Cub Mountain ATV Park
Saturday Oct. 29, 2022
Kenny & Dana Koogler & Sharon McGee
Life has been hectic for Kenny and I for a couple years now. 2020 was covid. 2021 was the year of relapse for our son and daughter in law's drug use. 2022 has been a year of raising kids again. Our family is trying once more to recover. One of the casualties of this struggle is that of friendships. Every year for awhile when we have tried to plan something for our wedding anniversary something has messed it up. This year we planned things differently. We would get ahead of it.
We planned a camping trip to Jamestown to see Sharon McGee. We would also take time to go four wheeling on Skinner Mountain for the first time in years. Literally years. It had been about a year since we saw Sharon. We also planned it to coincide with the opening of a new four wheeling and hiking venue. Cub Mountain ATV Park is located past Skinner Mountain along Highway 85.
Below is a photo of our 5th wheel camper and the side of Kenny's truck.
Above: across from us .. some other campers and wonderful Fall colors!
We got in touch with Maple Hill Campground and booked reservations to stay there. It had been a couple years since we were there. I knew they had made changes to it and improvements. I put everyone on notice that this was happening or somebody was going to die for screwing up my plans!
Kenny's work schedule is the ever present obstacle to planning. He wanted very much to get home Friday evening and head over to Maple Hill. We'd then be over there to have the entire day to ride and visit and have fun on Saturday. It ended up being a long day at work for him, but despite that we made it over on Friday. Fortunately we had a nice pull through site for the camper making it easier to get parked after nightfall.
We did not do much but get set up and go to bed Friday. Saturday we woke and after coffee and breakfast headed over to meet Sharon at her cabin. I had texted her to let her know we would be there this weekend. We always have trouble adjusting to the time difference. You'd think one hour wouldn't matter that much, but it does when it comes to getting up and getting going in the mornings.
We ended up being early birds and rousted Sharon earlier than she is accustomed to rising. She is enjoying a well earned retirement and does not get up early most of the time. We all managed to get it together and headed up Skinner Mountain.
The plan to reach Cub Mountain was to cross Skinner Mountain, go down off the back side toward Manson Road, on to Cooktown Road, and Hwy 85 and Cub Mountain. For those unfamiliar with the area, Highway 85 is a winding black snake along Wilder Mountain. It sits on a very soft coal seam in an area that is the site of former coal mining operations. The road has washed off the mountain in chunks a couple times. The most recent has been repaired in excellent fashion. It gives me hope that at last the road may hang on to the slope for time to come.
Part of me was in dread of going to Cub Mountain for the first day. Social media had been abuzz with the news of their opening. In my mind everyone would want to go there as much as we did. I was just sure it would be covered up busy. I did not know what to expect, but I was not in the right frame of mind to fight a big crowd. We had already agreed back at our camper that if we found the place a mob scene we'd go do something else.
The ride up Skinner Mountain was something else I was not looking forward to in some ways. I had been dreading finding out the mountain was being wrecked by overuse. The things Sharon was telling us about area rides made me wonder what we'd find?
Today at least we would not be dealing with that. The route we took goes up the mountain and across and down to the west. I always like this ride. It is very scenic. The weather was perfect today. The skies were blue and cool. The weather thus far was neither hot or cold. It was shirt sleeve weather. The Autumn colors atop the mountain were the fiery oranges and reds I'd remembered from years past. The trail up top was not bad. We've had little rain lately so the mud holes were less mucky than usual. We arrived at the "big intersection" and continued down the back side of the mountain. The trail split and we took the trail toward the right. Down we spiraled gradually off the ridge. The woods were golden and yellow and bronze down here. Lots of poplar, silver maples, and beech trees on this part of the mountain. The trail winds through and past many interesting rock formations. It turns steeply down and all at once you are out along Manson Road.
Below is one of the few images I captured up on the ridgeline of Skinner Mountain
Below: We are passing a house that is built into the ground with only the front side exposed and the roof above ground. This is a more common sight to see in the plateau. It is good protection against the tornadoes that strike the region. Some may question the need for it, but ask folks in the communities of Moss or Rinnie and you will soon learn it is a very real threat.
Below: Looking ahead at Manson Road/Cooktown Road as we near Cub Mountain
Below: passing Randal Tay's store on our way. The turn onto Threet Road is a short distance further.
Just a short distance past Tay's store is a feature called on the Tennessee Landforms database... Cravenstown Arch. Many of these land features are showing up on the tracks for riding four wheelers. I saw where someone got a "preview ride" at Cub Mountain and downloaded the tracks to the database. What was hilarious to me about it? Kenny and I both had a great laugh. I would pay money to watch these people's expressions when they see some of these places.
They would be sorely disappointed. The waterfalls mentioned are 1. Not on the property for Cub Mountain 2. Not easy to find 3. No water on them during times like we've had. They'd be bone dry. 4. Cravenstown arch from the road is a briar patch. From the opposite side it is equally disappointing. It is indeed an arch, but it is only about 3 feet high and has a hog pen built on it. If ya want I can take you to see the Hanging Limb Arch a little further down the road? It is behind the dumpsters.
Below: a closer look at the hog pen
We wheeled on into the road and stopped first at the Twinton Lookout Tower.
I cannot believe we had never taken time to go check this out. It was really worth the stop. The view is wonderful especially in Autumn. The cab is open and it is in excellent condition and super sturdy. We all made it up there and got to take in the view!
Below: view of the Twinton Tower
Below: peering through the glass
Below: view to the west
Once we got done at the tower we piled back into the RZR and within a few minutes were pulling in the entrance for the ATV park. I drew an easy breath once I saw what it would be like today. It was not crowded. It was busy, but just busy enough to be fun. It got busier as the day went on. I think a lot of folks were sleeping in and letting the day warm up. By the time we left later on there were considerably more vehicles and machines out, but it still wasn't what I expected. It never was an overwhelming crowd. It was nice to see these fine folks prospering in this venture.
Above: the cafe and dining area and office.
Below is a menu!
We stopped at the office to check in and pay. We had the great fortune of being waited upon my one of the owners, Ms Lisa Cantrell. We signed our waivers, read the rules, paid our fees. We also decided since they still had breakfast biscuits we'd eat an early lunch and not have to stop in an hour or so hungry and thirsty.
The breakfast biscuit was good and filling. We were able to concentrate on riding. They have nice clean restrooms and additional porta potties around the place as well. We hit the trails. They do not have maps yet. The campground portion is also not open yet since they are awaiting inspections and permits for their sewer etc. The place looks great and I believe it will only get better. It will be a spacious, attractive campground in a nice location.
Here are some photos of the trails we tried out
Below: our machine stopped and waiting to cross.
Below: the creek and coppery colored forest look like a Robert Frost poem brought to life.
Below: the trail we are on is so steep this was my view to the right. pretty sun shining down through the trees.
Below: The view of the sky and the bronze and golden foliage up here was sublime.
Below: The second of the ponds. This one is so jade green it is hard to believe. That coupled with the bold colors of the surrounding trees made this spot look like a fantasy land!
Today was a treat for the senses. The cool air, bright sunny skies, all the textures and colors of Autumn. The ups and downs of the trails! The funny commentary from me and Sharon in the Koogler Killing Machine. She is hilarious.
I am very much looking forward to coming back to Cub Mountain to ride again.
I think I went into sensory overload. It would be helpful to have a map, but there was no risk of getting lost. The tower off on the horizon helps you head back in the direction of the office and main entrance with ease. When you are excited and having fun it is hard to tell exactly what ground you've covered. At least it was for us. It is a pleasure to finally get to experience this for ourselves at long last.
I had long viewed those ponds from satellite glimmering green and blue and wished to see them. I did not hold out much hope of ever having that happen. And yet... it did! I want to go back in Winter to experience the place as well as Spring and Summer. I feel there will be good things in each season.
We headed back to the front entrance and thanked Lisa and the staff for a great day. We started back in the direction of Jamestown. The plan was to return home via the river trail if we could.
We went back to highway 85 and down to the bridge. This is where the trail starts from that end. Last time we could not get through here. Some old grumpy guy was claiming it was off limits. We had not been back to try since.
The alternative to this should we find it closed was to go up into the Wilder subdivision and take another trail and come out on Manson Road again.
We passed the same signs that have been up for ages. We passed a few vehicles and campers and houses. The river was bone dry. I have never seen it like this up here before. Not this bad. We encountered no barriers.
Below is a photo I took of The Horsepound .. a cape in the area. Super pretty today!
The first place we came to where we could have gone down toward river level we stayed up high. We hoped that would be safer and less likely to be blocked off. The second place we came to where we descended to river level was open and before we knew it we were back at the Hoodtown Crossing. Once more the river was bone dry. We passed the opening for Dragons Breath Cave, Zarathustras Cave and the Blow Hole Cave. All of these are part of the same massive cave system. Twenty-six miles worth of mapped underground passages like a maze.
We encountered some blown down trees. Apparently a mini tornado came through the area and brought a lot of trees down and tore up stuff. Swift Ford was a total jumbled mess and the trail there has been completely re-routed to avoid the snarl of downed trees.
We finally came to the Jumping Off Rock and encountered the first other riders we'd seen since leaving Cub Mountain. They were on the hunt for a dropped cell phone. I hope they found it. The river had water in it here and was it ever pretty. Coppery beech leaves hung down over aquamarine water. Even in the shallows the blue cast of the water was visible.
Above: the jumping off rock has a new ladder! Unfortunately not much water for jumping!
Making it back to Woo Hoo Holler and the cabin via the river trail was fun, but it is changed. The Hundred Year Flood and the tornado have torn the area up and altered the route pretty drastically in places. Were the river up high you'd probably not make it through there. We spent some time driving over river jacks in the actual river bed. The blue hole was bone dry. We made it to the end where the Smith's place is. We found out that there is a new owner to that access. This does not bode well for the future of the river trail. I hope and pray this man never cuts off access to it, but it could happen. We know alternate routes to gain access, but this is the easiest , most direct one.
We had a grand time with Sharon at Cub Mountain. We got her back home. She tended to Otey and Kenny put the machine away for the night. We left it at her cabin. We headed back to the campground at Maple Hill to start supper cooking. Sharon got cleaned up and made a wonderful tossed salad and brought garlic bread. We had quite a feast with her. Grilled chicken and broiled salmon.
Great company and conversation. It was what we needed to feel human again after so much parenting time. All of us want to see Cub Mountain ATV Park succeed.
The community where they built is rich in natural beauty and great people. It was a poor coal mining area in the past. It was left polluted by the mines. The decades since have seen recovery of the environment. I for one want to see these types of attractions bring in tourism dollars to the area so people can prosper. Camping and four wheeling and hiking are excellent ways to make money without hurting the planet like digging coal.
Below is a video of the highlights of our ride at Cub Mountain. I will apologize in advance for the poor quality of the video. I do not have a proper mount for the Go Pro on the new machine so I used my regular camera. It is passable, but only just.
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