Life Outside Fall 2018 - 40

SHARP TURN
Each October mountain
bikers flock to Blacksburg's Brush Mountain
to compete in the Rowdy
Dawg race.

SU CLAUSON-WICKER

tubing run. The Junction's free shuttle bus waits
there to take tubers back to New River Junction's
campground for another run. Tubes and shuttle
service are available whenever river conditions are
suitable, May 1-September 30.

CYCLING

SU CLAUSON-WICKER

NEXT STEP
A young adventurer tackles
Mountain Lake Lodge's Treetop Adventures aerial obstacle
course and zip line.

"Old school mountain biking at its best" is how
experienced cyclists refer to the Poverty Creek/
Pandapas Pond trail system. Each October (Oct. 28
this year) cyclists flock to the 17-mile trail network
near Blacksburg to compete in the Rowdy Dawg,
Virginia's oldest continuously-run mountain bike
race. Single-track trails here range from nearly flat
to major hill climbs with jumps and rock gardens
thrown in. Trails can be accessed from Blacksburg's
Gateway Park and Pandapas Pond parking lots off
U.S. 460.
Narrows's Mill Creek Park's gnarly, technical trails
fan out through miles of Jefferson National Forest
wilderness. The double track up Pearis Mountain
is the easiest, but not easy.
Mountain Lake Lodge has 20 miles of consistently
rugged and challenging trails within its conservancy. Most loop through the forest and back to the
parking lot-Gold Course Road to White Dot Trail
to Lower Doe Run, right onto White Pine Road, and,
right onto Upper Jungle Trail. Switchbacks are rare;
these multi-use paths have frequent sections that
are nearly straight up or straight down and fairly
rocky. Half-day and full-day mountain bike rentals
are available through Mountain Lake Outfitters.
Parking requires a day pass (purchased at parking
lot) or overnight guest status.
The New River Valley has become a magnet for
road cyclists. The mountain views, winding twolane roads, and bike-friendly towns have attracted
Bike Virginia group rides as well as independent
pedalers following the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail.

Fall 2018 \\ LifeOutside Magazine

The latter is a continental route passing through
Montgomery County's Catawba Valley, Ellett Valley,
and Christiansburg on the way to Oregon.
In Giles County where level ground is hard to
find, road cycling is very popular on Wolf Creek
Road (Va. 61) from Narrows to Tazewell. This ride
is surprisingly flat for two-thirds of its length. The
Spring Up Wolf Creek bicycle ride is held here April
20-with 20, 32 or 42 miles, your choice.
If you like laboring up the hills, consider riding
the Mountains of Misery, regarded by many as the
most challenging bike ride in the Mid-Atlantic.
Designed for dedicated road cyclists, the timed
event features century (100 miles) and double-metric century (124 miles) options-both ending in a
grueling, four-mile 12-16-percent grade climb to
Mountain Lake. The Mountains of Misery ride is
held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

HORSEBACK RIDING
Winterfrost Farm in Montgomery County near
Radford keeps its horses busy year-round. That's
part of the rehabilitation program for the gentle,
rescued steeds. Trail rides, lessons, birthday parties,
even a horseback Easter egg hunt provide work for
these horses. For folks who bond with their mount,
there's even a horse leasing program designed to
help cover the cost of care for a rescue horse and
allow the lessor daily riding privileges. The farm
includes instruction with the guided rides over
their trails above the New River. (ridearescue16@
gmail.com or 540-320-1697
Horseback riding is allowed on some Jefferson
National Forest trails. Giles County's White Cedar
Horse Camp near White Gate is one of the most
popular horse camps in all of the U.S. Forest Service
properties east of the Mississippi.

RESORT-ING
Sitting atop 4,360-foot Salt Pond Mountain,
Mountain Lake Lodge is the highest, coolest point in
the New River Valley. Mountain Lake Lodge visitors
are finding a new high, thanks to the resort's year-old
Sky Slide. Hurtling down five stories of slick plastic
from the clouds to the treetops to earth produces
a major adrenalin rush. But just standing atop the
65-foot structure seeing forest fall away on all four
sides kicks up an ordinary morning a few notches.
But that's not the extent of the wow factor of
recreation at Mountain Lake Lodge. Treetop Adventures, the lodge's zip line and aerial obstacle
course, has had families flying through the forest
for the past five years. More recently, zanier games
have come to the mountain, such as playing soccer
ensconced in a giant ball (Bubble Ball) and a Hunger
Games knock-off that features forming teams and
shooting your friends with marshmallow-tipped
arrows (Archery Tag). Another activity, Zorb balls,

Life Outside Fall 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Life Outside Fall 2018