G
Guest
·Background - As you all may or may not know, Uwharrie National Forest closes during the winter each year to prevent erosion and sedimentation of the local river and its tributaries. Its kind of becoming an annual thing for us to hit the trails one last time before this 12/15 closure.
Well, it was a fun overnighter. Mark (NCXJ) and I pulled in around 6:00 Saturday evening. We were lucky enough that the rain subsided to a light drizzle so we could get a tarp up over the campsite without getting drenched. After about half an hour out there in 30* weather, I really began to appreciate the long handles I had put on. We got our camp site squared away, built a fire, and began taking part in some "festivities" while we waited for everyone else to arrive. Of course, the rain picked up again, and outed my fire, but at least we had a dry spot, warm clothes took care of the rest. David (K5) and Sidney (YJ) (Sinbad) rolled in around 10:00 with their riders.
We gave them a little while to get settled, and then we were off.
Since it was dark and wet, we decided to stick to some easier trails for the night run. We took Wolf Den, and particularly enjoyed the optional steep hill climb. It was wet and slick, and it definately proved the value of MT's over AT's. After the climb, we proceeded toward Falls Dam, another easier, though steeper trail. The steep, rocky sections of Falls Dam combined with the water, ice, and mud made for some interesting yet manageable moments. Then it happened - on an optional line coming off a rocky ledge, David slipped off the ledge, and up against a rock which caused the bead of his aired down 35 to separate from the rim. We then found that he didn't have a suitable spare (big no-no), so we proceeded to reseat a 35" tire with a tow strap, a bar, and my barely adequate campbell hausfield 12V compressor. I still haven't figured out if we were just lucky or what, but we got it to work and were rolling again in around an hour (it took 20 minutes to get the 35" tire up to pressure alone). So now cold, tired, and wet we decide we shouldn't push our luck anymore, so we finished out the trail to head back to camp.
The next morning, we headed out to El Dorado to get some breakfast, and heard the news that Saddam had been captured. We celebrated a little over breakfast, and caught a little bit of the news reports before heading out. Feeling better while still a little cautious, we decided to attack Dickey Bell a "medium" rated trail first thing. On the way to the trail head, we met up with Tim from Charleston in a really nice Rubi, and he joined in with us. Well, about a third of the way into it the Trail, it happened again, David lost pressure in the front right tire again. Initially we thought it was just a separated bead again, but it turned out that a root had punctured the sidewall this time. We had enough room to load everyone up (thanks to Tim sticking around) and headed back to camp with a 35" tire. After Sidney's cousin (who lives less than 10 minutes away) saved us with a tire changer, we got David up and running again. David decided he had had enough for one day, and made a b-line home. Sidney and I finished up the day on the short side of Rocky Mountain loop, and headed out to break camp and go home.
All in all it was a good trip that was really educational for everyone, though some lessons were learned harder than others. Repairs are a part of wheeling, and though it took away some wheeling time, everyone that that was with us made it home safe and sound.
Now for the pics:
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AM lineup
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Sidney coming up Dickey bell water crossing
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The carnage
![]()
Creative tire removal
![]()
Repairs
![]()
Camp - affectionately referred to as Camp Crazy
Can't wait till April!
Hank
A few more pics here
Well, it was a fun overnighter. Mark (NCXJ) and I pulled in around 6:00 Saturday evening. We were lucky enough that the rain subsided to a light drizzle so we could get a tarp up over the campsite without getting drenched. After about half an hour out there in 30* weather, I really began to appreciate the long handles I had put on. We got our camp site squared away, built a fire, and began taking part in some "festivities" while we waited for everyone else to arrive. Of course, the rain picked up again, and outed my fire, but at least we had a dry spot, warm clothes took care of the rest. David (K5) and Sidney (YJ) (Sinbad) rolled in around 10:00 with their riders.
We gave them a little while to get settled, and then we were off.
Since it was dark and wet, we decided to stick to some easier trails for the night run. We took Wolf Den, and particularly enjoyed the optional steep hill climb. It was wet and slick, and it definately proved the value of MT's over AT's. After the climb, we proceeded toward Falls Dam, another easier, though steeper trail. The steep, rocky sections of Falls Dam combined with the water, ice, and mud made for some interesting yet manageable moments. Then it happened - on an optional line coming off a rocky ledge, David slipped off the ledge, and up against a rock which caused the bead of his aired down 35 to separate from the rim. We then found that he didn't have a suitable spare (big no-no), so we proceeded to reseat a 35" tire with a tow strap, a bar, and my barely adequate campbell hausfield 12V compressor. I still haven't figured out if we were just lucky or what, but we got it to work and were rolling again in around an hour (it took 20 minutes to get the 35" tire up to pressure alone). So now cold, tired, and wet we decide we shouldn't push our luck anymore, so we finished out the trail to head back to camp.
The next morning, we headed out to El Dorado to get some breakfast, and heard the news that Saddam had been captured. We celebrated a little over breakfast, and caught a little bit of the news reports before heading out. Feeling better while still a little cautious, we decided to attack Dickey Bell a "medium" rated trail first thing. On the way to the trail head, we met up with Tim from Charleston in a really nice Rubi, and he joined in with us. Well, about a third of the way into it the Trail, it happened again, David lost pressure in the front right tire again. Initially we thought it was just a separated bead again, but it turned out that a root had punctured the sidewall this time. We had enough room to load everyone up (thanks to Tim sticking around) and headed back to camp with a 35" tire. After Sidney's cousin (who lives less than 10 minutes away) saved us with a tire changer, we got David up and running again. David decided he had had enough for one day, and made a b-line home. Sidney and I finished up the day on the short side of Rocky Mountain loop, and headed out to break camp and go home.
All in all it was a good trip that was really educational for everyone, though some lessons were learned harder than others. Repairs are a part of wheeling, and though it took away some wheeling time, everyone that that was with us made it home safe and sound.
Now for the pics:
AM lineup
Sidney coming up Dickey bell water crossing
The carnage
Creative tire removal
Repairs
Camp - affectionately referred to as Camp Crazy
Can't wait till April!
Hank
A few more pics here
