Saturday, November 29, 2014

King of Pain ('The Power Line' - MTB Part 9)

... vacation/holiday all this past week - had a lot of fun "physically firin' up the Way Back Machine"...

... decided to check out the old 'Power Line' trail today - an old personal favorite....

... strongman Howie on the approach - bit of snow on the ground today...

... link-up - short, steep hill climb - bit technical and tough today with the snow...

... beginning the 'Power Line'... this trail became a bit controversial back in the day.. used to be easily accessed by 4WD vehicle... rode it for years until some XXX!!!(s) dumped a load of old "kitchen appliances" consisting of an electric range, refrigerator and "accessories" up there ...'Wheel of Fortune' Dunbar Mountain-style... pissed off the landowner... he quickly sat about removing all trash - human and otherwise.... subsequently... all access was blocked with dropped timber... didn't blame him... hadn't ridden it (much) since then... 

... was a wildlife park up there today with animal tracks galore.... a bit confounded by these... big... suspect a Bobcat, even for their size ... plus no claws (a bit melted out - could account for that) ... but don't look "feline"... look "canine"... could be a Coyote or large Fox...

... anyway... gotta' go with the Bobcat or Fox (which is a cross between in our opinion) considering the agility crossing this log...

... the Wild Turkeys had the place scratched dry...

... last photo sad to say... we basically rode (scantily for the most part) but otherwise bushwacked or carried over much deadfall for the remaining mile or so... pretty much impassable now...

... trail topo...

... shaded relief...

... profile... this used to be the best forty-five minute (at best - when "in shape") ride on the planet...

... "... that's my soul up there..."...

Thursday, November 27, 2014

'Johns Hollow' (aka: 'Foundation Loop' - MTB Part 8)

... been feelin' pretty strong on the few "easy" trails we been ridin', so decided to try a "little harder" ride that we hadn't done for over ten years...

(all mapping courtesy of 'Hillmap': www.hillmap.com)
... trail route highlighted in blue - ascends the main "unimproved" dirt and rock township road for around 1850ft then follows some great singletrack that more or less circumnavigates 'Johns Hollow' before returning via the same...

... the route viewed in "shaded relief" - mapped the route through the hollow by eye - have some old GPS co-ordinates en-route in an old field book but didn't plot them - sure that this is close enough...

... trail profile - a little over ten miles if done from the start - we chose to begin this day from the top of the first steep hill considering the difficulty of the remaining ride and still suspect physical condition - eventually was glad we did...

... Ha - just like the "old days" - fixin' a blown tire and tube right from the start - yesterday it was a broken chain - opted for the "hunter orange" hats today considering it's currently 'Black Bear' season...

... a second steep hill ascending the main road...

... beginning the actual 'Johns Hollow' trail...

... lots of deep mud holes this day...

..."ditto"...

... entering "deep space"... those orange hats turned out to be pretty nice for photography...

... some pretty good ridin'...

... final approach into the unnamed stream bottom in the heart of 'Johns Hollow'...

... and descent...

... difficult, rocky ascent beyond the stream...

... photos do this trail no justice - a lot steeper and more technical than it appears.... personally was feelin' somewhat "whooped" by this point, with the "crux" of the riding yet to come - was gettin' pretty hard to muster any "second effort" power... some nice contrasting color with those ferns...

... still a great ride, however - just need to work on the current level of physical endurance...

... last plot of "flatland" for a while to come...

... an old abandoned 'Jeep Wagoneer' - been here for as long as we can remember - bet those guys had some fun getting this thing to here...

... all technical uphill from here with many rock ledges...

... and several soupy mudholes ta' boot...

... before reaching the site of an old abandoned "homestead"... there's a good freshwater spring adjacent - good for refilling water bottles...

... and before beginning the aforementioned "crux" of the ride...

... a long, very steep and severely washed hill climb - completely filled with leaves this day to make it all the more difficult... Howie crankin' it out...

... and crankin' it out...

... and crankin' it out - still a long way to the top - with a very difficult final rock ledge awaiting...

... easier grade beyond the top of the hill...

... before reaching another shorter rocky incline...

... right before top-out and remaining flat to downhill fast terrain...

... pretty nice boulder field just off the trail with quite a few very large blocks...

... not a good view, but a few big ones off in the woods... did some bouldering here way back in the 80's, but not much - a lot of good stuff to be done if remembered right - used to "off road" to this point to make an easy approach...

... droppin' back down to the main road and a fast 3+ miles back to the vehicle...

... what a great ride... would have liked to have been in better condition to enjoy it more - but that's OK... don't know what we'd rate it - definitely difficult and technical in most areas - but every inch is "ride-able" and has been many times...

Sunday, November 23, 2014

"Mud and Blood"....

... OK... pretty stupid title ... but spent the day today chasin' good buddy 'Howie' around the 'Ridge' on MTB's... about 120 years "walkin' the earth" between just the two of us combined... keep tryin' to tell him we're "gettin' too old for this sh*t"...

... won't listen...

... the mud...

... the blood (and bruise)...

... "mud and blood"...

... dumb post... but tons of fun today - regardless....

... Hey Matt - that washed out downhill you used to cruise - washed out even more - rocky as hell - and completely covered with leaves today (which camouflaged most of the "potholes")  - "XX!!! x 2 difficult" after all these years... Howie did a "head plant" today on the "rough section" ... 

... oops...

... Ha!... none the less...

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Fall Paddling (Paddling Part 8)

... found some scratched old prints from a few years back that aren't even remembered... 'Muscle Girl Sarah' along... no idea where we were comin' (put-in) from - 'Bottom Yough' and 'Dunbar Creek' are the photo locations...

... the "Three Sisters" boulders... had to have started way upriver along the 'Lower Yough'...

... lower downstream, lookin' back up...

... further downstream...

... takin' a shore break...

... 'Muscle Girl Sarah'...

... further downriver - paddlin' the mouth of 'Dunbar Creek'...

... lookin' "up-creek"...

... and paddling the same...

... "artsy-fartsy" tree reflection...

... another...

... takin' a break - gettin' a little warm-up from the sunlight... "catchin' some rays"...

... and starin' at the tops of the 'Sycamores'...

... headin' back downstream...

... back on the river - just below 'Mojo Rapid'...

... late afternoon and nearing 'C'ville'...