Four Wheel Drive

Jeff St. Aubin

"All it takes is an ill-placed rock, a bit too much momentum, and you’re no longer tied to the earth."

When you’re in the zone, you feel unstoppable. The forest rushes by as you hunker through the bends, skittering across rocks and ruts while you judiciously apply the throttle and hang on for dear life. The grip seems never-ending and the power is immediate, constant and almost too plentiful for your own good. Curve after curve are taken down, trampled and spat out behind you again and again until they aren’t. And then you’re in the air, rolling, with 700 pounds of machine chasing after you. A mad scramble, a well-placed tree and a few moments of holy-f*ck-sh*t later and you’re brought back down to the reality that you are, in fact, very, very stoppable.

All it takes is an ill-placed rock, a bit too much momentum, and you’re no longer tied to the earth. Scott, my host from Kawasaki, thought I was distracted by the small buck that proceeded to take a piss and laugh at my flipped ATV, but it was unfortunately only my inexperience and overconfidence that were to blame.

I was ashamed that the twisted trails had gotten the best of me, but the high-gloss, scratch-resistant Thermoplastic Olefin bodywork of my Realtree APG HD camouflage-bedecked 2013 Kawasaki Brute Force 750 4X4i EPS rolled right over with nary a scratch. I was just outside Charleston, West Virginia, at one of America’s most extensive off-highway vehicle (OHV) playgrounds, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails, where Kawasaki had flown me out to try its latest and greatest ATV.

Seven hundred and forty-nine cubic centimeters doesn’t sound that big, but when you pack those cubic centimeters into a vehicle that’s just shy of 700 pounds and purpose-built to take on every rock, stream, ditch and gully with extreme prejudice, well, let’s just say it results in a package that’s guaranteed to make any grown man giggle, and more than a few scream.

Situated deep in coal country, the Hatfield-McCoy system is a unique example of a public-private partnership that’s produced a successful symbiosis between natural resource extraction, tourism-based economic development, outdoor recreation and environmental appreciation. Open since 2000, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails are a still-expanding 600-plus-mile off-road playground that spans nine counties and is open 365 days a year. Connected to numerous “ATV-friendly towns,” you can get a dose of some real West Virginian hospitality in between your off-road adventures. Can you say jalapeño and ham cornbread? Add to that multiple varieties of homemade pork ‘n' beans and a bit of sauerkraut, and you’ve got the fuel you need to blast over every creek and gully in your path. And, boy, were there paths.

With ski-resort-style difficulty levels, I was able to hit speeds in excess of 60 mph on the rolling greens and sweat it out, maneuvering technical off-camber turns on the steep pitches of the rugged blacks. Whether you want to test your mettle against the most untamed of trails or cruise placidly along with your kids, Hatfield-McCoy’s got you covered. In two days, we barely scratched the surface of the Little Coal River system, the smallest and tamest of their seven trail networks. At 54 miles, “small” is a relative term. And, trust me, I was never wanting for difficulty. Next Page >>