Step into the Freezer

Today I headed out for my first mountain bike ride in many weeks. Last night's version of the WNDC consisted of a splintered group. While others rode I hung out with our head mechanic:



In a few hours and a beer or two we had my new bike finished. It is really sort of hard to believe but it is real and left me with only one choice for a first ride:

The Top of Black Photo Shoot.

I decided to take the easy way and climbed Clawhammer up to Buckhorn Gap. At the gap I started hiking up the backside of Black Mtn. trail and wouldn't stop hiking until I was almost at Pressley Gap. Being on a North slope there was still a foot of snow on the ground which while a hindrance wasn't really bad. It was sort of strange the rocks and waterbars that litter that stretch of trail were nowhere to be seen. But pretty soon I started to encounter downed trees and branches:



Then some more. And more, and more:



Every tree on the mountain was broken and laying directly on the trail. I had my saw and tried to cut what I could but eventually just resigned myself to wrestling my way through it. By the time I hit the top of Clawhammer Mountain the downed trees where simply everywhere. Following the trail was laughable at best. Literally every tree up there is broken. But it was also my destination. I snapped a few pics and then clawed my way on down the trail:



Pisgah is in a deep freeze. I don't think she has seen anything like this in some time. It was snowing while I was up there:



On the stretch between Clawhammer and Black there were a few places where it was easier, and safer, to cut my way through the tangle than to try and go around, through and under under it. I kept telling myself that once I hit Turkey Pen it was downhill from here and I'd actually get to ride my new bike. That was not the case:



The dead fall just went on and on:



Only the last very little bit of trail before Pressley Gap was rideable. Then a short little push up the snowy North slope to Hickory Knob and suddenly it was smooth sailing all the way down to the truck. It is amazing the difference a thousand vertical feet makes!

The new bike rocks and today was a good test for what it is destined to go through. It will never look like this again: