DIXIE

The Southern DIRTHighlands Traverse is ‘a singletrack version of the Appalachian s night fell, James Dunaway and Ethan Burns ran out for cyclists’ Aof water. It was July 2018 and they were bikepacking along a knife-edge ridge in one of the most remote corners of following the Appalachian mountain range south. Blowdown and understory brush littered the indistinguishable trail. The expansive views of forested mountains and pastoral valleys offered little solace for their thirst. They had to plunge 2,000 feet of elevation on a side trail to camp by a creek. Weaving their way back to the route, they screamed (literally) through two miles of stinging nettles, which haunted their bibs to the last day of their trip and beyond. They were riding the Virginia Mountain Bike Trail — the northernmost and most difficult segment of four (soon to be five) that make up the Southern Highlands Traverse (SHT) — more than 1,200 miles of gravel roads, forest doubletrack, and some of the South’s most challenging singletrack. Burns and Dunaway tackled the SHT in one shot, taking 17 days to follow the Southern Appalachians from Front Royal, Virginia, to Flagg Mountain, . When they limped to the top of Flagg Mountain after a number of high-mileage days, they became the first known people to ride the whole route at one time.

Story by Ellee Thalheimer Photos by Logan Watts

44 ADVENTURE CYCLIST december 2018/ja nua ry 2019 “By far, the remote ridge riding in Virginia was my favorite part,” said Dunaway, a 24-year-old student at the University of North from Griffin, Georgia. “It was Type 2, miserable fun. But it was phenomenal to ride along a ridge for miles and miles with only a couple of feet to each side before the mountain dropped away. And we hardly saw another person.” Even though the SHT touches populated areas, the two riders saw only two or three other mountain bikers. And they rode some of the most popular in the Southeast, like the New River Trail in Virginia and the trail system in Pisgah Riding setups on National Forest in . the Southern Highlands Traverse “The route was one extreme or Ethan Burns and James Dunaway are the first known riders to another,” said Dunaway. “It goes complete the Southern Highlands Traverse (SHT) in one shot. through high-population-density Here’s what they rode. places, starting near the nation’s capital. Then, in a flash, we felt ETHAN BURNS like we had a whole trail system to Bike: Salsa El Mariachi with a Salsa Firestarter fork and an XT 1x11 ourselves (and the black bears).” drivetrain. “The frame was a Craigslist special and fun to build up … it’s comfy, fun to ride, and what I had” Over the course of the trip, the

guys had about one food resupply per Wheels: Chris King hubs laced to Stan’s Flow rims day. Many times it was a run-down country store where they were able Bags: Salsa Relevate framebag and handlebar bag with a to buy Pop-Tarts, Vienna sausages, Specialized seatbag and, for dinner, whatever they could get at a gas station that called for hot Needed replacing: Water bottle cages carried on the fork water, like ramen noodles. But, in “My ride was definitely not the lightest, but it was bombproof, and with other places, like on the Trans-North the rocker dropouts, I had the option to turn it into a singlespeed if I had Carolina segment, they stopped at serious derailer issues. Going rigid was hard in North Carolina and parts top destination mountain towns — of Virgina but paid off over the long run.” Boone, Blowing Rock, Asheville, Brevard, and Cashiers — where they JAMES DUNAWAY drank craft brew and dined on locally Bike: An old Salsa Mamasita, a standard aluminum hardtail frame with rigid fork and 2.2in. tires. “I chose it because it’s what I had. I sourced cuisine. needed a way to get from Point A to Point B as cheaply as possible.” “The Alabama Skyway was gorgeous,” said Burns, a 26-year-old Wheels: Chris King hubs laced to Stan’s Flow rims math teacher at Washington, DC’s Georgetown New Day School. “You Bags: Topeak Fuel Tank top tube bag, framebag, and handlebar bag, don’t think of Alabama having pretty and a Revelate seatbag. “I didn’t want weight on the back because I gravel roads and 2,000-foot ridges didn’t want to feel pinned.” you can roll along. And the people Needed replacing: Derailer were great. A guy mowing a church lawn gave us ice-cold Gatorades.” “I only took two water bottles because water is everywhere in Back in July 2017, the SHT route the Appalachians.” logistics, details, and maps debuted on bikepacking.com and inspired Repair kit: Derailer hanger, spokes, spoke nipples, patch kit, tubes, Burns and Dunaway to scheme this tubeless tire plugs (came in handy more than anything else), quick links, zip ties, duct tape, medical sutures to sew up clothing or adventure. Logan Watts, a Brevard, sidewall of a tire. North Carolina, resident and founder of the site (see page 48), had worked GPS system: Garmin eTrex 30, a reliable unit that runs on a closely with Brett Davidson, MTB disposable battery and has 40 hours of charge in the summer.

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 45 46 ADVENTURE CYCLIST december 2018/ja nua ry 2019 president and tireless proponent of bikepacking in the Southeast, to make the route happen. “We designed it as a stand-alone route that links together the best mountain bikepacking routes and singletrack riding in the Southeast while crossing the length of the Southern Appalachians,” Davidson said. Watts, who publishes routes all around the world, is on the verge of publishing a fifth SHT segment, the South Alabama Lowlands Traverse, that extends to Open Pond Recreation Area in southern Alabama. “We want the Southern Highlands Traverse to be a singletrack version of the for cyclists,” said Watts. The Southeast bikepacking scene is still in a nascent stage. This kind of riding only started to gain momentum when the Tour Divide race emerged on Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2008. So most of the routes have only been scouted and promoted in the last decade by a scrappy and tenacious group of volunteers — from lawyers and real estate investors to students and massage therapists. Because volunteers created the SHT using existing trails and roads, no sections had to be built specifically for it, and the route is not yet officially designated or signed (though plans are brewing). All the route information lives on bikepacking.com/sht, a labor of love for Watts. “We’re just on the edge of having a substantial community,” said Davidson. “It’s all about camaraderie.” The Ultimately, Davidson and others want to publish a complete Eastern Southern Divide Trail, spanning from Highlands Newfoundland, Canada, to Key West, Traverse Florida. In the context of this trail, the SHT will play a part as a singletrack- Established 2017 Front Royal, Virginia, heavy alternate route down the to Flagg Mountain, Appalachians. Until then, maybe a Alabama few other hardy cyclists will follow in 1,290 miles Burns and Dunaway’s tracks. 149,600 feet of “We’ve both gotten on planes to travel elevation gain to adventures,” said Burns. “But our biggest takeaway from riding the SHT Comprised of four segments (from north was realizing we can have a long-distance, to south): Virginia remote backcountry experience right in Mountain Bike Trail, our own backyard.” Trans-Western North Carolina, Trans-North Ellee Thalheimer is a freelance writer and author from Georgia, and the Portland, Oregon. Alabama Skyway

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 47 SEGMENTS OF THE SOUTHERN HIGH LANDS TRAVERSE

Virginia Mountain Bike Trail Trans-Western North Carolina

Established 2011 Established 2017 From Front Royal to Damascus Damascus, Virginia, to state 473 miles (75 percent unpaved) line at Russell Bridge on the Chattooga River 53,400 feet of elevation gain 314 miles (65 percent unpaved) Highlights: Ridgeline riding, Wild Oak Trail 35,460 feet of elevation gain flowing descent down Chestnut Ridge Highlights: Pilot Rock and Black Mountain descents, panoramas of the Linville Gorge In 1999, Chris Scott, former mountain bike Wilderness Area, swimming holes in Pisgah racer turned race promoter, started scheming National Forest, Appalachian Mountain Brewery in the Virginia Mountain Bike Trail (VMBT). By Boone, North Carolina 2011, he had finished linking eight trail systems and rode the whole hairy thing — singletrack, The guiding principle of the Trans-Western historic rail trails, gravel, and forested North Carolina (TWNC) route is to connect backroads through George Washington some of the best mountain biking trails in and Jefferson National Forests. The route the Southeast with scenic gravel roads and follows the ridges of the Allegheny and Blue backwoods doubletrack. The TWNC goes Ridge mountains through remote farming through Pisgah National Forest, which is Bikepacking.com communities and desolate backcountry. known for gorgeous and technical singletrack. “On the VMBT, you can be going 8–10 mph, But this segment also contains the longest In 2012, Logan Watts ditched and then all of a sudden you’re going 2 mph,” section of pavement on the SHT along the his career as a graphic designer and left Brevard, North Carolina, said Dunaway, who repeatedly mentioned this famous Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Mitchell to begin a six-month, long- section as his favorite. “It was hike-a-bike about (the highest peak of the Appalachians). distance bike tour to Mexico a tenth of the time. We had no idea about our Descending for 20-ish miles into Asheville, North with his wife Virginia. When he schedule. The Virginia section is a monster. Carolina, is a highlight and a stark contrast to the returned, he started a bikepacking Your ability to do the SHT depends on getting wild ridges of Virginia. routes project that in 2015 through it. You and your bike. I brought an extra “At dawn, the sun came out and burned off evolved into bikepacking.com. derailer for the first time. I can’t believe I didn’t the fog, and it felt like we were dropping in from With the tagline “Brought to taco my wheel.” outer space,” Dunaway said. you by folks addicted to campfire smoke, chromoly steel & getting lost,” bikepacking.com features detailed bikepacking routes from all over the world, gear reviews, stories, news, and events. It isn’t your average website made by a bike aficionado bumbling around the back end of WordPress. Watts brought all his skills to the table — photography, writing, and design — when creating the site. Not only is it an incredible resource for those hungry for the backcountry, Watts and his website have been key players in growing the bikepacking movement, especially around his stomping grounds in the Southeast. “Our main goal is to share routes — the best routes — from the people creating them and riding them,” said Watts.

48 ADVENTURE CYCLIST december 2018/ja nua ry 2019 SEGMENTS OF THE SOUTHERN HIGH LANDS TRAVERSE

Southern Alabama Lowlands Traverse

... to be published Flagg Mountain to Open Pond Recreation Area Trans-North Georgia Alabama Skyway 254 miles (65–70 percent unpaved) Established 2008 Established 2017 11,040 feet of elevation gain South Carolina state line at The Alabama-Georgia Highlights: Riding through Russell Bridge on the Chattooga state line where the historic Selma, rural River to the Alabama-Georgia meets country roads, Talladega state line where the Chief Ladiga the Trail to National Forest Trail meets the Flagg Mountain 357 miles (72 percent unpaved) 123 miles (75 percent “I love to be in the 38,690 feet of elevation gain unpaved) middle of nowhere by Highlights: Abandoned roads 11,000 feet of elevation gain myself,” said Kim Murrell, through remote Appalachian Highlights: Views from author of the Southern wilderness, recuperating at Cheaha State Park, Alabama Lowlands Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Talladega National Forest Traverse route. “People say, Getaway, Pinhoti Trail ‘Are you taking a gun?’ I tell “It’s really cool country them most people on the The most established and out there,” said Colt route are ready to say hello popular of all the SHT segments, Fetters, the author of the and shake your hand.” the Trans-North Georgia (TNGA) Alabama Skyway route on While scouting the originally was the route for the Trans bikepacking.com. “But the route, Murrell met a man North Georgia bike race, a grueling people are the best. Good in his 90s sitting on the endurance race. When people old country boys on those famous Edmund Pettus think of riding in Georgia, they backroads will stop their Bridge in Selma. While he don’t usually envision an incredibly pickup trucks and say: watched his grandkids, he remote and hilly route like this, going ‘What the hell you doing told her his story of being past rivers and waterfalls deep in out here?’ Then they give there in Selma that fateful the national forest. you beer. Once a guy gave day at the protest in 1965. “A wild pig wrecked a guy on us half of his rotisserie He told her he was grateful Hickory Nut’s technical descent,” chicken. They are genuinely his kids have a different life. Davidson said. “You’ve got to watch curious. In Colorado, “I felt like it was out for different stuff in this part of people don’t bat an eye.” important to bring the route the country.” The ardent Alabama through Selma, the only Most people who have ridden bikepacking community resupply stop on the route,” the TNGA sing the praises of is small but mighty. John Murrell said. “It’s steeped in the Mulberry Gap Mountain Little, a lawyer from an important history.” Bike Getaway. The cabin and Auburn, Alabama, cooked The route goes through campsite lodging are right next up this route and is a the heart of Alabama, to singletrack, and they provide force in the small world past cotton fields, old shuttles, home-cooked food, of Alabama cycling. The plantations, rickety farms. guides, and beer. shortest of all the SHT Along the way, the burnt “When we showed up on a segments, this route takes orangey color of the dirt Monday completely out of food, you on red dirt roads, roads contrasts with the they were closed,” Burns said. through the Talladega bright blue sky. You ride “But they opened up just for us National Forest, past pine through the lush Talladega and fed us beans, salad, barbecue, forests, and along ridges National Forest and pass potato salad, and ice cream. It with expansive views of the a shack labeled Earl was incredible.” rural countryside. Reynolds Disco Inn.

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