An HMT Valentine of sorts....

As I sit here starting this new McBlog it is still Valentine’s Day.

And of course, spring is right around the corner. As the old saying goes, “when Springtime comes, a man’s thoughts turn to Romance.”

Romance....
The things we love....

I got to thinking about this when I saw a posting one of our regular visitors made on our very popular Facebook page.

A rider named Jerry King wrote, “ Im coming this weekend and have been checking the extended forecast for the past week. Cant wait. This will be one of my 2 yearly trips to HMT. 425 miles one way and 6.5 hour drive...and worth every minute.....
This will be my 7th or 8th time to HMT and I'm the newbie of the bunch.”

Mr. King obviously is one of the people who "gets it" as I like to say in regards to why so many people love Hatfield-McCoy and Southern West Virginia.

Ironically, so many people who love this area are from other places and many of the people who grew up here do not appreciate it like they should.



This was something I noticed years ago, when HMT came online. Soon, people who came for an initial visit were coming back a second time that year.
Some even came back three and four times!

There are riders from other states who have made WV a second home for themselves because they come to our area a couple of times a year to ride the trails and enjoy the gifts of Southern West Virginia - IE beautiful mountains and hills, verdant trees everywhere, all sorts of wildlife and some of the friendliest people on earth.

I was fortunate enough to meet many of these folks through my friendship with one of our vendors, Terry Fekete who began operating the Rockhouse Lodge many years ago. Terry would call me up and say things like , “Hey man, I have that group of riders here from New Jersey that were here just a few months ago. Stop by and meet them.” And things like that. I have met many soldiers, police officers, firefighters and just plain ole All - American families like that. From all over the place. Who love it here, just like I do.

Later, when I began working for Hatfield-Mccoy, first as a Customer Sales Representative, I began encountering even more folks who LOVE HMT. Many of them would stop by the trailhead at Bearwallow for a map or a new shirt or just to talk and I would recognize them, or, more often, they would recognize me as they had been there before.

There are people all over the world - literally - who love Hatfield-McCoy. Last summer I spoke with folks from all over the USA, as well as fine folks who traveled here from Germany and Canada. And it filled my heart with joy to hear how happy they were to be here in the beautiful mountains of Southern West Virginia.


Because even though I am mountain born and bred, and grew up in this region, at times, I feel, disconnected. Because I was raised by my grandfather and grandmother to love, respect and appreciate the great outdoors and all it has to offer. I had a childhood of camping, fishing, swimming, hiking and so forth.

But today, it seems, many people who have grown up in Southern West Virginia do not appreciate our hills, our mountains, our streams and our valleys. They overlook our many blessings, which you, our visitors DO appreciate. You guys "get it." Far too many locals do not.

They grumble about living in rural Appalachia as if it was some curse and not a blessing.

When they wake up in the morning and step outside their front door they pay no attention to the beautiful hills and trees and our scenic vistas. Their spirits are numb to the great beauty of nature which overwhelms folks like you and me.

I am happy to live here. I am proud to live here. But too many people from this area overlook what it has to offer and I feel sorry for them and saddened that they just do not get it- how lucky they are to live here in “Almost Heaven- West Virginia.”

It never occurrs to them how cool it is to be able to ride your ATV or UTE around in town. It seldom dawns on their thoughts that people in other places do not have over 500 miles of well maintained trails to ride around and enjoy like we do.

So when I meet people who love this area, and who have come here because of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails, many times I am overjoyed to meet kindred spirits out there who DO appreciate our beautiful area.

You see, that is what turned me onto Hatfield-McCoy over a decade ago. I didn’t think the venture would fly at first and was critical. Then a good friend (Terry) showed me how to drive a Honda ATV and took me out around Rockhouse. He knew that I loved to hike and camp and we went to several plateaus throughout the course of one day that would have taken at LEAST three days to visit on foot.

By the end of that day, I was convinced.

I was overwhelmed with the fun of riding an ATV through the Great Outdoors and I knew that other people would be as intoxicated by the experience as I was. So I started attending the board meetings, meeting vendors, visitors and people who worked for HMT and even writing stories about it all for our local newspaper.
Which lead me to where I am at today.

I love West Virginia. I love our hills and mountains. I love the Hatfield-McCoy Trails.
And it makes me happy that you guys and gals feel the same way that I do.
Every time I hear from somebody like you guys and gals who "get it' the same way I do, its Valentines Day all over again for me.


Your Friend,

Big Jim Charles