Weekend in Harlan KY (May 2010)
With trail fever still in the air from Safari, a group of enthusiasts decided to head out to Harlan, KY for a weekend of trail riding on the Black Mountain trails. Some stayed at the campground while others stayed in town at a motel. Here is a breakdown of the weekend.
Member Bill M. headed out Tues night in his RV. He got close to the campground but decided to stay in a church parkign lot for the night (sure beats WalMart). The next day he drover over to the campground, got setup and did a bit of trail driving. Most of us were not lucky enough to be able to head out that early.
On Thursday, Scot headed out around noon and arrived at the campground at 6:30. About that same time, Adrian and Jody arrived as well. They both camped next to each other in the main campground. After setting up, we all headed up to Bill's RV for some dinner. He and Linda were beig the hosts for the evening meal and we were all greatful. After the meal and cleaning up, we headed on the trails. We headed out to the mountain top. This area is actually outside the trail area but there is a good road that leads up to the top. We found the top and enjoyed the view. The wind had picked up but still it was a great night. We arrived back at camp around 11:30 and headed to bed.
The next day we got up, ate, and prepared for the day. Larry, Jon, and Luke were to arrive Thus night but there were problems. First, Luke had an axle failure on his trailer just a few hours outside Atlanta. He would not be arriving until later in the day. Larry and Jon made it but Jon lost a caliper bolt so they were trying to find a replacement. FYI - there are no metic sized bolts in Harlan but you can use a 9/16" fine thread as a replacement. Once installed, they arrived at camp and we headed out to the trails.
Trail 45 is the only way to the trails from the campground. Most of the trail is a Class 2 except for one section which is a Class 3. The climb is always fun. It is steep with a few rocky sections. Add a bit of mud and it is always a great time. We made it to the playground area at the top and headed down to the Evarts side of the mountain. Larry needed a replacment trail pass (they are $35 otherwise) and we stopped at the store. From there we headed over to Rail Bender. We did this trail last year and all made it through without any serious issues. This year was different. Not sure what but the trail was much harder. Also, Jon blew a CV. A trail that is maybe 150 yards long took us 3+ hours to complete. It was still fun but a lot of work. In the end, we ate lunch, at the top and I taught my 9 year old son to drive a clutch.
After rail bender, we headed for a new trail called Intimidator. During a steep, dirt hill climb, it began ti rain. Not a drizzle but a downpour. We all made it up (well I had to strap) except Bill. It was just too slick and we decided to call it and go back down and head home. One problem, the hill is now a stream and very slippery. We all made it back down safely without any damage (but man was it a ride). From there we decided to head back to camp and to bypass going back over the mountain but instead take the highway. Keep in mind that we have all aired down so driving is difficult and add to that, a downpour that you can barely see through. We did make it back and all our trucks are now very clean from all the mud. At camp, we ate and pretty much did our own thing since it was so crappy. We did find out that Luke finally made it.
The next mornig we had to fix Jon's truck. Come to find out that a Plymouth Voyager CV will fit his truck. After shelling out the $69, we got it fixed. The lightweight was also being working on. The carb needed a bit of tuning. With all the work done, we headed over the mountain again. This time the trail were a bit more slick and even more fun. We headed for Little Jagger. On the trail we had a bit of a traffic jam but cleared it and attacked Little Jagger. This is a fun trail. Again, very short but very difficult. No real incidents except that Bill about flipped his rover in the creek. We also finally got to see some folks attack the steep part of Little Jagger (you need a rock buggy). Luke gave it a shot but could not make it. After that we headed over to Killing Time. Again a short trail and at one point, Jon broke his CV and had an air bag issue. Parked in a stream, Bill took off the driveshaft. About this time, Scot headed back to camp for dinner.
They got Jon's truck off and headed over to tackle Intimidator again but rain again put a damper on it. Everyone eventually headed back to camp. Later that evening we all gathered at Bill's RV and spent the night cooking and talking. As it was getting late, some of us headed back to camp.
The next day, a small group headed to the trails. Some of us decided to head on home due to prior commitments. Overall it was a great weekend. Got to drive the trails and see good friends. If you can, take trip over to Harlan for a really fun time.