(The) Tsali Trail Complex

WNC's Premier Mountain Biking Trail System 

Background:

About 20 minutes from Bryson City, NC and on the other side of Fontana Lake from the Smokies lies a trail system that touts itself to be the best mountain bike riding in North Carolina. Now, there are a lot of fantastic riding in this state, so I have been excited for an opportunity to ride out here for a very long time. The time finally came!

The trail system was created out of the rolling banks of Fontana Lake and seemed to feature a lot of sandy type dirt that keeps the trails dry even in wet conditions. The night before the morning I came here it actually rained a good bit, but at this time of year the soil demands so much water that I could hardly tell on the trail. 

This is a sign in downtown Bryson City that tells a little bit of the story of Mr. Tsali. He was a leader of the Cherokee and supposedly a prophet, foreseeing that forced removal of his tribe. Eventually, he made the decision to escape to into what is now known as the Great Smoky Mountains. He was later found and executed with his two sons. As beautiful as it is, the history of this part of the state can be pretty depressing considering nearby Murphy was the home base of the Army after the Indian Removal Act and the trail of tears.

Bike Report

The day started out in Bryson City, North Carolina as I forgot my helmet art home and found "Bryson City Bicycles" on google. Bryson City is a small town and a main thoroughfare into the National Park. The store attendent I met was very friendly and we talked trails and bikes for a little while before I bought a "Tsali" sticker and left. 

Before I could head to the trailhead, the pup needed to be walked so I found "Island Park," situated on the eastern edge of Bryson City on an island on the Tuskagee River. Here I walked up on a man named "Bulldog." We chatted about Bears, Bear protection, dogs and Bears being natural enemies, liberal Asheville and cool stuff to see in the Smokies. He said he was from nearby Robinson, and this is his day off. When I walked up on him in the park he was smoking cigarettes, reading a book, and drinking beer out of a duffel bag. You do your thing Bulldog!

 

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The park itself was beautiful. There is a trail that goes maybe as far as a mile around the park and is made up of some pretty cool structures, as you can see in the above picture Clif and I were walking on a very old stone and mortar wall that is who knows how old. Clif did the business and we got out. Finally to the Tsali!

There are over 40 miles of trail at the Tsali spread out over 4 different loops. The cool thing about this place is the massive camping complex. Now, you cannot ride all 40 miles in one day (if you physically could) because the trails are shared with equestrian users. Half of the loops are open on alternating days between equestrian users and bikers. This encourages people to come and stay the night at the nearby camping facilities so you can do all of the trails in one trip. 

Somewhere on the Mouse Branch

On this day I rode the "Mouse Branch" and "Thompson Loops" for a total length of around 17 miles and over 1600 feet of Climbing. These trails certainly live up to hype! Climbs are steady but never too much to the point where you lose much speed. Downhills are long, fast, and flowing. This is my type of mountain bike trail! 

Panorama of the Smokies across Fontana Lake at an overlook point on the trail. Overcast skies created a cool mist to ride through

About halfway through the Mouse Branch loop, I ran into a couple riders who were having some mechanical issues. They happened to be stopped at an overlook (See above panorama) and asked me if I knew how to fix bikes. I replied to them and told them I am a bike tech (shout out to USNWC)! 

What had happened to this riders bike was the derailleur didn't really have limit screws and his rimgaurd behind his casset had broken to the point where it was creating friction with the spokes. This creates issues at higher speeds. I didn't have any tools on me at all so luckily for this fix all we had to do was remove the guard and the issues would stop, he just wouldn't be able to shift into the lightest gear because the chain would shift into the hub/rims of the wheel.   

I kept moving and the next downhill section was the most technical riding I saw all day, switchbacking down a hill. Led to lots of speed and flow! This was a long ride (almost 3 hours) and I didn't waste most of it by taking pictures but I did get a few of the lake. Fontana Lake itself is just beautiful, water so green and clean. 

Now, if you see the picture to the right, it seemed like people live on this lake. Not pictured are 3 or 4 other "house boats," which looked like campers on a floating dock with anchors. Very put-together and very Western North Carolina. Hey man, however you want to live. Living on a lake as beautiful as this one between the largest National Forest in North Carolina and the most popular National Park in america it can't be too bad right?

All in all this trail system lives up to the hype. While the trail certainly lacks technical features, my lasting impression was my final descent on the Thompson, probably going 20-30 miles per hour through the forest in many moments of perfect concentration and flow. I don't know about the best trail system in the state, in my opinion DuPont State Forest and the kids in Brevard have something to say about that (and the bike shop attendent in BC agreed). At the same time though, this place has the facilities and the whole package. I will be back to the the other two loops, but for now I am a happy rider! The Tsali should be on any semi-serious mountain biker's bucket list.