I just returned from my vacation trip in WV where I got to ride for the first time some of the famous Hatfied-McCoy trails and some of the local (non-H/M) trails. I had planned to ride the H/M trails on both Monday and Tuesday, but I changed my plans for Monday after I got a last minute offer from a friend (Jack) that I met & raced against in the GNCC earlier this year; my friend lives in WV and has ridden the local trails probably most of his life. On Monday, Jack took me riding and he showed me some of the many, many miles of local trails in Wyoming County. On Tuesday, I rode the H/M trails all day at Rockhouse. My impression was that H/M (and WV's local trails) are every bit as AWESOME as I had heard!

PS - Just wanted to say THANX to everyone on this forum who offered me advice on where to stay, which H/M trails to ride, where to rent a quad, etc. The info I got was very helpful!

RESULTS:
On Monday afternoon, I rode very hard for 45 miles in Wyoming County with my friend Jack who lives there... he let me ride his modded P650 (which is very similar to my own quad) while he rode his P700 (the one he races with now). We had a BLAST and these are trails that I never would have known about or found without him. I'm told that WV has TONS of these riding areas (non-H/M trails) and the locals are truly blessed in this regards!

On Tuesday, I logged in 111 miles in one day at Rockhouse (H/M Trails)!!! That is my personal best and I am pretty sore as a result. That day, I rented a Honda 400cc Rancher 4x4 that already had 4,000 miles on it (its only 6 months old!)...while it definitely lacks the power & suspension of my own quad, it was not bad for a rental machine....I did have to lug it up some pretty steep cliffs and the lack of power made me a bit nervous...but it never failed to climb whatever I asked of it!

BTW, I rode all by myself all day (my wife flew back home a few days earlier) and over the course of riding from 9am to 7pm, I only saw other folks about once every 3 hours...I felt like I had the place all to myself at times! It was very scenic and I took lots of pics and I hope to post them in a week or two. I can honestly say that from what I saw of the H/M Trails, this place definitely lives up to all the hype...I hope to return one day and hit one of the other H/M Trails (perhaps Buffalo Mtn).


PS - Some of the funny things I saw in WV included a reward sign posted at a local convenience store that offered a reward for info on the person who shot his dog! I also saw a sign in front of someone's house that said "Yard Sale in the house" (I guess they were too lazy to put their goods out in the yard). But seriously, the folks in WV were very nice to me and my wife and we had a great time!

Happy trails... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Mikey - we ride there all the time, and are always telling folks how great it is. I just did a 3 page ride report on our site (www.quadcrew.com) We rode Rockhouse and some private stuff, and there are links to the pics we took too. I'll bet we were there about the same time, we rode 9/29 - 10/3, when were you there? Get the pics up so we can see them! (Mrs. Q)

 

I wish I would have been riding ATVs when I lived in Western Maryland so I could have tried out the H/M systems. Everybody says they are great and I used to live less than an hour away from there. Oh well. I'm going to the West Coast Mecca of ATVing this weekend for a 110 mile ride on Saturday....The Paiute Trail in Utah. It should be awesome. Any advice for a ride that is 110 miles long? I've ridden 98 in a day, but that was 90% fire roads.

Brian

 

I'll definitely check out your 3 page write-up and pics on your website...thanx for posting that. As soon as I get my pics developed, I'll scan then into my computer and post them on my page here on the connection...give me at least a week or so to do that tho.

BTW, that was close to when I rode in WV, but not quite the exact same days. I rode in Wyoming County (not H/M trails) on Monday Oct 4th and then rode Rockhouse (a H/M Trail) on Tuesday Oct 5th. I was in WV from 10/1 until 10/6...but I was not able to ride ATVs until Monday (my wife dragged me to the Homer Hickham's annual festival in Coalwood over the weekend). Of course, they are having the Trailfest at the H/M trails this weekend, so the trails are probably going to be packed...While I always enjoy riding with others, I would prefer to be alone on the trails as compared to sharing it with a couple of thousand others during the Trailfest (but that's just my opinion).

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Brian,
Make sure you take plenty of gas (or make sure there are gas stations availab ealong the trails) and also bring plenty of water/refreshments. I used my 70 oz. Camelback and it worked great! Of course the temps were in the mid 60s, so that probably helped keep the water from getting hot even at the end of the day (I rode from 9am until 7pm). I also brought a package of cheese crackers for a snack, but they quickly turned into a package of crumbs! (so I recommend snacks other than crackers). Other than that, I recommend that you take frequent breaks to stretch your legs and drink water. I stopped for about 5 minutes about every 1/2 hour to take a few pics and also to stretch my legs...I was surprised to find that I still had plenty of energy to ride in the afternoon (even tho I had already put in many hours of fast riding that day). Perhaps the excitement of riding in a new area was sufficient to keep me going or maybe the frequent breaks I took helped...I dunno. In any case, have fun and please report back here after you return!

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Oh .... My ...Gwaud

Thanks for the reminder ... in approx. 140 hours I will be enroute to the heaven-on-earth called Hatfield/McCoy 140 hours=just over five days

I finished final bike prep
My bags are packed
I am finishing last minute business

counting the minutes (8400 minutes) till then

Our second trip to Hatfield - and we have some non-Hatfiled trails in mind, too

Glad you had a great trip
BTW - my personal best is 130 miles in one day - but not at Hatfield - I totally expect several 100+ mile days - we are staying five or six days

Thanks for the reminder - I cannot wait!

See ya later

 

Pretty cool huh Mikey....did you do 93 and 94 at Rockhouse.94 changes all the time and this weekend was no exception.If you ride Buff mtn do 98.....go DOWN it,.,,it is awesome!
We were there the 1st and 2nd
02 650 camo..
P.S..I did see my first KQ there on fri......it was red and reverse was already not working........

 

Way to go Mike! Sounds like your trip came together really well. I’ll be heading down there myself again in a couple of weeks...

 

Kodiac1,
Nope...I ran out of time and never got to ride 93 and 94...maybe next time around I'll make those. I did ride some of the other black trails like 22, 25, 26, 77 & most of 28 (I chickened out on the real steep, rocky and somewhat muddy downhill part). That leaves the rest of 28, 93, 94, 32, 24 and 29 pluse a few blue and green trails that I missed. Still, I'm pretty happy that I was able to see the majority of the trails in one day.

2TV,
Yep, my trip finally came together...thank you for your helpful advice and I hope you have as much fun as I did when you ride H/M in a few weeks!

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Well if you passed on 28 it's better that you did not do 93 and 94 lol.94 is one of those ones you fill in gaps with rocks and have your buddies stand on the back so you don't flip forward!
02 650 camo