Pine Log
For this route, you'll park at the Pine Log parking lot. There's plenty of parking to go around, but that's about it. You'll spot an info board over next to the ranger's station with a check-in book. This wildlife management area is closed all day during deer firearms seasons and before 10am during deer and turkey archery season. Please check out the Pine Log Wildlife Management Area's website for additional info on regulations and closings.
This route starts with a small stream crossing and climb to a fire pit with a view. By the time you reach the top of this first climb, you'll be wondering what you've gotten yourself into. Keep an eye on your water bottles, the chunky terrain will have them raddling around the whole time.
Get ready, the first descent gets a little sketchy. It had me yerning for a little suspension and 3 inch tires so I could blast down it. Instead, breaks were squeezed and my 41mm Knard's skidded down to a sweet creek where I took a deep breath and sent a text to my wife, "Half way in, this is harder than I thought."
Turns out the second half was just as gnarly as the first, and a little more. You'll spin up and down a couple peaks, gripping your bars tight for the desents. At 11.5 miles in a sharp left will come up. It's time to jump off the bike for a little hike-a-bike. This hill is not ridable, so take your time, it's only 0.3 miles. At the top you'll be thankful to see a gravel road and rewarded with a view.
After you rail down Sugar Hill, you'll have roughly 7 miles left and be faced with another sharp left that takes you behind a large water tank. The trail you'll land on looks like it's made for ATVs, but it's ridable and only 0.5 miles. Eventually it turns into a nice dirt roads that leads you to civilization.
You'll climb about 2 miles of pavement before coasting down into the parking lot and heading back home. This one will leave you feeling beaten up and thankful it's over, but glad you did it.