Ramblin' On...

After making sure Noel and Starla had made Clara some breakfast and served it to her in bed, I was off to meet up with Obie, Dixie Marie, and Johnny Calhoun for a 10:00 take out rendevous. We had laid down the plans post Wilson Creek Wilderness MTB ride yesterday.
This boat is awesome looking. It is the production model Green Boat.

That faint stern etching leading to the grab bar below is a map of the Green River Narrows.

Onto Frankenstein:

Sorry I had a hard time with the timing on Johnny Calhoun ^ and Dixie Maries runs.

I missed Obie all together due to my batteries running out of juice at just the wrong time.

Sorry brotha, if only we had ridden Sinkhole yesterday, HA!

Buffy with a sweet boof at Frankenstein ^

Johnny Calhoun at Zwicks ^

Dixie Marie ^

Buffy ^

Obie on the edge of the boof while Buffy ferries across.

Obie, Johnny, Buffy, and Dixie Marie at the pool between Zwicks and Chief.

We were warned and it was a valid warning, Boof or Conseqences had changed. There seemed to be less water and what little was flowing through was pushing to the right directly into the undercut. I got a little right shoulder scrub but all good otherwise.

Power Slide above and below with someone running Nies Pieces above it.

Johnny Calhoun on the Power Slide above ^

Obie @ Power Slide ^

Buffy @ Power Slide ^

Dixie Marie @ Power Slide ^

Onto Groove Tube ^ & below

Buffy ^

J. Grace ^

Groove Tube was the last photo ops we made on our first run. Johnny Calhoun made me an offer I couldnt refuse; a second run, it didnt take much convincing. Thanks Obie for everything!

We already had shuttle set so we got a move on back to the top. It had rained on and off during the first run but I never imagined it had rained as much as the flow at the put in suggested. The water had turned more brown and the gage was reading about 12" when we paddled down to it. It was about 8" on the first run. It was going up fast and getting a little more pushy as we paddled down. By the time we go to Groove Tube on the second run it was pretty big. We talked to a couple of guys at Sunshine that said it had been 15" when they checked the gage.

That little bit of green to the right is Johnny Calhoun in the maw of Groove Tube ^

Sunshine was looking biggs. Some interesting lines.

C1 by Will Lyons^ and below

Hammer Factor at 200%

After the run, Johnny Calhoun and I picked up my car from the put in parking lot. We headed down the road to switch up boats, hang loose for a few minutes and I headed home. My evening task: grill up dinner for my darlin' Clara Ann to celebrate her motherhood and what a good job she does with our wonderful daughters! I grilled up some chicken. Noel, Starla and I prepared Clara a chicken salad, with cauliflour and celery, and strawberries on the side. The girls and I also had some hotdogs we grilled. The chicken had been marinated a few hours in soy sauce, worchestier, and water, mmm mmm mmm.

Amos' Epics

Obie and Elvis brought some friends over to the Wilson Creek Wilderness and I was lucky enough to hook up with them for a sweet ride and some photo ops. What a great group to ride with. We met at Upper Creek and shuttled up to the top of Raspberry - my first shuttle in a long time and it was well worth it!

Obie even got a shot of me on one of the Raspberry Ridge berms. Why has it been so long since I made it up here?

Who is that masked man?? Obie has entered the forest on the Yeti.

Elvis (JH), Obie, Beth R., and Chris O (the only one of the group that I had not met, but I hope we'll ride together again soon, he can cover some trail fast - up or down hill and will hopefully turn me onto some of that sweet Pisgah West).

Beth on Raspberry. She and I had seen a mother bear and a cub on the Curtis Creek climb last year. A MTBR post from her last race:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=4429237#poststop

Chris O styled this Green Town creek crossing.

Elvis droppin' it.

Beth riding a section of sweet technical trail on Greentown.

A new bridge on the Chestnut climb out.

Dixie Marie. She is a Green River Narrows regular. I had met her out there a few times over the years. I think she used to run the NOC in Asheville some years ago as well.

Obie after a wardrobe change, showing me some new trial in my own backyard.

Thanks a bunch dude, I liked the trail and I plan to be back up there soon. I'll probably lower my seat again too - Good call on that Obie.

Chris O.

Dixie Marie.

Obie and Elvis pickin' their way through the rock garden.

Chris in the rock garden.

Beth in the rock garden. Yes that is a 29er.

Elvis catchin' some sweet air time off the rock.

I took the left line here but everyone else hit it on the right. It's all good.

Elvis aka Jason, airin' it out again. Thanks for taking this one Beth! Great shot. Elvis had some very nice lines today, as usual. He also had one that ended up in a tacoed wheel. I hope it can be trued up. I'll bet more wheels have been tacoed on this trail than just about any trail in the Wilson Creek Wilderness area!

After this sweet trail and about 14+ miles of fun riding, it was time for the crew to head back to Ashevegas so I helped out with the shuttle back up to Gingercake Acres then proceeded to Shady Point, my favorite parking spot to launch a Hwy 181 corridor loop.

One of the special views of Table Rock and Hawksbill on my pedal up the hwy.

The first big view on Ripshin Ridge.

Both the stitch above and the shot below are from a special overlook I know of at the end of Ripshin and beginning of Hedleys. Grandfather Mtn off to the left.

Hedleys was in excellent shape.

This the start of the really fast section. The potential to blast starts here.

Smooth, sweet trail.

A sweet jump from the landing above and from the entrance below.

My final shot at the bottom of the trail I have always called Upper Steels Creek (I never actually cross or pass Steels Creek but I come pretty close to it when I drop out on the forest service road). This self portrait was taken right before the trail drops out in the area locals call "Gods Country" - it is all Gods Country to me.

Total distance rode: 26 miles

Riding time: 3 hours 21 minutes

I timed the end pretty good, I rode up to the Subaru at about dusk .

The flats on the graphs above (starting at mile 14 and ending at mile 15) and below (at 3 hour 25 minute to about 5 hours out there) are the shuttle point and my break between rides.