After enjoying the last few miles back to our trucks, we give each other " High Fives " as we load up our quads for the trip down the mountain to Logan, WV & our warm & comfortable rooms at Super 8 Motel. Time to shower , feed our faces & get rested for tommorrow's Great adventure on the Rockhouse trail system near Mann, WV. This is our favorite of all the Hatfield McCoy Trail networks & fade off into slumberland with thoughts of last years ride still fresh in our mind ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
( DAY # 2)
After feeding our faces at Shoney's breakfeast Buffet across the parking lot , we fire up our rigs & head off to see & enjoy the Rockhouse Trails some ten miles down the road near Mann, WV. It's not long before we arrive in Mann, WV & are unloaded , gased up & READY to conquer these steep & rocky mountain trails to arrive in time for lunch in Gilbert, WV .
With very wet & mucky conditions , some of these trails would be VERY TRICKY & require extra caution as we treverse the offcambered clay based soil in various sections. ONE slip & DOOMSDAY!!!!!!! ALL the trails will be slicker & the mud holes DEEPER! So with full rain gear & the thick fog making things even knarlier , we head out for a day of FUN & GREAT ADVENTURE!!!!!! YEHAAAAAAAAAA!
As expected the pace is much slower then last year on account of the trail conditions & fog , BUT spirits are high & we rattle up & down mountain after mountain & muck our way through ALOT of DEEP mud holes! Nothing handle bar depth , but still deep enough to require feet being raised or perched atop front fenders or your boots would fill fast with COLD water! LOL! Riding the same trail numbers as last year , we find out that we DON'T end up at the same place????????? Come to find out some trails have been renumbered & relocated much to our dismay. HUMPH!!!!! Landslides over the past winter required rerouting & renumbering a fair number of trails. So ALWAYS get a NEW trail map at the trailhead each time you visit! We found out the hard way! HE! HE!
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We passed this trail marker more then once before we discovered the changes of trail numbers & WHERE they take you! As you can see, the trails on the Hatfield McCoy Trails are MUCH MORE worn & rutted then the LOCALS trails we rode yesterday. Once the error in our ways was discovered we managed to locate the RIGHT trail to Gilbert, WV & a much needed hot lunch & fuel at a " Speedyway " quick stop gas & go establishment at the bottom of the mountain.
Tha sodas & hot sandwiches sure hit the spot & a few us sit in the small cafeteria & warm our cold bones to prepare us for the trex back across the mountains to Mann, WV. Folks like AARP atver Speedy Racer sure appreciate this extra heat for his aging & arthritic bones. HE! HE! Mucking our way through endless numbers of muck holes even takes it tool on the younger generation, but they only get cold & not semi-crippled as their joints don't stiffen like us AARPer's.
Up & over mountain after mountain we go sloshing our way back towards our trucks at the Rockhouse trailhead. About 5 miles from the warmth & comfort of our vehicles, Speedy's always faithful Yamaha 660 Grizzly DIES!!!! NO spark, NO lights , NOTHING!!!!! A search of the fuses & connectors finds NOTHING that would cause this quad to completely lose ALL power to EVERYTHING ! WHAT do we do now????????? The last five miles of today's Great Adventure are going to be very challenging to say the least.
Steve Loftis & his Honda 650 4x4 Rincon volunteers to drag Speedy & his ailing Grizzly back to the trailhead , but with an evil glint in his eyes & a huge devilish grin from ear to ear. I had NO IDEA what I was in store for??????????
From the moment we snatched the tow rope tight between the Grizzly & Rincon, Speedy realized this was NOT going to be a normal rescue mission across these knarly mountains of WV. Steve Lofis was out to scare the pants off of Speedy Racer for an earlier tow job this year near Frackville, Pa. Steve's Rincon suffered a similar electrical problem & Speedy towed him back to Motel 6 at a fairly decent clip , BUT on fairly LEVEL terrain. NOW I was being towed at the mercy of Steve's Rincon up & over & down some very steep mountains way TOO FAST!!!!!!!! With mud filling my face mask & sight gradually fading , I'm hanging on for dear life! My knuckles are WHITE as I pull in the brakes as hard as I can in an attempt to slow us up & we are still on a seemingly suicidal pace !!!!!! NOTHING I do can slow down the Honda 4x4 & it's maniac driver as it careens around curves with the Grizzly & Speedy avoiding disaster by the narrowest of margins! HOLY COW!!!!!!!! He's going faster then I would IF I was riding normal! I holler & scream for Steve to slow down , BUT his smile just gets bigger & BIGGER ! FINALLY we hit turf where it's drier & firmer & Speedy's white knuckled grip on the brakes finally slows the Honda Rincon to a respectable speed. At one point I almost bailed & said good-bye to my trusty quad , because I was convinced it was going over the side of the mountain! I can honestly say , it was the SCARIEST moment in my ATV life!!!!!!!
After finally reaching the SAFETY of the parking lot , an attempt was made to resolve the Grizzly's electrical problem , but with HUGE MUD piles covering every aspect of the quad, it was impossible to locate the source of the problem. So off to the car wash to remove the 50 pounds of mud & make needed repairs at AM tommorrow.
All in all it was a great ride & WONDERFUL DAY with my fellow Speedball's , EXCEPT for the five mile white knuckled suicide tow job by Steve Lofits ! LOL! Who knows WHAT tommorrow will bring??????????
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Day #3
With Speedy's Grizzly needing repairs & having severly twisted my knee pushing the dead quad back into the trailer , Mike Yucha's & the others head south to the new Pinnacle Creek trailhead to check out this new trail system.
With a clean quad & the proper tools & daylight , Speedy finds the frayed & seperated wire after disassembling the enitre wiring harness & has the quad running within 45 minutes. It takes another three hours to reroute & secure the wiring harness to almost normal condition. Another few hours are spent cleaning & getting ready for tommorrow's ride.
It's late when Mike & the others return from their Great Adventure to the Pinnacle Creek trail system & EVERYONE agrees that it was a super nice place to ride & would go back again!
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DAY # 4
Having traveled so far to ride the Pinnacle trailhead Monday ,the Speedball's are ready to stay close to Logan, WV , so we load up our rigs & head off to the " Bear Wallow " trailhead just a few miles down the road. It's my least favorite of all the riding areas , but it's close proximity to the Super 8 Motel makes it an ideal places to let the others blast & have some fun , without involving alot of travel time.
So after feeding our faces , we buzz down the road to Bear Wallow & before long are rattling up & down trail after trail. Against my better judgement , I'm talked into a few " BLACK " rated trails & before long my AARP as- is puckered up & wishing I was on lower ground! LOL! The youngsters are having a blast watching Speedy pucker up & howl with glee ae my eyes get wider & WIDER at some sections & I have to coaxed be to continue the upward journey through the maze of tree roots & huge boulders blocking almost every steep section of these " BLACK : rated trails. With a severly twisted right knee( can bareky walk ) , Speedy is NOT able to bail fast IF I lose control of the Grizzly. SCAREY!!!!
Once back on semi level ground , I decide to let the youngsters ride fast & conquer the " BLACK " rated trails without Speedy & head back to the motel to rest up my knee & get ready for tommorrow's Great Adventure. Tommorrow will be a LONG HARD day!
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DAY # 5
Speedy is up bright early & bright eyed & bushy tailed, READY TO RIDE!!!!!!!!! YAHOOOOOOO! Today's Great Adventure would be to explore more locals trails near Landgraff, WV.
After feeding our faces at the Shoney's breakfeast bar , our merry group of atver's head south down this winding & twisty highway with high spirits & the anticipation of the sights & sounds that will lamblast our senses during the course of the day.
The trip goes by fast & within an hour we are unloading our quads at the parking lot of the Elkhorn Lodge in Landgraff, WV. The owners are wonderful folks & have rooms & lodging available if you'd like to ride directly from your room . Sooner or later , we'll make this our launch site for a future WV Great Adventure. It doesn't take the Speedball's long to unload & head off up the road towards the unlimited maze of atv trails that await us.
Within twenty minutes we have navigated the series of gravel roards & enter the WONDERLAND of atv trails & creek crossings that are second to NONE!
