western North Carolina conditions (Pisgah, Bent Creek, Tsali)?

[dave]

Hi,
I'm hoping to visit the Pisgah and Nantahala forests in NC on August 5th (a week from today) and was hoping to ride, camp, tube down a river, etc. for about a week.  Hoping to ride at Bent Creek, Pisgah, and then at Tsali and near Ellijay on the way home.  I just finished completing a bikepacking setup and would love to try it out with a couple of overnights in the forest.

I know there was a ton of rain in that area earlier this month, but I am having a hard time discerning whether conditions will be dried out enough to be fun by next week.  I've spoken with rangers at both forests who say things are a bit muddy but OK.  Then again, people who don't actually ride or tent camp don't generally have a good appreciation for whether conditions are good. 

Can anybody help me out?  I would greatly appreciate it.

Best,

Dave

[pedalingnowhere]

You can ride in the rain in Pisgah if you can stand it. Here's a blog post I wrote about a pretty cool route in Pisgah (it was raining most of the ride, but we still had a blast). There's a link in there that goes to MTBproject and has the GPS route if you are interested:

http://www.pedalingnowhere.com/plog/an-impromptu-overnight-in-pisgah/


Cheers,
Logan

[dave]

Thanks very much, Logan.  There was a lot of good info there--plus it was a good read and nice pics, too.  I'm now stoked to try this out...just need to convince my fiancee to do this route (she's coming with me and is generally a trooper about such things).

[Chunt]

Dave, take a close look at Logan's photos from the ascent and descent of Black Mtn. Those step downs, gullies and washouts and probably even in worse shape now after the torrential downpours we've had in southeast over the past month. I did a similar route last summer and the climb up Clawhammer and down Black were fairly treacherous. It was an adventure, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it again. It was a lot more pushing (carrying) and white knuckle descending than I prefer on a loaded bike. I only mention this because you said you were going to try and talk your fiancee into it. Logan's photos are good indicators of the terrain. I remember that one rock stair step in particular on the Clawhammer ascent. It definitely would've been easier with someone spotting me, instead of solo on a weekday. Either way, have fun. It's a cool area. - Chris

[pedalingnowhere]

Dave, take a close look at Logan's photos from the ascent and descent of Black Mtn. Those step downs, gullies and washouts and probably even in worse shape now after the torrential downpours we've had in southeast over the past month. I did a similar route last summer and the climb up Clawhammer and down Black were fairly treacherous. It was an adventure, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it again. It was a lot more pushing (carrying) and white knuckle descending than I prefer on a loaded bike. I only mention this because you said you were going to try and talk your fiancee into it. Logan's photos are good indicators of the terrain. I remember that one rock stair step in particular on the Clawhammer ascent. It definitely would've been easier with someone spotting me, instead of solo on a weekday. Either way, have fun. It's a cool area. - Chris

I'll definitely agree with the treacherousness factor that Chunt mentioned. Most of Pisgah is pretty burly! The Bent Creek area is the lease burly, but there may not be as many bikepacking opportunities there...

[dave]

Thanks for weighing in, guys. That is helpful info. I thought Black Mtn might be tough but hadnt realized even
Clawhammer would be so tricky. I assumed it was like the easy forest roads I've ridden in the past to connect trails at Bent Creek.

I think we may end up doing day rides from a central camping spot we can access with my truck, but plans are still a bit up in the air (not sure what my fiancée will want to do). Once I'm back home, I can post info on trail conditions for the places I end up riding and my impression of how the area would be for any upcoming bikepacking plans y'all may have.