2011 - High Elevation Suffering

The Crescent-Challenge has truly become ingrained in our lives.  After seven continuous Crescent Challenges, that has a way of happening.  I look forward to it every year, and it truly has evolved into an event that no one questions.  In my household, the Crescent Challenge has full authority to supersede any other ludicrous activities that might conflict with its scheduled date.  That was one of our original design parameters of the event, and we've met that in spades.  The Crescent Challenge has become part of Fall, plain and simple. 

Be Prepared to Defend Your Food

The above statement is from one of Andy's early missives to those fortunate enough to be invited to the 2011 Challenge.  Andy had settled on Briar Bottom Campground near Mt. Mitchell as our intended destination after performing due diligence in the area.  The only downside was that the facility had recently been closed to camping due to some issues with bears.  Namely, some moron had turned in for the night with a few Granola bars stashed in his sleeping bag in case he got a lttle peckish over night, and a bear decided he wanted said Granola bars, and commenced ripping into this poor sap's tent.  As a result, the park service closed down the campground until further notice.  We were all confident the closure would be lifted by the time the Crescent Challenge commenced, and so it was, although we had to operate under strict guidelines regarding food management and disposal of waste.

Bears were the last thing on anyone's mind after reading Andy's description of Saturday's planned adventure ride:

Be prepared to suffer.  Everyone is advised to have whistle, compass, flashlight, and map of the area.  The idea is to ride the Buncombe Horse Range Trail. It is steep and hard to follow and I have never seen it so I think it’s perfect for the CC. We can ride from camp but anyone not feeling too strong can shuttle up to the top of Mt. Mitchell and join the ride from there down the rest of the 27mi loop. If you’re feeling so-so, you might elect to ride the paved road up to the top of Mt. Mitchell and meet the pack when they get there. Everyone else will ride up the trail to Mount Mitchell. There is no bike-legal trail that connects Buncombe Horse Range with the Mt. Mitchell parking lot, etc…so we’ll have to decide where and how to meet up with those taking an alternate route. The trail does not get many people taking it all the way through.

Our plan would be to take the roads (Hwy 80 is a great one) back to the campsite from the Northern trail terminus. The hard asses can turn around and head back to camp via the trail and Mt. Mitchell.

Andy's email included a link to a Hiker's Description of a long section of this trail, in addition to a detailed PDF map:   buncombe_horse_range_trail.pdf

Maybe it was the bears, or the description of the ride, but shortly upon receipt of this description, numerous heretofore stalwart challengers began hedging their bets on attending this year's Challenge.  Some had to work, others were apparently injured or sent us some drivel about how they were concerned about their ability to get reception for the Clemson game. 

Commitment

As a competitor at the Crescent Challenge, sometimes, you may have to look deeply within your soul and ask yourself: "How deeply committed to this event am I ?"  The webmaster was able to perform some basic data-mining in our archives and come up with a table depicting past attendance at the Crescent Challenge, as illustrated below:

Most impressive in the above statistics is Holt's unblemished record.  Andy and Calhoun are also in this elite company, but as the prime movers behind the Crescent Challenge for the last few years, they are expected to be at every event.  Robert Mobley deserves special mention with a 5 year record, and then there are the 3 and 4 year stalwarts, the veritable backbone of the Crescent Challenge.  We'd love to see some of you 1 and 2 year competitors back.  You are missing out on a good time, and and we hope to see you all in 2012.

Friday Afternoon

The Navigator was ancy to get going, so weaseled out of the last few hours of work, loaded up and headed North at approximately 3:00pm.  Passing through Asheville, he raised Roberson on the cell and they realized their schedules were intertwined, so both exited the Interstate near Biltmore to carb up at Atlanta Bread Co.  It was a balmy, sunny afternoon upon entering ABC, but when they departed, a dramatic shift in the weather had occurred.  The wind was blowing, gray clouds had moved in, and the temperature had dropped by about 15 degrees.  Perfect.  Typical ugly Americans, Andy and the Navigator each climbed into their gas-guzzling, V8-powered SUV's, and continued North.  Real men don't carpool, but they probably should have, and not in Andy's Explorer.  Heading up Hwy 80, a sinewy road if there ever was one, the Navigator could simply no longer restrain himself, and laid into the throttle, NASCARing his wife's 4-Runner through the corners and down the short straights.  Andy, always game for these antics, was pushing the Explorer to its limit in an effort to stay close.  A few minutes later, the Navigator was surprised when a quick glance in the rearview mirror failed to produce the expected front grill of the Explorer.  With a chuckle, he pressed his advantage for just a few more corners before admitting that something had to be amiss, and reversed course, only to find the Explorer a few corners later, pulled over on the shoulder with steam billowing from under the raised hood.  Oops.  Andy topped the radiator off, and they proceeded, hoping it was simply a case of overheating.  Unfortunately, as they rolled into Busick, the Explorer expired again.  All sorts of fluids were spewing out of every orifice of the poor car, and flooring the gas with the transmission in gear produced plenty of noise, but not an inch of forward movement.  No hesitation folks.  A mere bump in the road for two men intent on getting away for the weekend.  A quick transfer of gear ensued, and the stricken Explorer was abandoned at the Busick general store with nary a second thought. 

Friday Night

Upon arrival, the pair found Greg Bragg, Gaines Huguley, Lee Cunningham, Gordon Crain, Kent Peggram and Justin Williams already in position.  Bonfire - check.  Tents up - check.  Endured the usual interrogation by the resident - check.  The Navigator could only look around in worry, at the really tall trees, and the whistling wind.  Believe it or not, some crystalline snowflakes were also falling.  He positioned his tent with the sole goal of not being crushed by any falling trees overnight.  The wind howled most of the night, resulting in a fitful sleep at best.  The campground resident's canopy was torn to shreds overnight.

Up or Down ?

Saturday morning broke, and the weather was beautiful at the campsite.  Folks slowly got moving, and several challengers got their MSR's going for coffee.  An open discussion ensued over where the adventure ride should go.  In the end, most agreed that a ride of slightly unknown quality, i.e., the one proposed by Andy, was more befitting of the Crescent Challenge.  This direction was definitely "Up".  Even before the Charlotte contingent was 1.5 hours late arriving, the Navigator and several others were starting to fret over the late start, reasoning that there was simply no way on earth that the Buncombe Range Horse Trail could be completed in the time allotted.  He was correct in the end of course.  Preparations were being made all around.  Busier than most was Justin, who learned the evils of the rooftop bike rack when he realized he forgot to pack his front wheel.  And to think he had been entrusted as chief cook for the Saturday night meal.  A crisis was averted when the Navigator patiently explained that yes, someone else's extra front wheel with disc brake would in fact clamp right into place with his existing fork just fine.

As soon as the Charlotte contingent pulled up, everyone set off.  We took the 472 service road southwest for a bit then started a steady climb to the trailhead.  Our first minor inconvenience was the little sign on the gate with a big red X through the little mountain bike symbol.  Oops.  Fortunately, our ace in the hole was that our map of the area showed this trail as Multi-Use, including hiking, biking, and horseback.  So, we proceeded to start the climb up the old roadbed that switchbacks its way up the apron of Clingman's Peak.  Aside from the fact I think we ascended about 3000 feet over the next 4 miles, the ride was most enjoyable, unless of course you, like Holt and Robert, were riding a 45LB downhill bike.  Compared with last year, we got off relatively light in terms of mechanical failures.  Sure, Andy snapped his derailleur off and it had to be repaired with a rock, reducing him to a single speed, but that's no great shocker based on recent history.

We stopped for nourishment in the "Meadow of Uncertainty", warming in the sunshine.  Contrast that with the conditions as we approached 6000 feet around the apron of Mt. Mitchell, by which time it had turned bitter cold, and even though the sunshine appeared now and then, snow was actually falling. 

Down !

About 7.5 miles into the ride, with several in the party almost hypothermic, the hour of the day and taking into consideration we still had more than half of the ride to go yet, we totally bailed.  I think everyone was also ready to actually pedal downhill for at least a few hundred consecutive feet.  I don't recall that much of the ride down, other than it sure went quicker than expected, and I could no longer feel my extremities.  At one point I do recall several of us rounding a bend and almost being blown off of our bikes by a wind gust of unbelievable strength.  Mt. Mitchell is a remarkable area.  The variety of weather and conditions we encountered on this ride was amazing.  One minute it was warm and felt like spring, then it was cold, then it was snowing with the sun shining brightly, then the skies would turn dark and threatening, and a 50-mile and hour wind gust would assault you.

Greg Bragg, Lee Cunningham, and Gordon Crain had set their own challenge for the day of a round-trip hike from Briar Bottom to the Mt. Mitchell summit and back, an 11.5 mile round trip.  Greg, sorely under-equipped for the conditions, borrowed pretty much every piece of clothing he wore on the hike except perhaps his shoes.  Refer to the gallery for some of the imagery from the summit that day.

Saturday Evening

It is tradition that most of the evening activities at the Crescent Challenge, following the traditional adventure ride, go un-documented.  This practice is followed out of nothing more than courtesy to the participants.  They've just endured a very stressful day, and are simply trying to blow off a little steam.  They don't need to worry about some webmaster making smart-ass comments about their behavior after being over-served with Red Bull and Jagermeister, or cherry moonshine.  Everyone had a great eveninng, and much thanks to Justin Williams for cooking up that home-made stew.  Justin took his responsibility seriously, and was in fact a little stressed a couple of days prior to the event:

From: Justin Williams
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:44 PM
To: Roberson Andy
Subject: Nothing but the finest ingredients...

But this stew task has turned into more than I bargained for.  I'm not sure
what I was thinking but to make enough stew for 20 riders is borderline
ridiculous. Who do I think I am, Emerill? I have made as much as I can but u
may want to tell people to bring Ramaan Noodles as a back up...

We had plenty of stew.  In fact, if I recall, some folks had it for breakfast the next morning as well.  I do know that all proper "bear protocol" went out the window Saturday night.  There was food and detritus from the feast everywhere.  Our poor camp host would have had a coronary if he had been brave enough to walk over to our area that night.  The Navigator went to bed a tad concerned about the bear situation, such that when he awoke over night with the urge to relieve himself, he stepped all of about 12 inches outside of his tent door and went no further before unleashing a huge stream of steaming urine onto the ground.   No way in hell was he going to get mauled by a bear while walking to the restroom to take a leak in the middle of the night.

Sunday

After a leisurely breakfast and general policing of the area, the competitors went their separate ways on Sunday.  Kip and Ryan re-equipped for backpacking and took off to hike some of the ridgeline extending from Mt. Mitchell and spend the night huddled under a tarp braving 60mph wind gusts.  Lee departed for more hiking.  Gordon headed home, as did Greg.  Andy and Calhoun left to deal with the deceased Explorer and Triple-A.  After departing the transmission shop in Marion, they did find time to go eat some "Gun-Cooked" BBQ at a local joint (See photograph in the gallery).  The remainder of the group went and rode Kitsuma Ridge.

Postscript

Andy sent an email a few days following the end of the 2011 Crescent Challenge.  It summed up certain things about the event nicely.  It is reprinted here in its entirety:

It was great seeing you-all in your natural habitat last weekend. I know everyone misses something that they could or should be doing to make this trip so I appreciate you putting your responsibilities aside for the weekend. Many of us don’t get to catch up with each other but once a year anymore. When I got back to work I felt like I had been gone a month. During a Monday morning meeting I kept having flashbacks of scenes & situations from the weekend. I must have been way overdue for this escape.

Calhoun will do a proper recap when he gets good & ready but here are my immediate impressions: invigorating weather, inspiring setting & great company. Easy camping setup (I would have liked a more secluded site and the bear threat got old but it was clean & easy), scenic ride, snow, great stew, 6 string music around a campfire, moonshine, good friends, awesome place. I’ve always wanted to explore that area and it didn’t disappoint. A noticeable lack of whining or complaining. Not even Holt with his 40lb shuttle bike pushing up the 5 mile climb complained about the route selection. I think most of you are just like me: glad to be out in such an awesome place with some like-minded folks to share the scenery, the pain and the beer afterword (during if you’re Ryan). How many people can you put into an unknown location on an unknown route with uncertain weather & everyone has fun doing it? It’s a testament to your attitude & competence. To me, the uncertainty adds an interesting element. It’s great having this many friends willing to work this hard at having fun. Everyone seems happy to be there & finds a way to enjoy himself in the wilderness. There’s no pressure to entertain anyone ..except on Charles who will be expected to play at his next CC appearance. Something tells me he won’t mind. 

 Please send any photos you have of the weekend to Calhoun to share on the website. I’d love to see what I missed on the hike & remember what I forgot of the ride & camp. If you have a lot it may be best to upload them to Dropbox, Snapfish or similar free storage site then send a link to the webmaster.

 Special thanks to Justin for preparing Saturdays stew & Gordon for bringing the jalapeño cornbread. They hit the spot & saved the rest of us a lot of effort. If anyone is interested in preparing the meal for next year please let me know - I don’t think I can trick Justin into doing it again.

Several CC regulars who wanted to be there but couldn’t work it out deserve mentioning: Jennings, Russell, Hunter, Kevin Fennington, Shrimper, Andrew Gilbert, Joe Hammond, J Koen and Don Jennett send their regrets. Hope they can make it next year.

Location search:

I intended to bring up next year’s location, etc around the campfire Saturday night but alas was over-served & became unable to manage intelligible conversation. I have since regained command of my faculties & am open to suggestions so let me know if you have a favorite spot or know of a place that would suit a group such as ours. I’ll spend the next year checking them out. Don’t hesitate to suggest a previous location. There are several that merit a return trip including Cove Creek Pisgah & Holt’s Roan Mtn cabin. Front-runners of new locations are Warrior Creek or Bandits Roost at Dark Mtn (N. Wilkesboro), Silvermine near Hot Springs, Balsam Lake Lodge (above Lake Toxaway), Durhamtown, Kuykendall group site near Brevard and Lineville Gorge. I plan to ride the second half of the Mt. Mitchell loop we started to see if it’s passable for a future epic ride.

See you next year,

Webmaster