Mountain State Overland - exploring and protecting appalachia

River19

Observer
Love the videos and love the East Coast vibe to your adventures.

Personally enjoyed the Canaan Valley piece as I traveled there with my wife to mountain bike Davis a few years back and thought the area, while hard hit by economic changes was absolutely beautiful and reminded me of our place in VT where we spend a lot of time.

Also, the Charleston WV episode I was able to relate to as well as Nancy and I drove through there in April on our way to KY for a horse event. Nice area, ****load of hills in WV.....

I also find this whole site and concept of "Overland Adventures" a hoot as we have been doing similar back trail driving etc. and living out of the rig for years, but we just called it "hunting season"....lol

Love the production quality on the vids as well.

Keep up the good work.
 

msoverland

Member
Love the videos and love the East Coast vibe to your adventures.

Personally enjoyed the Canaan Valley piece as I traveled there with my wife to mountain bike Davis a few years back and thought the area, while hard hit by economic changes was absolutely beautiful and reminded me of our place in VT where we spend a lot of time.

Also, the Charleston WV episode I was able to relate to as well as Nancy and I drove through there in April on our way to KY for a horse event. Nice area, ****load of hills in WV.....

I also find this whole site and concept of "Overland Adventures" a hoot as we have been doing similar back trail driving etc. and living out of the rig for years, but we just called it "hunting season"....lol

Love the production quality on the vids as well.

Keep up the good work.

That's great! Thanks for the good vibes River19! Canaan Valley is a magical place for sure. I hope places like Whitegrass remain the way they are for years to come so everyone can enjoy the rich culture the valley has to offer.
 

msoverland

Member
Gettin Somewhere - TRIP REPORT

Part 1: In this episode of Mountain State Overland, the team travels deeper into the Appalachian Mountains in search of some truly unique destinations and epic terrain within Tennessee and North Carolina.


Part 2: In this second half of our trip through Asheville, the team at Mountain State Overland samples some suds and explores more of western North Carolina's wild landscapes.


THE GIST by Jamie and Jason

Hey EXPO! Wow, its been a few weeks since our last post; hope everyone has enjoyed another fantastic summer your own backyard!

"Gettin Somewhere" took us deeper into Tennessee and the heart of North Carolina. It was looking like it was just the 4 core members of MSO on this adventure. We had hopes to include a writer for Roads and Kingdoms online magazine but plans feel through the night before we left; things don't always work out the way they are intended but we make due. After all, we were off on another adventure!

We started in Del Rio, TN. We'd be heading back toward Boone, NC where we ended the 4 States 4 Days expedition. We planned a few truly unique stops in NC and aimed at hunting down some local folklore. "Epic off road" made the storyboard for this trip as well. With a little hope, a few of the trails might give the trucks a bit of a workout.

The team rendezvoused in Wytheville, VA and logged a few hours on tarmac before we hit gravel and left the painted lines behind. I-81 was far from uneventful however. The havoc from heavy rains resulted in a string of accidents including one truck flipped over on its roof. Thankfully it appeared that nobody was injured and we kept moving. This definitely left us setting "safety" at top priority for the long weekend ahead.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights? Hmmmm. Having the whole team back together again was by far a highlight for me. Gaby wasn't able to go on the first trip and season opener but he was back again with his equipment for this run at Appalachia.

Another highlight - Pounding Mill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway; wow! Add this to your "must see" list.

Oh! Day 2 camp was epic! We hoped to witness the infamous "Brown Mountain Lights" after the fireworks settled in the valley below, but the only light we saw were our drone hovering above camp. I wonder if anyone saw those LEDs in the distance ;-)

And another - Brown Mountain OHV Area. There are few publicly owned (NFS) trail systems that include designated “Jeep trails” on the East Coast and Brown Mountain is one of them. Overall, there's nothing super technical, but you can certainly test your skill set in this NC trail system. We hit Brown Mountain on the Monday after July 4 so we didn't see a lick of traffic (except a couple dirt bikes). This trail system certainly offers more for two wheels and ATV/UTV riders, but the Jeep trails are certainly wide enough to accommodate most mid-size rigs.

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LESSONS LEARNED

Practice flying a drone before you fly it in the woods. After its third wreck, Gaby's drone got shipped back to DJI for repairs; $600 later, its a worthy bird again!

Hammocks. I don't know how to sum it up other than, "some good tunes and bourbon on ice." Hammocks are your friends folks. At the end of a hard day on the trail there's nothing like kicking off your shoes and swaying under the trees.

Eat good. Enough said.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

In planning for these types of trips it's good to be flexible and to really try and keep the true meaning of what you are doing in mind. In our case we wanted to get deeper into Appalachia, see some cool sights along the way and capture film for you guys to enjoy when you can't hit the road. My advice to all is simple - get out there! Find a place where the pavement ends, the trails begin and make some memories of your own.
 

fortel

Adventurer
Nice. Makes me miss that area even more. Judaculla Rock is pretty cool, its been 20 something years since my wife and I took at side trip from Nantahala to go see it.
 

R Stowe

Observer
Good stuff guys. This abnormally warm weather has me tempted to make a 2-3 day run on part of the Kentucky Adventure Trail if it keeps it up into vacation. After I started looking at the route I realized it gets really close to part of the 4 States route.
 

msoverland

Member
Nice. Makes me miss that area even more. Judaculla Rock is pretty cool, its been 20 something years since my wife and I took at side trip from Nantahala to go see it.

I'm sure it hasn't changed much although some of the locals say the markings are harder to see now. Rain on the rock made everything stand out a bit. Love the Nantahala too! We went there on our on the next trip. We'll have a trip report out soon! Cheers!
 
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msoverland

Member
Good stuff guys. This abnormally warm weather has me tempted to make a 2-3 day run on part of the Kentucky Adventure Trail if it keeps it up into vacation. After I started looking at the route I realized it gets really close to part of the 4 States route.

If you need the 4 States route, let us know Rick!
 

NCLRbear

Adventurer
hey guys I'm a fan been following you on Instagram and youtube. just came across this thread and wanted to say keep it up! I also appreciate the quick responses on Instagram, thanks for connecting with your fans.
 

msoverland

Member
hey guys I'm a fan been following you on Instagram and youtube. just came across this thread and wanted to say keep it up! I also appreciate the quick responses on Instagram, thanks for connecting with your fans.

Thanks NCLbear! I recognize the IG username for sure. We're already planning on a 3rd season. We're working in a lot fun adventures in new places this year! Cheers and thanks again!
 
Hey man. Love the show. Want to pic your brain about how we can work together to raise awareness for trail closures and land access issues across the south. If you got a sec pm me the best way to contact you.
 

msoverland

Member
Hey man. Love the show. Want to pic your brain about how we can work together to raise awareness for trail closures and land access issues across the south. If you got a sec pm me the best way to contact you.

Hi Oscar. PM sent with my personal contact information. Cheers and have a very merry Christmas!
 

e60ral

2016 4Runner Trail w/KDSS
What tools do you guys use for route planning? I've been trying to educate myself to plan some local travels but a lot of the online guides are geared more towards out west. Do you just use forest service maps?
 

98dodge

New member
Enjoyed watching your videos and I appreciate you guys doing some eastern US overlanding. Appalachia is a beautiful area that few take the time to explore and take in all of the scenery.
 

donaldcon

Adventurer
I have an idea to overland wv down into va and tn in 2017. I will be watching these videos as I have the time!
 

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