EF conditions

[eloach]

Elizabeth Furnace was in good condition today, January 13th, 2008. There is a lot of dead fall on the trail behind the reservoir (mostly after the climb) and a couple on the Bear Wallow downhill. It seems that this is a place you can ride the day after a rain and not have to worry about mucking up the trails. Soil content, slope and lack of use are probably the reasons that it is so ridable. The only place there was any mud at all was on the fire road where 4x4s had made ruts in the low spots.

So, if you NEED to ride and the weather has not been great, here's a place that seems to be ideal.

[Dirt]

The parts of EF that degrades significantly are the last two little chutes coming down bear wallow to the parking lot. If you look at the amount of soil that those secitons of trail have lost over the last 10 years, it is scary. Those secitons of trail have lost many feet of top soil.

That said, those sections lose soil when it rains regardless of whether people ride it or not. Riding isn't what seems to downgrade that area... water is.

Thanks for the update.

Pete

[ridethewomble]

I rode EF yesterday, and conditions weren't too bad.

I stopped first at Waterlick Grocery, which was a good call. As others have said, it's basically a bike shop now. I talked conditions Matt McHale, the owner. I let him know my objective was training and suffering, and he showed me a ride that put me on the back side of Mud Hole Gap. He said Mud Hole Gap would be a mess, and the creek crossings would be bad.

I drove trough the Fort Valley, and took a right on Boyer Road. I parked at the bottom of Mine Mountain Road where the Mine Mountain Trail crosses. From there, I rode up to Signal Knob, and back.

There's still quite a bit of snow up there. Most things up high are still frozen. I guess that adiabatic lapse rate works as well for bikes as it does for airplanes :D. Anyway, water was frozen based on the speed at which it moved. All puddles and ruts were frozen to the extent they could support my weight. The fast-moving creek was not frozen at all. Slower moving water was hit-or-miss.

There's a creek crossing you wouldn't think twice about in the summer between Mud Hole Gap and Signal Knob. Yesterday, it was tricky. It was frozen over, with two feet of water under the ice. On the way up, I made it across the ice Ice Road Trucker style (craaack, craaack). On the way back, I broke through, and got stuck. Those expensive Lake boots? Worth every penny! :)

The fire road around the front side of the reservoir was a mess. There's a lot of solid ice in the ruts. There are some places where you can't find a line that's not on the ice. It's not the end of the world, but the ice will challenge you a little.

The climb to Signal Knob has a lot of snow, but it's no big thing. Since it's exposed, you can always find a dirt line.

The orange trail around the back of the reservoir has a ton of blow down, just like eloach said. I moved the pieces I could handle as one person, but we'll need to get up there with a crew some time. Most of the dead fall is wedge-shaped, so it's easy to drag, if you go the right direction.

I rode some of the Signal Knob single track, and it was in good shape. I got a late start, so I didn't check out the hike-a-bike to Bear Wallow.

If we get temperatures above freezing for a period, it's going to be a friggin' MESS up there. While it stays cold, though, I bet you could put together a nice ride by going up the back of Mud Hole Gap, up the hike-a-bike, and down Bear Wallow. Stop at the Waterlick Store, and ask Matt how things look. He can help you put together a ride that is appropriate to conditions.

Special bonus - You know how that orange trail behind the reservoir climbs to a high spot, and then descends? I lost a nice map case with my EF PATC map and a map protractor right at the high point. I heard it drop out, but thought nothing of it. If you find it, it's yours. It should be right on the trail.

[whale]

Feb. 18th, 2008 - President's Day

I hit up the Furnace today and the conditions were GREAT! The trails were nearly bone dry even with the roads being wet on our drive out this morning. There were a few wet spots near the bottom of Meneka Peak and Shawl Gap, but nothing too bad.

It was a gorgeous day (60+ degrees) and we ended up doing out and back rides up Meneka Peak and Shawl Gap only seeing 2 hikers the entire time. NO BIKERS :confused: but lots of trout fishermen!

On a bad note :(, there are several downed trees on Shawl Gap towards the top (above the "staircases") and a few on Meneka Peak about half way up, but nothing your can't dismount and climb over... they are just flow killers.

Come on NoVa mountain bikers... it would be nice to see "MORE" of you out there to hit up some REAL local mountains. I just moved from DC to Silver Spring and it took me about 1.5 hours to drive out there.

[riderx]

I had thought about heading down there today but was figuring it would be too wet. Bummer. Glad to hear someone got to ride it today.

[sevenforty]

Planning on hitting up EF for the first time (it's been on my list) soon and just wondering what kind of gear you guys are hauling out there with regards to padding, helmets, spare parts, etc. I just came across a review which said rocks, rocks, rocks and big descents and lots of climbing.

I've been looking at pictures online and some areas look rip for some face plants. :)

[sevenforty]

When I mean helmets/padding...should I be prepared for more of the DH aspect or the XC/climbing aspect? I usually bring along a full face helmet/pads and lighter XC stuff depending on the trail and where I am at. I am not really sure what to expect on this ride. Sounds like it's got everything.

[punga]

When I mean helmets/padding...should I be prepared for more of the DH aspect or the XC/climbing aspect? I usually bring along a full face helmet/pads and lighter XC stuff depending on the trail and where I am at. I am not really sure what to expect on this ride. Sounds like it's got everything.
I would think full face and pads (to a lesser degree) are overkill for EF. Most people ride it without anything. Depends on your tolerance level I suppose.

What type of trails have you ridden before? Do you anticipate hitting the ground often?

p!

[eloach]

I wear shins and elbows out there with an XC helmet, but have only crashed once, and that was on my rigid SS, which I really have no biz riding down Bear Wallow, but got bored since I have been out there so much this wet winter. I took a shot to the back of the ribcage, which was not protected, from a cut off log after an 8 foot fall to the side of the trail. I rode out the rest of the way, carefully and slowly.

A lot of the place is either rideable or NOT. It's that simple. The top 3rd of Bear Wallow is about as sketchy as it gets due to the lack of line options. The rest is not too bad.

The climbing is really not a big deal unless you try to ride as much of the hike a bike going up to Bear Wallow as possible. That's a tough climb and I personally can walk it faster after the first 1/4 mile because it's hard to get restarted if you dab.

If you're the type of guy who likes to take lots of risks, I would say pad up. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry that much about it. If you're solo, just remember no one else may come along that trail that particular day.

[mtbmartyr]

4/7 Report: The Mudhole Gap fireroad and trail are riding well. The are a couple of downed trees blocking the trail above (west of) the reservoir. Surprisingly, the Signal Knob fireroad and Maneka peak trail are riding well. 2-3 blowdowns on Bear Wallow, but no surprises.