You’ve heard of a sta-cation? How about a sta-n-ride?

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Thanks Wheatie. I have an end game in mind once testing is complete.

But REI can take a hike! Anti-hunting, anti-offroading SOBs. Stump speech stowed away now.

 
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Snowflake at home


Indian Paintbrush nearing mission completion


My only company over the ~100 mile loop


A "new" track started out looking innocent enough


After a coupla miles those puddles turned to lakes and discretion became the better part valor



Treated to nice views coming back out



Half way thru, I could look back to see from whence I had traversed. The road with puddles veered off the main road at those 5 white windmill uprights visible background center. There is a windfarm visible to the eye but phone camera couldn't resolve.


Deep and damp at elevation


Snowflake and me were about a mile from home when we were anointed by the ever present since mid-April daily rains. View is from the mouth of Snowflake's stall.



5 hours of rocking steady to cover 94 miles...hell yeah!
 
A glorious early morning along WVs Allegheny Front

The Front's old economy, mountain top removal mining, gasping last breaths
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The new economy...

looking east by northeast
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looking west
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Who gives a frack! Spanky new Marcellus Shale natural gas well operating this morning.
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None of these $$$ generators are "green" rather separated only by degrees of destruction.
 
A steamy Aug Sunday morning jaunt

Was out early and had some time to kill while waiting for the high ground fog to lift. So I paused in front of the liar’s bench in the megalopolis of Williamsburg, WV



81*F at 8:30 a.m. It was going to be a warm one.



High ground still socked in but I started up anyway.



Some enterprising road contractor has bought a rock crusher and is using native sandstone. Must have gotten tired of trucking in the Greenbrier Limestone (light grey stone along the berms) from the valley. Haven’t seen that since the main timber haul roads were built back in the late 60s/early 70s.



Was a curious lil’ dudette/dude. Mom was well off in the brush already.



Close-up of a hardwood pulp clearcut. Charmin rolls by the gagillion.



I had ridden 5 miles to that orange gate post past the treetop and it was only 100 yards to a main haul road, so







But the scenery was stellar.





Now you would think that when anyone with half a brain came to this at the first hollow under the top of the mountain they would have enough sense to reroute…not me.



And two miles later…



6 foot down and looks like it was sliced with a knife.



Hard to believe this placid mountain stream cut the road in one brief afternoon.



One time I was glad to have encountered a locked gate.



A mine haul road bridge out in the next watershed over.





3 miles downstream from here where the North and South Forks of Big Clear Creek come together 4 or 5 elderly folks lost their lives in the late June flood.



To put this drivel to bed on a lighter note; streamside butterflies enjoying being wild .



 
I solved the cold air mattress with one of those "emergency foil blankets" that redirects your body heat back to you. Not sure if it would work in your application though.

Cool write up.

Thanks for taking us along

 
Not sure why it took 3 weeks for me to find this, but excellent ride report, spklbuk!

 
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