Friday, July 31, 2009

AA

I got rained out of work yesterday except when I got home the sun was out so I went for a road ride. I did my Jump Off Rock out and back and tried to keep it in the big ring the whole time. That worked much like you would imagine…. what I mean is it didn’t.

After that it was off to Jone’s Gap to meet Jonathon and the dogs for a walk instead of the Wednesday Night Drinking Club. We did Rainbow Falls and it was swell. There is some impressive trail work along the way:

Duma had fun and after a quick stop at the falls we went on up the trail to the point where it got too technical for the D-Man.

Posted by clay at 01:31:21 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Twelve Mile Ride

While everyone else was busy not racing ORAMM the best I could manage was a 40 mile road ride through the Greenville watershed so when I woke on Sunday I decided to do a little more. Duma had been neglected all weekend and unless I took him for some sort of adventure Animal Control was sure to pick him up. With that in mind my first stop of the day was at, gasp… Bent Creek!

Leaving Asheville early in the morning there was a thick fog but by the time we had gone just a mile or two up the Parkway we were above the clouds and headed for Sleepy Gap:

Sleepy Gap is a good example of when the map is wrong. But it was Bent Creek so navigation was not a concern. After I was on Explorer for awhile I realized the map was also wrong for that trail as well. Oh, well eventually I took a left onto an unsigned trail that looked rather new. After a short walk up the trail we hit South Ridge Rd. again and a sign indicated we had been on Chestnut Cove.

On the short climb back up to the parkway I was reminded of the fog down below:

Sleepy Gap > Explorer Loop > Chestnut Cove > South Ridge Rd. > Sleepy Gap

After dropping the dog off at home it was time for me to go ride my bike so I headed for the best place to start any mountain bike ride: The Black Mountain Trail

My route was simple.

Black Mtn. > Avery Creek > 477 > 276

Just 12 miles. Over three hours. Terri can run that far in under two hours…. damn mountains…

I stopped at the second overlook for the classic Top of Black photo shoot:

A hiker just in front of me came very close to stepping on this guy. He was very pissed and rattling up a storm:

It has been awhile since I’ve been down Avery Creek and can’t figure out why. It is a sweet downhill. Rather technical and not a climb in sight….

Posted by clay at 03:18:31 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Friday, July 24, 2009

feliz cumpleanos

It rained hard the hour leading up to the Drinking Club. Zach made the drive up but stood around and decided the mud was too much and drove home. That left Jonathon, Dennis and myself and seeing as how the trails were very wet we had to put even more emphasis on safety than usual. I always ask to climb Joanna and this time we did just that. It really isn’t that bad.

Fawn Lake Loop > Laurel Ridge > Corn Mill Shoals > Bridal Veil Falls Rd. > Conservation Rd. > Joanna Rd. > Twin Oaks > Briery Fork > Joanna > Grassy Meadow > Joanna > Pinnacle Mtn. Rd. > Turkey Knob > Reasonover Creek

I dipped out of work a little early and took the dog for a walk. Somebody stole the S off of Squirrel.

Posted by clay at 02:24:46 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Again and Again

So, last Saturday Zach and myself headed out for an overnight hiking trip. There is no easy way to get to Sunburst and we took the longer distance way but no mountain pass way up the interstate. Along the way there were some good views of Cold Mountain shrouded in clouds:

[all photos except two in this post are credited to zach. see if you can figure out which two I took]

Once at Sunburst we started up the Green Mountain trail with me and Duma in the lead even though Zach’s pack said ‘follow me’:

Green Mountain started with a serious steep climb that quite simply did not let up. I had mapped out our route on my snazzy new mapping software and knew what to expect but Zach had declined a peak at the profile. No biggie, Green was a lot of fun and we chatted our way up the mountain pausing only to soak up the views:

Even the D-Man was digging the scenery:

It was fun seeing a new side of Pisgah and we both tried to pick out the various peaks and ridges. Here I am authoritativly pointing the way we were not going:

Once on top of Green Knob we were treated with a little downhill and then a short climb up another knob before dropping once again. From there our plan was to bushwhack our way to the top of Mount Hardy. Mount Hardy is the last peak in this shot:

I had a feeling that there would be a social trail up to the 6000′+ peak and indeed there was. The briars were so thick I don’t think we would have made it otherwise. Here I am at the top trying to make sense of the weird petroglyphs while Duma smiles on:

After our Mt. Hardy detour it was on to the Mountains to Sea which meandered way too much and took way to long. The trail was nearly flat but littered in rocks and roots and it was slow going at best. There were plenty of pretty flowers along the way but they weren’t enough to make the slog much fun:

I had been planning on continuing on the Mountains to Sea after crossing 215 and then picking up Little Sam but I knew that it was going to be more of the same and happily agreed when Zach suggested taking Flat Laurel all the way. By this time we had already covered ten miles with a shitload of climbing and were both looking forward to camping along Flat Laurel where I knew there were several good campsites. As we made our way up the trail I was a little dismayed to find all of the good sites taken and after a little poking around we settled into a little site that was a little ways up a branch. I had wanted to do Sam Knob “real fast” after getting camp set up but Duma was done for the day so I used that as an excuse to just lounge around camp playing with the fire and sipping on whiskey.

Zach had gone the no stove route and brought a MRE instead. Note how he has it propped on a rock or something just as the packaging indicates:

I had my alcohol stove and had repacked some dehydrated potatoes and black beans. There are many uses for a National Geographic map of which a table cloth is one of the best:

After dinner it was a whole lot of nothing:

Did I mention Duma was done? How about I zoom in a little:

The weather was great but at 3:30 am I woke up freezing. I guess my ultralight bag isn’t quite as warm as the rating says. I put on my rain gear and another pair of socks and got a little more rest but my feet were cold all night.

I woke at seven feeling refreshed and my pack felt light so I suggested we reconsider and head up the Art Loeb and go over Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain and knock off a couple of 6000′ers before breakfast. Though he said he though it was a mistake Zach agreed and up the spur we went:

The top of the balds were cold, foggy and wind swept. Several people were camped up there which didn’t look like much fun to me given the conditions. Along the way we got off the Art Loeb and ended up going down one of the worst erosion gullies on the way to Tennent:

Zach hasn’t done a lot of hiking recently and never carries a pack and his knees were bothering him and I was worried he wasn’t having fun. Self portrait:

Once at the gap he said we should bail on Tennent and I obliged. On the way down to Fork Mountain trail:

We found a trail on the right ridge and after cooking breakfast headed down the Fork Mountain trail. This stretch of trail was simply insane. Downhill and steep. Very overgrown with briars and blueberries growing five feet high. The only thing above the overgrowth and everywhere you looked there were killer views as the trail was descending a knife edge ridge line. Comparable to the Narrows on the Art Loeb. It was slow going but kicked some major ass.

We made the first gap where an old rail grade came in from the north and continued right. Zach thought perhaps we had missed the start to the official trail and were on something else but I simply do not know. The rail grade was a nice change of pace and I stumbled across some ripe blueberries which provided only a few needed calories. But nothing lasts and the trail left the rail grade and made its way up and down many knobs on the way to Birdstand Mountain. Fork Mountain is a six mile trail that feels like twenty miles. It just goes on and on and up and up and up. We were both pretty beat down by this point and just wanted it to end. The views and scenery kicked ass the whole way but I’m not surprised Zach quit taking pictures. I would have as well.

Fork Mountain was the final wilderness trail in the Pisgah District for me to walk so I had a good idea what to expect and it didn’t disappoint. The trail went from being easy to follow and gentle to hard to find and gnarly at a whim and to make matters worse the map’s placement of it was wrong by a quarter of an inch. All we could do was keep on keeping on so that is what we did. We crossed a seemingly impossible number of gaps and knobs as the trail disappeared and then reappeared but after a few hours we hit yet another old rail grade which led us the the sharp left turn that would take us back down to Sunburst. Since we were on a nice rail grade and since Zach was moving a little slower I decided to push on up to High Top with Duma.

While Zach made his way down to the truck me and Duma ran up to the top. The nice double track quickly took a right turn down to Daniel Boone and we were faced with yet more of the same technical steep singletrack that we had spent hours crossing on Fork Mountain. After fifteen minutes of climbing we reached High Top. The sight of an old fire tower where all that remains are the footings, a few boards and some broken glass. There was also a USGS marker, some weather equipment, a goecache and some kick ass views of Pisgah. I could see everywhere we had been: Green Knob, Mt. Hardy, Black Balsam, Birdstand Mtn. and all the other knobs and ridges. No camera but it didn’t matter. No snap shot can capture such a feeling. A real high top for sure.

And just like that we were running back down the trail to catch up to Zach. Duma was not impressed with me leaving a member of the pack and even though I was moving very fast he was really pushing me to go faster. I tripped and dropped his leash and he took off to catch Zach. Pinche Perro!!! I eventually caught up with both of them and we made our way on down the mountain. Duma wasn’t willing to let us get separated again and he is a hard dog to argue with so we kept going down together.

After descending 2000 vertical feet the trail abruptly ended at the river where there was a swimming hole full of the finest local wildlife. I took one look at the scene, decided I didn’t want to stick around and rock hopped my way across and back to the truck.

And just like that it was over.

Posted by clay at 01:13:50 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, July 20, 2009

There and Back Again

Heading up through the Middle Prong from Sunburst and then back through Shining Rock is no joke.

Green Mountain > Mount Hardy > Mountains to Sea > Hwy 215 > Flat Laurel Creek (campsite) > Ivestor Gap > Art Loeb Spur > Art Loeb > ??? > Ivestor Gap > Fork Mountain > High Top > Fork Mountain

More words and pictures to come later.

Posted by clay at 12:27:51 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Contrarian

From now on I’m not going to say anything on rides. I’ll just be a good sheep and go along with everyone else and keep my mouth shut when we go the wrong way. No pictures from the Drinking Club last night but here is what we rode:

Fawn lake Loop > Mine Mtn. > Laurel Ridge > Shoals > Corn Mill Shoals > Burnt Mtn. > Corn Mill Shoals > Longside > Twixt > Rock Quarry Rd. > Buckhorn Creek Rd. > Cannon Creek > Rich Mtn. Rd. > ??? > Rock Quarry Rd. > Buck Ridge Rd. > Micijah > Wilkie > Corn Mill Shoals > Shoals > Laurel Ridge > Mine Mtn.

I missed the line crossing Little River and didn’t make it. So I went back and did it again and again. I crashed climbing the steep side of Burnt and then again on Wilkie. Good times as always!

Posted by clay at 15:20:39 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Mountains to Climb

I rode Farlow on Friday. At just about the exact moment when I was wondering why I ride a rigid bike there was a rock out of place and I crashed. Banged up my left knee pretty good as well as my right calf. It was a good crash but nowhere near as good as Dennis’s performance last Wednesday. Farlow is sweet.

Saturday morning I had wanted to join Woody for the Dupont workday but by the time I took care of all the minor life details that I had been putting off there wasn’t enough time so I went out for an epic ten mile road ride instead. Then it was off to pick Terri up for a night of camping. She hadn’t been camping since she was a kid so it was a real treat for both of us. We went to the Black Mountain Campground near Mt. Mitchell and had a good time. Duma tried his best to spoil our fun by acting up all day and night but in the end it was a successful trip. I had smores for the first time in my life!

I went for two short walks while up there. Saturday I headed up the Green Knob trail and gathered some firewood. Sunday morning I went up the Mt. Mitchell trail to the intersection with Higgins Bald and then after I got back down to the campground checked out the waterfall on Setrock Creek Trail. Lots of good stuff up in that area and I can’t wait to get back and explore it some more. The mountains had a different look and feel from the Pisgah district. Not a whole lot of good day hike loop options but lots of out and backs and some potentially very good shuttle hikes. Who wants to shuttle Green Knob > Mt. Mitchell with me? We can take a few of Highland’s seasonal wheat beers with us and enjoy them at Cattail peak!

Posted by clay at 23:50:02 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Friday, July 10, 2009

WNDC

Last night coming down Joanna Rd. Dennis was in the lead when suddenly I heard both Jonathon and Cook yell “Oh, shit!” or something along those lines. I looked up in time to see a blur of pink and black flying through the air. Then a puff of dust and I realized it was Dennis skidding to a slow abrupt stop. We were going as fast as you can go and mistakes or mishaps at those speeds on trails like that are not good things. Joanna is a steep rocky beast and Dennis went down hard. He easily flew 20-30 feet before coming to an eventual stop. It was a bad crash, as bad as I’ve seen, the type of crash that breaks teeth, bikes, bones, bodies. Cook and Jonathon both stopped uphill a little bit but I figured someone had to roll up and check out the damage so that is what I did. Dennis was alert and sitting so I decided to check his bike to try and get his mind off the crash and see how he responded. The bike was fine and though rattled Dennis was too. I don’t know how but he managed to land just right in the one spot on the top section of Joanna where there aren’t any rocks. He got lucky and I hope never to see a repeat of that scene. Later in the ride Dennis would one up the crash by climbing all of Giuon Trail without a problem. Truly impressive.

I had played my park at Lake Imaging game in an attempt to get home early so after that it was just me asking Jonathon to tell me the most direct route and then me following him all over the forest. Carlos was there for his first taste of the drinking club and when we finally pulled up to my sag vehicle at Lake Imaging he was happy to have a beer. That a boy! But will he be back again???

My route was:

Lake Imaging Rd. > Jim Branch > Issac Heath > Locust > Hilltop Loop > Lake Imaging > Buck Forest > Sheep Mtn. > Pine Tree > Longside > Corn Mill Shoals > Shoals > Laurel Ridge > Cart > Mine Mtn. > Fawn Lake

Reasonover > Turkey Knob > Poplar Hill Loop > Turkey Knob > Pinnacle Mtn. Rd. > Joanna rd. > Grassy Meadow > Joanna > Grassy Creek > Sandy Trail > Tarklin Branch Rd. > Sky Valley > Rocky Ridge > Giuon Trail > Hickory Mtn. Rd. > Ridgeline

Yes, I ended on Ridgeline. Knowing my distaste for Ridgeline everyone was willing to take an alternate route but I decided I might as well ride it. Thanks guys!

Posted by clay at 01:02:36 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Got Tubes?

When I woke up this morning my bike had two flat tires. I loaded it in the truck anyway and changed them at lunch. Before I made it out of the Corn Mill Shoals parking lot a few hours later I had another flat tire. I blame them all on the overgrown roads I rode last weekend and the many thorns that come with such roads. I managed to sneak in a quick Dupont ride after changing the third flat.

Corn Mill > Big Rock > Cedar Rock > Little River > Cedar Rock > Big Rock > Corn Mill > Longside > Pine Tree > Cascade Lake Rd. > Rock Quarry Rd. > Micijah Trail > Wilkie Trail

On Micijah my hunch that I was running too low of pressure in my front tire proved true and I got my fourth flat of the day. Four flats, all patched, no new tubes used!

Posted by clay at 03:04:19 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, July 6, 2009

The Rockets’ Red Glare

Does anyone read this thing? I sure hope not because I had just typed out a long weekend recap and then somehow lost it and don’t feel like doing it again so here is the abbreviated version:

Friday:
Morning road ride in Asheville with Terri. Nice!

Afternoon Dog Walk: From Turkey Pen:
South Mills River > ??? > South Mills River > Pounding Mill > ??? > Mullinax > South Mills River

Saturday:
Mountain Bike Ride starting from the Fish Hatchery:
Horse Cove Rd > Bushwhack > Joel Branch Rd > Mine Branch > ??? > Joel Branch Rd > ??? > Mine Branch > Joel Branch > 276 > 475

Can you follow that route? Good, I’m not sure I can either! An adventure for sure!

Saturday Night:
Terri and myself headed up to the top of Laurel Mountain Trail near the parkway to watch the fireworks. We saw no fewer than five major displays. Hendersonville, Brevard, Biltmore and I’m not sure what else. Very Nice.

Sunday:
Dog Walk:
The North Slope

Posted by clay at 01:54:52 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A Case of the Mondays

When I didn’t have all the parts I needed at work today I had no choice but to make a run to the hardware store to pick them up. After that it seemed a little silly to go back to work so instead I picked up the bike and headed to the woods. I was curious to see the work that Valerie had done with PAS on Saturday so Laurel Mountain was the call of the day.

I did the unthinkable and drove all the way up to Yellow Gap. I can’t remember the last time I did that. My excuse was that I was still taking it easy on my groin muscle. I even told myself that I would turn around at Rich Gap but it was such a nice day and I felt so lucky to be riding Laurel on a Monday afternoon that I just kept going.

Posted by clay at 03:04:11 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, June 29, 2009

Turkey Pen Racing

After a full ten days off the bike I managed to get back in the saddle again this weekend. It was Dennis’s birthday and he was hosting a group ride from his house and then an after party on Saturday. It was a good group with all the members of the Wednesday Night Drinking Club making it out and Kristin came out as well which was nice. The idea was to do a dog loop first and then head back to Dennis’s for refreshments and then back out for a big ride. I decided to just do one ride and to take it easy which is just what I did. The dog loop route was:

Turkey Pen Rd. > South Mills River (out and back to Cantrell)

David George had parked at Smoker’s Cove and after much debate decided his best route back was: Wagon Rd. Gap > Turkey Pen Gap > Black Mtn. He said he didn’t pedal again after he left us until he hit Hickory Knob. I like his style! Zach seems to think that Turkey Pen is somewhat rideable in that direction and I am eager to do it again just to remember how painful it really is!

Yuri and myself pulled over for some horses on the trip back up South Mills and as we were getting ready to pull out again I got stung by a wasp right on my ear. It hurt and I was hitting myself in the head trying to make sure it was off me when Yuri saw that I was getting swarmed. Before I could run away I got hit three more times but Yuri had some Benedryl in his jersey pocket and other than being annoyed I was fine.

I opted to skip the second ride and decided to just tack on a little more as everyone else climbed back up to the road. I did Bradley > Riverside > Bradley. It was a fun, wet route and I managed to ride three of the Riverside crossings (which reminds me I need to drain the water out of my bike and do my hubs!). There was one spot with a lot of blow down so I took ten minutes and cut out all that my little saw could get and in the process made my trail work quota for the month.

I left my truck at the party on Saturday night so Sunday Terri, Duma and myself went to retrieve it. Seeing as how we were right at Turkey Pen we went for a little hike. Our route was:

South Mills River > Mullinax > No Name > South Mills River > 66 Jumps. It was hot and we stopped at the river to play for a little while. Duma likes to swim and it is good exercise for him in the heat.

What is this?

I consider it graffiti and offensive so I removed it.

Posted by clay at 13:13:04 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A Day on the Green

I managed to make it through the entire weekend without touching a bicycle or my hiking shoes. The dog is pissed but my groin muscle feels a little better.

I met up with Jonathon Saturday afternoon for my first ever whitewater experience on the Green River in his canoe. When I pulled up to Fishtop I was surprised to see that the parking lot was full when only a few days earlier there had only been two cars. No worries though as it was hot and sunny and I was eager to get my first taste of a mountain river. Other than a few stops to play in the water and one stop to clean out the inside of the canoe* it was a rather uneventful but thoroughly enjoyable trip down the river. From what Jonathon said most of the rapids were class 1 except one that was class 2. Next time we vowed to tackle the Upper Green with 30 class 3’s in a row. Sounds like fun to me! I want a kayak but the last thing I have is time for another sport!

*We definitely didn’t tip the canoe!

Posted by clay at 00:33:03 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Disabled List all over again

Last night I had some thinking to do after work and I think best in the woods so I took Duma out to the Green River Game Lands to scout out the river for the canoe trip that I have planned with Jonathon on Saturday. We did Green River Cove Trail as an out and back and even though it was hot and buggy Duma still had a good time. The current was a little swifter than he was used to but he still couldn’t help but to go for a swim:

We made it to the Narrows and I had to wonder if we could take the canoe through it. From what I’ve seen canoes are wide and long and the Narrows are just that, narrow…. Of course we would never do something that foolish, or would we? Here is the exit of the Narrows:

During the hike the pain that I have been having in my groin just got worse and worse and eventually even the gnats that were swarming my head were a welcome distraction. When I got home I consulted webmd and from what I could tell I had a hernia. We all know that the internet is never wrong so needless to say I was rather bummed. So today I did the unthinkable and went to the doctor. After a little friendly groping he told me I did not have a hernia but instead a torn groin muscle and some tendonitis. So the internet was wrong which is disappointing but no surgery is a good thing!

I decided I had better ask what I can and can’t do to which he responded I could do whatever I want as long as it doesn’t hurt. That was a little vague for me so I asked about the canoeing the Green and he said he didn’t see why not. Then I asked about a 50 mile bike ride on Sunday to which he said “Why in the world would you do something like that?” My response was “Because it is fun, of course.” Being the smart doctor type he said I shouldn’t do anything for at least a week and then I should reevaluate.

He gave me some steroids which I’m concerned are going to interfere with my strict doping regime but plan on taking anyway. He also gave me a script for some painkillers which I accepted unlike when I broke my hand and wasn’t interested in purchasing any add-ons. So, there it is, I’m disabled once again.

Wednesday was the Drinking Club and it was a lot of fun. Yuri made it and we chatted a lot about hiking and ultralight backpacking. Steve Stickle came out and was riding some super funky bike that he built but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him about. Jonathon put together a great route with the exception of Ridgeline which although a fun climb I do not at all enjoy as a downhill. It seems like everyone is crazy about it but I just do not care for it. It tries too hard and twists and turns too much.

After the ride we took a quick dip in Fawn Lake which I can’t believe I hadn’t done before. The water was deep and warm and I think I will spend the entire summer laying on the dock! Then seeing as how a few members of the Club had some big news a bottle of the finest champagne appeared and we stood around the parking lot celebrating. Congratulations!!!

Tuesday after work I headed up to Asheville to meet Terri at Carrier Park. Being a madwoman she has signed up for a triathalon and borrowed a bike from a friend for the event and we planned on setting it up for her and taking it for a test ride. First she had some running stuff to do so I spent an hour riding in circles in the mellowdrome. It was hot and I’m not sure if it was fun but I think it might have been. I got a little dizzy and decided that was enough. We got the bike set up for her and she did a little pedaling and did a great job with the clipless pedals. That’s my girl!

Posted by clay at 21:27:11 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, June 15, 2009

Down the Road

Where was I in this interior dialogue? Oh, yes, no drinking club last Wednesday, Phish show instead. Lots to tell there but that is a whole other blog… So Thursday comes and I feel the need to ride a bike and that is exactly what I do - an after work roadie. On the way up to Jump Off it started raining and then it started full on dangerous thunder storming so I turned around and high tailed it back home. Straight up hwy 25 through town in a raging storm. What do you consider fun?

Friday I was sort of feeling uneasy all day. I wanted to do something all day, but not just anything and whatever it was I wanted it to be productive. It had been an odd week for me without a whole lot of work done and I guess I was feeling it. But my plan had been to take Duma out for a trial backpacking trip with the gear that I have recently been acquiring so that is just what I did. We started from the Fish Hatchery and our ultimate route would be:

Cat Gap > John Rock > Cat Gap > Horse Cove Rd.

Of course that requires some sort of explanation so let me explain. We had planned on stopping early and setting up camp and I passed by many a fine campsite as we worked our way up to Cat Gap but it was still early and we had plenty of time. At least that is what I thought. We reached Cat Gap at 7pm and I was surprised by how small and tight of a gap it is, the name was fitting and without a proper campsite I pressed on. I was ready to stop for the night, just waiting for a campsite, and was surprised when one didn’t come. When we hit the intersection with John Rock I knew there were several campsites within a half mile on down Cat Gap but couldn’t remember if there were any up John Rock. I figured there had to be some up on the ridge so up we went. By this point there was very little time to waste and even less daylight so I only paused briefly at the rock to snap a pic, sunset was only minutes away and the light was harsh to say the least:

We kept on trudging up the ridge and I was very happy when there was a campsite on top of the first knob just up from the rock. I made quick work of setting up camp and didn’t really pay much attention to how close together the trees were until the work was done. It didn’t rain so it didn’t matter but next time I know what to look for.

By this time it was 9pm and getting dark fast. I checked our water and was dismayed to find that there was less than 3ozs left. Not enough for the big yellow dog and not enough for my dinner. So, I had no choice but to backtrack all the way back down John Rock to get some water. There were lots of standing puddles but I was traveling light and fast and had bleach instead of a filter and had to pass them up to go all the way back down to running water. A big mistake that added a few miles to the already longer than anticipated hike. So by the time we made it back to camp it was late and dark but didn’t really matter and we had a fine time just hanging out and all kinds of stuff. Duma slept under me to start but then around 3am he woke up and felt the need to guard the camp until sunrise, so it was a restless night to say the least.

On the hike out we stopped to check out the rock in the morning light:

Somebody had left this sleeping bag up at our campsite so I had no choice but to carry it out. It was as big as my pack and weighed almost as much:

By the time I made it home it was only 10am so after a little piddling around I went out for a little road ride. i worked my way down to Saluda and then back up to town through the watershed. I had forgotten that there was a Ceaser’s Head Century ride going on so when I saw Cook and Cissy coming from the opposite direction I was a little surprised. Then I saw the rest stop and all the other riders and it made sense. Then it stormed on me again.

So on Sunday morning the dog had forgotten about Friday’s excitement and was itching for a walk and got just that. Where else but Pisgah? Out and back:

Buck Spring > Mountains to Sea > Barnett Branch

After that I get home and it still isn’t noon which meant that if I didn’t want to feel lazy I had to go out for a road ride. Jump Off Rock, Big Willow, etc.. Good for a few hours of spinning…

I didn’t touch a mountain bike all weekend and am not sure I am sad about that.

Posted by clay at 03:12:04 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Backwards Down the Number Line

I met up with Jonathon and the dogs last night for a nice little Jones Gap after work dog walk.

Rim of the Gap > Connector > Pinnacle Pass

As I was dropping my two dollar bill in the box I was thinking if I keep heading down to SC State Parks I might as well buy a pass. But then as we started climbing I noticed that it was rather hot and muggy out and realized that perhaps Jones Gap is better left alone for the summer. It was still a nice walk, I was moving slow with no real desire to run - I guess I should have told Jonathon that before we started. Oh well, D-Man is tired today:

No Drinking Club for me tonight. I’m headed to Knoxville to check out the Phish show. I spent many years following Phish around and these days I’d rather be playing in the woods than at a concert but I have tickets so I might as well go….

Posted by clay at 15:18:30 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, June 8, 2009

Weekend Recap

Friday: +/- 25 mile after work roadie. Went up to Jump Off Rock via Summersby Park. It was the steepest stuff I have ever ridden a bike up and not necessarily something I want to repeat.

Saturday: Terri had decided to do some sort of half marathon that started at 6am at Ridgecrest which made Kitsuma at Dawn just too tempting to pass up. Not only would I be getting a killer ride but I would also be be getting bonus good boyfriend points by being there for the start of her race:

The start was out the back gate of Ridgecrest right next to the Kitsuma trail head so within two minutes of this picture being taken I was knee deep in the Land of a Dozen Switchbacks climbing my way up Kitsuma. It was dark and I had to briefly flip on my led bar light as I was climbing to the top. It is not often that I am out on the bike before the sunrises and the dawn ambiance put a nice spin on the ride. My mind kept flipping back to day two of the Double Dare races. It was foggy and threatening to rain at any second but it slowly got lighter and lighter outside and eventually I thought that the sun had risen but because of the heavy fog I couldn’t see it.

Somewhere along the way as I was topping one of the fingers I heard some big noises in the bushes and then two bears ran across the trail in front. A mom and cub - my first bears of the year. Then as I hit the final ridge the sun rose through the fog:

Then I flatted. There is something a little eerie about being out in the woods at 6:45am and changing a flat tire. Or maybe it is just me… But I got it changed and shortly after that I hit old 70 and was climbing my way back to the start. Somewhere along the way I started to do the math on how long it should take Terri to finish the race and I realized that my math was wrong the first time and she should be finishing 30 minutes earlier than I had thought. This meant that unless I was really fast or she was really slow I was going to miss her finishing. Oh, well not much I could do about it at that point. I hurried but still had to stop to take a picture at the overlook:

Saturday afternoon and Duma was ripe for some adventure so I tried to pretend that I was not tired and we loaded up and headed for the Shining Rock Wilderness. We did Big East Fork as an out and back to Greasy Creek and it was swell. Someplace I had never been, gladly beyond any experience.

Sunday: Pisgah bike ride.

1206 > 5000 > Bear Branch > 5001 > 5000 > Spencer Gap > Spencer Branch > Hendersonville Reservior Rd. > North Mills River > Fisherman’s

Not much to report, just a quick fun little ride. Lots of forest users out including a pair of equestrians going extremely fast into one of the N. Mills river crossings. Running a horse into a river crossing probably isn’t a good idea, especially if your horse spooks easily. Lots of water in the woods. Several of the crossings were waist deep. No Trespassing signs are up at Fisherman’s.

Posted by clay at 19:32:06 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, June 5, 2009

Living for the Weekend

Is it Friday yet? Did I really work all week?

Without a decent compact camera it is hard to know what is what and why and what for, but as far as I can tell the work week went something like this:

Tuesday after work ride. Jump Off Rock at a fast clip. Fun.

Wednesday Night Drinking Club. Parked at Lake Imaging:
Lake Imaging Rd. > Jim Branch > Issac Heath > Buck Forest > Conservation > Bridal Veil Falls Rd. > Corn Mill Shoals > Laurel Ridge > Mine Mtn. > Fawn Lake Loop > Reasonover Creek > Lake View Loop > Camp Summit > Conservation > Airstrip > Shelter Rock > Conservation > Buck Forest > Lake Imaging > Locust Trail > Issac Heath > Jim Branch

Thursday. Jones Gap Dog Walk. Rainbow Falls:

Posted by clay at 03:02:28 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, June 1, 2009

Here Comes Sunshine

Friday: Road bike
+/- 25 miles

Saturday: Mountain Bike
1206 > Laurel Mtn. > Parkway > Big Creek > Hendersonville Reservoir Rd. > Fletcher Creek > Never Ending Rd. > Spencer Branch > Trace Ridge > Fisherman’s

Good stuff. Not much to speak of other than a good crash on the Gnome section of Laurel. I somehow hit a rock or something and took a nice tumble off the trail. I hit some rocks and some rocks hit me.

Sunday: Dog Walk
Mountains to Sea > Buckeye Gap > Haywood Gap > Parkway

We headed out early this morning and managed to do the Middle Prong Wilderness loop without a hitch and were even back at the truck before noon. We did it the opposite direction from which we did a few weeks ago and navigating it was not an issue though I did keep the compass out for most of
Buckeye Gap trail. We eventually made it to the spot where we got turned around last time and it was clear that it is a tricky spot to negotiate. However if my compass would have been correct and if visibility was not so poor I think I would have managed to put it together.

Here’s what looked to be an old game cart, long abandoned miles short of the parkway. I wonder if what it was carrying ever made it out:

It won’t be too much longer before this old rail road bridge is long gone:

Posted by clay at 02:20:16 | Permalink | No Comments »