In the summer of 2018, Wes and I headed west to the Tennessee mountains. For this trip, we started in the southeast corner of TN for two nights and then headed north to spend a night near Watauga Lake. During our first TN trip, a lot of my cargo space was consumed by my spare tire. Before this trip, I fitted a rear bumper with spare tire carrier to free up much needed cargo space. The extra clearance and capability weren’t needed for this trip, but Wes had fitted a 3-inch suspension lift and 33×10.50s since our first trip to Tennessee. I wish I’d taken more photos and videos during this trip. We put in a lot of miles of exploration on the southern leg of the trip. When we reached the Watauga area in northeast TN, we had trouble finding a place to camp. We eventually settled on a less-than-ideal camp site. Ya can’t always have the perfect camp site when each day is largely unplanned.
On our 2nd TN adventure, we had the luxury of having maps of the area. Shortly after reaching the gravel roads, we stopped to assess and plan for the day. There is something cool about paper maps on the hood, the old school way.
We couldn’t visit this part of the world without stopping by this concrete structure deep in the forest.
Near the concrete structure we discovered this closed tunnel entrance and manmade waterfall. We didn’t notice the path leading to this during our first TN trip.
As we progressed deeper into the forest, we pulled off the road for a break from driving. This chimney in the background is the only remnant of what I assume was a house. There was a creek nearby with crystal clear water that I took a drink from.
And then Wes said, “Steven, where the hell are we?”. I didn’t have a clue.
We eventually made our way to a Creekside campsite with fire cooked sausages for dinner.
Cookin’ up a morning feed to start day 2.
The next day we made our way to town for gas. Amazingly, the gas station had 3 bottles of my favorite soda, Jones Orange Cream. All 3 came with me, this was a highlight of the trip for me. That soda is a rare commodity.
Quick photo op as the clouds rolled in.
About those clouds. I didn’t capture the worst of it. During this trip I was carrying my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag in a bag on my roof rack. I learned from this storm that the roof bag is not water proof. I spent the night in a went tent and sleeping bag.
The rain subsided as we neared a mountain top campsite. As is becoming tradition, we stopped at this break in the trees to enjoy the view and snap some photos. The fog over the distant mountains was an incredible sight.
Movin’ on up toward camp.
Camp on night 2 as the sun set.
The next morning, we woke up in the clouds. I snapped this photo shortly after climbing out of my tent.
Breakfast consisted of ARB branded bacon and cheese sandwiches, toasted on coals. Good stuff. That charred can was there when we arrived and left in our trash bag.
A quick photo out the window while leaving camp. From here, we made our way to the highway and headed north toward Watauga Lake. Along the way my transmission puked ATF out of the vent tube and onto the exhaust to create a stressful smoke show. Wes and I thought my Jeep was on fire.
We eventually made it to north Tennessee and began to roam. For some reason, I stood in this creek and took a picture. Later in the day we made it to the lake with the intention of fishing. We spoke with some local fishermen at the spot we planned to fish. We got the impression that they were fishing out of necessity to feed their family, so we turned around and left the fish for them. There were also van lifers nearby blasting pirate metal. A truly bizarre scene overall. As it was getting late in the day, finding camp became priority.
We drove for hours without finding anything suitable. Driving well after dark, we eventually found a spot that neither of us considered ideal. There was enough room for our tents, so it was good enough.
The next morning, we went on to search for an old 4-wheel drive track I’d heard about. We found the entrance in the back of a neighborhood, unfortunately the track had been closed by the forest service and blocked off with large rocks. A resident on the street came out to talk to us and told us about the trail and its eventual demise. Accepting defeat, we set out GPS toward home.
This overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway was our last stop on the route home. Fortunately, we didn’t have to contend much with the rain in the distance.
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