Trails & Tennessee Whiskey

[Howski]

This trip would take us up a 12 mile trail Hatfield (Matt), 88RRC (Ben) LR_Max and myself had traveled previously. We had ridden the trail from north-to-south. This is what would be considered the easier route. Today we would be going uphill from south-to-north. Max was having issues with the fuel on his Series IIa Land Rover and would be skipping the trail ride but meeting us later on. We arrived at the southern end of the trail just after 9am and aired down after chatting about the trail for a few minutes.


I typically air down to 13 psi which I've found to be optimal pressure over the years. It's enough to allow the tire to flex and conform to the rocks while keeping the risk of blowing a bead minimal. Land Rover alloys are known to hold a bead very well which allows me to comfortably go this low.
Matt disconnected the front sway bar on his locked Isuzu Trooper too.


We were all a bit surprised at the water level. It was lower than we all had anticipated.



We expected spring rain to have brought higher water levels than our prior trip. Many of the creek and stream crossings were dry or very low and did not present much of a problem.


If these water levels were up, it could add another challenge to the trail.


The trail continued to cross and run next to creeks and streams for several miles.



Then, the climb began.



Over the remainder of the trail, altitude increased over 1,200 feet. This made for steep and rocky terrain.


Matt led the pack in his Trooper.



We all had concerns about the 100 series due to its size. It is significantly wider than either of the three other vehicles. Front and rear selectable lockers helped Kenneth navigate the Land Cruiser up ledges and large rocks.



Ben showed how capable a small tired Range Rover Classic can be.


The 235/85 KM2’s didn’t provide quite enough ground clearance in this section and led to the only recovery needed on the day.


A quick pull from Kenneth’s Land Cruiser and the Classic was back underway.

 

[Howski]

Rough terrain continued to the major obstacle on the trail. Each of us who had previously run the trail were familiar with this portion. It is a wide rock garden of sorts. Large boulders create narrow lines, limiting the options for full sized vehicles. The consensus was to take the middle line.













Each of our vehicles made it up with little issue. The trail continued; challenging but uneventful. Towards the end, the steepness lessens and there are several rutted out and mud portions. There was no real trail damage incurred. Ben had his springs unseat themselves twice. With the careful use of a hi-lift, the springs were reseated. I think spring cones or retainers are now on his wish list. Matt, Ben and Kenneth each needed their sliders several times but avoided any body damage. I am inclined to believe a motor or transmission mount has failed or on its last leg on my 90. On the later portion of the trail, the shifter began to move up and down when the suspension was fully articulated. I’d never experienced this before and slid under to look for any obvious issue. Seeing none and the issue being relatively minor, I continued on. There were no issues on the smoother portions of the trail or ride home. It is something I’ll need to address before my next trip.

After completing the trail, we aired up.


Everyone was shocked at how quickly we finished the trail, given its known difficulty. What we expected may take upwards of 5 hours took just over 3 hours. It’s a credit the driving skill of everyone behind the wheel. Much of the trail required technical driving and placing the vehicle in the right position amongst the rocks.

 

[Howski]

With the extra time, we decided to head to nearby Winchester for lunch instead of eating on the trail. The BBQ spot we had decided on was closed which led to us Reggie’s Place downtown. It was a cool little burger spot with solid food and a nice staff. After enjoying our food and a beer we headed to our next destination.


The small town of Lynchburg is home to the Jack Daniel’s distillery. They offer tours until 4:30pm every day.


The tour lasted about an hour and was very interesting. It followed the entire process of making the whiskey, from the water used to the charcoal it’s filtered through.



Some of the competition joined us for the tour as well. The turkey appear whenever a delivery truck leaves to eat any spilled grain. Our tour guide informed us that it wasn’t a wild turkey, but in fact a Tennessee peacock. We’re not sure if he was joking.


I stopped for a picture with Jack Daniel himself at the site of his very first whiskey still.


The aromas in each of the buildings were pretty spectacular. Sadly, Moore County, where Lynchburg is located, is a dry county meaning no tastings. It was still an enjoyable trip for all.


After we browsed the bottle shop for a few minutes, Matt parted ways with the rest of the group. The

Originally, this trip was to have a third 'T' - trout. In close proximity to the trail’s end, distillery and campsite, the Elk River tailwater from Tim’s Ford Dam has a stocked-turned-natural trout population. Unfortunately my inability to 'buy once, cry once' led me to purchase a poorly constructed fly fishing outfit which subsequently fell apart the week prior to this trip. I will be replacing it with a quality outfit in the coming weeks however I did not have time to prior to this trip. After seeing, and later experiencing, a forecast of 100% chance of rain on Sunday, I was not as disappointed about missing the opportunity. The rain also nixed plans for others in the group to kayak the Elk River.

Luckily, the rain held off on Saturday night for those of us who were camping. Max, who had missed out on the distillery tour, had made it to the campsite and had a fire started by the time we arrived.


We hadn’t made many stops on the trail and my dog, Riley, was getting a bit antsy to let some energy out. Just down the hill from the campsite was Tim’s Ford Lake where he enjoyed some swimming as others unpacked and set up their camps.


As the sun was setting we began to prepared dinner. This was my first foray into a ‘real’ meal in the backcountry. I typically live on Cliff bars and turkey sandwiches while camping but was motivated to a group meal together and cook something a little better. We grilled the steak over an open flame.


It turned out pretty great.



We grilled the veggies and prepared the couscous on Kenneth’s camp stove.


Everyone pitched in and we ended up with a really great meal.


After dinner, we packed up the gear outside of our tents in anticipation of early morning storms. We enjoyed the rest of the night by the fire with a couple of cold ones.

I woke to the sound of heavy rain at 6:30am although I’m sure it started earlier. Luckily, the rain diminished and eventually stopped around 9am. Everyone took this opportunity to pack up and (attempt) to dry their damp camping gear. After everyone was packed we headed back to Winchester for a quick bite and coffee at McDonalds. Max and I had considered hiking to the Walls of Jericho in Alabama on our way back but decided against it due to the continued threating weather. With the finishing of our food we headed our separate ways until the next time.

 

[SIZZLE]

Killer trip! You hit the three biggies: trucks, drinks, and eats! Thanks for posting!

 

[Hatfield]

Great write up, looks like I should have stayed for dinner!

 

[NashvilleRunner]

Great write up! Where were the trails located that you guys rode?

 

[LR Max]

Yes. The London Broil did turn out perfectly. The marinade and open fire cooking REALLY made it ultra tasty.

Was great camping with ya'll. Wish I had been able to make the distillery tour. Guess I'll have to make another trip. Its a hard life...

 

[Kennyao30]

What a great trip, I had a great time on the trail, camping and touring the distillery. Cant wait for the next trip!

 

[brickpaul65]

I live in Knoxville. A few friends and I have been wanting to make the trip over to the Distillery and do the tour etc. What trail did you guys do? Is it something an LR3 could do (Skids, sliders, and rods - no 32" tires yet...)?

Thanks

 

[Howski]

I live in Knoxville. A few friends and I have been wanting to make the trip over to the Distillery and do the tour etc. What trail did you guys do? Is it something an LR3 could do (Skids, sliders, and rods - no 32" tires yet...)?

Thanks

With tires I think it would be doable but be prepared to be on your sliders often and could get some body damage. With street tires, I would highly recommend against it. Not only do you need the added traction from an A/t or M/T but the sidewall strength to get through the rocks without a puncture. While none of us had body damage to speak of, there are several very tight areas where you could easily dent or scrape a quarter panel or rocker.

You can PM me for any information on the trail itself. It is an open and legal trail, however I would rather not have information openly floating around the web where irresponsible wheelers could get a hold of it. I hate to be 'that guy' but I've seen too many instances of highly visible trails getting trashed and don't want to see it happen again.

 

[brickpaul65]

No need to worry about being that guy. If I decide to try and tackle something with tight squeezes (the LR3 is paid for and I don't mind using it, I try to avoid body damage though ) I will shoot a PM. Thanks for the offer. I agree with responsibly sharing the information. It looks like it was a great trip!

 

[DiabloBlanco]

Looks like a great trip. Thanks for sharing. I would like to check out that area someday. Jack Daniels tour would be awesome.

 

[DetroitDarin]

Fantastic write-up! Thank you!!

 

[A_CENT11]

Awesome trip, thanks for sharing!


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[dubbaDYota]

great pics and thanks for sharing. does that trooper have a build thread? that thing is ************.