MCJ Exploring WNC Fall 2011

#1
FRIDAY
Well this trip Started out Friday morning, Andrea and I finished some last minute packing and loaded up the jeep. We met up with Larry and Burgundy in the Cherokee at Zaxbys in Newberry to grab lunch. After lunch we made a quick gas stop and were on the road. We took I26 in hopes of getting up to the campsite in time to setup and go explore a few things I had been meaning to check out. We stopped at the NC welcome center to check and see if Jimbo was on his way but he was still doing some parts running so we motored on. We hopped off I40 at exit 15 and rode a short scenic trail with some mud and a few washouts.
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The leaves in the area were awesome and we knew at that point it was going to be a great weekend for the fall colors. We made our way down the trail and came out on I40 where we took a short ride up to Exit 7 to head to the camp spot.
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After a short ride down to the river where we were camping we setup and decided to head to a lookout I had read about called “Buzzards Roost”. The four of us headed up the forest service road and with the help of the gps and some paint on a tree found a small trail leading down from the shoulder of the road.
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Thankfully there was a rope on this hill because if not I can see somebody falling to their death if it was wet!! We took some pictures and pretended like we weren’t scared of falling to our death from the huge cliff overhang with rocks below. Our dog Roxie couldn’t be convinced that it was safe, as seen in the photos.
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After that we headed back to camp and got the fire ready and waited for Jimmy and Julie. While we waited some locals who own a cabin nearby came down to our camp and chatted about jeeps and bears…thoroughly scaring our female counterparts. They left right as Jimmy was pulling into camp. With Jimmy and Julie there we were able to finish the food for dinner and within 40 minutes the Dutch oven was smelling of Black Swamp Pasta (aka pizza pasta). By this point we also got ahold of Jimbo who confirmed he was not coming that night but would meet up with us in the morning at the trail head. We chatted and hung out around the fire before calling it a night and heading to sleep.

I realized when i was writing this that I didnt get any pictures from camp on the camera. I know larry did.

I will mention that as cool as this campsite is, there is one issue…. Its in the valley of the river below the interstate… on a down hill section. So every now and then we got to enjoy the wonder full sound of a jakebrake grinding down the hill. I didn’t notice to much, my female better half did..



NOTE: this guy was buried in that cemetery by the turkeys. LINK
 
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#3
SATURDAY
We got up Saturday morning and made pancakes and sausage for breakfast and all sat around the fire to warm up. We were almost out of ice so we decided to head for ice before we hit the next trail.
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We got on the trail around 10:30 am and aired down a little to soften the bumps.
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The trail was nice and the weather was amazing, cool and crisp. There were some creek crossings and a small mud issue due to my arb not wanting to lock up…I still need to look into that. We saw the sites on the trail but I only got a few pictures. Near the end of the trail there was a dip and hill in the trail that actually brought something to my attention about my jeep and trailer… evidentally it is possible for me to get on a steep enough off camber position for the top of my spare tire to hit my trailer and almost my tent. Given it was really off camber, but didn’t think that would be an issue.
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#4
After making out way out of the trail we set sails for Max Patch Mountain. I had heard of it before, but never been. It was a really cool thing to see, and the weather difference was crazy. Its maybe a half mile hike to the top and down near the bottom is was 75 degrees or so, well at the top it was more like 45 with 40 mph wind haha. So we found a spot on the backside of the mountain that blocked some of the wind and ate lunch. This would be a great spot in the spring when its warm.
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After max patch we set off to find our campsite in hot springs. We made our way up max patch road to Del Rio, TN a quaint little town with a post office the size of a flat rate box. We arrived in hot springs and setup our camp right on the river.
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After a short planning meeting we decided to run the next trail and then come back for dinner in town. On the way to the trail we found “Paint Rock” which is a large rock face on the side of river road. There was a primitive trail to the top so larry and I ventured up to see what we could find. It presented us with a spectacular view of the river and mountain valley. These pictures do it no justice.

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We made our way up lower paint creek road and hopped on the trail. This trail eventually should lead to a fire tower, or so I’m told, but after an hour on the trail we decided we needed to head back to down for dinner. We made it to a field near the top and from looking at the map now it looks like we were about a half mile from the top when we turned around.
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But I’m glad we did because by the time we got to town I was starving.
We at at the Iron Horse Station Restaurant, which if you ever go to Hot Springs you have to try. It was delicious!! After dinner we moseyed back to the campsite and hung out by the fire.
 
#5
SUNDAY

Sunday morning we woke up to some cooler weather. We sat around the fire for a bit then decided to pack up and head to breakfast in town. We found some really great breakfast at the Old Smokey mountain Diner in down town hot springs. I had heard mixed reviews, but our experience was great!

On the way back Jimmy pealed off around Asheville while Larry and Burgundy went with us to the REI in Biltmore park and an Apple orchard in Hendersonvillle.

I cant thank yall enough for this awesome trip. It was great weather and good times with friends on the trail. Hope to do it again sometime. There are still plenty of trails up there I havent seen.

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#9
That place looks awesome. Was talking last night about trying to get a camping trip together sometime soon.

Larry, how did the XJ do on its maiden voyage?
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#10
That place looks awesome. Was talking last night about trying to get a camping trip together sometime soon.

Larry, how did the XJ do on its maiden voyage?
It did good, I was impressed. I got crossed up a few times and had two tires spinning, but was able to back off and use more throttle :).

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#16
Looks like a very nice ride. Ive always wanted to hit those exits and see what it was like up there. I go up that way alot with work towards Knoxville and Nashville. Is there any maps of that area? I dont like going blindly like I did in Bryson City (left maps in room). I loved Tail of the dragon but Vertigo hit me due to not eating and man I HATED that. Gps SUCKED so give me a map any day.
 
#19
Brooks, why was the ARB not locking up?
Was doing a little investigating this weekend and found that my ARB was not locking up because of the cheap little Tamiya style plug they use to power the dam things. I'm going to put a deans plug on it before the harland trip.
 
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