Roadtrip from Texas to North Carolina 2018 (Nemo Tunnel, Hurricane Creek Trail)

[TexasIsHome]

Well my wife, my 11 month old GSD and my buddy all accompanied me to travel over 2600 miles from Texas, through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana on our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this past week. Met up with some forum friends, made some new ones, and had a blast. Did some hiking, some wheeling, and some camping. Each night we camped we were 100% alone, one night we even heard a mountain lion screaming; which by the way is terrifying in the middle of the night. Here are some of the pictures.

Day 1 at Broken Bow, OK.

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 2 we made it to Memphis, TN and had lunch at Central BBQ. It was good, but nothing to get overly excited about. Then we met up with a buddy in Nashville, TN where we stayed for the night.

My Nashville Jeep buddy told me about an old train tunnel that you can now drive through near Wartburg, TN. We made our way over to the Nemo Tunnel #24 where the water inside of it came up to the doors of the Tundra and over the lightbar in the SSO bumper.

With my 1000 lumen flash light

The trail can be followed out to a nice little river.

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 3 we made it into NC and over to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mia checking out the steak and taters

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 4 we made our way to the Linville area for Table Rock trial.

My co-pilot....

Taking a break on the way up Table Rock

Then we drove until we found a random camping spot in the Pisgah National Forest.

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 5 we hiked up the Devil's Courthouse, which was much easier than it sounds.

The camp I had planned for the night was blocked off, so we made our way to Hot Springs, NC and camped by the river for the night. If you go to the restaurant in town, don't get the "Mountain Man" steak...

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 6 we met up with some forum buddies from NC to run Hurricane Creek Trail. The trail was extremely secluded and was a nice easy trail for us, but a nice challenge for my buddy in the Tundra for two reasons. The first reason being, it was his first time offroad, ever. The second being, his Tundra is 2wd with stock suspension and tires. His Tundra is low to begin with, was loaded down, and we aired down his tires so he did get stuck twice to where I threw a strap on him and gave a little tug. Other than that the Tundra did great and he learned quiet a bit; coming from the world of a Cobra and an STI prior.

At some point we came across a downed, rotten tree. With the Tundra's wider footprint he was unable to get around the tree without making contact. As we got out at one point to chat we noticed this piece of wood in between his tire and wheel. No air was coming out, so we opted to finish the trail until we could make it to a nice flat spot. We were able to air the tire down even further and remove all of the wood without any damage thankfully.

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 6 cont.
After Hurricane Creek we slid over to Max Patch for a quick hike to a flat summit with a nice view.

After MP we made our way over to Buzzards Roost to check out that view.

Our oddball crew.

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 6 cont.
We went back over near the Harmon Den area and found a small campsite, just big enough for the three vehicles.

In case you haven't figured it out, Mia and I are best buds.

Even when she grabs our firewood and runs away with it.

She's also more than willing to steal your seat if you get up.

Mia enjoying the warm RTT on the cool 30* mornings.

 

[TexasIsHome]

Day 8
We were winding down and making our way back to Texas. One of the guys insisted that we stop at Rock City in Georgia . It was interesting to say the least, but not quite worth the price of admission IMO.

Mia has never been allowed in our bed at home, this week was her first time in a hotel/ in any bed. Mia is not big on cuddling, but she was more than happy to share the bed with us each night. While in the RTT she generally slept by our feet to keep an eye on the door.

 

[Ace Brown]

Nice report. I always like one that includes a good dog. My dog steals firewood too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DetroitDarin]

love it!

 

[Willc]

Awesome ,yes pricey but a part of Americana that is dying off .

 

[glwright]

Looks like a great trip! Especially liked the train tunnel. Thanks for sharing.

 

[honda50r]

Welcome to our neck of the woods. I hope you enjoyed yourself and people treated you with good southern hospitality. Were you camping at Paint Mountain on the French Broad?

 

[TexasIsHome]

We had a great time and are currently planning a trip to Big Bend in April. I'm not familiar with Paint Mountain, so we didnt make it over there. This was actually my first time to go that far east. The train tunnel was a fun surprise that a local friend told us about the night before.