Bikepacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains | Day 1 of 3 | The Monster

First time bikepacking day 1 of 3. Jay and Eddie take on the rugged Iron Mountain Trail and learn a thing or two about bikepacking - and themselves!

Overview //
Trail Start:  Damascus, VA
Trails Used:  Iron Mountain Trail, Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, New River Trail
Major Locations:  Mount Rogers National Recreation Area & the New River
Trail End:  New River Trail State Park
Distance: 83.5 miles
Minimum Elevation: 1911’
Maximum Elevation: 4560’
Total ascent: 14729’
Bike packing rigs: Trek Farley & RSD Mayor

Day 1 Route Description //

Heading east out of town on Rebel Road, we entered the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which butts right up against Damascus.  This is where we joined the Iron Mountain Trail.

Once we’re on the Iron Mountain Trail, we were greeted by a gut punch of a climb up a steep draw known as Mock Hollow.  After we crawled up nearly one thousand feet of elevation over two miles we connected with a spur of the Feathercamp Ridge.

After a short, but welcome, mile of relatively easy downhill riding, we continued to ascend Feathercamp Ridge for three miles, gaining another five hundred feet in elevation.

After reaching the highest point of Feathercamp Ridge, we transferred to another ridgeline by dropping into Sandy Flats gap and climbing onto an adjacent ridgeline.
  
The new ridgeline we followed was marked by the prominence of Grosses Mountain at over three thousand eight hundred feet. We climbed up this ridgeline on a gentle grade for a little over four miles before descending into Skulls Gap.

Leaving Skulls Gap, we climbed again along the flanks of Sharp Top, Round Top, and Double Top mountains, gaining another seven hundred feet of elevation over nearly three miles.

We used a saddle between Double Top Mountain and Grave Mountain to transfer to yet another ridgeline, climbing nearly three hundred feet to the highest point of our trip at just over four thousand five hundred sixty feet (4560’).

A short descent on the Grave Mountain ridgeline delivered us to our first overnight location, Cherry Tree Shelter.
Music Credit:
ODESZA - “La Ciudad”
http://odesza.com
http://odesza.co/facebook
http://odesza.co/twitter
http://odesza.co/instagram
http://odesza.co/soundcloud
#simplymountainbiking #SMB #mountainbiking

Видео Bikepacking in the Blue Ridge Mountains | Day 1 of 3 | The Monster канала Simply Mountain Biking