Climbing 2,600 feet - Biking Bernard Peak
According to our 26th President "There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm." I tend to agree with this rather ironic statement produced by the man who made a profoundly more-than-casual attempt at capturing the beauty of the wilderness with his words. Theodore Roosevelt was, among many other things, a writer and explorer who preached the value of living a strenuous lifestyle and was responsible for the birth of the National Parks system.
http://youtu.be/NsuS5TMOCdI
Those of you who follow this blog regularly may know that I am blogging for the first time at my wife’s behest. For those who don’t know me, my name is Kyle Nagel, I am a husband, brother, runner, swimmer, outdoor enthusiast and the poster-child for adult ADHD. The last part is unofficial.
Like our 26th President I believe in the importance of state and national parks and the pursuit of a strenuous lifestyle. Therefore in order to honor Theodore Roosevelt my first post will be about an adventure in our very own Farragut State Park.
While camping there two weeks ago I met up with a buddy and his friend to bike to the top of Bernard Peak. Our journey started at the Highpoint Trailhead inside the park following the popular Scout Trail. The first 1.5 miles was pretty rocky with more time spent hiking and not biking. The trail soon smoothed out and quickly seduced us into a 6 mile climb on clean singletrack up the northwestern side of the peak. About 3 miles up there was an amazing vista which panned the southern end of Lake Pend d’Oreille starting with Buttonhook Bay and ending with the famous naval base in Bayview. The climb was arduous as the 2,600-foot elevation change spanned about 7.5 miles. We reached the top in about three hours feeling a sense of accomplishment. The view left much to be desired but the downhill was an exhilarating ride with minimal debris to halt our descent.
Though I haven’t been mountain biking much, this was a great experience and I’m confident that any biker would find the singletrack to be more desirable than most - especially since it is untouched by dirt bikes. The greenery that surrounds it can undoubtedly be attributed to the northwestern aspect of the mountain. This trail has all the makings for some biking Nirvana.