Buddy mugging for the camera on Mouse Branch Overlook Loop. Lake Fontana is in the background. Image Courtesy P.KennedyYesterday Pete and I spent the late afternoon-early evening in the Tsali Recreation Area on the Mouse Branch Trail. It was about 8 miles of single track and 2 miles of fire roads. I was pretty happy with my aerobic conditioning, but my downhill bike handling was a little sketchy...not nearly as comfortable as I would like to be....but I took no diggers this time...although I did fall over when my chain skipped off the granny gear to the inside and jammed (bike needs a little spring tuning). It was great to be outside. It was warm, but overcast and we had the trails entirely to ourselves which is unusual at Tsali.
The Tsali recreational area surrounds Lake Fontana. Beautiful place, but the pines have been more or less devastated by the Southern Pine Beetle. Parts of the bike ride were through areas that had hundreds of dead pines, many fallen to the forest floor.
For those of you interested in such things, you can see how this pest has wrought havoc in the Southeast U.S.
The trail Pete and I rode yesterday is highlighted in yellow. Adding the Overlook loop is worth it if you make the trip out to Tsali to ride.
Buddy mugging for the camera on Mouse Branch Overlook Loop. Lake Fontana is in the background. Image Courtesy P.Kennedy
The Tsali recreational area surrounds Lake Fontana. Beautiful place, but the pines have been more or less devastated by the Southern Pine Beetle. Parts of the bike ride were through areas that had hundreds of dead pines, many fallen to the forest floor.
For those of you interested in such things, you can see how this pest has wrought havoc in the Southeast U.S.
The trail Pete and I rode yesterday is highlighted in yellow. Adding the Overlook loop is worth it if you make the trip out to Tsali to ride.
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