Over the last few years before this ride my mountain biking had had dropped off significantly. Partly I had completed most of the exploring around the Emory Tract and Sterling areas that I’d focused on, and partly because Jean was becoming less interested in riding. But there were still plenty of new areas to ride.
If you imagine the Cumberlands as a circle, Brimstone sits in the nine to noon, northwest corner. Much of the property was originally part of the Connecting the Cumberlands Initiative, but it seems like Brimstone was the section that dropped out of the plan when money got tight. Three parcels of land ended up under control of Brimstone Recreation, whose goal was to create another ATV park to rival Windrock. The 19,000 acre Brimstone property is separated by parcels of publicly owned TWRA land.
Prior
to the ride I stopped in Huntsville to pick up a copy of their trail map. I’d
done what research I could online and ordered a Brimstone permit. My goal for
the recon ride was to get familiar with the roads and access points, and to see
if there was any easy mountain biking to be had on the trails. I thought I’d
have some leeway to explore the TWRA trails, but anything I got there would be
a bonus. I took a GPS track of the route, but regrettably, no pictures. Beyond
some old info online I wasn’t able to find out if anyone currently rode
mountain bikes or ran in the area.
Driving
to the Mt Pleasant Church at the north end of the
Brimstone Road took 72 miles and 75 minutes via Caryville outbound, and 65
miles and 80 minutes on the return via Sunbright. Conditions were warm and
muggy with 79F and light sprinkles at the end.
I
parked at the Mt Pleasant Church and rode south on the paved road. Riding south
on the nearly deserted road I took waypoints at the head of various Brimstone
and TWRA trails. It was wonderful riding, little traffic, no mean dogs, and
shady tree cover. The pavement extended south to the Little Creek Bridge near
Lone Mountain Church, and then was sporadic beyond. The last good trailhead I
saw was for Trail #107 at the 10 mile mark. I turned around at 10.8 miles, after
~ one hour, where it looked like I might be getting off the TWRA land and onto
private property. Someone has a beautiful place tucked into that small valley.
On
the way out I’d noticed that both trails 8 and 31 had decent trailheads, were
rated mostly “easy”, and kept me on the same side of the creek. So, I decided
to try a side trail loop connecting them on my return. The loop would be a
trails shared between Brimstone and TWRA. The first part of Trail 31 was easy
as it followed an old railroad grade on the east side of the creek opposite from
the paved road. At the siding I turned onto Trail 30 and began to climb. Once
on the climb the trail was in rough shape with plenty of 6-10” cobbles in the
trail bed. I dismounted for some pushing and wondered if the trail was ridable
even downhill. A gas well near the end marked a return to easier riding and I
headed north on Trail 1, which I had learned was part of the elusive “Four
Lane” aka “Brimstone Haul Road” discussed by Tom Dunigan in the “Challenge
Ride” section of his web site. https://tnlandforms.us/mtnbike/fork.html The Four Lane looked
smooth and flat, I was hoping to explore it more on another trip soon, but it
wouldn’t be until 2020 until I was able to complete this connection. https://hiramrunhikebike.blogspot.com/2020/10/2020-10-25-ncwma-mountain-bike-ride.html
I
passed the Sexton Cemetery and then ended the loop by riding back down to the
Brimstone Road on Trail 8, which proved to have the easy riding I was seeking.
Right across the road was the start of trail 89, which I thought might be a
good connector . But Trail 89 was a narrow and rutted, and I expected it
would be tough riding.
On
the return I also did a short side trip up Trail 95, which headed east across
the south end of the main Brimstone block. I went about 1.2 miles in on what
was a nice ride after passing some initial mud holes and steep pitches. The
start of Trail 95 was marred by many near collapsed structures and semi-trailers.
The sprinkles had started by then, so I turned back headed back to the car.
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| 2014 era Brimstone Map. |
