Camping Trip - Lost in the mountains, somewhere
For the past few years, Labor Day weekend for my friends and I was a driving trip up into the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina with some iconic stops like the Tail of the Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway. Like many things this year, COVID-19 has really made the unexpected a reality and amongst so many changes in life, the yearly driving trip was not meant to be. With a stroke of luck however, and a bit of help from the extra vacation from all our canceled trips this year - we had a crack at an off-road/camping trip up in the George Washington National Forest (GWNF). The weather was looking like perfection for the weekend, and we had just the right vehicles for the job - everything was lining up just right.
Our plans for the trip were a bit freeform - leave on a nice Friday morning, and eventually make our way to Flagpole Knob. It’s a pretty popular offroad stop with a scenic view. After that, wherever the local trails took us, we went. Flagpole Knob was about a 5 hour drive from Charlotte, and we hit the road at a reasonable time.
Once off the niceties of the tarmac, the path up to Flagpole Knob was a nice trail, but nothing too challenging. From the trail head up to the site was about a 15 minute drive, with a few fun spots along the way. We ran across a few off-roaders along the way, along with a group setting up camp at the peak. They had quite a nice view ahead of them for the evening.
After departing, we began to run across some moderate off-roading and crawling. Nothing too crazy yet, but a great bit of fun for anyone who’s got some lightly modified off-roaders and wants to test their rig out. You can really gain an appreciation for how much the solid axles of the Jeep really flex and roll towards each of the obstacles, while the 4Runner’s independent front suspension has a harder time getting to the right angle without really stressing out the ball joints and CV - more on that later. A bit later into the afternoon, we stumbled across a nice pulloff with a good clearing to set up camp for the evening. I was really looking forward to the campfire and some (relatively) good food.
Day 2 of our trip started off great - our plan was to finish the rest of the Flagpole Knob trail and head back out into interstate roads, to loop up towards the more northern part of the GWNF. The path forward was quite enjoyable, and you really get to appreciate some of the nicest forest views that the east has to offer. Eventually, we made our way back into town for a quick pit stop, where we met a few adventure bike riders who suggested a few local routes like the German River road and some campsites for the evening. Armed with some local knowledge, we set off and went out to explore.
Unfortunately, the German River trail lead us to a transmission corridor, where camping wouldn’t have been a great option. Luckily with a good bit of daylight left, we worked our way back out onto the highway and explored around the Switzer Lake area. One other thing became more and more concerning - the 4Runner exhibited a knocking noise which became worse and worse over time. It turns out that the front CVs at one point lost their bearing cages, and were on the verge of complete failure. With my adventurous spirit dampened, we set off to find a suitable campground - one away from a hard rock crawl.
With day 3 ahead of us and a broken set of axles, we gingerly began the drive back home to North Carolina. The knocking noises unfortunately did not go away like I had hoped, but I’m glad to report that the reliablity of a Toyota was unmatched, and we made it home without too many close calls! One thing that I’ll cherish about this trip was that even through a turbulent 2020 and having moved away from home the year prior, this trip rekindled some of the same shenanigans and fun that I grew to love with these friends of mine. Until next time!
