top of Bearpen Mountain. After five days in a row on the bike I was ready to let up a little and take the dog to play. We picked Coontree because it is short and doesn't gain much elevation. We took the bike side up and sat around Coontree Gap for awhile having a snack and waiting to see if any bikers came down Bennett. As I sat there I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at what appeared to Bearpen Mountian looming above me. I didn't have a map with me but had this new snazzy gps I got except I am too cheap to buy maps for it so I wasn't sure that was the top of Bearpen I could see 500 feet above me at all. I asked Duma what he thought and he gave me a look that said "It is just a finger, Dad. We are going to get up there and will see a saddle and then the real summit." He was right, of course, but that didn't stop me from dragging my weary shit ass up that mountain.

It was a bushwhack, of course, and got steep immediately but the views took my mind off the terrain. Within fifty vertical feet of leaving Coontree Gap the views opened up and I was able to see most of Pisgah. Looking Glass Rock was hanging directly in front of me with Cedar and John Rock's off to her left. Coontree Mountain, Black, Funneltop, the Parkway, it was all right there...

There was this very nice hunting blind set up looking down into the cove that Coontree Gap trail follows. It was a very nice spot and was easy to see why a hunter picked this location. I could spend a day just hanging out in the there waiting to see what comes by.

Just like I'd guessed we climbed a false top before reaching Bearpen Mtn. proper. The trail was very steep and it was a hard push to get to that false top (which happens to be ten feet higher than the top of the mountain) but once we got there it was really fast through the saddle and on to the summit. I made a horrible 3 minute video of the push to the top but won't bore you with it. Here are a few more pictures of us along the way.

The trip back down came very fast. The easiest way down was a mixture of swinging on the Rhodo branches and sliding down the leaves. Along the way I found this stake and flag. I guess I'm no the only one playing games out in those woods.

I've been riding my bike some and am going to be riding it some more in the future as well. Thursday I did:

Pink Beds > Gauging Station Connector > 476 > 1206 > 276

Friday I did:

South Mills River > Mullinax > Squirrel Gap > Laurel Creek > Bradley Creek > Riverside > Bradely Creek > 66 Jumps

14 river and creek crossings in February isn't too bad!

Saturday I did:

477 > Club Gap > Avery Creek > 477

Seven down, 45 to go!

A PBR PDQ

2011-02-17T09:19:00.004-05:00

The Wednesday Night Drinking Club met last night for the first time in a long time. I had to go back and check but it looks like the last time I made a WNDC was 10/13/10. I think there was one after that I missed and then Dennis, Jonathon and I met at sunrise instead of sunset on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to try and ruin Jonathon's new bike, but other than that no middle of the week drinking for these fools until last night. We had a good group and after an epic fake out up Fawn Lake Rd. like we were headed for the river only to have our self appointed President take a right down Scarlet Oak and then left on Reasonover and we were headed instead for Joanna. Oh, what a night! Let it get strong, let it get bright... I bailed when my quad started cramping and my route might have looked something like this:

Fawn Lake Rd. > Scarlet Oak > Conservation > Reasonover Creek > Turkey Knob > Poplar Loop > Turkey Knob > Pinnacle Mtn. Rd. > Joanna Rd. > Grassy Meadow > Joanna > Briery Creek > Twin Oaks > Joanna > Conservation

I feel like I have a lot going on but at the same time not much. Got a project in the works, gonna have to ride Pisgah a bunch. I guess I better go and get to that...

sweet blossom daydream

2011-02-01T09:19:00.002-05:00

Sixty degrees and sunny - welcome to Pisgah in January!

The last thing I wanted to ride this weekend was Laurel but when we met at Fisherman's everyone else wanted to go up 1206 and Laurel suddenly seemed like the perfect choice for a sunny morning. We picked up another rider in the parking lot in the form of 17 year old Adam on his self made Smoke bike. He passed me on the way up 1206 and he and Zach spent the rest of the day chasing each other around. The last thing I wanted to do was try and keep up with a 17 year old on the way up Laurel.

While each of us had managed to fall on the climb up to Yellow Gap due to the ice Laurel Mountain was a nice and dry ribbon of single track through the woods. When there were patches of snow they were deep and I was surprised to find that the only tracks were those I had left the previous weekend.

Notice how nice and shiny Jonathon's bike is in this picture. Don't worry, Jonathon, I'm sure it will still look as good after the Icycle.

Here Jody and Jonathon try and reassure Adam that they are actually very respectable and upstanding citizens. Fathers themselves, in fact.

The descent down to Big Creek was interesting. While Laurel had been snow free for the most part the drop down was not a sunny South slope and was still covered in snow. Dropping 2000 vertical feet on a trail covered in a foot of wet snow is interesting. It was literally impossible to stop using your brakes. You could slow a little and skid but that was about it. I got going a little too fast and started to skid. With no way to stop I went right into a tree at full force taking the brunt of the impact with the side of my face and helmet. Ouch. Zach caught up and remarked that it was impossible to stop and I told him I had noticed.

We hit the creek and the snow let up but there was the creek. Of course it was 60 degrees out but something about multiple creek crossings in winter is just too much fun.

From there it was up Spencer, down Fletcher and back. A nice little Pisgah ride.

Sunday it was still nice out so I took the dog up to the top of Bearwallow to hang out for a bit. Surprisingly we had it all to ourselves and just hung out in the sunshine, gazing at the mountains.

The Blacks:

Craggy Dome:

Mt. Mitchell:

Pisgah:

D-Man:

Tree:

Tower:

where the climate suits my clothes

2011-01-24T20:40:00.002-05:00

Saturday the tattered remnants of the WNDC were headed to some mythical land called fats to ride in warmer weather but I decided to skip the long day in the car and opted for Pisgah instead. Driving up North Mills River Rd. I realized there was still more snow than I had thought and decided to skip the lower trails around Trace Ridge and headed for Laurel Mtn. instead. I know that the higher you go on a mountain the less snow there is due the increased proximity to the sun so Laurel seemed like the only reasonable thing to ride.

And as suspected I was right. At the start of the trail there was still a little snow but by the time I rounded the first bend it was smooth sailing with a wide open ribbon of dirt in front of me. I was a little surprised to find that only myself and a bear had been on the trail since the snow. It was a perfect Carolina mountain morning and nothing could have been finer. At times there was still little scattered patches of snow, even some drifts several feet high, but for the most part it was a perfectly frozen Laurel Mtn. trail. Not wanting to go down Pilot Rock I declared it Good Enough before the gap of the same name and headed right back down the way I had come.

Descending Yellow Gap Rd. was interesting. It took me almost 30 minutes to make it down it with multiple dismounts. My studded tire would have come in handy.

Sunday's are still for the dog but I'm still trying to go easy on the knee by not running and no mountain climbing. So where better to go than a waterfall? These are very special places and I took the time to finally go down to one I've ridden my bike past hundreds of times.

Cove Creek Falls:

Cascades lower down:

the blue wall

2011-01-20T09:24:00.001-05:00

in the mountains, there you feel free

2011-01-11T22:23:00.007-05:00

It is snowing again today. Just ever so slightly but everywhere I look there is already a winter wonderland that is showing no signs of moving. I guess it is going to be that kid of winter which is fine with me, I guess. I have no events to train for and am trying to get my knee healthy (which is improving rapidly while the other one is starting to decline) and focus on work (need some work done? see my 'sponsor' to the right and call me).

It is hard to believe I met up with Zach and Dennis for a very nice little Sunday afternoon Pisgah ride. With nothing to train for we slept late and rode slow. It had snowed on Saturday but had actually managed to mostly melt the same day and with temperatures staying below freezing Sunday was as perfect as Pisgah gets. With the ground, and mud, frozen traction was perfect and you could just fly through the woods. This was the good stuff.

Our route was: 276 > 477 > Bennett Gap > 477 > Clawhammer Rd. > Maxwell Cove Rd. > Black Mtn. > The Hub

As we started up 477 another rider, Jeff from Indiana, caught up to us and asked if he could tag along for awhile. He had just rented a bike from the Hub and was headed for the Top of Black but we were headed for Bennett and I convinced him to ride with us. We stopped at the gap for a beer break and when he wasn't scared away by our sordid brand of humor all three of us started wondering just who this guy was. He even had some jokes of his own and seemed to be a perfect fit for the wndc. We took him down Bennett really fast and it was too much fun but we weren't able to convince him to go back up again and the rest of the ride wasn't the same without him.

We went up Maxwell Cove at what felt like a fast speed but likely wasn't and hurt way more than it should have and then I used my hurt knee as an excuse to hike slowly up to Hickory Knob. But Black was screaming fast and the traction was perfect and it was all worth it. Just like it always is.

We headed back to the Hub where our new friend Jeff was hanging out so we all got to enjoy a pint together. If you happen to be reading this Jeff we do hereby declare you an honorary wndc member. I think you have to make it to an actual Wednesday Night to get any stickers but you'll have to talk to Broussard about that if you are so brave. In the likely event that you move here you can have Jonathon's spot in the club. He is sort of a founding member and arguably at one time played a vital role but he just had a kid and can't do anything anymore so his spot is sort of open.

reason to believe

2011-01-03T09:27:00.003-05:00

My knee still hurts. Not only does it still hurt but there for awhile it actually seemed to be getting worse even though I was doing less than ever. I haven't ran in forever and my biking has been quite limited and my knee still hurt which is discouraging. I think it is just taking awhile to heal as my idea of 'rest' still has plenty of activity and each time I have been foolish enough to try and run probably puts me back another week. Of course I'm self employed and don't have insurance so an mri isn't something I want to pay for just quite yet. But we made it through December and like Merl Haggard says I know everything is going to be alright.

I have still managed to get out in the woods and do some stuff (which is probably a bad idea, but bad ideas are one thing I am good at). For example, on New Year's Eve I took Duma out for a real quick and easy walk to Moore Cove Falls and Jack's Falls. It is a mile round trip and as easy as you can get in Pisgah. Perfect.

We made it to the waterfalls which had these really interesting ice formations at their base:

It was unique but proved to be a photographic nightmare. Impossible to keep them from washing out. Moore Cove Falls:

From there it was on to Jack's Falls. This is off the trail, which dead ends at Moore Cove Falls, and requires a tiny bit of work to find.

I know there is a loop that goes back to the parking area from there but in the snow it was difficult to locate. I spotted an obvious old rail grade and some old blazes and headed up that even though it was heading in the wrong direction.

It was a nice trail that is maintained and had lots of old trestles and other logging relics like this knotted cable. Probably not easy to tie this stuff.

I took it nice and slow, looking for arrowheads and whatnot, and along the way found these interesting markings in the snow across the trail.

There were probably 20 sets of these evenly spaced down the trail and no other disruption to the snow (the other tracks in the picture are thanks to Duma who didn't understand not to mess them up). There was an unmarked hunting trail that broke off to the West right in the middle of the set of markings which had me thinking that they were human made to indicate direction to a hiker following another hiker. Except there had been absolutely zero sign of any human activity anywhere on the trail past Jack's Falls. So they have to animal tracks, but what animal makes such a track? Hunting dog? Black Panther? Brave readers, please help me identify these tracks!

So, anyway, I kept working my way up and the higher I got the thinner the snow got before it was gone completely from the sunny South slope. I knew I was headed the wrong direction and knew I was climbing a mountain but when I popped out onto a road I was a little surprised and had to dig the map out to see just where I was.

With Looking Glass Rock looming behind me I knew I was on FR5012 just below Bennett Gap. There was a cairn on the other side of the road showing the trail which I'm sure goes on up the short distance to Bennett Gap but I decided to go ahead and turn around there.

The return trip started with a steep descent (imagine that) that was exactly what my knee doesn't need but I went slow and it handled it pretty well. In the end what was supposed to have been a flat and easy mile walk turned into almost three miles with a thousand foot elevation gain.

Andy Cove

2010-12-17T15:07:00.001-05:00

I managed to get for a mini earlier in the week. My new favorite trail, Andy Cove:

Kiesee Falls

2010-12-12T15:51:00.002-05:00

Since I'm trying not to do much but can't just sit at home and do nothing I got out yesterday for a fun little Pisgah exploration. My goal was Kiesee Falls. I knew there were two separate, but very similar falls, on the creek and knew roughly where they both were and planned on finding both. 140 was in poor shape with the low bridge barely being passable and after a quick glance up Kiesee Creek I decided not to bushwhack up the creek but to follow an old rail grade and then bushwhack down to the creek when I got closer to the falls. It took a little work but was easy enough to find the first waterfall.

False Kiesee Falls:

This was a very nice waterfall with a nice, big and deep swimming hole at its base. It is a little tricky to find and the bushwhack down to it is tough but very doable. I'll be coming back to this spot come summertime.

Kiesee Falls proper was not as easy to find or get to. I'm not going to say exactly where it is as I believe finding it is a lot of the fun. It took me a little while to pin point exactly where it was, though my first hunch had been right, and once I did find it I then had to solve the problem of how to get to it. This required a very hard bushwhack down to the creek. Duma couldn't make it and I had to leave him perched on the bank just above the upper part of the falls.

I probably had no business trying to get down there as the steep bank was sheer rock covered in a sheet of ice. Treacherous to say the least but I had come all that way to get the shot so down I went. I won't try this again without a rope. I'm not sure that going up the creek from 140 would be any easier. This is not an easy place to get to. If you look closely you'll see Duma in his orange vest in this shot:

Kiesee Falls is a very nice falls and is worth the visit but be careful if you do go. Very similar to the False Kiesee Falls - both are double falls with nice swimming holes.

For the return trip I decided to follow another old logging grade that I had a hunch was going to spit me out at the gap on Kissee Creek Rd. just before the unmarked right turn. It did just that which also happens to be right where Chestnut Falls is.

Sassafras and Pilot Mtns. and Deep and Farlow Gaps:

terminal frost

2010-12-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

My runners knee is still as good as ever and I have finally resigned myself to it. I won't be doing anything big for awhile so any hopes of making a dash across the Art Loeb before the winter are long gone. But with temperatures staying at or below freezing for several days the lure of Pisgah was just too great so last night I headed out for a nice little night ride. I like it when it is good and cold. It is so crisp and so refreshing, the ground is solid and silent and every moment you feel alive. The dark just adds to the thrill. The Drinking Club is worn and tattered so instead of puttering around Dupont I went and did The North Slope. I believe clockwise flows the best so that is what I did. I took my time and lingered, trying to make it feel cold but it never quite did. It was too much fun and got me a little excited for winter!

cool it down

2010-12-06T09:33:00.002-05:00

Saturday I awoke to a light cold rain and snow which is perfect weather for being on the disabled list in Pisgah. I couldn't do much but wanted to do something so I parked at Coontree and headed for Bennett. The woods were surprisingly quiet and empty so I decided to mix it up some and headed North on 276 instead of South towards the Horse Stables. I usually only ride that stretch on my road bike and was a nice change of pace from the grunt climb up 477 from the bottom. I took it nice and easy and lingered at Sliding Rock for awhile as it isn't often you have it to yourself.

It was spitting sleet at me on the way up and by the time I got to 475B it had turned to wet snow and rain. Bennett was cold and wet and was as good as ever.

Sunday is still runday but I was hesitant to do much. I can't just do nothing though so I headed to Pisgah, of course, and did two trails that I had never done before:

Exercise Trail and Andy Cove.

They are as flat as Pisgah gets and made for a nice four miles or so. But they are still very much Pisgah. I didn't take my camera but wished I did when I got to Andy Cove. There is one of the biggest and most scenic suspension bridges in the entire forest over the forested cove. This trail was the biggest surprises I've had in Pisgah in a long time. I'll be back!

straight ballin'

2010-12-03T10:39:00.002-05:00

My runner's knee is still flared up but my trip to Florida was some good forced downtime. There were no mountains and no bikes and no running but I did make it out to Big Cypress in the everglades where I saw plenty of these:

And lots of big birds like this Barred Owl:

Off in the distance there was a big nest in the highest tree around:

A closer look revealed it was Bald Eagles:

Then it was off on a three day cruise on the biggest cruise liner in the world:

It was an invitation only inaugural voyage and everything was paid for. They put us in a suite and I when I wasn't eating and drinking I was busy surfing and rock climbing:

The last night I stopped in the casino briefly and after playing video poker for a few minutes hit a royal flush:

So, yeah, being injured and forced into downtime didn't suck too bad. Don't worry though, I'm sure I'll be back out in Pisgah this weekend pretending like my knee doesn't hurt.

The Group W Bench

2010-11-25T18:00:00.002-05:00

It turns out there is a name for what is wrong with my knee. Runners Knee. And it is caused by, surprise, overuse. And there isn't much you can do for it except rest and ice. So no big runs for awhile. That's fine because I'm headed to Florida to do go only knows what for a week.

Yesterday it was the Wednesday Morning Drinking Club out for a little new Team Issue shakedown. This thing has so much bling it is blinding.

Today it was back to Dupont with Terri for a nice little ride. We started at Giuon Farm and worked our way over to the airstrip and then back again. This was Terri's third real ride and she did great!

crawling around

2010-11-22T08:50:00.002-05:00

So Saturday morning was spent goofing around Pisgah nice and casual like. With no need to go big or fast it is kind of nice to just coast around. Our route:

North Slope > Thrift Cove > Grassy Rd. > Sycamore Cove > 276 > 477 > Buckhorn Gap > Clawhammer Rd. > Black Mtn.

Sunday are run days and I was really looking forward to getting in a nice, big fat one. But my knee has really been bothering me. I'm not quite sure what is wrong with it: either I sprained it in my fall last week or it is some type of over use injury from the Double Dare and Shut In. With that in mind I picked Turkey Pen because of the bountiful bail out options and met Yuri there just before noon.

We went straight up Turkey Pen Gap under the pretense that there would be nobody on it but we both just wanted to do things the hard way. Turkey Pen is hard but it makes for really good running. I felt good as we cruised over Sharpy Mtn. and then through the gaps and was thinking that I'd be able to stick it out for a good full run. But as we made the turn onto Wagon Rd. Gap my knee gave out. No mas. The pain was severe and brought me to a stop several times before I conceded and started the walk down. I met Yuri and the dogs at the water and told him it was over for me. I managed to slow run out to the river where Yuri headed left for Cantrell and I headed right for home. I tried to run a little but each time I did the pain was just too much after even a single step. With no need to hurry we walked slowly out. I guess I'm gonna have to give it a break.

mountain running

2010-11-15T09:48:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I met Yuri at the Big East Fork Trail Head for nice little Sunday run. Our route was Shining Rock Creek > Art Loeb > Greasy Cove > Big East Fork.

It looks like this:

12 miles, just one big climb and then a long gradual downhill.

We started out up the creek instead of up Old Butt Knob so the dogs could have water along the way. It was still quite the climb and the leaf litter made the already difficult terrain that much more demanding.

I was feeling good and was running more than I should have been and near the top I tried to do a tricky jump over a fallen tree but came up short and fell onto it with my left thigh taking the full force of the impact. I was really hurting and for a quick moment feared a serious bone injury, it was reminiscent of my crash on Farlow over the summer that left me with a badly bruised knee cap. But I could still run so I knew I was just being a wimp and was really okay. Just below the Shining Rock Ledge is not a place you want to get hurt.

We hit the Art Loeb and the climbing let up for a quick moment before heading up Flower Knob.

We hung out for a minute to check out where we had been and where we were going. Here I am in my new WNDC shirt.

For fun I headed up to the 6000' Grassy Cove Top. It really was downhill from here.

When we made the turn onto Greasy Cove just past Ivestor Gap my left knee really started to hurt from my fall. Luckily Yuri was carrying enough gear for us to spend a week out there so he dug out some advil for me and down we went.

Greasy was a technical and treacherous beast. Dropping over a thousand feet a mile it is quite steep and running down it with a foot of leaves covering an endless barrage of rocks and roots and made for the ultimate concentration test.

My knee was really bothering me and by the time we hit the creek I was looking forward to the end. But we still had five or so miles of kick ass Pisgah single track. The high views from the top were long gone but now we were never far from the water which added a whole other perspective to the forest.

By the time it was over my knee was completely done. No more running it was telling me. But Yuri couldn't help but head a half mile down the road and back to make it his first half marathon.

shut in and shut down

2010-11-07T07:59:00.002-05:00

When I first heard about the Shut In Trail Race it sounded perfect to me. 18 miles from Bent Creek to Mt. Pisgah mainly up hill and on single track. What could be better than that? After a lot of thinking about it and talking about it I actually sent in my registration and entered the thing. With my main focus being on the Double Dare I was limited by just how much I could train for it. But I did train some and figured how hard could it be?

The first story of the day was the weather. Instead of beautiful blue sky 60 degree weather we awoke to cold rain and snow. I called the Blue Ridge Parkway hotline first thing in the morning and heard that the parkway was closed from NC 151 all the way to Cherokee due to the weather. Uh,oh, what would they do? I got to the Arboretum and got my number and heard the news that they wouldn't know exactly where the race was going until right at the start time. The likely option was that they would have to move the finish 2 miles down to 151.

We were lined up and ready to go at 10 when they made the announcement that as of right then we were going all the way to the top but that was weather dependent! Woo - hoo! Let's go!

I'd been unsure exactly what the start was going to be so when it started with a nice long downhill warm up and then a pleasant climb up through Bent Creek I was happy. I'm sure the sub 9 minute miles I was doing at the start was a bad idea but at the time it seemed like the perfect thing to do. Once we hit the actually trail the climbing started in earnest and I was all too happy and fall into a long line of walkers on the first steep pitch.

The weather turned out to be perfect. There was a fine layer of snow on the trees and the ground and in the bright morning sunshine the white of the snow combined with the vibrant last autumn leaves made for a memorable visual. At times it would turn cloudy and then spit snow which was perfect as well. I'd been unsure of what to wear and at the last minute went with shorts, two shirts, gloves and hat which was just about right.

Everything was going great until I hit the 14 mile mark at the Mills River Valley Overlook. My hip flexors were killing me with pain with every step. I was forced to start walking a lot of the neutral ground due to the pain and got passed by a few dozen runners in the process. With only a 5k left to go I was going to finish but it wasn't going to be pretty. After an eternity the long flat stretch finally spit me out at 151 where spectators were able to gather and Terri was waiting. She opened a gel for me and I squirted it in my mouth and headed for the final thousand foot, two mile ascent to the top. Climbing was actually easier than running on flat ground and with the finish within my grasp I vowed to go all out to the end and gave it all I had to give. It was just like it was 11pm out on Yellow Gap Rd. again, trying to outrun a certain dnf with a brick wall blocking my way.

I dug in and ran the final stretch to the top. I was grunting and groaning and yelling with every step but I ran. I passed a half dozen or people at the bottom and could see a conga line of another 20 or so a few hundred yards ahead of me so I dug in and ran harder. Eventually I could only manage a half dozen steps or so before I had to stop to try and yell off the pain but I suffered through it and ran my way to the finish in less than 30 minutes after leaving 151 with a total finish time right around 3:45.

Terri was there waiting at the finish and I told her I needed to go find a place to collapse and did just that. My final push had pushed me over the edge. Nothing left. My hip flexors were absolutely killing me and just getting to the car was a real challenge.

I'm not sure I need to do that again!

Bradley Falls

2010-11-04T22:43:00.002-04:00

miracles

2010-11-04T09:24:00.007-04:00

So Saturday started innocently enough at Cove Creek with the drinking club doing what we do best: hanging out and shwilling on some Faygo.

In a race like this every second counts. Sure it is a little more than a sprint but seconds wasted compound rapidly and can make a difference when it counts. I was the first racer to grab a passport and had Zach read the check point locations while I marked them on the map. As I did so I processed the route and then showed Zach what we had to do. In two minutes we knew our entire route for the day (though we would later have to omit a section). Zach said he was impressed and I said lets go and just took off without Zach and in the wrong direction. And we're off!

Checkpoint 1 came easy enough. A short little push up Club Gap and there we were.

The second one was just as easy. Up Buckwheat, down Bennett and we were at #2. Saddle Gap.

From there it was on down Bennett, up Clawhammer, up Maxwell Cove, up Black. On the way up Black it started to get really hot and I was dripping in sweat and my make up started bothering me. The Dark Carnival was closing in. I hadn't noticed the Koerbers at the start of the race but they made their presence known with some impressive climbing on the steep stuff at the top of Black where Checkpoint 3 was looming.

On the initial Turkey Pen downhill we passed Kee and Fusco on the side of the trail sorting out a broken derailleur. Tough break. Turkey Pen Gap kicks ass and there is nothing more fun that smoking across it. But on Saturday when I started up the steep climb on McCall Mountain a brick wall was waiting for me. My right quad started cramping and I had to slow to a crawl. I tried to eat and drink and keep moving forward. In the middle of it all was #4, Wagon Rd. Gap.

I eventually caught up with Zach on the way up Sharpy and told him what was going on and we slowed even more while I ate and ate. Dave Simpson and teammate passed us and we just let them go but in the end we crossed Turkey Pen Gap in 47 minutes, which is fast. I was feeling a little better and another cp help lighten the mood even more. Mullinax.

Checkpoint 6 was Laurel Gap on Squirrel Gap trail. This required an out and back past the intersection with Laurel Creek and although some teams were taking pictures of Laurel Creek because they misread the passport we went all the way there but it was frustrating to know others shaved 45 minutes off by not quite going there.

I was feeling good on the technical downhills so I lead the trip down Squirrel and Laurel Creek and tried to make up for lost time. As soon as we made the turn onto 5015 the wall was there again and this time both quads and a calf cramped and I had to fall off the bike. Not good. I never cramp and asked Zach what to do but he never cramps either. I pulled some peanuts out and started walking up the road. Keep moving forward. Work it out. Eventually I got back on the bike and we were rolling again. It was getting late and we still had a long way to go and on the climb up I tried to add up the times and figure out if we could reach all 10 cps and what time we needed to be climbing up out of the campground. By my calculations we had to be leaving the campground no later than 8:30. Any later and we wouldn't have time to hit Slate Rock and make it back in time.

When we started up 5001 it was 7pm and I knew 10 cps would mean a dnf. The Bear Branch cp was bitter sweet as I told Zach we had to pick between Middle Fork and Trace Ridge.

We picked Middle Fork because it required less climbing but it didn't come fast or easy. We went out and back on Spencer Branch and Middle Fork to get it which was slow and technical but we still got it. The Dark Carnival was still at work in my head so I turned up my music to drown out the demons as we worked our way back out of the darkness.

Fisherman's was just right there and would have meant saving a lot of precious time but it isn't a trail and isn't on the map and we play by the rules so all the way out 142 > 5000 we went. And then the long slog up to Yellow Gap. When I'm fresh I can hammer out that climb in 20 minutes flat but I wasn't fresh and it took almost twice that long and on the way up we discussed the high probability of not making the midnight cutoff. We had left the campground at 8:35. Not early enough.

It was forever down 1206 to the turn for Slate Rock and a dnf seemed the likely result. We were fine with that but still made the turn to the mandatory cp of the day. If I was alone I would have left the bike at the bottom and ran up and down but there were two of us and Zach doesn't run well downhill so we pushed our bikes slowly up. The wall still in front of me. On the top of the rock we ran into amigos, Cook and Cissy and I was relieved to see some good friends out there in the middle of the madness. Cissy asked if we were going to make it and I told her no. She looked devastated but that was my honest assessment of the situation. Down we go.

We passed Kee and Fusco near the bottom on their way up. Brad was moving slow on the flats with his unexpected single speed and it was good to see them still hitting the mandatory cp with a dnf being definite.

Out on Yellow Gap Rd. a couple of other teams joined us and Cissy set a blistering pace with us all trying to chase her blinkie and make it in before midnight. I knew it was going to be very close and staying up all night drinking with Brad and Matt didn't sound too bad at all. Plus we could party all day Sunday as well. If it wasn't for Cissy I would have just completely resigned to it but there she was, hammering away. So I dug in and gave it all I had. We made it in with only seconds to spare and nothing left inside.

I wandered around in a daze trying to get my beer opened and kept hearing something about a slow bike race and a half a checkpoint. Half a cp is huge so I found my bike and lined up. I wasn't exactly sure what the idea was, or how to do it, and wasn't too interested anyway so when I pedaled twice and rode across the line first I was just glad to be out of the way and off to bed.

5:30 am Sunday and it was a whole other beautiful day. Although a crusty layer of frost fell into my tent like snow as I unzipped it the wall was gone and I felt great and knew it would be a day of rainbows and unicorns, all types of miracles I can't begin to understand.

A late start and time trial to 471D with me taking it easy but still passing all but one team. We got the passport and right away decided to drop the Summey cp. It seemed too far away and too much of a gamble but in hindsight we could have gotten it without a problem. Once again I knew the route immediately and we took off for our first cp of the day - Butter Gap.

Number 2, Butter and Longbranch was just as easy. I was glad to be riding single track in the early morning darkness. It isn't often you get to indulge in such gluttony.

We took 5095 down to 475. I thought up Longbranch would have been fastest but Zach disagreed and I didn't care. Pilot Mtn. Rd. wasn't bad. It was already hot out and I took it nice and easy not wanting to risk a cramp. Nice and easy I suspect was actually still quite fast as we hit the gap in no time at all. I took one look at the eggs and told Zach to do what he though best. He grabbed the slingshot and hit the pumpkin first thing without hesitation and we drank some beers as we watched other riders other riders take interesting trails to the gap.

The way I look at it is if you are at Farlow Gap you should ride down Farlow so that is what we did though backtracking back out down the roads might have been just as fast and easier. It doesn't get any better than Farlow though and cp 4 was there at the bottom.

Up Daniel and out the 225 connector. We stopped for water and to shed layers at one of the streams and Dave Simpson passed us. We just let them go knowing we could catch them later in the day. Once out on 276 we saw them coming out of the Forest Discovery Center and wondered what was going on with that? Perhaps they didn't know how to get to the Pink Beds? We caught them as we turned onto the single track and then as they stopped to walk across the first bridge I yelled at Zach to go straight through and we both blew through the creek and past them. Click, click, click. If they stopped fore every bridge they weren't going to catch us on this trail. A quick pause for cp 6.

And on across the Pink Beds at a blistering pace. Zach needed water but there were no stop signs on this day so we swapped his empty bottle for my full one and went on to Wolf Ford. We passed Wes and Geoff coming the other way and wondered what was going on with that. Had they gotten all the cps around Avery and were doing Farlow and Summey last? Had they skipped at cp? No time to wonder too much. Time to go!

We got stuck behind a big group of horses just before the river and had to stop for a few minutes while we waited for them. Tick, tock. Climbing back up to Buckhorn Gap there were several teams headed down and then Dave Simpson caught me just before the gap after Zach and I had stopped for a few minutes to get water. We chatted for a few minutes and he asked me if we were going to get Pressley Gap. I lied and told him I wasn't sure and didn't really care. He agreed that it sounded far away. Hmmn, really? Okay!

#7, Buckhorn Gap Shelter:

I made the call that we would go down Clawhammer and out and back on Maxwell Cove for checkpoint 8. It was probably just as fast to go over Black but Maxwell sounded like a safer call. It wasn't bad at all.

We pushed up Bennett which seemed longer than it should have and I was glad we skipped the top of Black. Coontree Gap was number nine and meant that it was all downhill from there. I love Coontree and am actually able to ride it really fast and couldn't think of a better way to end the weekend!

Double Dare Routes and Maps

2010-11-02T18:11:00.005-04:00

Day 1:

Cove Creek > 225 > 475B > 276 > 477 > Club Gap > Buckwheat Knob > Bennett Gap > 477 > Clawhammer > Maxwell Cove > Black Mtn. > Turkey Pen Gap > South Mills River > Mullinax > Squirrel Gap (out and back to Laurel Gap) > Laurel Creek > Bradley Creek > 5015 > 2106 > 5000 > 5001 > Bear Branch > 142 > Spencer Branch > Middle Fork > Spencer Branch > 142 > 5000 > 1206 > Pilot Cove/ Slate Rock Creek Loop (out and back to Slate Rock) > 1206 > 276 > 475B > 225 > Cove Creek

Day 2:

475 > 471 > 471D > Butter Gap > Long Branch > 5095 > 475 > 229 > Farlow Gap > Daniel Ridge > 225 > 475B > 276 > Pink Beds > South Mills River > Buckhorn Gap > Clawhammer Rd. > Maxwell Cove > Clawhammer > 477 > Bennett Gap > Coontree Gap > 276 > 475 > Davidson River > 475

Just a Juggalo

2010-11-01T14:11:00.003-04:00

So if you are reading this I'm guessing you are wondering about the Double Dare. It is likely going to be awhile before I have time to fully digest it all but here is the short version:

We rode really hard and made no mistakes. I spent most of Saturday against the wall but we pushed on as hard as we could. At 10:30 Saturday night we reached the mandatory CP on Slate Rock for our 9th of the day but it was looking like we were certain to DNF. We encountered some kindred spirits up there on the rock in the form of Cook and Cissy and once out on Yellow Gap Rd. Cissy took off like a woman possessed and we all tried our best to hold her wheel. It took absolutely everything I had to grind out those final miles and we came in with only 11 seconds to spare by my watch. Sunday morning the wall was gone and though we made the tough call to forsake a checkpoint up front we hammered all day and came out in second place for our efforts.

It was an incredible weekend of riding. Thanks to everyone who was there and made it what it was!

Violent Clay at the top of Farlow:

Skinny Too Drunk at the bottom:

coasting along

2010-10-24T17:24:00.004-04:00

So Friday I decided to go run 13 or so miles on the Shut In as time has run out for me to do any sort of 'training' and I needed to see where I stood. It took me over an hour to set up my bicycle assisted shuttle due to the leaf peeper traffic on the parkway. I dropped the bike at Mt. Pisgah and then drove back down to Sleepy Gap and started running. The run itself was good. I played it safe and fast hiked all the steep ups and ran everything else. The stretch from 151 to the top was especially memorable. It climbs 1000' in a mile, so it is steep, but offers outstanding nearly 360 degree views all the way up. My plan was to run out and back up to Mt. Pisgah after I got off the Shut In but the traffic on the parkway had slowed me down and when I got to the rock steps that lead to the summit the sun dropped below the ridge and I knew my time was limited so I turned around short of the top. I still had a 13 mile bike ride down the parkway and with seven tunnels along the way I really didn't want to be doing it in the dark. As soon as I started coasting down the road I realized it was getting dark fast and there was nothing I could do to make it go faster. The sun setting behind me and the full rising in front of me was an idyllic end to a long run. But before I knew it the sun was gone for good and that great big old moon was all I had. I was wearing just my running shorts, t shirt and arm warmers. It was beyond cold. Most of the tunnels came easy but the last one was a real bitch. I believe the Pine Mountain tunnel is the longest on the parkway and by the time I reached it the sun was long gone. I entered slowly and quickly had to slow even more. It was pitch black in there with only my blinkie to give me any sort of reference where I was. Right when I was ready to get off and try and walk down the wall a car came up behind me. I tried to zig zag some to draw more attention to myself. With the help of their head lights I could see and took to the middle left of the lane so they couldn't pass. But they passed me anyway and I rode the rest of the way out with the help of their tail lights. Another mile or so and I was back at the truck. Any more and I would have been flirting with epic.

There is nothing left to train for so Saturday's ride was a casual Pisgah affair. The WNDC met at our seasonal meeting spot, Coontree, for a fun little loop: Coontree > Bennett Gap > 477 > Avery Creek > Buckhorn Gap > Clawhammer > Black Mtn. > Buckwheat Knob > Bennett Gap > Coontree.

My camera battery died after a single pic at Coontree Gap. Nothing much to speak of, just a good Pisgah ride.

Terri bought a bike so we headed out Sunday afternoon for her first mountain bike ride. We went to Bent Creek where she is familiar with the roads and trails and I let her lead me around. I was thinking we would do a couple of slow easy miles or something but she just kept going and going. We ended up doing 12 miles - not bad for a first ride!

Here is her new bike:

If you look closely at mine behind her's you will notice it is wearing its Halloween costume.

pisgah to panthertown

2010-10-18T09:28:00.002-04:00

From Chestnut Cove to Bent Creek Gap on the Shut In is three miles of flatness. It is gently rolling indeed and that flat stretch is going to be critical during the race. My Shut In goal is reasonable, I want to finish, and realistically I know it is going to be difficult. My first challenge will be making it to Bent Creek Gap before the time cut off. If I can't run those three flat miles fast I'm going to DNF at the half way point. If I make the cut off then there is only climbing in front of me and though I'm sure it will hurt more than I can imagine I'm sure I can drag my weary shit ass up to the top. So this weekend was sandwiched between two out and back runs across that critical stretch. Friday after work and then again yesterday afternoon.

Saturday I met Zach at the Fish Hatchery for our last ride before the Double Dare. We headed up 475 but must have made a wrong turn somewhere along the way because after several hours we found ourselves in a different national forest and trail system all together. Panthertown.

We headed in for a few hours of exploring. There were plenty of map checks and some surprises. I'd been there before so when I saw a very faint bit of single track and a small cairn I had a hunch that would be the trail and it was. At one point Zach remarked that the Pisgah District could have looked like this 20 years ago and that is probably true. We didn't ride all of it, never made it up Big Green, but got a little taste which seemed to be just enough.

It had taken us over three hours to get there and we thought the return trip would take just as long but it turned out the return trip was 100% downhill so it only took us a third of that which could only mean we had time for Butter. On the way a couple of the local drunks popped out of the woods and it felt like Wednesday night all over again.

Nothing is finer than Autumn in Pisgah and the Hatchery was a zoo. We stumbled into another member of the wndc and had a nice little crew rolling into the Hub. Zach and I got the last two free pint glasses as a nice reward for our foray into foreign lands.

bobbing on the surface

2010-10-11T20:48:00.006-04:00

Hatteras. Its a good word. I like the sound of it. Hatteras.

Sensing we had but one chance to soak up some sunshine we went for it and spent a week in Hatteras Village. Five hundred miles across a single state. We stayed at the Sea Rider: a funky little house right on the water designed and built as an artist's studio in 1969. On an island full of mega rental houses Sea Rider is quite unique and was perfect for a week of fun.

We arrived to pounding surf so I went out first thing Monday morning and rented a surfboard and wetsuit from Natural Art in Buxton. This was my first time surfing in 12 years and it was going off. Overhead, hollow and powerful. My rented board was less than ideal and my skills not exactly honed so I got my ass kicked over and over again for hours on end that first day. It was like being in a giant washing machine. The board was reluctant to duck dive and I was reluctant to make the drop on the bigger waves but I overcame the fear and kept trying every wave that came my way. Before long it was coming back to me and before long I found myself surfing. I'll admit I pretty much sucked but I was making the drop and riding the curl and by the end of the week was even doing some turns and floaters. I surfed so much the first two days alone I got tendonitis in my right elbow and left shoulder from paddling too much. There is something about bobbing on the surface of an ocean and then riding its waves ashore that is just so pure, natural and right. I hope surfing five hours a day is good training for Double Dare and Shut In because that's all I did!

log hollow waterfalls

2010-09-28T08:14:00.001-04:00

autumn in pisgah

2010-09-27T08:36:00.002-04:00

They call it stormy Monday but Tuesday is just as bad.

Last Wednesday I headed out to Dupont for the last WNDC of the summer. With the first Harvest Moon in 20 years I loaded up the lights and parked at Lake Imaging for what wound up being a five hour ride. Things fell apart at the start but then came back together again with a sunset rendezvous on top of Cedar Rock. I finished just before 10. Night riding is fun and made for a fitting end to summer.

While some are talking about the 'end of the season' for me Fall is the real season. The days get cooler and shorter but the rides just bigger. The woods come alive with color and then those same leaves fall and hide the rocks and roots. And the races aren't too bad either. Double Dare is as much fun as you can have in the woods and I'm sure Shut In will be fun as well.

So, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, Friday after work I went and drove up to Bent Creek Gap where I parked and then did the Spencer > Trace loop from the top.

Trace Ridge:

Then I put the bike back in the truck and got out the running shoes. New shoes is a lot like getting a new bike but they only cost a hundred dollars.

Unfortunately I did not buy new shoes soon enough and seem to have bruised my left foot pretty good. Nick Kindt met me and we did a fun little mostly single track route. The Bad Fork extension worked perfectly. The top of Trace and then Shut In up to Ferrin Knob hurt.

Bad Fork > extension > 142 > Trace Ridge > BRP > Shut In

Saturday I met Zach at the Hatchery for a fun little Pisgah Loop:

475 > 475B > 276 > 477 > Club Gap > Black Mtn. > Turkey Pen Gap > South Mills River > Bradley Creek > 5015 > 1206 > 1206 > 276 > 475B > 229 > Cove Creek > 475 > Davidson River > 475

We were going to hit Trace but Zach waited until we got down to the campground to tell me he needed to be done by 4 so straight back out 1206 we went.