Grayback Mountain Trail #2

We headed out about 11:30, thinking that we would climb to the summitt of Grayback Mountain- 7048ft.  Honestly, the climb was a little more than we had anticipated.  Much of the trail is pretty rough on a bike- lots of debris, fallen logs and fairly large rocks.  On the upper portion of the trail we found ourselves getting off the bike quite frequently.  About 4 miles into the ride Dan got a flat tire.  I always carry a tube for my bike- a 29er.  His bike is not a 29er.  We thought what is there to loose?  We put my 29er tube into his 26 inch tire.  It held up most of the trip.  I was quite surprised that it actually worked.

There were 2 areas on the trail that were a little difficult to follow.  One point on the top of the first ridge portion of the trail, we actually missed the trail.  One more time, part of the trail follows what appears to be an old skid road used for logging.  Keep a close eye on a switch back- we missed it.  We followed a skid road until the trail luckily crossed paths with it.  A few portions of the that skid road were quite rough and very steep. 

The elevation was effecting my ability to recover on some of the steep climbs and switchbacks.  It was a very tough climb.  Bottom line the tanks ran out of gas.  We didn't bring enough water or food.  We got to a point that was quite close to the top- I think about 1/2 mile or so.  We headed back down the trail.  We made it about 4 miles from the truck when Dan's tire gave out.  Most likely a pinch flat with the 29 inch tube in the 26 inch tire.  I filmed the downhill with my flip cam- unfortunately it wasn't quite pointed on the trail.  I have some footage of the climb up and a stop we made with a great vista. 

Next time we will be a little more prepared and reach the top- a great ride and 4 hours of mostly fun.  (minus the flats and the down logs on the trail.) Location says cave junction- not sure why- it is in Williams.  The location is actually where we turned around...