3 Days in the Smoky Mountians

[andy29847]

I am new to Jeeping and completed a 3 day trip through the Southern Smokys last October. My report will be mostly pictures. We had a great time.

Here was our route (yellow, green, red):

We started at the KOA campground in Murphy, NC. I had planned for a group of 4 to 5 jeeps, but it ended up that only one other couple made the trip.

I got to Murphy a few days before the start of the ride and practiced a little;

Oh yeah, Murphy has a great BBQ restaurant, the Rib House.

 

[andy29847]

First Day

Our first day was from the Murphy KOA to the Cherohala Mountain Trails CG in Tellico Plains, TN (yellow route on map). As you can see in the pictures, the weather was fabulous.


We went over the mountains on Beaver Creek Rd, across Porterfield Gap, and then out of the woods on Little Snowbird Rd.

A look over the side.

We traveled on FS 81 alongside the Cherohala Skyway. One of my favorite spots in the Smokeys is the Stewart Cabin National Forest Historic Site. Mr and Mrs. Stewart raised 10 kids in this cabin.

John, Laura, Susan, Andy

 

[andy29847]

Day 1 lunch was snacks from the store in Green Cove, TN.

Our last dirt road of the day was Bald River Rd.

We spent the night at Cherohala Mountain Trails CG in Tellico Plains. Wayne Friedberg and his wife own and manage the campground and do a great job.

I like to stay in cabin 5.

MORE TO COME

 

[TechMOGogy]

Looks like a blast!
How did you map your routes?
Thx

 

[4runnerteq]

Nice trip. Love it there

 

[wngrog]

Great job

 

[andy29847]

Looks like a blast!
How did you map your routes?
Thx

I have been exploring the back roads of the Smokys by motorcycle since 2004. The foundation of this ride is a motorcycle ride called the Smokey Mountains 500. Since jeeping is a slower than riding on a dirt bike, I trimmed out parts of the SM500 tracks until I had daily legs down to 100-125 miles. Virtually all of the roads are public roads with 2 way traffic. I learned about the roads from others, or found them on maps and tested them myself. I build the maps in Garmin Basecamp. I prefer to use tracks instead of routes - routes won't stick to some roads and tend to change on the fly (recalculate). I use a Garmin Montana to follow the maps I made. Here is a ride report from one of my motorcycle rides: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/dad-rides-the-smokey-mountains-500.1149333/

 

[andy29847]

The roads on day one were all in very good shape. Day 2 roads would be a bumpy in spots with some water crossings. The first road after leaving Tellico Plains was Whit Rd. Whit Rd is the start to the Trans-America Trail.

There are a lot of water crossings on Whit Rd.

This crossing on Whit Rd gives motorcycle riders fits. The rocks are very slippery. It is a piece of cake on 4 wheels. The water levels were as low as I have ever seen.

Got some movies too.
[video]https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-frtP6Xn/0/1280/i-frtP6Xn-1280.mp4[/video]

[video]https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-ndTMCDT/0/1280/i-ndTMCDT-1280.mp4[/video]

 

[andy29847]

The fall colors turn routine pictures into art work.

From Whit Rd., we drove to the top of Buck's Bald. Buck's Bald is usually deserted. Today we found National Forest Service workers clearing the brush around the top of the bald to improve sight lines for fire lookout.

After Buck Bald, we took paved roads south to Georgia. We drove through Copperhill, Blue Ridge, and Elijay to get to the next dirt section, Old Bucktown Rd. The north end of Old Bucktown Rd hasn't seen a road grader in 20 years. It is bumpy up to the airplane crash site. After that, the road smooths out, but is still fun to drive.

We saw a Momma Bear and a Cub in the woods just after we started Old Bucktown Rd.

We made some friends along the way.

Love this pup. He is packing his cellphone, a snake bite kit, and $20 for emergencies.

Movies!
[video]https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-jTnqxT3/0/1280/i-jTnqxT3-1280.mp4[/video]

[video]https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Rx3x2Hh/0/1280/i-Rx3x2Hh-1280.mp4[/video]

[video]https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-LwmjXkq/0/1280/i-LwmjXkq-1280.mp4[/video]

 

[4runnerteq]

Buck bald is pretty cool. Been there a couple times as well

 

[SmoothLC]

Nice report! Haven't been to the Smoky's since I was kid and this makes me want to go back for a "proper" exploration.

 

[mjac]

That John fellow, does he have a brother in Birmingham Al?

 

[andy29847]

After Old Bucktown Rd, it is an easy, but scenic, drive through the woods to the next campground, Two Wheels of Suches.

Suzy and I stayed in one of the bedrooms in the lodge. They have cabins, a bunkhouse, and tent sites too. In the morning, we headed east on Wolf Pen Gap Rd to our first dirt section of the 3rd day, Helton Creek Rd. Helton Creek
Rd is a short section with a couple of creek crossings and a waterfall.

movie: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-qw9BT98/0/1280/i-qw9BT98-1280.mp4

The trees around the waterfall were TALL!

movie: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-sWRTfRT/0/1280/i-sWRTfRT-1280.mp4

 

[Hilldweller]

Looks like you had fun in our neighborhood!
I'd like to give a nod to a couple of good campgrounds for you next time or others.
Wildcat in Suches: http://www.wildcatsuches.com/
Crawford's in Murphy: http://www.crawfordscg.com/index.html

...

Oh yeah, Murphy has a great BBQ restaurant, the Rib House.

...

Rib Country; old friends from before my heart attacks. Very nice folks and great real bbq.

...

After Buck Bald, we took paved roads south to Georgia. We drove through Copperhill, Blue Ridge, and Elijay to get to the next dirt section, Old Bucktown Rd. The north end of Old Bucktown Rd hasn't seen a road grader in 20 years. It is bumpy up to the airplane crash site. After that, the road smooths out, but is still fun to drive.
...

If you like it now, you would've loved it before it was graded. It was downright snotty in places.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/47393-Old-Bucktown-a-tale-of-sorrow-and-pain?

 

[tiger_rag]

Looks like an awesome trip, and thanks for the pictures! Any other info as to where this "Whit Road" is? Was trying to search for it but coming up empty. Also, how long was that road?