Vacation adventure, Part 2: West Virginia's Hatfield-McCoy ATV Trails

The adventurers from Minnesota's Open Trails ATV Club: Scott and Diana Brecht of Buffalo, Tim and Lisa Houts of Buffalo, Stan and Rosie Schmidt of Elk River.

After Bristol: We left Bristol, Tenn., on the morning of Monday, March 28. Our destination: the Browning Fork ATV Trail, the most challenging of the four 100-mile loops on southern West Virginia's Hatfield-McCoy trail system.

The rigs -- all diesel powered: The Brechts drive a Ford F-350 dualie carrying a Northstar pickup camper and towing an 18-foot enclosed trailer carryng Scott's Honda Rincon 650 and Diana's Arctic Cat 400. The Houts drive a Ford F-350 dualie carrying a Winnebago pickup camper and towing an 18-foot open car hauler carrying Tim's Polaris Sportsman 700 and Lisa's Sportsman 400. The Schmidts drive a Dodge Ram 3500 towing a 35-foot Weekend Warrior toy hauler carrying Stan's green Sportsman 700 and Rosie's blue Sportsman 700.

First challenge: It's only 176 miles from Bristol to Twin Hollow Campground on the edge of Gilbert, W.Va. But now we were off the interstates and in the Appalachian Mountains. Twists and turns, sharp corners, ups and downs were the rule -- and the Schmidts led the Minnesota convoy towing their loaded 5.5-ton toy hauler. It took us 6 hours.

West Virginia scenery: Beautiful mountains with grass just starting to turn green and trees beginning to bud, small rivers meandering between houses and roads, huge coal-loading facilities, quaint little towns -- and it's all mixed in with mile after mile of unbelievable poverty: stooped men using brush brooms to sweep coal dust from the streets, crumbling schools, abandoned businesses, houses not fit for man or beast, trash floating down the streams and filling the ditches. One local later told us that McDowell County (Highway 52 took us through the northern part of the county) was the richest county in America back in the 1920s and '30s; today, it's among the poorest in the country. But the towns we were heading for -- Gilbert, Man, Logan -- seem to be on the rebound, at least partly because of the Hatfield-McCoy trail system.

Second challenge: Twin Hollow Campground is on top of an unnamed mountain (it's just a West Virginia hill, according to the locals). But we weren't prepared for the driveway: 1.1 miles, three switchbacks, mostly 10-degree grade, with two 12-degree grades thrown in for good measure. It wasn't paved (mostly rock and hard-packed dirt; fortunately not much gravel) and one-way traffic, although there were a few places where a vehicle could pull to the edge enough to allow another vehicle to pass. Stan led the way, in second gear, 4-wheel drive high. Stopped rolling on the first 12-degree stretch. Down-shifted to first gear. Stopped moving and overheated on the second 12-degree stretch. Stan backed up -- very, very slowly -- enough to allow Scott and Tim to pass, get to the top and unhook Tim's trailer. Stan, meanwhile, unloaded the two Sportsman 700s (they weigh around 800 pounds each). When Tim and Scott returned with a tow strap, the Dodge's Cummins diesel had cooled off and before Tim's Ford had to rescue the Dodge, Stan tried again. This time, the Dodge -- in 4-wheel low -- made it to the top.

Twin Hollow Campground: Wayne Ellis is the fourth-generation owner of 220 acres on the mountain. He and his forebearers mined coal for many years. Today, Wayne and his wife Donna, a second-grade school teacher, are turning the reclaimed surface mine into a campground with a beautiful mountaintop view. Twin Hollow's camping sites run the gamut from primitive to full water, sewer and electric hook-ups for RVs. The only building on the campground has a modern showerhouse and a small office on the first floor and living quarters upstairs for Wayne and his family. Wayne's in the process of building a dozen cabins and plans to add more camping sites as well as a larger office/trading post. It's the only campground on the Browning Fork Trail -- and one of only a few on the entire Hatfield-McCoy system -- where you can ride your ATVs from the campground to the trail. We stayed three nights; it's easily worth the driveway challenge. Cost? $27 a night for full hook-up.

Third challenge: The weather in West Virginia was terrible. It started to rain Monday after we returned from a four-mile, pre-dusk foray into Gilbert via ATV, and it continued almost constantly. The temperatures peaked in the mid 40s, but spent most of the week in the 30s. Mother Nature even bounced hail off our campers Tuesday night. We did leave the snowmobile suits at home, but we came equipped with good rain gear, helmets, several layers of sweatshirts and jackets, insulated rubber boots and several pairs of gloves -- and thanked ourselves for installing hand warmers on the ATVs.

The Hatfield-McCoy trail system: The taxpayer-funded trails opened in 2000 to ATVs, dirt bikes, mountain bikes, horses and hikers. The four 100-mile loops -- a fifth will be added later this year and future plans could stretch the total to more than 2,000 miles -- are not connected and run through mostly private land: reclaimed mine sites, abandoned and active coal mine sites, forests dotted with natural gas wells. Many of the trails were cut as mine roads, power line roads, forest roads, and for gas pipelines. West Virginians must buy an annual permit for $25. Everyone else pays $15 for a 1-day permit, $35 for a 3-7-day permit or $100 for an annual permit. More than fair enough.

We had the trails virtually to ourselves; better weather and weekends most likely draw more riders. During three days of riding, we encountered only one dirt bike and nine ATVs. Easy-to-read maps are provided free at the trailheads (we stopped at the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Area's main office in Lyburn en route to the Little Coal River Trails and were given laminated maps). The trails are clearly signed according to skill levels: easiest, more difficult, most difficult and single track (for dirt bikes and mountain bikes only). Every intersection was signed and numbered. Riding is prohibited after dark -- wisely so -- due to the steep and narrow trails.

We picked the Browning Fork because we could ride right from Twin Hollow Campground, the map on the system's Web site seemed to lack a single straight line and we wanted enough trails to last more than one day without pulling up camp. We didn't go wrong. West Virginia is ATV friendly, with machines allowed on most roads and in neighboring towns.

Fourth challenge: No doubt about it, these were some of the most challenging trails any of us have ridden. The rain eliminated all dust (we like that), turned the trails greasy and slippery (which increased the adrenaline flow as we encountered steep switchbacks on the edge of narrow trails that featured dropoffs hundreds of feet straight down), created lots of water puddles (most 8-10 inches deep or less) and a couple of ATV-swallowing mud holes.

Day One on the Browning Fork: 60 miles on the ATVs from the campground north to the trailhead outside the town of Man (where we had lunch and refilled gas tanks) and back (7 hours of riding). We weren't on the same part of the trail twice, except near the campground and the trailhead. Two portions of trail No. 10 (easiest) seemed steeper, narrower and closer to the edge than most of the more difficult trails, so we avoided the most difficult trails.

Day Two on the Browning Fork: After a friendly "Y'all be careful" from Wayne on Wednesday morning, we hit the Browning Fork again, intent on trying a few more of the more difficult trails. We did, putting 58 miles on the ATVs and climbing to our highest point 2,290 feet above sea level as we again rode to Man, but on almost entirely different portions of the trail. We were tempted to try a most difficult trail despite the rain, but were warned off by a local at the trailhead. In Man, we refueled our stomachs and gas tanks, purchased some souvenirs and Scott and Stan picked up the only "I survived the Hatfield-McCoy Trails" caps we could find.

Tim also recovered from the week's only mechanical breakdown that afternoon in Man. A bolt broke on his Sportsman 700's rear lower suspension A arm, discovered just as we were about to return to the trail after lunch. Scott went hunting for a repair shop and found Tony Colegrave, who came from the church after his daughter's wedding to perform the repairs quickly and efficiently -- for only $20.

Tim was the most daring rider in our group and, while the rest of us took an alternate route, he couldn't resist attempting an extremely steep climb early on Wednesday's ride. He almost got to the top before the machine went tires up. Thankfully, neither Tim nor his Sportsman 700 were hurt, but Stan had to winch the machine up the rest of the way.

The Little Coal River: After two days on the Browning Fork and three nights at Twin Hollow, we bid Wayne farewell (the drive down the Twin Hollow driveway was less harrowing) and headed for the Little Coal River Trail on Thursday morning. We camped at Hatfield-McCoy Outdoors along the Little Coal River near Danville and again were able to ride from camp to the trailhead. This trail featured sandier soil, but plenty of the same twisting, winding, steep trails we encountered on the Browning Fork. Thursday was the wettest and coldest day of the week, but we tackled one short most difficult trail and still added 28 miles to the odometers (total for the week: 146 miles).

Wildlife: Most of the wildlife apparently had enough sense to stay out of the rain and cold. We did flush four grouse and a fifth totally ignored us as we passed within two feet. We also saw two gray squirrels, three deer, many small lizards and some buzzards or turkey vultures floating in the thermals. On the return home, we also spotted a coyote waiting to cross I-74 in Indiana.

Mountain comparison: Scott and Diana had the only previous experience riding ATV trails in the mountains. "The Hatfield-McCoy mountains are steeper and narrower than the Montana trails," Scott said. "In Montana, the trails were the width of a Jeep all the time; the Hatfield-McCoy trails are goat trails in comparison. Altitude -- 9,000 feet -- was the problem in Montana. I'd recommend the Hatfield-McCoy trails to anyone who wants a challenging ride. The trails always keep you guessing; you never know what's around the next corner."

We're unanimous: We'd love to ride the Hatfield-McCoy trails again. Afterall, there are at least three loops we didn't have time to explore.

Commentary: The closest thing Minnesota has to Hatfield-McCoy are the Snake Creek and Trout Valley trails between Wabasha and Winona. They're steep and rocky with great scenery overlooking the Mississippi River -- but so short you can ride the same trail a half dozen times in a day. Minnesota doesn't have mountains, but why can't Minnesota take some hints from West Virginia?

Home: We began the trek home Friday morning and completed our adventure Saturday afternoon, making just one detour -- a 2.5-hour side trip to the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville, Ky., just after the sun decided to come out again -- and stopping for a few hours of sleep at a rest stop near Paw Paw, Ill. Trip total: 2,466 miles.

Now it's cleanup time.