Informal trail ride. Western NC

[ericbphoto]

So, I got here to the rallying point. Took a whizz, walked the dog and got back in the truck to wait and see if anyone else is going to show, though there hasn't been any positive chatter about people joining me. Anyhow, I'm wearing my knee brace today. A honey bee flew on the window and got up under the upper edge of my knee brace. When startled, I moved my leg which put pressure on the bee. He didn't seem to like that. So he stung me. When I lifted the edge of the knee brace, he rolled out and ended up under my shorts. I then smashed him about a dozen times frantically and then brushed him out of there. I now have the pleasure of feeling this irritating bee sting on my leg all day.

Happy holiday weekend, everybody.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Dang man... that's a rough start.

At least he didn't get into the twig and berries section of your shorts...

 

[ericbphoto]

Well. Nobody else showed up by 10:30. So I went alone. Buzzard Roost is a great view and easy drive, as expected. Less than 30 minutes round trip.

Hurricane Creek trail is a fun ride. Hopefully, I'll have GoPro footage to share. Didn't take any other pix on that one. I did 2/3 of it in 2vwheel drive. But I was thankful for some 4x4 front end grip in a few places. One was a 150yard long deeply rutted mud hole. The other spots were off-camber rocky areas with a steep drop (think roll-over and over and over) on the low side. Good ground clearance is a must. There were some college aged guys in a very new Toyota that started the trail right behind me. Their truck was mostly stock except for winch and bumper. They caught up to me when I stopped to lock my hubs at the mud hole. I waited til they got through that. Then they never caught up with me again, even when I stopped to walk Livvy and eat an energy bar. I wonder what happened to them. For my truck, in today's conditions, I would rate that a difficulty level of 3.

Very fun day. I want to go back there and take my time getting pictures of the creek, flowers, mountain views, etc.

Now I don't have to borrow other people's pictures of the view at Buzzard Roost. Those 3 rocks are literally the edge of the world.

 

[Dirtman]

NJ has a rock like that...

Doesn't look like it but thats a shear 800 foot drop in front of it. I was busy eating my cold MRE instead of taking pics over the cliff.

 

[ericbphoto]

Dog kept trying to pull me closer to the edge. I'm not quite that good with heights.

 

[Dirtman]

Dog kept trying to pull me closer to the edge. I'm not quite that good with heights.

You're dog is just trying to help you conquer your fears. Or it's German... German dogs are d**ks

 

[ericbphoto]

Goofy beagle hound mix. Doesn't know danger until it's too late.

 

[ericbphoto]

And the honey bee sting only hurt for an hour or two. Nothing like the bumble bee stings I got years ago. Those things are serious.

 

[Dirtman]

And the honey bee sting only hurt for an hour or two. Nothing like the bumble bee stings I got years ago. Those things are serious.

Never met a cicada killer wasp I see... The size of hummingbirds and inject pure fire into you that no amount of medication can stop. And they can just keep doing it unlike honey bees.

My flagstone patio is full of them. Luckily they are usually not aggressive and just leave you alone.

 

[ericbphoto]

Never met a cicada killer wasp I see... The size of hummingbirds and inject pure fire into you that no amount of medication can stop. And they can just keep doing it unlike honey bees.

My flagstone patio is full of them. Luckily they are usually not aggressive and just leave you alone.

I've met them. Just never made them angry.

 

[Dirtman]

I've met them. Just never made them angry.

Wuss...

 

[ericbphoto]

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Man wished I could have joined you. I've been wanting to get out to that trail for a while. Quite a drive so will need to probably camp somewhere and make a weekend out of it. My 2020 is on 32s think I'd have any clearance issues? I'm hoping to find time to get there before summer is over. I'll post on here before I do with your like to guide a few trucks haha. Looks like a blast. My wife said she wants to squeeze that puppy too haha not sure what that means haha. Awesome video

 

[sgtsandman]

Did you run open diffs the whole time? It looks like you could have. That would have been a great time if I could have made it.

 

[ericbphoto]

Did you run open diffs the whole time? It looks like you could have. That would have been a great time if I could have made it.

I have Aussie Lockers front and rear. So, if I was pushing the skinny pedal, they were locked. My average speed for the whole road was 2mph.

I ran in 4-lo with the front hubs unlocked until I got to that long, rutted mud hole. Then I locked the hubs and ran 4x4 until maybe the last mile, when I unlocked the hubs again. There were a few places that were off-camber on large rocks that made me feel like I could be close to sliding off the trail if not careful. I felt better with the front pulling in those places.

I'm currently on new BFG MT's. Had the front at 14psi and rear at 12psi. Only slippage I ever felt was one time I was trying to stay out of some ruts and the rear slipped in.