Nothing short of serious fitness can prepare you for the 2 hours of climbing found on Clawhammer and Black Mountain. Moreover, nothing but confidence in your skills can prepare you for the Black Mountain Trail. Although these trails are well documented as biking trails, they need to be coveted and used sparingly. Much of the climb is shared with horses. Once you turn up the super-steep Black Mtn Trail, it is foot and bike travel only. Incidentally, there are no circulating stories of anybody ever making the climb without a dab or two.

The trail get’s its first descent after the Turkey Pen Gap trail comes in from the East. At this point, you have climbed almost 2000 v/ft and crested Black Mountain. Major switchbacks, rock drops and off camber roots attempt to toss you off of big-ass cliffs. The ridgeline sections consists of views normally found in wilderness hiking-only trails. Prepare to roll up and down for miles. There are numerous opportunities to cut the loop short, but the folks we ride in would feel gypped if they didn’t get to pass through Buckhorn-, Club-, Bennett, Coontree- and Saddle Gaps.

Like much of riding in Western North Carolina, the Black Mountain trail is not for the meek. We rank it as an advanced trail that requires at least 3-hours for expert riders. We have heard stories of 7+ hour days, many broken bikes and bones, as well as unintentional overnights. If you are a whiner, go to Tsali. Yes, you could die on this trail but you’d probably be smiling when we found you