Wisdom comes with experience!!!!

 

If trail 81 similar to 82 near Tellico Plains,Tenn. then turning around was a workout. I've ridden,and have fallen of of trail 82 on my old 01 KLR. By the time we got to the end it was dark and we were beat. I don't really have a burning desire to go on it again.

 

I hear 'ya. We have a few horse/hiking/biking trails around here but the horses render them unusable by anything but other horses. It's one of my pet peeves because "erosion" is always cited as a reason not to develop any ATV trails on public lands, yet it's okay for the horses to trample them into impassable muck along with horse piss and shit along the trails and also all over the place in the parking lots.

 

From the looks of it, Trail 81 has not seen anything bigger than a squirrel in years, No hoof prints, no tire tracks, no erosion...trail was very narrow. At shoulder level, it was only the width of the bike in most places. The track itself was only a foot or so wide in most places. No bigger than a game trail. Zero margin for error. One slip, and you would slide off the side of the mountain. Very unsettling. Turning around was a very tedious process. Buddy and I together teamed up to turn the bikes around one at a time. Probably could not have done it alone. If we had not turned around, we would probably still be up there, waiting on search and rescue to arrive, LOL!

 

That sounds like the condition of 82 several years ago. Luckily when I went off the trail it was muddy and my handlebar sunk into the ground and kept everything from going too far. We had 4 guys and we were able to get it back on the trail. Other than bent bars, my pride was the only thing that got damaged . I talked to Mike at Tellico Motorcycle Outfitters last year and I think he and some volunteers have done work on the trail to make it more rider friendly. Evidently they haven't done 81.