Take Aim Shuttle Day! - Huge Backcountry Descents in the George Washington National Forest

Come along for an amazing backcountry shuttle day with Take Aim Cycling. Take Aim (https://www.takeaimcycling.com/guidin...) is the only permitted guide/shuttle operator serving the George Washington National Forest located just west of Harrisonburg, VA (about 4.5 hours south of Philly). They offer full day private shuttle services or you can sign up for a seat on their scheduled open shuttle days. Owner/Operator Harlan Price (a former Philly guy) is an amazing human (and super talented rider/coach/guide) that is doing a ton to responsibly promote the outstanding riding in the GWNF and greater Shenandoah Valley. I can't speak highly enough of him and his team and would strongly recommend using them if you're looking to ride in the area. We had a large group so we hired them for a full day, but if you are riding alone or in a small group and want to save a bit of $, planning your trip around one of their scheduled open shuttle days probably makes the most sense. They know what trails are cleared and running the best (partly because they're doing a ton of the maintenance) and you'll be able to experience much more of the area than you would if you were pedaling or shuttling yourself.

Now about the riding...
These descents are raw, remote and long with a ton of elevation loss. As this is the backcountry and the trails aren't well traveled (other than the Reddish descent), you are alone out there, with no cell service and a long way from emergency services in the case that you or someone in your group gets injured. As such, I recommend not riding alone and make sure your bike is tuned up and dialed prior to heading out there, especially your brakes and pads (High Knob and Red Diamond have long sustained sections greater than 20% avg grade and your pads will be smoking by the time you get to the bottom).

Deathstar: https://www.trailforks.com/trails/dea...
This drops down into West Virginia from the ridge that runs along the VA/WV border. It's a great warm up shuttle run as it's not too steep or technical, but will give you a feel for the terrain that you'll be riding on later laps.

High Knob: https://www.trailforks.com/trails/hig...
Another trail that drops into WV from the ridge. This one has some steep and loose scree near the beginning the culminates with a rocky chute as the crux (which you may want to check out before riding). The trail then transitions into some high speed steep and loamy sections as it travels down the ridge to the Brandywine Campground Rec area below.

Red Diamond (aka Slate Springs): https://www.trailforks.com/trails/sla...
This trail drops back into Hone Quarry from the ridge line and was probably the most fun of all of them. It's nearly two miles long and averages almost 20% grade for the entire time. It starts out as a high speed, exposed and loose bench cut trail which transitions to steep and loamy single track all the way down to the bottom. There's nothing too technical or difficult about this trail, other than the sustained steepness. Be prepared for your legs and arms (and brakes) to be burning big time if you do the whole run top to bottom. It feels like it's never going to end and actually gets steeper the close you get to the end.

Reddish Knob to Wolf Ridge: https://www.trailforks.com/route/redd...
This is the classic Reddish Knob descent and probably the easiest of the four. Full disclosure, we actually shuttled this the following day, but it could definitely be done with the other three to make for a big shuttle day out. The vistas from the lot at the top of Reddish are awesome and the first 4 miles or so on Timber Ridge are a mix of fast, loose shale descents and climbs (as well as one gnarly rock garden traverse). Things really pick up over the last 4.5 miles once you make a left onto Wolf Ridge. The grade on this trail is much more mellow than the others and it includes a ton of rockwork and little jib features as opposed to the others which are much more raw. You can find a video I made specifically of this trail here:    • Virginia Is For Lovers...of Long Descents ...  

@0:00 - Intro
@0:51 - Deathstar
@3:06 - High Knob
@6:39 - Red Diamond a/k/a Slate Springs
@8:46 - Reddish Knob to Wolf Ridge