SideXSide Action - January 2008 - (Page 28) into the deep lakebed. After a little break out at the lake, we saddled back up and hit the trail. At this point, I was offered the driver’s seat of the Rhino and, without a moment’s hesitation, I took it. I wanted to fully experience this trail. Our leader, Ed, told me that the trail was going to get more intense, so I knew this was the perfect time for me to jump in and grab the wheel. From there on out, the trails got smaller and smaller, with many parts of the trail so overgrown that we would be clearing out the tall grass and bushes on the side of the trails with our tires. Bugs, spiders, and seeds dropped into the UTVS as we blazed the trail. We headed up to the top of a couple mountain ridges paralleling HWY 987 and hit the gas. From up on top of these ridges you could see both Kentucky and West Virginia. The trails were a little rocky, but most of the time along the ridge tops we were cruising around 30-35 mph. We came out from the hilltop riding around Hensley settlement, but did not have enough time to go to the settlement itself. There is a legal OHC trail that leads up to the settlement from HWY 987 if you want to do that ride. We took a portion of HWY 987 on-road and then cut off into the dirt along a muddy section of Martin’s Fork Loop. This was probably my favorite part of the trail as it was wide enough to move around on the trail and there were many mud pits scattered about. Donnie and I challenged each other in the two Side X Sides to different mud pits, trying to get stuck. While the Prowler had more ground clearance and would not sink as far into the pits, the Rhino had aftermarket tires and really grasped into the mud. We ran into one mud pit that took us both by surprise and, after getting the Rhino stuck to the point where I thought we might not get out, I nearly called “Uncle” and asked for a tow. After rocking the machine back and forth a little, taking off my nowdrenched shoes, and calling out the cliché “Hold on,” I backed up enough to hit the gas and plow through the rest of the pit. This was by far the highlight of the ride; getting yourself into a situation that some would not and then pushing your machine to { Left: The scenery on the Kentucky/Virginia border is breathtaking. Top Right: Troubles with a water hose had our Rhino overheating on the first part of the ride. Middle Right: When lifting them didn’t work, we took out the chainsaw. Bottom Right: Lay your foot on the throttle and go! At 11:00 PM we rolled back into camp, tired, worn, and with huge grins on our faces. While the group packed their remaining items into their trailers, I said, “Good-bye.” An eight o’clock flight the next morning out of Knoxville kept me from staying the night in Harlan. So, after nearly 12 hours in the seat of a Rhino, it was going to be another four hours in the seat of an economy rental car. the limit to accomplish your goal. We took this trail awhile until we got to Gray’s Knob overlook. This overlooks Harlan and is great for scenery shots. Unfortunately, by the time we came through this area, it was already near dark and I wasn’t able to capture any such shot. We merged onto another trail that then took us back into Cawood, where we again stopped for fuel and food. It was about eight o’clock at this time and most of us were pretty eager to get back to camp and on the road. After fueling up, we took a different trail back to Evarts but ran into blockade only four miles into the trail. We were able to go around the blockade up a steep ravine and onto our desired trail. Once on this trail, we started running into more overheating issues with the Rhino, but this time it was not the water line. The fan was not coming on and the machine started overheating every time we would slow down. We kept cold water in the radiator and kept a reasonable speed to push air into the radiator and were able to limp it back into camp. I found myself really missing the trail once I got onto the pavement in my rental. It’s that feeling of being able to go anywhere and drive outside of the lines that really puts a burning for the next off-road adventure into my heart. The trails in Harlan County, Kentucky gave me the fix that I so desperately needed. Thanks to my trail-riding group for showing me such a great time and for an awesome trail experience. I can’t wait to do it again! See RESOURCES Log on: www.kyoutdoors.com 28 SIDE X SIDE ACTION MAGAZINE 28 www.sidexsideaction.com SIDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES SIDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES More photos: www.sidexsideaction.com/gallery SIDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES http://www.kyoutdoors.com http://www.sidexsideaction.com/gallery
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