FOREST SERVICE ALERT
March 2, 2012
Forest Service Seeks Suspects for Questioning
PISGAH FOREST, N.C. - U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officials are encouraging people to stay away from the Bradley Creek and Turkey Pen areas of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest. People should avoid Turkey Pen Road near NC Hwy 280.
The Forest Service is seeking two men for questioning involving alleged threats made to another group of forest visitors. The alleged incident occurred last evening in the Bradley Creek/Turkey Pen areas. The two men may be armed. No injuries were reported.
The Forest Service is seeking two white males. One is said to be in his late 20s to early 30s and wearing dark clothing. The other male is said to be in his late 40s to early 50s and wearing a red and gray plaid shirt. The men may be on horseback and have large bags.
The two individuals should not be approached. Anyone with information should call the Pisgah Ranger Station at 828-877-3265.
The case is still under investigation.
Hopefully I'll see these two idiots in court soon.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Rough Weekend
Honestly, I don't know how we do it sometimes. Life here can be rough. Yesterday, Heather and I took Kenda and ourselves for a short hike up in the Graveyard Fields area. We had been meaning to check it out for a while, but it's always so crowded. Well, yesterday was a beautiful day, but pretty cold and windy, so there were only a few cars in the lot when we got there. We headed down to Lower Falls first, and played around.
I'm in this photo somewhere.
Kenda enjoyed the view.
We then started making our way up to the aptly named, Upper Falls. Kenda hiked with dad...
...but took breaks with mom.
It was a little sloppy on the trails, but was a nice hike that we all needed.
Today, I wanted to see how the new bike was for longer rides, so I went for a 30'ish mile jaunt in Pisgah. Starting at the Ranger Station, I headed up 477, up Clawhammer, down Buckhorn Gap, left on S. Mills...
...up the FS road, right on Funneltop Mtn. Road...
...right on Horse Cove to Squirrel Gap...
...right on Squirrel Gap to Wolf Ford...
...up S. Mills, up Buckhorn, down Clawhammer, 477, 276, and back to the Ranger Station. It was an awesome ride, and the bike felt great. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good, too.
I'm in this photo somewhere.
Kenda enjoyed the view.
We then started making our way up to the aptly named, Upper Falls. Kenda hiked with dad...
...but took breaks with mom.
It was a little sloppy on the trails, but was a nice hike that we all needed.
Today, I wanted to see how the new bike was for longer rides, so I went for a 30'ish mile jaunt in Pisgah. Starting at the Ranger Station, I headed up 477, up Clawhammer, down Buckhorn Gap, left on S. Mills...
...up the FS road, right on Funneltop Mtn. Road...
...right on Horse Cove to Squirrel Gap...
...right on Squirrel Gap to Wolf Ford...
...up S. Mills, up Buckhorn, down Clawhammer, 477, 276, and back to the Ranger Station. It was an awesome ride, and the bike felt great. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good, too.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
First Ride
I finally finished building up my new ride. Well almost. It's going to share wheels with the Lazer Cat until I can afford some new ones, but other than that, it is independently finished. It's a used 2011 Rocky Mountain Altitude 29 SE frame, with a few nicks here and there, but everything else is new. I built it up with an X9 2x10 (26-39) drivetrain. It also has a RockShox Revelation 29 fork with 140mm of travel. It is obviously quite a bit different than the Lazer Cat, and that was the idea.
I decided that the Big M would be a good shake-down ride for it. I expected it to be pretty sluggish on the climbs, and I noticed a slight sluggishness as compared to the Lazer Cat, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, and I left the suspension fully active the entire time. I made it up Clawhammer and Maxwell in no time.
At the top of the short hike-a-bike up Black, I figured I'd take it easy since I wasn't used to the bike yet, and still walk the couple of spots I've always walked, but then I started actually riding this bike downhill. I felt instantly comfortable and confident, and flew down all of Black to Thrift with no problems, no stopping, and no dabbing for the first time ever. Woot!
At the bottom of Thrift I decided to hit lower Sycamore instead of my usual upper route. Despite being much shorter than the upper side, lower Sycamore is a bit more challenging with a couple of crazy root sections.
Starens Branch looked cold.
After crossing the creek, I hit the aforementioned root sections and made it through without issue. Normally, I'll at least dab here and there, or my back tire will slide completely out on the greasy roots.
For a first ride, I was really impressed with this bike. There will still be a little tweaking, but it felt good from the get go.
I decided that the Big M would be a good shake-down ride for it. I expected it to be pretty sluggish on the climbs, and I noticed a slight sluggishness as compared to the Lazer Cat, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, and I left the suspension fully active the entire time. I made it up Clawhammer and Maxwell in no time.
At the top of the short hike-a-bike up Black, I figured I'd take it easy since I wasn't used to the bike yet, and still walk the couple of spots I've always walked, but then I started actually riding this bike downhill. I felt instantly comfortable and confident, and flew down all of Black to Thrift with no problems, no stopping, and no dabbing for the first time ever. Woot!
At the bottom of Thrift I decided to hit lower Sycamore instead of my usual upper route. Despite being much shorter than the upper side, lower Sycamore is a bit more challenging with a couple of crazy root sections.
Starens Branch looked cold.
After crossing the creek, I hit the aforementioned root sections and made it through without issue. Normally, I'll at least dab here and there, or my back tire will slide completely out on the greasy roots.
For a first ride, I was really impressed with this bike. There will still be a little tweaking, but it felt good from the get go.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
[Not a] Lull
Haven't posted in a bit, but I have been pretty busy. There is a lot going on around here. First of all, I am in the process of building up a full suspension 29er. All of the parts should be here in the next couple of days, and hopefully, I'll be riding it next weekend. Really looking forward to having more suspension for a change of pace.
Secondly, there is a lot of good mountain biking news happening around Brevard. If you haven't read Bike Magazine's "The Bible of Bike Tests," you really should. They tested all of the 2012 bikes around Brevard (Pisgah and Dupont), and there is a nice article about the town. It should bring some national attention to the area's riding scene, and hopefully boost our economy some.
And speaking of boosting our economy, Sierra Nevada has decided to open a brewery in Mills River. Why Mills River you ask? The water is great, the recreational opportunities are great, and the fact that Henderson County is pretty much giving them everything they need is also great. Plans are for brewery tours, a gift shop, a restaurant, and possibly a music venue. Next time I sit my sweaty, dirty butt in the river below, It'll be fun to think about how that water could become my beer later on. I'll certainly be more careful about where I pee now.
Finally, one day of our weekends for the past three weeks has been dedicated to clearing trail corridor for the Bracken Mountain Trail. This is the trail that is going to start right behind our house, and connect to 475C in Pisgah. It won't just be a connecter, though, it'll have about a 4.5 mile lollipop loop in there, too. We've made amazing progress, with a ton of response from volunteers. There have been at least 20 people there every week, and the grand opening is expected early this summer.
Here is the progress after last weekend, and we cleared about another mile today.
I've really never been so excited about anywhere I've lived before.
Secondly, there is a lot of good mountain biking news happening around Brevard. If you haven't read Bike Magazine's "The Bible of Bike Tests," you really should. They tested all of the 2012 bikes around Brevard (Pisgah and Dupont), and there is a nice article about the town. It should bring some national attention to the area's riding scene, and hopefully boost our economy some.
And speaking of boosting our economy, Sierra Nevada has decided to open a brewery in Mills River. Why Mills River you ask? The water is great, the recreational opportunities are great, and the fact that Henderson County is pretty much giving them everything they need is also great. Plans are for brewery tours, a gift shop, a restaurant, and possibly a music venue. Next time I sit my sweaty, dirty butt in the river below, It'll be fun to think about how that water could become my beer later on. I'll certainly be more careful about where I pee now.
Finally, one day of our weekends for the past three weeks has been dedicated to clearing trail corridor for the Bracken Mountain Trail. This is the trail that is going to start right behind our house, and connect to 475C in Pisgah. It won't just be a connecter, though, it'll have about a 4.5 mile lollipop loop in there, too. We've made amazing progress, with a ton of response from volunteers. There have been at least 20 people there every week, and the grand opening is expected early this summer.
Here is the progress after last weekend, and we cleared about another mile today.
I've really never been so excited about anywhere I've lived before.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
For Sale
I'm saving $$ to buy some squish, so I'm willing to part with my beloved Karate Monkey. It's six or so years old, but in great shape, and in the hard-to-find poo poo brown. Size Medium. $450+shipping takes it. SOLD!!!
I also found this Pike 426 U-Turn coil fork in my basement. It probably needs a servicing, but is a solid fork. It has a coil for heavier weight in it, but I also have a lighter one I can include. Make an offer.
Thanks for looking!
I also found this Pike 426 U-Turn coil fork in my basement. It probably needs a servicing, but is a solid fork. It has a coil for heavier weight in it, but I also have a lighter one I can include. Make an offer.
Thanks for looking!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Happy Birthday Tripp
Today is my co-worker Tripp's birthday, and we had the day off (that was probably because of MLK, though), so I celebrated by heading into the Forest. It was a cloudy day, with a high that was predicted to hit 50, but I don't think that ever happened. I started at the ranger station on 276, then right on 477, and up Clawhammer.
By the time I hit Buckhorn Gap, my feet were frozen solid. I dug in my pack for a Stinger Waffle, and ran across a pack of toe warmers...YAHTZEE! Within a few minutes I had blood flowing again, so I hung a right on Black Mtn. Trail.
This was only my second time riding this section of Black, and it was much better than the first. That was an early ride after moving here, and I'm much more used to the hike-a-biking now. I finally got to test out the robot shoes, and they were great for pushing my bike up a mountain. It wasn't long before I reached the overlook.
It was cold and windy on top of the world, so I moved on, looking forward to some descending. The trail was sloppy in places between Turkey Pen and Pressley Gap, due to the freeze/thaw cycle, but not too bad. Please avoid the sloppy areas if you can when riding up there. Unlike me today, you should try to ride when it's still frozen up there. After more fun descending, I took Thrift Cove instead of continuing on Black in order to avoid more slop. What a great ride.
By the time I hit Buckhorn Gap, my feet were frozen solid. I dug in my pack for a Stinger Waffle, and ran across a pack of toe warmers...YAHTZEE! Within a few minutes I had blood flowing again, so I hung a right on Black Mtn. Trail.
This was only my second time riding this section of Black, and it was much better than the first. That was an early ride after moving here, and I'm much more used to the hike-a-biking now. I finally got to test out the robot shoes, and they were great for pushing my bike up a mountain. It wasn't long before I reached the overlook.
It was cold and windy on top of the world, so I moved on, looking forward to some descending. The trail was sloppy in places between Turkey Pen and Pressley Gap, due to the freeze/thaw cycle, but not too bad. Please avoid the sloppy areas if you can when riding up there. Unlike me today, you should try to ride when it's still frozen up there. After more fun descending, I took Thrift Cove instead of continuing on Black in order to avoid more slop. What a great ride.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Lazer Cat Transportation
I finally got to ride today for the first time since before Christmas. Went home to Cincy for the holiday, and one or all of my nephews got Heather and I sick. Today, I finally felt good enough to go for a ride. It was 50ish and cloudy when I got to the Lake Imaging lot at Dupont; perfect riding weather. I spent several hours yesterday putting a hitch on my new car. I think it looks pretty good. Ok, so you can't see the hitch here, but the new ride is sweet.
I felt bad letting the Grand Cherokee go, but it was time. It just wasn't reliable anymore, and the mileage sucked.
I felt pretty good on the ride, and my lungs appeared surprisingly clear and healthy. I made it up to the slickrock section atop Joanna Mtn Rd. without issue.
From there, I did the usual Briery and Back route, but it rained the entire rest of the ride, so the camera stayed in the pack. I noticed some crazy water bar work on Grassy Creek Trail. Hopefully it'll settle in pretty soon, because right now it's bad. I'll leave it at that. You can go see for yourself. After a great run down Ridgeline, I was back at the car, and a worker from the park drove up taking a parking lot survey. Apparently there have been some break-ins lately of the smash and grab variety, especially around dusk, so keep your valuables out of sight.
I was wet and chilled, but the new heated seats on the way home, and some cocoa with schnapps made me feel much better. On another note, Mike and I are signed up for PMBAR again. Our team name is "Weregoingtofinishthisyear," and we are. You'll see.
I felt bad letting the Grand Cherokee go, but it was time. It just wasn't reliable anymore, and the mileage sucked.
I felt pretty good on the ride, and my lungs appeared surprisingly clear and healthy. I made it up to the slickrock section atop Joanna Mtn Rd. without issue.
From there, I did the usual Briery and Back route, but it rained the entire rest of the ride, so the camera stayed in the pack. I noticed some crazy water bar work on Grassy Creek Trail. Hopefully it'll settle in pretty soon, because right now it's bad. I'll leave it at that. You can go see for yourself. After a great run down Ridgeline, I was back at the car, and a worker from the park drove up taking a parking lot survey. Apparently there have been some break-ins lately of the smash and grab variety, especially around dusk, so keep your valuables out of sight.
I was wet and chilled, but the new heated seats on the way home, and some cocoa with schnapps made me feel much better. On another note, Mike and I are signed up for PMBAR again. Our team name is "Weregoingtofinishthisyear," and we are. You'll see.
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