Brush Mountain Trails - Blacksburg, VA
The Brush Mountain Trail System near Blacksburg, Virginia offers excellent single-track fun for cycling and running, along with some serious hills and technical terrain.Trail Report: Brush Mountain
Monday, 2/16/04
3 hours on snowy trails near Blacksburg, VA this afternoon, running Brush
Mountain and Gap Mountain.
Snow depth ranged between 5 and 9 inches. The northern slopes were icy and snowy, but I was able to get some good footing on the southerly approaches.
This trail system can be brutal. A trail called Jacob¹s Ladder is over a mile in length and it makes Uwharrie look flat.
I tooled along a new trail this evening, Horse Nettle and enjoyed my old favorites in a new light...the snow transformed the landscape.
The progression from the Trail Head was: Poverty Creek Trail to unmarked technical single track up toward Gap Mountain, Prickly Pear, Skullcap,Trillium (may be my favorite known trail, then down to Poverty Creek, 2 stream crossings, deep snow, Jacobs Ladder, 2 more crossings, wicked ascent, fire road (mostly ice but some nice powder), high point on the Brush Mountain Ridge (sun setting, incredible view of the New River Valley, the second oldest river valley in the world, behind the Nile), descent on Horse Nettle back to Trail Head and it was about 22 degrees and pretty darn dark, but plenty of ambient light because of the snow. Showered and met my business partners for dinner at Bordreaux¹s on Main Street Blacksburg - seafood gumbo, and crawfish etoufee, and a Guinness.
Snow depth ranged between 5 and 9 inches. The northern slopes were icy and snowy, but I was able to get some good footing on the southerly approaches.
This trail system can be brutal. A trail called Jacob¹s Ladder is over a mile in length and it makes Uwharrie look flat.
I tooled along a new trail this evening, Horse Nettle and enjoyed my old favorites in a new light...the snow transformed the landscape.
The progression from the Trail Head was: Poverty Creek Trail to unmarked technical single track up toward Gap Mountain, Prickly Pear, Skullcap,Trillium (may be my favorite known trail, then down to Poverty Creek, 2 stream crossings, deep snow, Jacobs Ladder, 2 more crossings, wicked ascent, fire road (mostly ice but some nice powder), high point on the Brush Mountain Ridge (sun setting, incredible view of the New River Valley, the second oldest river valley in the world, behind the Nile), descent on Horse Nettle back to Trail Head and it was about 22 degrees and pretty darn dark, but plenty of ambient light because of the snow. Showered and met my business partners for dinner at Bordreaux¹s on Main Street Blacksburg - seafood gumbo, and crawfish etoufee, and a Guinness.
I'll post the pix on the photo gallery..some good shots there...check 'em out.
photos are here.
You can get a good map at Blacksburg's East Coaster's Bike shop.
Next stop, Shenandoah Mountain, Harrisonburg, and James Madison University.
squonk