autumn on the creeper trail

When you try to control everything, you enjoy nothing. Sometimes you just need to relax, breathe, let go and live in the moment. 
--Unknown.

Above: The rain didn't stop people from enjoying autumn on the Virginia Creeper Trail. :) Leaves are near peak in the Mount Rogers/Grayson Highlands area. I'll be posting more pics of my trip this week.

Here's a somewhat grainy and shaky 'hyperlapse' I took of driving through the Mt. Rogers Recreation Area. What a fun app! Hard to believe, but I was driving slowly (and yes, mom, safely) -- the app speeds everything up and stabilizes the final video as well. You can see that fall is progressing very nicely in southwest Virginia!

Hampton Watershed Trails

The Hampton Watershed Trails offer five miles of trails for mountain bikers, hikers, and trail-runners of all skill levels, with rating from easy to double-black-diamond. I'm completely impressed with the amount of maintenance that has been done on these trails -- they're in fantastic shape, including the lower portion that goes through pine forests with many downed trees.  I can't imagine all the hours donated by volunteers to keep them open and looking so great. First time visitors should note that the trails aren't well marked, so be sure to take a photo of the trail map located at the trail head. Along with the main trails, there are instances where riders have created cut-throughs - so you'll want to pay close attention to the map as you go. These trails are specifically for biking and hiking, with no horseback riding, hunting or camping allowed.

The Watershed area is fantastic, giving visitors the experience of biking/hiking through both pine and hardwood forests, on both mountain and (relatively) flat terrain. There are three trails in the Watershed:

Trail Name:         Skill Level:         Length:

Pine Loop            Easy                   1 mi.

River Loop          Difficult              1.25 mi.

Cat's Pajamas    Very Difficult      1.5 mi.

Doe River

The River Loop takes visitors on a journey to a small opening/access along the Doe River. I found the River Loop trail to be easy to moderate as a hiking trail, but I could image it being rated as difficult in terms of mountain biking. The view at the top was taken on the Cat's Pajamas trail at an overlook of the Doe River Gorge. The upper portion of the Cat's Pajamas trail is marked as a one-way trail, due to its steepness and difficulty (click on link to map below). The portion leading up to the overlook is steady in terms of its elevation gain, but still, is fairly easy to hike. For hikers, I'd say to go back the way you came after visiting the overlook, as the double-black diamond portion of the Cat's Pajamas trail looks very steep. :)

The sign at the trail head instructs cyclists to "ride within their ability levels and yield to pedestrians." My advice for hikers is to be aware that there are many mountain bikers who frequent this area. My guess is that the vast majority of visitors to the Watershed are bikers. And because hikers aren't always used to sharing trails with bikers, it's important to be attentive and prepared to quickly step aside, especially in areas where bikers don't have a good line-of-sight to give them warning of your presence. Special care needs to be taken with children and pets. 

Hampton Trail Bicycle Shop has put together a Facebook page here.

You'll find a fun video of a mountain bike ride through the Pine Loop, here.

For more Mountain Biking destinations in our area, click here.

Directions: Access to the Hampton Watershed Trail system is found behind Hampton High School in Hampton, TN. To get there, take 1st Ave. east for 1/2 mile to a small gravel parking lot on your left. There you will find a detailed map of the area.  Click here for google map.

courage

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. 
~C.S. Lewis    

A mountain biker making a jump while going down the trail during yesterday's collegiate cycling meet at ETSU in Johnson City.

balance

Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of man's being.  
--Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924) American author. 
 
The Farmhouse Gallery and Gardens in Unicoi, TN played host to an intercollegiate cycling competition before Christmas.

Mountain Biking

Not especially well known are the mountain bike trail riding opportunities at Warriors' Path State Park in Kingsport. There are 9 miles of rugged, single-track trails that range from moderate to difficult providing an extensive network of trails through a beautiful, wooded area. Friends who have tried it out report that the trails are quite challenging, especially for novice riders. For directions, descriptions and downloadable map of the mountain bike trails at Warriors Path State Park visit the Northeast Tennessee Mountain Bike Association.

If you're looking for a more tame, relaxing ride, check out the nearby Creeper Trail in Damascus and Abingdon, VA.

Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport also provides opportunities for mountain biking on designated trails.

The new Pinnacle Mountain Trail in Unicoi, TN was designed for both hikers and bikers.

The Hampton Watershed Trails in Hampton, TN have 5 miles of trails rated easy to very difficult.

ETSU has an extensive mountain bike trail.

Also...the linear trails in Kingsport and Erwin.

Isn't it awesome to live in an area with so many amazing recreational opportunities? I'm sure I've missed many other mountain bike destinations, so if you have a favorite place to go, please leave us a comment.

need for speed

When we set out to take pictures of cyclists, I thought I knew what to expect. I often pass them on my drive home from work, so I thought I knew. Nope. This group of cyclists were absolutely flying down the road behind Buffalo Mountain outside of Johnson City, TN. Just watching (and listening to) them whiz by is enough to get the adrenalin going. I wanted the background blurred, and the cyclists sharp -- but it was ridiculously hard trying to match the camera to their speed as they flew by. Those experienced in the technique known as panning say to start panning before you press the shutter in order to match the speed of your subject and then continue to follow through after the subject leaves the frame. With these riders (about fifty of them) screaming down the road, I honesty didn't have a whole lot of time to think about technique. I was just shooting away, hoping to catch some of them in the frame now and then. This is one of the shots that sorta turned out. I'm looking forward to trying this again soon. The Tri-Cities Road Club is a very active group -- so I should have lots of opportunities to practice!

It never gets easier, you just go faster.
--Greg LeMond (b. 1961)

Photo info: 28mm, 1/15 sec. f/4.5 ISO:200

From Rails to Trails

Here is one of the forty-seven trestles found along the Virginia Creeper Trail. This particular structure is found in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area outside of Damascus, Virginia. The Creeper Trail, created from a section of an old railroad line, stretches thirty-four miles from the VA/NC border to Abingdon, VA. Click here to read an interesting account of the difficult transition from "rails to trails." Because of it's gentle grade, the trail is very popular with hikers and bicyclists, and boasts over 100,000 visitors per year. Click here for more info from the VA Creeper Trail Club.

Virginia Creeper Trail

This is one of the best and most popular outdoor recreation destinations in our area. The 34 mile Creeper Trail runs along an old railroad bed from Abingdon through Damascus ending near the North Carolina line at Whitetop, VA. While it is popular with hikers and horseback riders, it is as a biking destination that it is best known. There are bike rental shops in both Damascus and Abingdon -- and even shuttle outfits that will bus you to the top of the trail at Whitetop so you can ride downhill for 17 miles (2.5 to 3 hours) to your car in Damascus. Click here for more information and maps. [Above is a view from the Abingdon trail head -- click to enlarge.]