by Bettina Freese

Bent Creek is abused. It’s time to find new places to ride-like Panthertown Valley. Mountain bikers across the country who know Western North Carolina as a riding mecca head straight for overused destinations like Bent Creek and Tsali. In fact, even some riders who live here think these are the only options. I know my buddies are cringing now, afraid I’m going to invite the masses onto secret, coveted trails, which I can’t bring myself to do. However, we do need to disperse our use, and our ongoing battle with the right to ride in Bent Creek is getting a little old-at the cost of the environment. The recent logging and conversion of single-track trails to fire roads reduced the number of trails without reducing the number of riders. Despite the lame excuses of why this “had to happen,” more bikes on fewer trails means much more erosion-especially in muddy conditions, folks.

We are extremely lucky to have Bent Creek as an after-work ride since it is close by with trails for various skill levels. It’s like melding vacation and work into each day. But maybe if the bikes disappear for a little while (and attack from the paper side of business), the official types will forget we’re here and will quit going out of their way to make it impossible to enjoy that section of forest.

In the meantime, it’s a good time to explore other sections of the mountains. Panthertown Valley is a part of the Nantahala National Forest just outside of Cashiers, southwest of Brevard. Trail maps are pretty easy to follow, despite the fact that these trails are not well-trodden, due to little traffic, and are not yet marked with trail names.

The trailhead is at 4,000 feet of elevation, so you drop into the valley, which can be viewed from an overlook within the first mile. The trail winds down into the valley floor, beginning with an old access road that can be viewed as technical when taking the lines strewn with baby heads. Very reminiscent of the rocky trails out West, it’s a fun and safe way to catch air, clear rock beds and weave intricate lines. Off-camber wooden bridges with loose boards lead to the singletrack that, at times, weaves through tight rhododendron thickets. It can be slow-going, but it’s a great way to hone in on technical skills like bunny-hopping around corners and hovering over the rear wheel for loamy steep sections littered with large rhodo roots.

Trails wind through beds of wildflower boasting pink lady slippers (also known as testicle flowers, which I am NOT making up), forget-me-nots, dwarf irises, marsh bellflowers, climbing ferns, and others. At times it is a sandy trail alongside the river, opening up into stunning waterfalls as tall as 90 feet, or narrowing into small stream crossings where I saw a hellbender scurry into the river. Mainly the trails roll up and down with brief climbs. To be honest, the climbs are too short to get a good rhythm going, but once at the top of these granite domes, like Little Green Mountain, the rock is rolling and sticky, which equals fun. Just please be nice to the little ferns up there and stay off the clumps of rare and endangered moss and lichen, which can take 500 years to grow a yard. Stay on the trails.

The extremely diverse area also boasts white pine, Appalachian bogs, mountain laurel and one section of the river has a sandbar stretching about 100 yards. The park is just a series of romantic picnic spots. In fact, it’s the perfect place to take your sweetie for a day in the woods.

The waterfalls here drain into the Greenland Creek and Panthertown Creek, which form the Tuckaseegee River, flowing north. It’s difficult to decide a favorite since they all have such unique features like stone ledges behind the falls that provide a misty veil of spray looking into the pool below, or giant staircase falls.

It’s a great place for a long weekend of varied riding-especially for those who drive from outside the WNC area. Stay in Brevard or Cashiers and plan on a day at Panthertown Valley, the next at nearby DuPont State Forest, and then a final day in Pisgah National Forest.

Bettina Freese is a mountain biker and massage therapist. She can be reached at befree01@charter.net.