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Post by azdrawdy on May 15, 2011 9:14:51 GMT -5
Just got back from a week spent in one of the most challenging and gorgeous areas the southeast has to offer. We have spent a day or two, at various times in the past, in the mountains of NW Georga, and decided to haul the RV to Ft. Mountain State Park, about 20 miles west of Ellijay for eight days. We got a lakefront site, and the weather could not have been more perfect.
- Ft. Mountain has its own arduous system of trails, although they are not singletrack at all. Many miles of brutal climbing (even Mike at Cartecay Bikes admitted as much!) and tough downhills.
- Pinhotti 3 has some of the toughest switchbacks I have ever encountered. At one point, I stopped, tossed my bike down, threw my helmet in the dirt, and just walked in silence for a few feet, wondering if the climbing would ever end. Looking at the GPS later, it was indeed a wall! P1 and P2 are beautiful singeltrack.
- Bear Creek is gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.
- Raccoon Mountain in Tennessee was a gem. Beautiful rock gardens, good climbs, great flow. Views that blow you away.
- We had ridden Tanasi years ago, and headed back for another dose. I have already said it in this diatribe, but holy cow there are some climbs there! The singletrack and gravel roads can be brutal. Beautiful place. While there, we stopped at Scott’s Bikes and met a group of the most friendly people in the mtb community (the owner and his employees).
We will go back. Gotta hit Stanley Gap, River Loops, and definitely the Pinhotis and Raccoon again. Of course a stop at Cartecay Bikes and conversation with Mike Palmeri is a must. He and I had quite the conversation about chain sawing. He loves cutting trees!
Hope you enjoy the pics.
Gave this guy plenty of time to get across the trail!
What's she looking at?
Oh, just another little dude, this time in a tree!
A fellow rider who, we were told, had a heart attack and died on Raccoon. I was told that riding this line was a fitting tribute!
Wow. That's some climbing.
- Ft. Mountain has its own arduous system of trails, although they are not singletrack at all. Many miles of brutal climbing (even Mike at Cartecay Bikes admitted as much!) and tough downhills.
- Pinhotti 3 has some of the toughest switchbacks I have ever encountered. At one point, I stopped, tossed my bike down, threw my helmet in the dirt, and just walked in silence for a few feet, wondering if the climbing would ever end. Looking at the GPS later, it was indeed a wall! P1 and P2 are beautiful singeltrack.
- Bear Creek is gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.
- Raccoon Mountain in Tennessee was a gem. Beautiful rock gardens, good climbs, great flow. Views that blow you away.
- We had ridden Tanasi years ago, and headed back for another dose. I have already said it in this diatribe, but holy cow there are some climbs there! The singletrack and gravel roads can be brutal. Beautiful place. While there, we stopped at Scott’s Bikes and met a group of the most friendly people in the mtb community (the owner and his employees).
We will go back. Gotta hit Stanley Gap, River Loops, and definitely the Pinhotis and Raccoon again. Of course a stop at Cartecay Bikes and conversation with Mike Palmeri is a must. He and I had quite the conversation about chain sawing. He loves cutting trees!
Hope you enjoy the pics.
Gave this guy plenty of time to get across the trail!
What's she looking at?
Oh, just another little dude, this time in a tree!
A fellow rider who, we were told, had a heart attack and died on Raccoon. I was told that riding this line was a fitting tribute!
Wow. That's some climbing.
