Brevard North Carolina is a neat place. Lots of stuff to do without the tourist trappings of some other Blue Ridge Mountain destinations. I found this cabin after sorting through 50 listings. Though not as remote a location as I'd hoped it turned out to be almost perfect for what we wanted to do.
And what we wanted to do on Tuesday was ride. After a hearty breakfast of bear claws and Jumping Goat coffee we headed to the DuPont State Forest. This was a fam trip so my lovely wife was along. She'd been "training" for this ride for a month and was hoping not to revisit the horse poop incident from last year.
We parked at the Lake Imagining trail head and rode for three hours. Covering all of our favorites plus some new stuff. Thunder and tired legs finally drove us back to the truck. I could ride this place until I just couldn't turn the pedals any more, it's that much fun.
That evening we hit a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in Brevard.
Wednesday was our own personal assault on Mt. Mitchell, only we didn't take the bikes. It was cloudy, windy, and 65 degrees on top. We hiked 4 miles of pretty challenging trail (for us anyway). Lunch was a great burger at the diner on top of the mountain, we had the place nearly to ourselves.
Thursday The Kid just had to ride Pisgah. He'd asked the guys at Sycamore Bike Shop for a loop his decrepit old man could do so they set us up with the "Bunny Ride of Pisgah". We still had trouble finding the trail head. It had rained hard the evening before so the climb up to the last part of the Black Mountain Trail was just a little slick. I have to admit I was nervous, last time we were here I walked more than I rode. The descent was ok, really nothing to it, it left The Kid wanting more but I was just glad to be done.
We loaded up and went back to the cabin to pickup my lovely wife and went back to DuPont to the Fawn Lake area. They had recently built new trail there and the shop had recommended a loop.
It was amazing. After 3 hours we were all cooked.
These two riding areas highlight the different management styles of the respective landowners. While Pisgah makes it as difficult as it can to locate trails, DuPont is the exact opposite. DuPont has flow, Pisgah (what little I've seen) seems to be traditional hiking trails that bikers are allowed to use. No right or wrong here, just two completely different systems.
After two trips I still don't feel like I've covered a third of the trails on DuPont. Plus there's Pisgah. Also all the great gravel roads and paved roads through the forest. Brevard is a good spot and since the entertainment takes some work I doubt crowds will be a problem. The trail heads for the water falls were over flowing in the afternoon but we rarely saw anybody once we got away from the truck. The actual town of Brevard is more like a working class town instead of like Highlands or Cashiers which look like a lot of golf courses and shopping.
Anyhoo, I didn't sit on the porch much, or read my book, or do any wine tasting, nor did I wear anything but a T-shirt and shorts all week. It's 90 degrees, raining, and 100% humidity outside right now. Guess where I wish I was?
You are right. Dupont and Pisgah really showcase two distinct approaches to trail management. Pisgah is a wild place that allows bikes to explore it. I have been beaten, and seen friends broken on the trails of Pisgah. Heck, it is well-recorded that a buddy and I failed to finish a loop and had to shelter in place for the night in 40 degree weather with exactly jack and shit to help us. In spite of all that, there is no grander stage for southeastern mountain biking. Pisgah takes everything you've got.
ReplyDeleteDupont is a work of art, with gorgeous singletrack that dips down to perfect river rest spots. It is steep and technical, but "all there" and you can't get lost.
The differences really speak to what kind of riders we are, and what why we ride for in the first place doesn't it?