The following days were quite rough!
Something worth mentioning, camping isn't technically allowed on the Parkway. I've found that they're pretty lenient with the rules, as long as you don't make a mess (be respectful) and don't stay for more than a few nights. If you drive any given section at night, you're bound to see a few Sprinters, Rams, and 4 Wheel Campers at every other parking area.
Anyhow, Tuesday evening was fantastic. The sunset was gorgeous, and there was a gentlemen in a brand new Audi station wagon who had a sleeping setup in the back with his dog.
As night fell, and I went to bed, I had backed the truck up to the ridge. This was a bad idea and is probably what did me in. Around midnight I woke up to howling 30 degree winds with a sore throat like I've never experienced. I started the truck and turned it around so that the wind was blowing over the tent. That's the biggest benefit to a clamshell RTT vs a popup. Like I've experienced camping in Oklahoma, you can point the truck into the wind and the tent is protected.
When I woke up, I was hacking and coughing non stop. I couldn't swallow, and my sinuses were destroyed. I suppose I was not over the previous cold entirely, and that little adventure on Tuesday night just made everything worse.
Alas, I went on. The plan was to hit Old Buzzards Hwy, then drive up to Max Patch for the sunset through the national forests. I did just that, with a few detours. On the way to OBH, I stopped at one of my favorite old logging roads for a few pics.
After that, I headed back north on I40 to the start of OBH and drove it to competition. It's a fun route, for sure. Pretty mellow except for the one steep rock section. I had it all to myself except for one biker, so I went at my own (slow) pace. I had to back up only once, at the aforementioned rock section, I think because my Wildpeaks are getting a bit low on tread after 45,000 miles of driving on all different types of terrain. It hadn't rained in a bit, so there was no mud and the river crossings were more like streams.
From there, I drove up to the top of Longarm Mountain. I thought it was a firetower, it's actually a cell tower. I stopped and made lunch, took some cold medicine, and then headed to Max Patch.
Earlier this year, USFS closed Max Patch to camping. Since then, it's completely changed. Every time I'd been up there in the past, there was trash, toilet paper, feces, and some new trail that people had made by trampling wherever they pleased. Unfortunately that is something I've seen everywhere I've travelled. I have not travelled to a single place, no matter how remote, that did not have some piece of human waste (trash or otherwise) scattered about.
But, with regards to Max Patch, the camping ban did so much good. The grass is growing back, there's no trash, and there's far fewer people. I was pleasantly surprised.
After the sunset, I drove down into the national forest to spend the night.
