Tsali is a set of trails on the banks of Fontana Lake in Western North Carolina named in honor of a famous Cherokee who selflessly gave his life so that some of his people could stay in their homelands. The story is dramatized in "Unto These Hills" an outdoor theater production in Cherokee, NC throughout the summer. While this post will deal with the trails, I have to pay my respects to a courageous figure of history and encourage those interested to research him and the Cherokee people. I had the privilege of working on a stream restoration project in Cherokee, NC for the first three weeks of my new job. Naturally, being in such beautiful country and with little to do after work, I began to explore. The closest trail system to Cherokee was Tsali, so one day I threw the bike in the work truck and headed their post construction oversight. |
On my day there the loops open to me were Mouse and Thompson. While they were shorter than the Left/Right side, they were billed as more technical. Nothing at Tsali is overly gnarly, most of it would be a blue if anywhere with a rating system. The trails are built for a singlespeed, very well designed with plenty of pumping to keep things fast. The only thing to slow you down are the views. Off of Mouse there is a great little side loop to an overlook as seen in my picture. From here you get a fun, quick, descent that offers up the little technical riding Tsali has. Mouse is about eight miles and a ripping good spin. Remember this part of the state is home to the Cherokee Nation, there is great history. Also it is the gateway to Great Smokies National Park, I did some great hiking here I may write up if I can find the time! And Tsali is close to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, famous as the meeting point between the Appalachian Trail and Nantahala River, a whitewater classic. Its a cool place to stop and check out and watch guys tackle the slalom course as you stand on the AT bridge. | The Tsali system is multiuse which means hikers can enjoy any of the four clover leaf loops any time while horses (and their riders) and bikers must alternate days. While I can see the sense behind this the system looked lightly used and frankly, in my opinion, breaking users up like this only adds to conflict, instead let them have to mingle and they will work it out themselves like adults. And find everyone can be friendly and use the same trails. After finishing Mouse you are brought back to the two track you came in on (about a mile of old road shared for the two loops). Thompson has a bit more climbing over its 6 or miles. It crosses a few more streams that seemed a bit wetter than Mouse's. You'll find a nice bench cut along the lake with great views of the many houseboats hiding in the coves. Eventually you'll realize you're climbing up a small ridge and wonder when the down is. It comes. You continue onto old forest road, climb more, than bang a left and pretty much shoot straight down to the beginning. A fantastic way to end the ride. All in all I pushed hard and ran close to 10 MPH average, which says more about the ease of riding then any ability I may have. Post riding I'd suggest heading into Bryson City and hitting Nantahala Brewery. They treated me right on my three month stay and offered up a great atmosphere that ranks high on my brewery list. They offer a lot of barrel aged beers that I was at first unsure of (stout in summer?) but thoroughly enjoyed. |