After Steve & I feasted on some much needed chow at Granny's we head across the parking lot & are greeted with NINE happy & anxious atver's who were more than ready to risk a few rain drops to spend time meandering across these Pa. mountains with Speedy & the others. Yeah buddy!
ALOT of new faces greet Speedy & come to find out a few of the folks are from the REBEL's atv club . They want to see first hand IF a FAMILY ride is just that & to also see IF future FAMILY rides would be safe for their youngsters?
Once hello's are exchanged it's time to head across the mountains & with the blip of the throttle on the 400ex & others , we are trailbound ! YEHAAAAAAAAA! Not sure of the skill levels of the newest additions to today's jaunt , I navigate the easiest way for the first few miles & gradually head to more & more technical trails as I become more & more comfortable with their progress at each passing obstacle.
Not but a mile or so past the steam pipe heading south towards Pottsville, Pa. , we are greeted with the dreaded " DNR " signs !!!!!!!!! NOT GOOD !!!! DANG IT! One of my favorite Sunday trails was NOW OFF LIMITS!!!! Reversing course , we head north , then west across the mountains to avoid any " DNR " turf & possible STIFF fines if confronted by a DNR Ranger !
Within a few minutes our merry group of atver's have by-passed " DNR " turf & are back on course for Pottsville, Pa. & points beyond. The next few miles are spent on tight twisty trails to avoid the dusty conditions of the power lines & to stay cool & avoid the ever brighting & hot sun. As we approached a normally fairly rocky & rugged trail heading up the mountain , we are greeted with almost " BLACK " rated trails ! The monster rains the last few weeks have SEVERLY washed out EVERTHING & the trails gets worse & WORSE the higher up we go! For the 4x4's this is child's play , BUT for us sport quads it's a real challenge to pick & bang our way up this vast array of boulders & deep ruts. Christy on her Z-400 & Dougie on his 250ex are my main concerns , but with much improved skills acquired over the last few months , they both rattle & bang their way to the top! Thank goodness for TOUGH skid plates!
We are greeted with even tougher conditions on the downward slope , but much easier to go DOWN , then UP! YOU BET! Going to go back a DIFFERENT route! PHEWEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Once off the mountain , we buzz up & down each & every trail we can find & after a few hours descend upon a playground near MATTO CYCLE & let the youngster's burn off some steam & get the itch to play scratched! LOL!
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After a short break , we descend down the trail behind Matto Cycle & head towards the creek crossing that is one of my favorite parts of this route ! OH BOY!!!!