Eddie O

Namrita and I arrived at the Snake Creek Gap parking lot just before 3 PM. If I really pushed it I could make the radio tower 17 miles away and then back before dark. We dressed heavy, but not heavy enough. It was about 40 or so and dropping. The first climb starts at the parking lot so I was warm enough there. It was a little slow going because of the mud…not real thick, but super sticky stuff. I also replaced the chain & cassette, but not the middle ring, so the was some chain suck either from the ring or some left over nasty grease they ship chains with. Next 10-12 miles were unenventful. Nam was having a not so good day and I continued on at my own pace. I was feeling pretty good, so kept at about 80% on the ups and 90 on the downs. This trail is very rocky in sections, though noticeably less so with miles of recent Dingo trail maintenance, so was easing up a little on downs to preserve my tires. I managed to get within about 4 miles of the radio tower and the setting sun was making me a bit nervous about going all the way. The last thing I wanted was to be on the trail after dark with dropping temps. My hands and toes where numb with coldness already.

I turned back, climbed back up the ridge I just descended and was picking my lines across the top. The tiled into the valley again and I was sucked into a full speed descent….bad move. I’ve only ridden this trail 3 times now and flatted 5 times including the one pertaining to this story. I had the wheel and then the tire off in a few seconds. Fresh tube out, into the tire and ready for air. I pulled my C02 out to speed the process and preserve as much daylight as possible. The Co2 spit, sputtered, blew freezing liquid on my fingers, but did not put air into the tube. Plan B, I start rummaging around in the Wingnut for my pump. It’s not there….not that pocket either…nope…double check all over again…nope, nadda, zip, zilch. My cell phone either….stupid.

OK, no sense dwelling here it’s decision time. I have about 1.5 hours of day light max. I can walk/run the trail back which I am guessing is about 10 miles or bush whack straight across the valley to the next ridge where as long as I go straight, I’ll pick the trail again at the top. I can leave my Kona and come back tomorrow or haul it with me even though it’s only going to slow me down. Bush whack. I’ll run into the trail at the bottom and then decide if I should take the bike further, at least I’ll only have go over one ridge if I do have to come back tomorrow.

Bike shoes, pedals & handle bars all seem to work against me in my attempt to make good time down. I managed to get down to the trail that runs through the valley, but continue perpendicular to it as I head for the ridge 800 or so feet above me. Across the creek and up the other side. I stop a second and assess the path…it’s not pretty. Two choices here: mountain laurels or briers. Mountain laurels are not easy to negotiate with a bike in tow, but briers are rough on the body. I opt for the briers, but my legs are exposed from the top of my socks to the bottom of the knee warmers. It’s going to hurt like hell, but at least I can move the bike through. I pick my way along, and find the creek bed is easiest to move along. It also occurs to me that the creek bed will the steepest section as I get to the top….I’ll deal with that then. I don’t have a watch, so I can only guess at how much day light I have but I am acutely aware of where the sun is hitting the mountain behind me and it’s slowly rising up.

After just one ankle roll I can see the top of the ridge. The problem as I guessed earlier is that it’s a 40+ degree ascent. I could move outof the creek bed, but then I’m fighting the laurels lining either side…a few attempts into the laurels were rather frustrating. I could leave the Kona, but I really didn’t want to have to come back and I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to find here in the middle of the mountain on an unmarked section. So up is the way. Shouldering the Kikapu I’m almost crawling at this point because it’s so steep. My calves are burning because the stiff soles that make pedaling so powerful, do not allow my foot to flex at all. I gain 20 feet upward, rest, repeat.

I finally hit the top. Recognizing this part of the trail I know I have little ways to go to get where the trail turns downward back tot he parking lot. I decide to stay on the trail rather then bushwhack down to the road below in hopes that Namrita will ride up from behind and have pump. I could salvage this expedition with a sweet descent. I do the walk/jog along the top of the ridge with an eye down the mountain to the west. I’m hoping to spot the parking lot through the bare trees, but the hill is too steep and tree too dense to see that far. The trail undulates off the side of the ridge and back up over and over again…this is great for riding, but a big pain in the butt while running. By this point I am perfecting the technique of supporting some of my weight on the front wheel (not flat) and using the brakes to help control myself on the downs.

I come to the pile of rocks which marks the beginning of the descent back to the parking lot. Nam must have cut it a little short or I would have seen her by now. I can still see the sun peaking over the next ridge, but I don’t have more than 20 minutes. I follow the trail until I can see where it runs down below as it snakes its way down the mountain. Time to bush whack again. I hit the next section of trail and immediately begin looking for the section below….and then bush whack again. Now I can see the parking lot. I run it out to the car…I bet I have a whole 10 minutes to spare. I sure was glad to see Nam there. She was less than thrilled about her ride, but I don’t know where the energy would have come from if she had a problem and I had to go looking for her.

The moral of today’s story is always be prepared when riding in the back country….running sucks.

Edit: Don’t get me wrong here, in weird way I enjoyed myself out there.

Eddie O

This entry was posted on Monday, February 12th, 2007 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.