First off, I want to bitch
that the info about the MTB trails in Jim Thorpe that I got off of
www.gorp.com is 50% inaccurate.
OK now to continue with the rest of the story.
I'm back from a 4 day weekend MTB trip at Jim Thorpe, PA. Man what an experience it was. I never encountered terrain like that locally in the NYC area. With only some off roading experience in Bethpage state park, I headed out there with my Raleigh M60 hardtail, only armed with the stock RockShox JudyTT fork, rolling on Specialized Crossroads tires, and Terry Liberator saddle. The GF has a Raleigh M50.
Shit, was I in for a surprise.
The trails I hit were the...
-
Lehigh Gorge
-
Swtichback
-
Weekend Warrior
Jim Thorpe:1, me:0
We left Flushing, Queens fairly late, but was not worried cause the trail was only "7 miles" long one way ("14 miles" round trip) between the Glen Onoko and Rockport access points. We started the ride going upriver in the late afternoon. It was a very easy ride on a wide hardpack road with a thin layer of loose gravel. A very gentle grade cause it ran next to a set of railroad tracks. Very beautiful and picturesque. This trail gives a false sense of security. The trail gives the sense of civilization, but you're far from it. No cell service. If something happens, the only way out of the trail is at the parks access points. And it was only the 2 of us on the trail.
NO ****ING WAY that was 7 miles between the Glen Onoko and Rockport access points!
It was more like 12-15 miles!
By time we got to Rockport, took a short break, and headed back, it was 7:15pm and we were without headlights. Biking downstream at a solid pace, in one gear higher than coming upstream, it took about an hour and 15 min to get back to the car. We had trouble seeing the trail. We almost didn't make it before it got pitch black. Legs burning.....
Jim Thorpe:2, me:0
The Switchback was another underestimated trail. It's a rail trail that goes up a gentle grade along a mountainside. Hardpack with tree roots, rocks and boudlers, left over historic railroad ties, narrow and the slightest slip you'd be tumbling down the hillside. If you like going though dense forest, this is the place for you.
Many times I found myself up on the pedals and off the saddle.
Once you reach the top, there's breaktaking views of the valley below, and the town of Jim Thorpe.
But what got me about this trail...
- You question every fork in the road. Cause this is a part of a rail system that took coal from the mountain down to the town and river in the 1800's.
- I almost went off a ledge. The trail suddenly ended abruptly, and I was like "WTF now?". The trail continued on the other side of this 40 ft gap, and the drop was 25 ft. We had to back pedal to a fork and a trail that went down to the base of the gap. And then carried the bikes up a steep rocky slope to rejoin the trail.
- The rocky descent into town! No Kidding! Completely unridable. The path was large rocks and boulders. It was hard enough to walk down.
- Once in town, we couldn't find where the trail continued. So we were riding on a major roadway with high speed traffic (and it was getting dark AGAIN) to get back to our start point and the car.
Jim Thorpe:4, me:0
The Weekend Warrior was the toughest of them all. A big 'ol "**** YOU" to the GORP guide saying it was a 4 mile loop. It's more like 10-12 miles depending how you ride it. And a technical dificulty of "EASY"? Give me a break. This trail threw everything at us. From hardpack, to grass, to mud, to sand, to gravel, to rocks and boudlers, creek crossings, an encounter with a snake that was in the "Don't **** with me" position, etc.
There was a portion of this trail that followed under power lines that was a rocky descent. Let's just say I had a nice "flight". And I wound up cracking the helmet, the cell phone practically looked like it exploded, the bike got trashed, and I was all cut up, bruised, and bleeding.
I have to give a big shout out to the Big Man for looking out for me... By letting me land the way I did so I did not wind up with any serious injuries, the bike was still ridable, and not feeling the pain, so I could pedal the hell out of there (took 2 hours to get back to the car).
But I must admit it was a fun course, and very beautiful scenery, and 2 great overlooks from the top of the mountain.
Would I go back? That would be a big
HELL YEAH! I'm looking forward to the next trip and being better prepared.
