Day 1: Lewisburg to Marlinton. ~55 miles
Megan and I departed for a 3-day WV bikepacking trip over the Labor Day holiday. Our friend Nick created a point-to-point route, first taking us along the beautiful Greenbrier River, up to the Highland Scenic Highway, deep into the heart of the remote 48,815 acre Cranberry Wilderness, and through unique towns along the way.
Jeremy dropped us off in Lewisburg and we started off with a 55 mile ride along the Greenbrier River Trail. Thankfully, the Buckeye campsite at mile 51 was vacant and we set up our camp, found a spot for a quick bath, and headed into Marlinton for dinner.
Our evening activities included decorating our bike helmets with WV stickers and some barefoot grounding on the trail while we watched the sunset. We never fell asleep that night, but the howls from the coyotes in the distance provided some sort of comfort.
Day 2: Marlinton to Big Rock Campground. ~60 miles
The next morning we made our coffee and oatmeal and biked into town for a second breakfast at the Dirt Bean. We made our way to our first big climb out of Marlinton and toward the Highland Scenic Highway. Another 3+ mile climb on our heavy bikes, but a quick rest at the top recharged me. We soaked in the rolling mountain views of the Alleghany Highlands.
We popped out at the Cranberry River Nature Center and filled up on waters and chips. Thunder rumbled in the distance as we biked into the Cranberry Glades Wilderness area and rode miles of gravel along the river until we spotted the perfect swimming hole. Time for a girly activity … luxurious cold plunge baths!
It started to rain hard as we biked to our destination for the evening, Big Rock Campground. We arrived soaking wet and took shelter in the pit toilet as we formulated a plan. Would we rather camp in the rain here, or bike another 8 miles to lodging in Richwood?
The camp host confirmed that it did indeed plan to rain all night and would continue the next day, which solidified our plan to bike to the Four Seasons Lodge. We fueled up and started another 3 mile climb up a mountain made of loose, slick gravel.
We arrived to the lodge, looking quite drowned and walked into the office. Parakeets chirped in the corner, and dusty piles of stuff took up every inch of the office. We asked about availability and apparently bought the last room at a total of $83/night. We wheeled our bikes around to our room, passing some locals blasting ZZ Top,
“Come have a beer!” they hollered, but we kept our heads down, deciding to take the long way around the lodge from that point on.
We opened the door to our room and a waft of stale cigarette smoke hit our faces. Only 1 lamp out of the 3 worked, and a layer of dust coated the surfaces. However, the water was hot and the roof was dry, so we weren't about to complain.
Day 3: Richwood to (almost) Fayetteville ~40 miles
The next morning we packed up our bikes and started riding in the misty rainy fog. We made our way along country roads towards the town of Quinwood, a former coal town.
We rode our way out of town and continued west, until the bike Garmin indicated that we should turn left onto a steep, rutted out fire road. The rain started to come down harder as we pushed our bikes past an abandoned burnt-up jeep. The Garmin beeped "off-course" incessantly as we navigated through brush, briars, and bogs.
The level of insanity that ensued is hard to describe, but I'll do my best to recall the events that took place. We pushed our way through mud, slippery rocks, overgrown brush as briars tore gashes in our skin. My low point was wading through scummy bog water and falling into a stinky mud pit, while Megan's was when she was encapsulated in briar bushes, using her pocket knife to free herself (pictured below). The rain turned into a torrential downpour, drowning our souls and testing our sanity. We both agreed that it was time scrap the technology and figure out a different way out.
I sent a message to Jeremy on my Garmin InReach to confirm our location and he responded telling us we were on course and to keep heading west and towards the Meadow River. We rode about 500 more feet and there before us was a well-kempt gravel road, taking us out of this hellfire of a situation and down towards the river. We descended quickly to the river and headed toward Josh who was parked at the takeout of the Meadow River. We didn't have time to ride all the way to Fayetteville and this new plan put us to dry clothes and eating nachos and pizza faster!
Learning Opportunities:
Paper Maps! If we can't follow the route on a detailed USGS paper map, then it won't be part of the route. Improve navigation skills using map/compass.
Pack GOLD BOND.
Tape bikes at bag attachment points to prevent rubbing on the frame.
Megan and I make a great team and we were able to remain calm and provide support to each other when needed. Together, we problem solved our way through the muck, and dealt with challenges that tested our limits.
Overall, the trip was an A+ on the adventure scale. While each day included a little "type 2" fun, we simply accepted the circumstances and grew from the experience. Looking forward to our spring bikepacking adventure - likely in NC!
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Strava Route - https://www.strava.com/routes/3264356818152771262
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