Hatfield/McCoy trip 18th through 24th

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forgiven

New member
I will be there with some friends and family doing single track and RZR's. Staying in the Matewan area. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Buffalo MTN is one of the best trailheads they have.

The single track on the left coming out of Matewan is very challenging when it has rained so pick a dry day.

Some of the down hills we hit after a rainstorm has us with both brakes locked up and you were still picking up speed.

That being said. Enjoy yourself, there is something for everyone.
 
The trailhead is in downtown Matewan. You can ride all around town without a street plate. Side by sides do have some restricted trails but they can travel the roads, along with atv and dirtbikes.

it is actually in Historic Matewan right where there was the Hatfield McCoy Shootout

Click on this link, pick Buffalo Mtn on the left, zoom in to Matewan and you will see a blue square( that's the trail head) and north of that you will see the trails in the woods.


http://trailsheaven.com/special/map.aspx#
 
Rode Buffalo Mountain and stayed in Matewan in April, had a great time. They've got it setup so you can ride to the trail head with minimal time on the road.

178 was the hardest trail on the system for me, which is misleading because when you go by their numbering system it should have been much easier than 198 and 199, but that wasn't the case.

I can tell you for sure you'd want to start 197 on it's north end, it has a loose sandy short steep hill entrance.

149 was a nice loop that's pretty fast compared most of the single track on Buffalo Mountain.

I believe 178, 198 and 199 should all be started from their southern end but I wasn't leading or paying much attention to the map at the time so hopefully you'll have someone that can confirm that statement.

199 gets you on top of the world. 198 is a steep rocky drop. 178 has a greasy steep drop I'd never get up run the other direction if it was wet.
 
forgiven said:
Where are some good places to eat?
Click to expand...

Wingos, downtown Matewan. The bed and breakfast you are staying at has the best breakfast in town. Huge buffet fit for a king=$5 cash. We ate there 4 mornings straight. Be sure to tell Don McCoy (owner of HM Inn and Wingos) that Front Royalty busted his knee up good after drinking his Peach Mountain Dew.
 
No foolin about being tricky while slick! With a couple riders we had I was sincerely concerned if we were getting out. Hit a downhill with both binders and picking up steam so going back up that was a no go. Then we come to a real slick deeply rutted uphill. After about an hour and a half of multiple attempts and tugging we made it out. Early finish for the day. Think we are gonna keep this group on the 150 and below single track. The GG did actually fall on its side one time due to lack of traction, but overall the bike was awesome. I will say the consequence for going off the trail can be dire which if I knew I would have not brought the family out. Should have known being on and in the mountains but it did not dawn on me. The Smokey's are beautiful though.
 
I have friends that went there and got themselves on a downhill so steep they couldn't ride it, at least some anyway. Had to drag bikes down! I was warned about the hills on the roads, never mind the trails, and how your brakes will be eaten up towing a camper.

Wonder what happened to Stainless cycle, he lives in WV and knows the place well?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
We were strategizing for today and some of the ideas were to take tools to disassemble parts to carry up. I think we landed on a tow rope that multiple people on a hill can pull on. I think many who have not seen this type of arrangement would just say get off that trail and find an easier one. That is not an option, there is literally no way to get off the trail except back the way you came or complete the trail. Hopefully it was just one bad stretch on that one trail. More to follow.
 
I remember Stainless warning me about getting yourself in a real jam if you dont know the trails. Do you have a way to look at elevation changes on the trail? Overlay on a topo map on GPS or iPAD? At least you will have an idea.
 
forgiven said:
No foolin about being tricky while slick! With a couple riders we had I was sincerely concerned if we were getting out. Hit a downhill with both binders and picking up steam so going back up that was a no go. Then we come to a real slick deeply rutted uphill. After about an hour and a half of multiple attempts and tugging we made it out. Early finish for the day. Think we are gonna keep this group on the 150 and below single track. The GG did actually fall on its side one time due to lack of traction, but overall the bike was awesome. I will say the consequence for going off the trail can be dire which if I knew I would have not brought the family out. Should have known being on and in the mountains but it did not dawn on me. The Smokey's are beautiful though.
Click to expand...


That had to be 178, wasn't kidding about it being the hardest trail on the system :D
 
All you need to remember with Buffalo Mountain is ride south to north for easiest and north to south if you have something to prove.
Last year that slide for your life hill cost me a front rim....rained the night prior and I was leading when I came to it.
Some nice rocks at the bottom managed to get me stopped.
Still my favorite trail system of what Hatfield has to offer.
 
It appears that we were the first to do the 149 loop in some time...WAY overgrown and took a thorn bush in the nose for our efforts. 191 had a 4 foot diameter tree running through it, and 182 got real rocky at the highest point in the world and had to pull out <insert joke here> 150 had the most ridiculous rock hill ever. If dry we may have had a chance, but we were turned away due to slippery wet rocks and coal. Took us 6.5 hours to go from Matewan to Delbarton. The road back was actually a very cool, a super moto would have been a blast. One of the guys dumped his bike and himself over the size but both were recovered without incident, his wife didn't believe he almost dropped about 80 to 100 feet if he went another few feet down the hill. No one was killed in the making of this ride report so I am going to call it a win.
 
Another first...our group scored 5 quart of good moonshine from an interesting person. My 15 year old got to see his first moonshine still and moonshiner who is actually going to be on the history channel for his moon shining. It was a full day.
 
Boom Boom said:
All you need to remember with Buffalo Mountain is ride south to north for easiest and north to south if you have something to prove.
Last year that slide for your life hill cost me a front rim....rained the night prior and I was leading when I came to it.
Some nice rocks at the bottom managed to get me stopped.
Still my favorite trail system of what Hatfield has to offer.
Click to expand...

My good friend M. Spence say's easy trail ... 3hrs per mi. I didn't mind the trail
just helping my friend along was taxing enough. I think it was the 199 trail.
 
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