Of course, no trip across Hwy. 276 from Brevard to Waynesville is complete without a stop for a photo in front of Looking Glass Rock. Al is riding the WeeStrom today, leaving Shamu (the FJR 1300) in the stable for the day. The Wee is an awesome dual sport adventure touring bike - Suzuki did their homework on that one.

And then it's time for the obligatory pic at the entrance to the Smoky Mountains after riding up the Cove Creek road from way down in the valley near I-40. It's a lot clearer today than it was when Jon and I passed this way a couple of weekends ago. Still though, there is hardly any traffic.

At one time, local visionaries (of the greedy, money hungry variety) wanted to build a paved road into the Cataloochee Valley from I-40 to make it easier to cram more traffic into the little valley. They had visions of turning the wild valley of Cataloochee into a min-Cades Cove, complete with bumper to bumper traffic and lots of trash. Luckily, the project was stopped before it could be completed, and the rough drive in helps keep the looky loo's at bay. There is a short stretch of pavement that climbs up the valley, but then it turns back to a narrow dirt road that climbs on up and across the boundary. This neat little overlook is located about a half mile down the valley after you hit the stretch of pavement. It looks out over a wide, wild swath of Great Smokies backcountry. At one time or another, I've hiked, backpacked, or crawled up and down nearly every mountainside in this photo. That the Mt. Sterling ridge on the horizon, one of my favorite hikes in the half million acre park.
By the way, this is a great ride, but it's not a race track. It's federal property and the rangers have very little patience with anybody that makes their day any more difficult. It's a great place to wander through, with frequent stops and a slow pace.

The old barn in the upper meadows of Cataloochee Valley is a leftover from the days before the park service moved into the valley. This meadow is now a favorite viewing area for the folks that drive in to see the elk. During September, the big bulls will be out in the meadows for most of every day, battling, bugling, and chasing their harems, while trying to keep the competition at bay. Sort of reminds me of the 5th grade at East Flat Rock Elementary School back in '62...

View from a frog's eye level...aah, springtime!

Al kicks back in the upper meadow in Cataloochee Valley on a superb spring day. First lunch (chicken, salad, and a big dill pickle for me!), and then a snooze in the shade. Not a bad way to start a long dirt ride to Tennessee.

Al, the WeeStrom, KawasiMoto, and the old barn, framed by sycamores.

After leaving the valley, we cut north on the dirt road that climbs up to Mt. Sterling Gap, before dropping down to Big Creek and then crossing over the line into Tennessee near Cosby. We won't be going that far, since we plan to cut off on a Forest Service road that will carry us down to Harmon Den. This little cascade is by the road above Cataloochee Creek, a few miles outside the valley.

This used to be a favorite run of mine, way back when I was competing in road races. I still ride it occasionally on a mtn. bike. Sometimes, I make it part of a loop, hiding the bike near Mt. Sterling Gap, then driving back to Cataloochee Valley. From there, I hike up Pretty Hollow to Pretty Hollow Gap, then follow Sterling Ridge to Mt. Sterling, where I take the trail back down the mountain to Sterling Gap and the bike. It's an easy, mostly downhill ride back to the car fron there, but it all adds up to a very long day. It makes the inevitable pig-out that comes later in the evening that much more enjoyable too...

The old bridge over Cataloochee Creek, not far from the valley. Good trout fishing to be had from this one...

Mt. Sterling Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains. From here, it's a little over 3 miles to the top of Mt. Sterling on the old tower access road. In 1991, my wife broke her leg in 3 places near the top of this mountain as we descended during a wild thunderstorm. It took 11 hours to get her to a hospital in Asheville. For nearly 3 hours, she lay in a freezing stream of water, unable to move without further injury to the leg. We eventually got an inflatable brace on it after a ranger arrived at the site and carried her down to the Gap. From there, we had a long, long ride back to the hospital in Asheville. Despite the rough day, the mountain remains one of my favorite destinations in the Great Smoky Mountains. I hike to the top on the Baxter Creek trail at least once a year, often more.

This is by the road on the north side of Mt. Sterling Gap.

We take a break when we reach the Pigeon River, just below I-40. This is sometimes closed during high water, when the river is roaring across the concrete crossing. After crossing beneath the Interstate, we'll continue to follow this road up through the Harmon Den bear preserve to Max Patch. I'm still telling Al that it's not far and a smooth ride all the way...

The Harmon Den road climbs up into the mountains along the Tennessee/NC line to reach the border near Max Patch. For the most part, it's a wide, smooth, twisty dirt road that is a lot of fun to ride, even though it's sometime dusty from the heavy traffic of fishermen and hunters accessing the big mountain preserve.

Al follows me as we climb higher into Harmon Den. The torque of KawasiMoto comes in handy for this riding, since I can keep a hand free for photography and don't have to worry about shifting gears and working the clutch. The dust wasn't too bad - most of the time, I could see Al pretty easily in the rear view... though sometimes he would fade from view for a while.

We stop to take a break on Round Mountain after riding past Max Patch. We didn't tarry for long at Max Patch on this ride - the gnats were horrendous. At this point, we're about 6 or seven miles from Del Rio. We were able to turn off the motors and coast from here, all the way down to pavement and then about a mile or so beyond that. I love doing that on this ride. You get some strange looks from the oncoming vehicles when they go by without hearing any exhaust...
Again, I got rained on along the way to Del Rio. It wasn't much, just a few sprinkles, but there was supposed to be a nearly zero chance of precip - I'm jinxed!

And then - I'm back at town center in Del Rio, in front of the old post office. Great spot, but Al's wondering about what happened to the short easy dirt ride we had planned. I think that we ended up having in about 60 miles of dusty dirt road. Of course, that was better than the cold wet day that Jon and I had on our ride a couple of weeks ago. From here, we cut back east on Hwy. 25 to Hot Springs, I-26 and home. Long day - about 212 miles of mixed pavement and dirt roads. I love it, but one thing is for sure, I've gotta get another seat. Now that it's warm enough to ride without the pants liners, I need more padding. By 100 miles, a lot of it on dirt, my butt was numb. It's not so much the padding on the seat of the Vee - it's the slant of the danged thing. It slopes downward in front, sliding the rider into the tank.

The town of Marshall, between Hot Springs and Asheville, is a nice little rail/river community.

And, that's it for this ride.
Adios, amoebas!