Georgia Mike
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Flowery Branch,GA
Well,there was no snow,but it was still a great trail ride! Mark,Andy,and myself brought out our XJs for a day of STEEP climbs,deep ruts,and snot-slick mud,all covered with freshly fallen leaves. Mark's winch got a great workout,pulling himself up the hard way on Rattlesnake Hill to assist Andy who had gone the "easy" way(which wasn't all that easy,either 
)and had all but slipped off the trail. After some heckeling by me :roll: he was pulled off and made it the rest of the way up the hill. I went up next,and suffered almost the same fate and had to be winched up,as well. Andy also had to pull out his strap to help get me the rest of the way up. So we then stopped and had lunch at the top of Rattlesnake(thanks for the drink,Andy!)and met some dirt bikers and 4 wheeler riders that stopped to chat. Nice guys you meet on the trail.
The next big obstacle of any significance was aptly called "The Wall". Let me tell you something,they weren't kidding when they named this hill. It looked to be around 65-70 degrees straight up. Luckily for us,there was another "easy" by-pass(yet again,not too easy,either). Mark was the first to try,and came back down,and tried again,and made it up. Andy was next. He had a little difficulty in a couple of spots,but to my knowledge,made it up unassisted. My turn. I started up and got hung up on a root. Back down I went. Started again,got past that root,got hung up on another one farther up the trail,back down I went. 3rd try,I made it past those spots,only to get hung up again about 3/4 the way up. I finally succumbed to letting the air out of my tires(I had been running street pressures all day),backed down a little,started back up and ran my front tire into a stump sticking out the side of the trail. This halted momentum immediately! Back down I went. 5th TRY!!! Made it over the worst of it!!! Only I started sliding off the trail in a bad spot. No matter what,it just got worse. So,out comes the cable,and I hear the heckeling from Andy "Mine made it! Mine made it!" After the winching,I got the rest of the way up unassisted,and we were headed back to the trail head to say our goodbyes.
I know two obstacles doesn't sound like a whole lot to do all day,but it was an almost all day affair. I just wish more of the SE Chapter would've shown up. I guarantee you,you'd have had a blast. If you like almost verticle hill climbs and descents,and beautiful scenery,then this is the place for you! Maybe we can make it one of our scheduled trail rides for the upcoming year?
)and had all but slipped off the trail. After some heckeling by me :roll: he was pulled off and made it the rest of the way up the hill. I went up next,and suffered almost the same fate and had to be winched up,as well. Andy also had to pull out his strap to help get me the rest of the way up. So we then stopped and had lunch at the top of Rattlesnake(thanks for the drink,Andy!)and met some dirt bikers and 4 wheeler riders that stopped to chat. Nice guys you meet on the trail. The next big obstacle of any significance was aptly called "The Wall". Let me tell you something,they weren't kidding when they named this hill. It looked to be around 65-70 degrees straight up. Luckily for us,there was another "easy" by-pass(yet again,not too easy,either). Mark was the first to try,and came back down,and tried again,and made it up. Andy was next. He had a little difficulty in a couple of spots,but to my knowledge,made it up unassisted. My turn. I started up and got hung up on a root. Back down I went. Started again,got past that root,got hung up on another one farther up the trail,back down I went. 3rd try,I made it past those spots,only to get hung up again about 3/4 the way up. I finally succumbed to letting the air out of my tires(I had been running street pressures all day),backed down a little,started back up and ran my front tire into a stump sticking out the side of the trail. This halted momentum immediately! Back down I went. 5th TRY!!! Made it over the worst of it!!! Only I started sliding off the trail in a bad spot. No matter what,it just got worse. So,out comes the cable,and I hear the heckeling from Andy "Mine made it! Mine made it!"
After the winching,I got the rest of the way up unassisted,and we were headed back to the trail head to say our goodbyes.I know two obstacles doesn't sound like a whole lot to do all day,but it was an almost all day affair. I just wish more of the SE Chapter would've shown up. I guarantee you,you'd have had a blast. If you like almost verticle hill climbs and descents,and beautiful scenery,then this is the place for you! Maybe we can make it one of our scheduled trail rides for the upcoming year?
