I met up with some old college roommates for their annual camping/trout fishing trip to the Jackson River this past weekend. Not being an avid fisherman, I took the opportunity to do some mountain biking in the George Washington National Forest.
Suspension Bridge over Jackson River
After arriving around noon on Friday and setting up camp, I hopped on the bike for a little exploring. I wasn’t expecting to go too far so I didn’t bother with maps or GPS. I wound up on the single-track section of the “Hidden Valley” trail which parallels the Jackson River. It eventually connected with some double-track and seemed to continue on indefinitely – so after 5 miles, I turned back, crossed the river on a suspended bridge, and returned to the campground for a beer.
Road leading to Hidden Valley Campground
Saturday morning I decided to ride the actual “Hidden Valley” loop described in the book “Mountain Biking Virginia” (ride #35). It’s a nice 15 mile loop that begins on Forest Service roads before connecting back to the double and single-track that I rode the previous day. Some of the single-track was a bit too technical (rocky, rooted, and unforgivably perched on the side of the mountain) for my tasted, so I wound up walking about a half-mile section.
On Sunday, I headed over to the Buena Vista Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the “Blue Ridge Dirt Ride” (#40 in “Mountain Biking Virginia”). It’s a nice 15 mile loop on on Forest Service roads with only the last 3 to 4 miles on the Parkway. As you can see from the elevation profile, the ride starts with a 1000 feet descent over the first 4 miles. Now that’s “commitment”.
A great time spent with old friends, good mountain biking, and topped off with some fresh trout cooked on the grill. Not a bad way to spend a weekend.
I took advantage of the opening weekend of the National Park Service campground at Oregon Inlet to make my first OBX pilgrimage of 2010 – and what a perfect weekend it turned out to be. I started off with a nice 20 mile bike ride from the campground up to Nags Head and back. Later that afternoon, I drove up to Coquina Beach and flew the 1.9 meter Snapshot Power Kite. Just before sunset, a thick fog rolled in with the tide and I could hardly see the kite. The fog stayed through the night and didn’t clear up until well after sunrise on Saturday.
Saturday morning was spent on Jockey’s Ridge once again flying the 1.9 meter power kite. Around noon it started to get a bit crowded so I headed back to the campground, put on the running shoes and went out for a little jog. I’m not sure that I didn’t do a bit more walking than jogging – I never really got comfortable on the beach. There wasn’t very much packed sand and the off-camber shore just didn’t sit well with my calves. Later that afternoon, I headed over the Oregon Inlet Bridge where there’s a huge open beach area just east of the old Life Saving Station (which, incidentally, is apparently being renovated) and flew the HQ 3.3 meter kite.
Sunday morning found me back on the beach south of the Inlet for another couple of hours of flying. First with the 3.3 meter until the wind picked up and I tuckered out – and then a final session with the 1.9 meter. Even the Snapshot was pulling me 4 or 5 feet down the beach.
After packing up and checking out of the campground, I parked just east of the Washington Baum Bridge and did a final 20 mile ride through Roanoke Island before heading home.
Beautiful weather, nice bike rides, lots of fun with the power kites – a great start to the 2010 summer season.
It looks like 2010 is shaping up to be a pretty active year for me. If things work out in the next few weeks, I’ll be heading out to Durango, Colorado for a little alpine training with Southwest Adventure Guides in the San Juan Mountains in late February or early March.
Although I haven’t worked up any exact dates, I’m hoping to put together a multi-day kayak trip as well as a multi-day bike tour this spring or summer. Still working up the details but both will probably be fairly local and last 3 to 4 days.
The bike legs are coming back and I’m looking forward to riding the Tour de Moore Century down around Pinehurst, North Carolina. The Sandhills Cycle Club has not yet announced the 2010 event but it’s usually held on Labor Day and is always well run and has a great turnout.
The following Friday we fly out to Seattle and spend a couple of days at the Rainier Mountaineering Festival on September 11th and 12th prior to beginning a 4 day summit climb with Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. If all goes well, we’ll be standing on the summit of Mount Rainier on September 18th!
Looking a bit further ahead, I’m starting to work out the logistics of a circumnavigation of Lake Superior in the Spring of 2011. This has been on my “Bucket List” ever since I rode around Lake Ontario in 1998. Looking even further down the road, I’m seriously considering a Himalayan Trek with a guide company like Mountain Madness, Himalayan Experience, or International Mountain Guides in 2012.
As the now defunct National Geographic Adventure magazine’s tagline used to say: “Dream It, Plan It, Do It”. It all starts with the dream.
I met up with some old college roommates for their annual camping/trout fishing trip to the Jackson River this past weekend. Not being an avid fisherman, I took the opportunity to do some mountain biking in the George Washington National Forest.
