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Hot Rocks!
Hatfield
& McCoy Ride Report
By Ramjet - 08-04-02
Lynburn, West Virginia
There was a good
showing of the Pilot-Odyssey crew this weekend at the
Hatfield-McCoy ATV trails in West Virginia. It is pretty darn
easy to get to with a map in hand. The management of H/M did a
very good job on the driving directions. I know I am going to
forget someone but in attendance was Ramjet, PilotHawk,
Redrider, Lightspeed and Angie, Moskito, Stoneman and Company
and I think one more person but the name escapes me. I am
sorry if I left someone out.
Located in Logan West Virginia, Hatfield-McCoy boasts about 80
miles of some of the most demanding trails my poor 350 has
been on. When you arrive, there is a generous stone parking
lot with a small concrete block house where your register your
machine. The staff was friendly and answered my many dumb
questions.
After filling out the legal forms and paying your fee, you are
handed a colored map and info packet with a brochure and zip
ties to affix your permit tag to your machine.
Since I arrived a
little late, most of the troops were already on a trail. I did
not have much of a plan since just getting here was my goal
and there was not a central meeting spot. Maybe there was and
I just wasn't paying attention. Perplexed on what to do next,
the guys staffing the front desk suggested that I take trail
10 to intersect with the trail that all the POOA guys were on.
"You're bound to run into them" one staffer commented which is
not the best thing to say to an Odyssey driver. I also wasn't
too keen on going out on a long run on a trail I didn't know
with my FL-350 that I had just modified and had not had time
to shake the bugs out. Just as I unload, I hear the
ever-familiar wine of a Pilot coming off the trail. They found
me first.
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Cut into the
hillsides of the Appalachian Mountains are trails that cut
trough the deep, deep woods. The majority of trails have rocks
that range from pebbles to the size of your Pilot. Most seem
to be about the size of a small ham and no matter how you
navigate, you are bound to hit one. I hit, bounced and pinged
off countless rocks with my poor 350. Redrider commented that he
had already torn the sidewalls out of a brand new set of tires
on a previous trip.
This year, it is still
extremely dry in West Virginia so we kicked up a lot of dust
that spaced us out on the trail at times. There was water and
mud but it was few and far between. I fouled two spark plugs
on the trail, which gives you a horrible sinking feeling when
you are by yourself.
Fortunately, there is an unspoken buddy system that if someone
disappears from your mirrors, you turn around to see if there
is trouble. I was rescued twice. Other on site repairs
included Stoneman who had a front shock come apart. Everyone
pitched in to repair and catch up on some conversation.
Redrider was the Mr. Fix-It of the crew.
The outside temperature Saturday was a brutal 95 plus but
dropped at least 15 degrees in the woods that made for a
comfortable ride. It was the first time I had ridden with just
a helmet, t-shirt, tennis shoes and shorts with a towel around
my neck. I felt naked compared to how we wrap ourselves in
armor for the Spring Valley races.
I had to cut my trip short due to family commitments and could
only run one trail (14) but it was a tremendous experience.
The trails are well cut and marked with signposts and the
scenery and woods are just breathtakingly beautiful. Your
shocks and body get a hefty work out but the trails put a big
grin on your face. All the good company makes the trip even
more of a pleasure. It is great to put faces to some of the
company on this board. The trails are demanding on your body
and machine but so much fun that I am sure you could spend two
days at Hatfield-McCoy and not run over the same trails twice.
You won't get bored. Despite the awful heat, and the big jumbo
size rocks, I give
Hatfield-McCoy two thumbs up.
Did I mention there were a lot of rocks? ....lol....
I give this ride a nine out of ten.
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