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Post by stumpbumper on Feb 13, 2011 13:20:07 GMT -5
Yesterday we rode a there-and-back on Section 2 of the Enoree Passage of the Palmetto trail. The wheel magnet for my computer became loose and I did not notice it until we had been on trail for awhile but we probably had about a 26-mile day. We started at the Brickhouse Recreational Area and rode north and since it was getting a bit late we turned back shortly before reaching the Enoree River. There was one trail sign at the parking area but we spotted no sign or blaze to tell us which way to go once we got to HWY 66. Naturally, we turned in the wrong direction. Three miles later we were on the trail. Simply turn right on Hwy 66, go about 50 yards and turn left on Stomp Springs Road (also hard surface). Go only a short piece and exit right onto the trail. As the trail goes, I actually like this section better than Section 3 due to more single track. A bit more scenic as well. About a zillion limbs and trees were down across the trail, some small enough to simply ride over or bunny-hop but many large enough to require a dismount and climb over. The worst place was a section immediately after we crossed the Whitmire Hwy and in total we probably had to carry our bikes a good ¼ mile. All those blowdowns made for a grueling ride and they are there because the USDA Forest Service does not crank up the chainsaws until spring of each year. They obviously do not realize that many MTBers ride year-round. Prior to riding Section 3 (which I reported on several weeks back) I spoke with one of the officials with USDA in Union, SC and she said considering the amount of money that had been spent on the trail, she was disappointed that more MTBrs did not use it. When I told her we planned to eventually ride all three sections, she asked me to please get back to her with opinions and suggestions. I plan to do just that and high up on the list is doing a better job of keeping the trail clear of blowdowns year-round and better directions to the trail from the various campgrounds. The Enoree Passage has the potential of being a great trail and I for one would not mind giving the USDA an occasional helping hand in clearing the trail. Anyone else interested in volunteering a few hours each year?. Considering the tremendous amount of money they have spent on bridges over the entire 36 miles of the three sections, it is a real pity that the trail is not better maintained. My guess is they mean well but really don't understand what we MTBers want and need. They will know after I file my report. The Enoree Passage of The Palmetto Trail could rank right up there with FATS as a MTBng destination in South Carolina and in some ways it could be even better. Hopefully they will listen and react in a positive way. Happy trails everyone ;D ;D ;D ;D The turnoff to the Brickhouse Rec Area is about seven miles west of I-26 on Hwy 66 and not far from Whitmire, SC.  Now you know why the campground is called Brickhouse. The trail goes right by it.  Go north from the campground for Section 2 of the Palmetto Trail or go south for Section 1. About 10 miles of the southern section joins up with the Buncombe Horse trail, only section of the entire 36 miles where horses are allowed.  Coed facilities at the parking-only area---boys and girls in the camping area have their own.  Frost on the pumpkin and ice in the puddles early Saturday morning but we were soon shedding a layer of clothing.  They could definitely use a couple more of these where Brickhouse Road from the parking area stops at Hwy 66.  Except for a short section with briars early on, the fireroads were a blast.  More singletrack than fireroads make Section 2 Better for MTBing than Section 3. A bit more scenic too.  About a zillion blowdowns, many too big to ride over or bunny-hop made for a rather grueling ride.  Like I just said---  A short section of hardsurface at the railroad crossing at about mile 5. Then about another two miles of singletrack before crossing the Whitmire Hwy.  The only foot-log crossing we encountered on the two sections.  Five bridges and a great deal of boardwalk across low areas on Section 2 alone.  A variety of scenery including this area called home by quite a few wood ducks.  |
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Post by azdrawdy on Feb 13, 2011 18:32:33 GMT -5
Great pics. Great write-ups/description.
Nice!
MD
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Post by dgaddis1 on Feb 14, 2011 7:54:16 GMT -5
Great pics. Great write-ups/description. Nice! MD +1 - very nice job! Still interested in doing a bikepacking trip this spring? I'd kind of like to do a 2/3 day ride...looks like you could start in downtown Columbia and pick up the Palmetto Trail and ride north to the end of the Enoree Passage, then turn around and ride back to the car, maybe 120ish miles total? That would be a 3 day ride for me, hopefully not a full day's riding on the 3rd day. But from what I can tell with a quick look at the trail's website, looks like the Peak to Prosperity passage isn't complete, it's missing about 2.5 or so miles. That should be easy enough to detour around I'd think. Would also be cool to do a point to point ride, but that's a little more difficult logistically speaking....we'd need a shuttle of some sort. |
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pcf
Fred
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Post by pcf on Feb 14, 2011 16:22:06 GMT -5
The Palmetto Trail is built and maintained by the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, a small non-profit membership organization. We get help from some of the landowners that the trail passes through, but ultimately we are responsible for blow downs, mowing, cutting back growth, and marking the trail. We have 1 full-time and ½ time paid trail coordinators for 290+ miles of trail. Our Upstate Trail Coordinator has been basically furloughed for the last five months because of the tough economic climate we are in. The Palmetto Trail received some state funds until 2008 when the budget cuts eliminated trail funding, with the result that keeping up with maintenance is a challenging task. Consequently, we have launched a campaign to raise money for maintenance of the Palmetto Trail and for several capital projects that will add an additional 20 miles of new trail in the next 18 months. We’d love your help, both financially and with volunteer time. Saturday work days are occasionally scheduled but we could really use some volunteers during the week. Membership in PCF, purchase of Palmetto Trail shares, or a donation are ways to help us sustain the Trail and all are tax deductible. We do have an understanding of what MTBers want and need because we have staff members that ride. In fact our staff members bike, climb, hike and paddle. We really appreciate the feedback and are grateful that people are using our trail. What we want and need is help from the users, businesses, governmental entities and all those people who like the idea of the Trail and what it can mean for our citizens and the state of South Carolina. We welcome your assistance. www.palmettoconservation.org |
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Post by stumpbumper on Feb 14, 2011 17:56:00 GMT -5
Great pics. Great write-ups/description. Nice! MD +1 - very nice job! Still interested in doing a bikepacking trip this spring? I'd kind of like to do a 2/3 day ride...looks like you could start in downtown Columbia and pick up the Palmetto Trail and ride north to the end of the Enoree Passage, then turn around and ride back to the car, maybe 120ish miles total? That would be a 3 day ride for me, hopefully not a full day's riding on the 3rd day. But from what I can tell with a quick look at the trail's website, looks like the Peak to Prosperity passage isn't complete, it's missing about 2.5 or so miles. That should be easy enough to detour around I'd think. Would also be cool to do a point to point ride, but that's a little more difficult logistically speaking....we'd need a shuttle of some sort. Yes, I am interested in bikepacking PT but the mileage you have in mind is way beyond my ability.  I have mountain-biked around 120 miles in three days but it was at Bartram and FATS with no camping gear. It was also during the long daylight days of summer that allowed me to ride 15-20 miles in the morning, break a few hours for lunch and rest at mid-day and then repeat in the afternoon. In their present condition the two sections of PT that we rode are much, much tougher and 25 miles in one day was my absolute limit . Section 2 was especially tough and at day's end my body felt like it had been pummeled unmercifully by a thousand angry dwarfs with ball-peen hammers. We averaged only about 5.3 MPH on Sections 2 & 3 and that was with no camping gear. Assuming that Section 1 and the remainder of PT to Columbia are in the same condition, your 120 miles would require about 23 hours in the saddle or close to 8 hours per day for three days. No way I could handle that on the PT. I want to ride Section 1 before deciding for certain, but my present plan for bikepacking the Enoree Passage is to park at the southern-most parking area at Franklin Rd and head north on Section 1. We will peddle until someone has had enough and then pitch camp. Before riding PT I figured it would be fairly easy to ride from one end to the other (36 miles) in one day, camp overnight and then ride all the way back the next day for a total of about 70 miles. Now that I have ridden two sections I consider that plan impossible, at least for me. I'm thinking three days is as quickly as I would want to attempt bikepacking the entire thing and I would probably take a four-day supply of food just in case I bump onto that bunch of angry dwarfs again. I would also like to bikepack the Francis Marion passage of the PT. One of my friends who rode the Enoree sections with used to live in Charleson and says FM is much easier than PT. If we were to do that one it would need to be before the weather really gets hot and the mosquitoes grow to the size of turkey gobblers. Are you interested in that one as well? |
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Post by dgaddis1 on Feb 14, 2011 19:08:27 GMT -5
I was thinking 40ish miles a day wouldn't be too bad....but I haven't been on that section of trail either.
What made it so difficult? The riding itself, slow tread, lots of climbing? Or is it difficult because you spend a lot of time off the bike, looking for the trail, climbing over downed trees, etc?
And yeah, I'd be game for trying the FM passage as well.
Have you done any sort of trial run yet riding with your gear? Was it you that got the old man mtn rack(s)? I'm thinking I'll add a rear rack to my set up to get some weight off my back.
I need to get a water filter/purifier....and depending on the weather, I'll need a way to keep more body heat in that hammock....need to start getting that stuff together, prime bike packing season will be here soon!
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Post by stumpbumper on Feb 14, 2011 19:40:46 GMT -5
The Palmetto Trail is built and maintained by the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, a small non-profit membership organization. We get help from some of the landowners that the trail passes through, but ultimately we are responsible for blow downs, mowing, cutting back growth, and marking the trail. We have 1 full-time and ½ time paid trail coordinators for 290+ miles of trail. Our Upstate Trail Coordinator has been basically furloughed for the last five months because of the tough economic climate we are in. The Palmetto Trail received some state funds until 2008 when the budget cuts eliminated trail funding, with the result that keeping up with maintenance is a challenging task. Consequently, we have launched a campaign to raise money for maintenance of the Palmetto Trail and for several capital projects that will add an additional 20 miles of new trail in the next 18 months. We’d love your help, both financially and with volunteer time. Saturday work days are occasionally scheduled but we could really use some volunteers during the week. Membership in PCF, purchase of Palmetto Trail shares, or a donation are ways to help us sustain the Trail and all are tax deductible. We do have an understanding of what MTBers want and need because we have staff members that ride. In fact our staff members bike, climb, hike and paddle. We really appreciate the feedback and are grateful that people are using our trail. What we want and need is help from the users, businesses, governmental entities and all those people who like the idea of the Trail and what it can mean for our citizens and the state of South Carolina. We welcome your assistance. www.palmettoconservation.orgUntil a few weeks back the only thing I knew about the Palmetto Trail is I enjoy mountain-biking on its Croft passage near Spartanburg quite often. I knew there was more to it than that but only recently became interested in riding the Enoree Passage. Prior to hearing from you I was not aware of the existence of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation and do appreciate you enlightening us. Before, I assumed that because that passage runs through Sumter National Forest, it was the responsibility of the Forest Service to maintain it. That’s where I called for information on the trail prior to riding Section 3 a few weeks back. I’d be happy to volunteer some time in making the existing Enoree Passage more suitable for mountain biking. The first thing I would really like to do is add a few blazes and signs that are needed in several areas from a mountain biker’s perspective. All in all, the two sections I have ridden were blazed and signed quite well but there are some trouble spots, like a blaze is badly needed as you are heading south on Section 2 and come off the southern-most bridge over Ned Wesson Branch. How do you guys add/refresh trail blazes? Walk? ATV? More needs to be done to point those riding from the various parks and trailheads in the right direction. We had a heck of a time finding the north end of Section 3 from Sedalia campground and it was the same story departing Brickhouse parking area and heading north on Section 2. Other mountain bikers have experienced the same problems there. I also have inexpensive, easily-accomplished ideas for improving the trail information posted at the various camping and parking areas and will gladly share those with you. Post your e-mail address here or send it to me via PM and we will discuss further. |
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Post by stumpbumper on Feb 14, 2011 20:13:50 GMT -5
I was thinking 40ish miles a day wouldn't be too bad....but I haven't been on that section of trail either. What made it so difficult? The riding itself, slow tread, lots of climbing? Or is it difficult because you spend a lot of time off the bike, looking for the trail, climbing over downed trees, etc? And yeah, I'd be game for trying the FM passage as well. Have you done any sort of trial run yet riding with your gear? Was it you that got the old man mtn rack(s)? I'm thinking I'll add a rear rack to my set up to get some weight off my back. I need to get a water filter/purifier....and depending on the weather, I'll need a way to keep more body heat in that hammock....need to start getting that stuff together, prime bike packing season will be here soon! A combination of things made Section 3 one of the more difficult trails I have ridden but the biggest were blowdowns that often required dismounting every few yards and crawling over a tree or big limb. They were so thick in some areas we had to carry our bikes for rather long distances. Not a great amount of long climbs but quite a few short climbs too steep to ride. Everything combined eats up time and drains your energy fast. Yes, I recently did a bikepacking run at Paris Mountain and really like the Old Man Mountain rear rack. I chose that brand because I have several friends out west who have bikepacked for years and all say OMM is the best, not only in design, quality and durability but no-questions-asked repair and/or replacement in the unlikely event that either is needed. I bought the Cold Mountain model because it was in stock but the Sherpa model should be just as good and is a bit less expensive. I also tried out my new bug bivy/tarp combo and really like it as well. About the only thing I am missing is a stove and have yet to decide on brand/model. A few weeks back I spent four days at a giant sporting goods show in Vegas called SHOT Show and saw a lot of neat goodies there. Mountain House, the company that makes dehydrated food had a big display and was serving hot samples of their latest meals. I was surprised at how tasty some are. Also tried the de-hy ice cream and while it left a bit to be desired it would probably be quite a treat after four or five months on the AT. The most interesting new item they have is a tablet about the size of a fish oil capsule that you drop into the pouch containing one of their meals. Called Mountain Oven, it heats the meal piping hot in 20 minutes. Eliminates the need for a stove but quite expensive if used a lot. |
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I have mountain-biked around 120 miles in three days but it was at Bartram and FATS with no camping gear. It was also during the long daylight days of summer that allowed me to ride 15-20 miles in the morning, break a few hours for lunch and rest at mid-day and then repeat in the afternoon. In their present condition the two sections of PT that we rode are much, much tougher and 25 miles in one day was my absolute limit . Section 2 was especially tough and at day's end my body felt like it had been pummeled unmercifully by a thousand angry dwarfs with ball-peen hammers.