• Note: Some of the trails used on this ride will soon be converted to gravel roads. I will evaluate the ride after this occurs, and decide if it is still worthy of being considered a "Best Ride" at that time.
• More Difficult
• Total Climb: About 1000'
• Length: 9.25 miles
• Trails/Roads Used: Hardtimes Connector, Wolf Branch, Ledford Branch Road, Sidehill, Ingles Field Connector, Ingles Field Gap, Little Hickory Top, Boyd Branch Road, Campground Connector, Hardtimes Road.
• Configuration/type: Loop
• Start: Hardtimes trailhead
• How to get there: see the Bent Creek Guided Rides page and/or the trail maps for the location of the Hardtimes trailhead.

After riding out the back of the Hardtimes parking area and past the gate, you'll turn left onto the Hardtimes Connector trail. This trail is was formerly unofficially named "Warmup"; it goes up a short distance, then back down a great but short downhill, and across a small creek, getting you ready for the rest of the ride. Instead of completely clearing logs from this trail the trail maintenance folks have given us the option to ride over or around fallen logs. These are called Technical Trail Features (TTF's), and are a great way to make a trail appeal to various levels of riders. Crossing the main road and picking up the singletrack on the other side, the next section of trail is rooty, and will follow a small stream. This trail intersects a paved one at the end of a boardwalk (Deer Lake Lodge), and you will ride a short section of this paved trail. It soon becomes wide gravel doubletrack after passing an old building site and some picnic tables. The next trail you will ride is now called Wolf Branch. This trail is rooty and moderately technical, but not too steep, as it travels through the scenic woods literally at the base of the ridge. You'll cross a small creek on a well-designed bridge, come to an intersection, and bear left on the Wolf Branch trail to start up the ridge: it's a short, steep pitch with waterbars, which levels out after making a sharp, steep right-hand switchback. This hilly, fun trail to continues to an intersection with a gravel road.

Turning left, uphill, onto gravel Ledford Branch Road, the next section begins as a gradual climb with spotty views. It soon levels out and starts downhill. Passing through an active forest management area, you can stop and read the informative signs on either side to learn more about the forest management techniques. Just as you start to gain some speed on this road, you will come to Ledford Gap, elev. 2600', marked by a picnic table and a sign. Here, you'll make a right onto the signed Sidehill trail. This is a fun, fast gradual climb with a couple of creek crossings. Unfortunately, this section of trail is slated to be turned permanently into a gravel road soon. Another intersection and you'll turn right onto the Ingles Field Connector trail, which is steep - a fairly tough climb. In the winter look uphill; you can see the edge of the trail you will ride next, far on the hillside above. Look downhill, and you can see the trail you just came from. The elevation difference between the two is about 200 feet. At the top of this climb and next intersection is the Ingles Field Gap trail, which starts out slightly uphill and then levels out. Luckily this trail will remain trail throughout the new logging project. There are a few GREAT banked turns here. After gaining some speed you'll shoot up a very steep lump, to start a short but moderately technical and steep climb to The Top.

You're at "The Top" or "5 points" if you've made it to a saddle and intersection of 5 trails. This is Ingles Field Gap, elevation just shy of 3000'. Rest up, grab a bite to eat and prepare for a thrilling downhill in two sections, the first being along Little Hickory Top trail to the intersection with Sidehill. Little Hickory Top does start out by going up a few feet but very soon goes downhill. Further along, there are a few short uphill areas but for the most part it's downhill. The entire first section is rocky and it is interrupted once by a huge gully with a corrugated pipe at the bottom which must be navigated carefully to avoid a trip off the side of the mountain. Soon you may start to see evidence of a forest fire that swept through this area in March 2000, but by now the forest may have recovered. At the intersection with Sidehill trail, get ready for the second part of the downhill. Bearing left, you'll ride a 1 1/4 mile sweet downhill, descending about 600 feet. This section is a good bit steeper than Little Hickory Top, and it is FAST (arguably the best short downhill in Pisgah)! Tragically, this section of trail is another that is slated to become a gravel road, although the Forest Services will allow it to return to singletrack when they're finished logging. The downhill starts by following a small ridge, which was completely engulfed by the forest fire. The fire only did superficial damage, and the forest should recover quickly - most evidence will be long erased by now. There are many waterbars (logs across the trail to prevent erosion), and they make good jumps. But watch for riders, horses and hikers on their way up. There are one or two faint trails that go right; stay straight on Sidehill. You'll travel through a small clearing and down to an intersection with a gravel road where you'll turn right. This puts you on a fairly fast downhill with some squirrelly turns. You will intersect Bent Creek Gap Road at the bottom of this and ride straight across, onto another gravel road which follows Bent Creek itself gradually downhill. Look for beaver dams along this section of the stream.

You will now follow this route all the way back to Hardtimes Road, but there are many intersections. Go straight through all of them. You'll first reach some posts; ride between them and continue going straight. The route will become paved for the next 0.1 mile. At the stop sign, continue straight, riding back onto a gravel road (you'll see signs pointing to the dam). Ride straight on this gravel road past the campground to your left and the lake to your right. When you get to the parking area and the dam, ride straight up and over it, picking up the gravel road again on the other side. Follow this straight along the creek until you get to the concrete bridge on the right. Keep going straight, and just past this bridge, turn left onto the gravel Hardtimes road. Follow this back up to the Hardtimes Trailhead parking lot to finish the ride.

Map Readers: an alternative for this loop would be to make a left when you get to the bottom of the Sidehill trail, then hit the Boyd Branch trail for some more fun singletrack. Then turn right to join back up with the original ride above. Boyd Branch is smooth but fast. Given the length of the description above, I decided to omit this divergence from the official loop!