Wilson's Creek, 2005-07-23
Well, I made it back from Wilson's Creek alive.
The trip started with me not leaving Cary till about 9pm. I arrived at Wilson's Creek at around 12:30 am. I ended up sleeping in a bivy sack in a muddy spot next to one of the forest service roads. I was experimenting with sleeping in a bivy sack in preparation for an upcoming hiking trip. I'm not sure the experiment was a success as I didn't get much sleep.
The next morning, I met up with Rob, Mike, and Walt from the Charlotte based small brown dogs. I had a feeling I might be in for more than I expected when I got a look at the bikes they were riding. I think Mike's bike must weigh in at 40+ lbs.
We started by leaving two cars at the "real" campsites near the intersection of forest service roads 986 and 982. I wish I had known about these the night before as they definately looked much nicer than the mud pit I slept in. After leaving the cars at the bottom Rob drove us up to the top of Gingercake mountain in his truck. As we got ready to start on Raspberry we briefly met up with a group of riders from Clayton.
Raspberry was a constant down hill for roughly 3 miles. Within the first 200 feet Mike, Rob, and Walt were out of sight. The last glimpse I caught of Mike he was flying through the air after a bump in the trail. For the first half mile it sounded like my bike was falling apart. At first I attributed the sounds to the roughness of the trail but I soon realized it was my front wheel bouncing around in the fork. The rack in Rob's truck had required me to take my front wheel off, and when I put it back on I apparently didn't close the quick release all the way. With the quick release secured the majority of the noise went away and I was able to continue downhill. We soon came to the logged section of Raspberry. It was a bit muddy there, but so far this is a very minor amount of logging and does not appear to have affected much of the trail.
The bottom of Raspberry was very technical. Many wet rocks and roots, and frequent small stream crossings. In addition, there were some great banked turns. I surprised my self at one point by coming around a corner at speed and then finding myself eight feet high on the hill bank. At one point there was a creek gap. Mike had a look at, but after a few approaches on the slick trail he decided that today was not a good day to jump it.
At the bottom of Raspberry we began a climb up a fire road back to Hwy 181. The climb was not particularly brutal but it certainly made the heat of the day noticeable. When we reached Hwy 181 I considered bailing out and riding back down the road to forest road 982. Really at this point I didn't feel too bad, but Raspberry was definately the most technical downhill I had ever been on. While Mike, Rob, and Walt waited for me at difficult sections and intersections, it was clear that they were going at a much quicker pace than me. With more difficult trails to come I was concerned about getting back to the car if the ride should prove to be too much for me. After a look at the map Rob showed me the next section we were going to ride. He pointed out the Greentown trail we were about to ride and he showed me where the trail intersected the next fire road. From here it was clear that I should be able to get back to the car easily.
So I put the map away and we took off down Greentown. The top of this trail was a blast. It was not nearly as rocky and rooty as Rasperry, but instead it was fast and smooth with rollercoaster like sections where the trail would flatten out briefly then drop away steeply. As the trail neared the bottom it did become more technical again and I found myself walking over some huge moss covered rock sections and a few rooty, rocky 2 foot drops. I passed a couple fisherman on the downhill. I was going pretty slow and we exchanged hellos as I passed by. At the bottom of Greentown we came to a campsite next to Upper Creek. From here we made our way across the and began a 3 mile climb out of the valley on wide rocky singletrack. Throughout the climb we could see what appeared to be fishing line or thread spread along the entire length of the trail. I'm guessing this is the work of someone who doesn't appreciate biking here, but for the most part the thread was now embedded in the trail and didn't cause any problems.
At the top of the Greentown climb we stopped to eat. I took another look at the map and decided this was my last good chance to bail out without putting a long climb between me and the car. So after a snack I took my leave from the group and headed off down the forest service roads. This first forest service road, 198 was actually quite fun. It was rutted and rocky and it is unlikely mainy vehicles can actually make it to this point with the roads current condition. The rocks and ruts certainly kept the descent interesting. I had taken my sunglasses off during the singletrack since they were fogging up so badly. Unfortunately I had forgotten to put them back on and a small piece of gravel or mud flew off my front tire into my eye. I was able to get most of it washed out with some water from the camelback (although later at a rest area on the drive home I found a bit more mud in my eye and flushed it out). Now with the sunglasses back on I continued my descent. After a bit I reached the intersection with forest road 982. This road was in better condition and I was able to get up to a good speed while descending into the valley and back to my car.
I was still feeling pretty good when I got back to the car. In retrospect I'm fairly sure I could have finished the rest of the ride. I think my problems were primarily in my head as I was not used to riding this far out in the woods. And although Rob, Mike and Walt were certainly a great group to ride with I was concerned about making them wait for me. Now that I know what is out there I think I will definately return. However, I will probably bring along some people more in my skill level so we can all suffer together.
Some pictures from the trip here.
The trip started with me not leaving Cary till about 9pm. I arrived at Wilson's Creek at around 12:30 am. I ended up sleeping in a bivy sack in a muddy spot next to one of the forest service roads. I was experimenting with sleeping in a bivy sack in preparation for an upcoming hiking trip. I'm not sure the experiment was a success as I didn't get much sleep.
The next morning, I met up with Rob, Mike, and Walt from the Charlotte based small brown dogs. I had a feeling I might be in for more than I expected when I got a look at the bikes they were riding. I think Mike's bike must weigh in at 40+ lbs.
We started by leaving two cars at the "real" campsites near the intersection of forest service roads 986 and 982. I wish I had known about these the night before as they definately looked much nicer than the mud pit I slept in. After leaving the cars at the bottom Rob drove us up to the top of Gingercake mountain in his truck. As we got ready to start on Raspberry we briefly met up with a group of riders from Clayton.
Raspberry was a constant down hill for roughly 3 miles. Within the first 200 feet Mike, Rob, and Walt were out of sight. The last glimpse I caught of Mike he was flying through the air after a bump in the trail. For the first half mile it sounded like my bike was falling apart. At first I attributed the sounds to the roughness of the trail but I soon realized it was my front wheel bouncing around in the fork. The rack in Rob's truck had required me to take my front wheel off, and when I put it back on I apparently didn't close the quick release all the way. With the quick release secured the majority of the noise went away and I was able to continue downhill. We soon came to the logged section of Raspberry. It was a bit muddy there, but so far this is a very minor amount of logging and does not appear to have affected much of the trail.
The bottom of Raspberry was very technical. Many wet rocks and roots, and frequent small stream crossings. In addition, there were some great banked turns. I surprised my self at one point by coming around a corner at speed and then finding myself eight feet high on the hill bank. At one point there was a creek gap. Mike had a look at, but after a few approaches on the slick trail he decided that today was not a good day to jump it.
At the bottom of Raspberry we began a climb up a fire road back to Hwy 181. The climb was not particularly brutal but it certainly made the heat of the day noticeable. When we reached Hwy 181 I considered bailing out and riding back down the road to forest road 982. Really at this point I didn't feel too bad, but Raspberry was definately the most technical downhill I had ever been on. While Mike, Rob, and Walt waited for me at difficult sections and intersections, it was clear that they were going at a much quicker pace than me. With more difficult trails to come I was concerned about getting back to the car if the ride should prove to be too much for me. After a look at the map Rob showed me the next section we were going to ride. He pointed out the Greentown trail we were about to ride and he showed me where the trail intersected the next fire road. From here it was clear that I should be able to get back to the car easily.
So I put the map away and we took off down Greentown. The top of this trail was a blast. It was not nearly as rocky and rooty as Rasperry, but instead it was fast and smooth with rollercoaster like sections where the trail would flatten out briefly then drop away steeply. As the trail neared the bottom it did become more technical again and I found myself walking over some huge moss covered rock sections and a few rooty, rocky 2 foot drops. I passed a couple fisherman on the downhill. I was going pretty slow and we exchanged hellos as I passed by. At the bottom of Greentown we came to a campsite next to Upper Creek. From here we made our way across the and began a 3 mile climb out of the valley on wide rocky singletrack. Throughout the climb we could see what appeared to be fishing line or thread spread along the entire length of the trail. I'm guessing this is the work of someone who doesn't appreciate biking here, but for the most part the thread was now embedded in the trail and didn't cause any problems.
At the top of the Greentown climb we stopped to eat. I took another look at the map and decided this was my last good chance to bail out without putting a long climb between me and the car. So after a snack I took my leave from the group and headed off down the forest service roads. This first forest service road, 198 was actually quite fun. It was rutted and rocky and it is unlikely mainy vehicles can actually make it to this point with the roads current condition. The rocks and ruts certainly kept the descent interesting. I had taken my sunglasses off during the singletrack since they were fogging up so badly. Unfortunately I had forgotten to put them back on and a small piece of gravel or mud flew off my front tire into my eye. I was able to get most of it washed out with some water from the camelback (although later at a rest area on the drive home I found a bit more mud in my eye and flushed it out). Now with the sunglasses back on I continued my descent. After a bit I reached the intersection with forest road 982. This road was in better condition and I was able to get up to a good speed while descending into the valley and back to my car.
I was still feeling pretty good when I got back to the car. In retrospect I'm fairly sure I could have finished the rest of the ride. I think my problems were primarily in my head as I was not used to riding this far out in the woods. And although Rob, Mike and Walt were certainly a great group to ride with I was concerned about making them wait for me. Now that I know what is out there I think I will definately return. However, I will probably bring along some people more in my skill level so we can all suffer together.
Some pictures from the trip here.
posted by Matt Jenkins at 12:19 PM
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