Pisgah MTB Trip Report - 1 of 5

In a last minute kind of way Ryan and I made plans for Labor Day weekend road trip to mountain bike and camp.  We had been considering a trip all year but never put a date on the calendar.  Thankfully our family and work schedules cooperated to make a trip come together... but where to go?

The Pisgah National Forest area has been on our radar for some time.  I did some riding in this area of western North Carolina several years ago and have wanted to go back ever since.  With the ability to get away for multiple days we decided to go for it and head ~8.5 hours south.

Riding at Bent Creek!

Saturday morning and time to head out!  We loaded up the CX9 and left Ryan's house at 06:30.  With the rear seats down there was plenty of space for all our camping gear.  The bikes followed along on the hitch rack.  Thankfully, the weather forecast looked good for the next five days, and we made good time driving beneath sunny skies.

A couple days prior to leaving I checked the public campgrounds in the Pisgah area and found they were all booked full, certainly due to Labor Day weekend.  Fortunately I had heard about Bike Farm Pisgah and their web site indicated they had open car camping sites.  Perfect!  I booked a site online.

We made it to Asheville about 15:00 and decided to stop at Bent Creek Experimental Forest for an afternoon ride before heading to camp.  The Rice Pinnaccle parking lot was nearly full as we geared up and rolled out.  I wanted to ride the Green's Lick downhill again, so we worked our way up Wolf Branch and Ledford trails to the ridge on the northern side of the area.  Sustained climbing and warm temperatures tested our legs that had been sitting in a car all day.

Look out below!

Before long we were at the top of Green's Lick and ready for the downhill.  Just as I rememberd, it was fast and fun!  Lots of twists, curves, and jumps came at high speed.  We ripped it as best we could and reached the bottom with big grins.

Knowing there was still camp to find and setup, we headed back to the car but were lured off the road for more singletrack.  We rode service road 479E, blew past the turn onto Deer Lake Lodge, and ended up coming back down Wolf Branch.  Somewhere along the way a trail runner told us of a bear she had just seen.  We rode along scanning the woods but didn't see any bear, not today.

Back at the car we talked to a couple locals who seemed surprised to hear we woke up this morning in Ohio.  They asked about our plans for the rest of our trip and gave us strong recommendations to rent a couple "dual squish" bikes for Pisgah.  "Those hard tails are weapons here, but you are gonna need some 6-6 dual squish in Pisgah."

It was only about 30 minutes to drive from Bent Creek to Bike Farm Pisgah.  We spotted the sign on the west side of 280 and slowly drove up the private drive.  After filling out a waiver at the gate, we drove up and up a steep gravel road and were delivered to a clearing where a guide greeted us.

Brian from the Bike Farm explained the setup, pointing out the outdoor shower stall, water spigot, and directed us further up the hill to our car camping site.  He was very friendly and said to let him know if we had any questions about where to ride.

Car camping site #4.

Upon reaching our camp area, literally right next to the gravel drive, we were initially unsure about the not-so-level area.  Turns out my blindly picking car camping site 4 on the web site resulted in the least flat of the six sites.  They also had deck camping sites, for sure flat, but it would have been a little more work hauling our stuff down a sorta steep trail from where the car would be parked.  We settled in to our site and found it to be fine.

There was a likelihood of rain overnight.  Better at night than during the day, and the forecast for the next several days was clear.  We brought the canopy on this trip, it had been left behind on previous trips due to not enough vehicle room to haul it, and decided to set the tent under the canopy.

After dinner we studied our maps and guidebook for the area, making plans for our first Pisgah NF ride tomorrow.  The sun began to set and it was dark in a hurry.  Katydids, crickets, and I don't know what other kinds of insects were in full swing as we crashed for the night.  I didn't hear them for long.

Ryan fights KT's camping can opener...
eventually we ate some beans with our beef and rice.

2013 Spring Trip to Raystown 2

Sunday morning we woke up to some nice sunshine, but something was up.  As we ate breakfast there was an occasional gust of wind and then still again.  It seemed like a weather change was moving in.  I talked to KT and got a wet forecast for the afternoon and overnight.

Sunrise wakeup.

We heated up some porridge, made some coffee, and enjoyed breakfast before gearing up for today's long ride.  I tended to a squeaky rear brake and Ryan checked his crank arm bolt before we rolled out.

Breakfast is on.

Morning in camp.

The penalty for camping closer to the water is an uphill road climb to start the ride.  Last year we were right alongside the trail but had no view of the lake.  I would say the lakeside view is worth a small warm-up climb.  We were to the trailhead by the visitor's center in 7 minutes.

Heading out on the trails.

Today we would ride the east side trails, as many as we could and some more than once.  The flowing singletrack was great fun and the trails were in perfect shape.  Dirtfest was in a couple weeks and there were some crews out blowing leaves early in our ride.

Corners everywhere.

Some rocks to be found.

We found some mud too, but not much.

There was no route plan for the day, we just made it up as we went.  A couple hours into the ride and a rainy drizzle started to fall. We donned rain jackets, as much to stay warm as dry.  Ryan had an unexpected rear flat but his Stans sealant clogged the leak.  Some CO2 was needed to get back to pressure.

Redbuds were here and there.

Picture while stopped.

Some nice roots to look at while

Ryan is fixing a flat.

After about 4.5 hours of riding we were heading back to the start but decided to do one last loop.  On the outbound part of the loop I started having some unexpected handling issues, I thought it was slippery terrain from the rain.  On the inbound part of the loop I was really all over the place but still thought it was me.  A little further down the trail I realized my front tire was flat.  At least there was an explanation for my sudden inability to corner!

My turn to fix a flat.

No recurring tire issues and we arrived back to camp about 6 hours after leaving.  We were tired but not wrecked.  Hot showers felt good.  About this time we made the decision to pack up camp given the wet forecast.  Before leaving I had scoped out a couple cheap mom and pop hotels and we decided to visit one. Good to know there is a bailout option nearby if the weather does not cooperate.

The royal treatment tonight for the bikes...

and bikers.

2013 Spring Trip to Raystown 1

We loaded up the car and pulled out of Ryan's driveway with the sun in our eyes.  As we drove into Pittsburgh I made the statement that I liked the city, based on our view from the highway on this trip and our trip to Raystown last fall.  I was forced to change my mind, however, after an hour long detour through winding neighborhood streets and the ghetto.  There were cops at every intersection in the run down section of town.  First we thought they were there to assist the detouring traffic, but soon realized they were there to protect the detouring traffic.

Anyhow, we made it to Hudington, PA about an hour later than expected but had no worries because the day was ours.  We picked out a campsite at the Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds, this time down by the lake for some scenery.  Like our first day of arrival last year, we headed out for a couple hours of riding.

Ready to ride, until Ryan aptly pointed out I

had forgotten to put on mountain bike shoes.

Riding the west side side trails.

A view to our campsite on the opposite

side of the lake.  Note the red cliffs.

Enjoying the ride.

U turn.

Strange tree trail side.

Uphill U turn.

Back at the campsite we changed bikes for cooking gear and heated some beef barley stew I had made at home.  No real cooking this trip, we had prepared food to heat.

Back to our campsite.

With bowls of hot stew in hand we scrambled down to the aforementioned red rocky cliffs and ate our dinner at water's edge.  The sun was going down in front of us and made a nice sight.  Ryan busted out his loon call after we heard and spotted one floating out on the lake.  He was doing good and getting responses to his calls!

Eat and phone home.

Sunset on Raystown Lake.

Loon calling after sunset.

Camping with Daniel!

On the way home from work I called KT to confirm the plan... Daniel and I were going on our first camping trip tonight!  Daniel was excited when I walked in the door and we began gathering up our gear.  It was going to be a truck camping trip as I figured this would be easier should it be necessary to come home in the middle of the night, but there was no early bail out on this trip.

 Campin' in a truck bed.

We drove down to Grandma and Grandpa's woods and found a spot to park the truck.  Daniel always likes to play in the back of the truck and he really liked the idea of "sleep all night in truck!" (his description for our adventure).The first order of business was to "setup camp".  We inflated our camp mats and laid our sleeping bags.  I issued Daniel his very own flashlight.

 Ready for bed, the first time.

After peein' on a tree in the woods, with the aid of his flashlight, Daniel and I read some books.  I turned off the lantern and told Daniel it was time for bed.  As he waived his flashlight across the inside of the truck cap I fell asleep.  Apparently Daniel did not...

I woke up to the realization that a flashlight was pointed at the right side of my head.  Without stirring too much I squinted to my side and saw Daniel down on all fours, flashlight in hand, staring at my head.  He slowly whispered to himself with great enthusiasm, "Daniel looking in Daddy's ear!"

After some laughing I told Daniel it was really time for bed and I confiscated his flash light.  We zipped him in his little sleeping bag and Daniel slept all the way through the night.

In the morning we awoke with the sunrise to a 40 degree temperature.  After a walk and pee in the woods we drove home.  Daniel was excited to tell mommy about his big campin' trip.  We'll have to do it again soon but I'm not sure how many more nights will be warm enough this year.

Checking out the woods first thing in the morning.