adrstout
Adventurer
Myself and some fellow Hoosiers got together for a long weekend trip to run the Tennessee Dirt Devil (DD) route and then hit up Land Between the Lakes (LBL). There were 6 of us and 4 rigs for the weekend-though we did meet up with another guy in LBL for a day.
I left work a bit early on Thursday and stopped by my apartment to load up the last couple of items into my Taco. Then I headed down to meet up with the rest of the group at Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee. They had all arrived slightly before me and were set up when I got there. Didn't get a chance to see this park as I arrived in the dark and it was more or less just our starting point for the trip. The campground seemed nice though it was very developed.
There were 6 of us in the main group and 4 rigs. In the group we had my Tacoma, a TRD Pro Tundra, a Jeep JK pulling an off road trailer, and a Jeep JKU.
We didn't get nearly as much rain that night as anticipated so that was nice. Friday morning we woke up, took our time eating breakfast, tore down camp, and then headed out to start the Dirt Devil (INFO: http://www.dualpurposetn.com/Trail_Details.html).
Dirt Devil
The DD is about a 100 miles and travels through some beautiful country south west of Nashville. It is mostly dirt roads that are in various states of maintenance with some pavement in between certain sections. 4wd was not a requirement for this route but moderate clearance was needed for some water crossings.
There are water crossing...like A LOT of water crossings. Nothing too crazy deep or anything but definitely made the drive entertaining. Here are some pics of our rigs through one of the many crossings:
We stopped for lunch overlooking the river and then continued on through the route. In general, the route is not overly obvious so I certainly suggest buying the map from the above link and having some reliable GPS to navigate it. There have apparently been some issues in the past of people getting off the county roads onto public property through the creeks. Obviously this isn't good for anyone but we stayed on public roads and had no issues.
Lined up for lunch:
Some random scenery:
All in all, this route can easily be run in a day and there really isn't any camping along it (hence why we stayed in the state park the night before) but it is definitely worth it. Once we completed the route, we started making our way towards LBL which was about 2 hours from the end of the loop.
Land Between the Lakes
We got into the Redd Hollow backcountry camp area in LBL around dinner time on Friday. We only had a vague plan for the LBL portion of our trip and picked this campground based on its central location in LBL. Stopped by the iron furnace on our way in:
Redd Hollow has gravel platforms for the campsites and is a bit more developed than some of us would have liked, but we had a beautiful spot by the water. We spent the night chatting around the fire.
We met up with another member of our group here in his Bronco.
Sunset over Kentucky Lake:
The next morning once we got ready and packed up camp, we headed out to check out some of the roads and spots in LBL. There are tons of gravel roads that criss cross through LBL. Most are passable in 2wd, some might require some clearance, but there are a few that definitely require 4wd and clearance (more on that in a bit).
One place on my mind was St. Stephen's Catholic church. I love cultural landmarks. This church is interesting because it is one of the few remaining structures in the area so I really wanted to see it. It was restored around 2000 by a local group. We came across a young couple having their pictures taken-possibly engagement photos? They drove a neat old truck out there.
After that, one member of our group was chomping at the bit to use 4wd and try out the new 35s on his JKU :safari-rig: We hit a road that quickly dissolved into two track and muddy ruts.
It wasn't too bad at first and we had some fun playing around.
Posing:
Then the Bronco almost went end over end and then had an issue with the ignition and died for a while. It was sorted out later but he had to be pulled onto flat ground and then run into town.
We continued on but the trail quickly turned into a nasty rutted out mess. The JKU on 35s went first but was dragging diff going along. The Tundra and I (both on 32s) decided not to go on so we had to turn the JKU around. My traction boards came in majorly handy during this section and for getting us back out. We kept saying they were "worth their weight in gold."
However, on the way back the big open mud pit we came through earlier had been completely bogged out and the Tundra got stuck going back the way he came in. It took a while to get the big truck out.
Once we all got through that we were all pretty much over mud for the day and headed to our new campsite. This site was a bit more secluded and down a short trail to the edge of the water. I enjoyed sitting by the water for a while and then we spent the remaining evening talking by the fire and having a few beers.
The group split up throughout that night and the next morning. I did one little short scenic loop before leaving LBL Sunday morning and then headed back to Indiana and the "real world." All in all, this was a wonderful trip and great little adventure.
I left work a bit early on Thursday and stopped by my apartment to load up the last couple of items into my Taco. Then I headed down to meet up with the rest of the group at Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee. They had all arrived slightly before me and were set up when I got there. Didn't get a chance to see this park as I arrived in the dark and it was more or less just our starting point for the trip. The campground seemed nice though it was very developed.
There were 6 of us in the main group and 4 rigs. In the group we had my Tacoma, a TRD Pro Tundra, a Jeep JK pulling an off road trailer, and a Jeep JKU.
We didn't get nearly as much rain that night as anticipated so that was nice. Friday morning we woke up, took our time eating breakfast, tore down camp, and then headed out to start the Dirt Devil (INFO: http://www.dualpurposetn.com/Trail_Details.html).
Dirt Devil
The DD is about a 100 miles and travels through some beautiful country south west of Nashville. It is mostly dirt roads that are in various states of maintenance with some pavement in between certain sections. 4wd was not a requirement for this route but moderate clearance was needed for some water crossings.
There are water crossing...like A LOT of water crossings. Nothing too crazy deep or anything but definitely made the drive entertaining. Here are some pics of our rigs through one of the many crossings:
We stopped for lunch overlooking the river and then continued on through the route. In general, the route is not overly obvious so I certainly suggest buying the map from the above link and having some reliable GPS to navigate it. There have apparently been some issues in the past of people getting off the county roads onto public property through the creeks. Obviously this isn't good for anyone but we stayed on public roads and had no issues.
Lined up for lunch:
Some random scenery:
All in all, this route can easily be run in a day and there really isn't any camping along it (hence why we stayed in the state park the night before) but it is definitely worth it. Once we completed the route, we started making our way towards LBL which was about 2 hours from the end of the loop.
Land Between the Lakes
We got into the Redd Hollow backcountry camp area in LBL around dinner time on Friday. We only had a vague plan for the LBL portion of our trip and picked this campground based on its central location in LBL. Stopped by the iron furnace on our way in:
Redd Hollow has gravel platforms for the campsites and is a bit more developed than some of us would have liked, but we had a beautiful spot by the water. We spent the night chatting around the fire.
We met up with another member of our group here in his Bronco.
Sunset over Kentucky Lake:
The next morning once we got ready and packed up camp, we headed out to check out some of the roads and spots in LBL. There are tons of gravel roads that criss cross through LBL. Most are passable in 2wd, some might require some clearance, but there are a few that definitely require 4wd and clearance (more on that in a bit).
One place on my mind was St. Stephen's Catholic church. I love cultural landmarks. This church is interesting because it is one of the few remaining structures in the area so I really wanted to see it. It was restored around 2000 by a local group. We came across a young couple having their pictures taken-possibly engagement photos? They drove a neat old truck out there.
After that, one member of our group was chomping at the bit to use 4wd and try out the new 35s on his JKU :safari-rig: We hit a road that quickly dissolved into two track and muddy ruts.
It wasn't too bad at first and we had some fun playing around.
Posing:
Then the Bronco almost went end over end and then had an issue with the ignition and died for a while. It was sorted out later but he had to be pulled onto flat ground and then run into town.
We continued on but the trail quickly turned into a nasty rutted out mess. The JKU on 35s went first but was dragging diff going along. The Tundra and I (both on 32s) decided not to go on so we had to turn the JKU around. My traction boards came in majorly handy during this section and for getting us back out. We kept saying they were "worth their weight in gold."
However, on the way back the big open mud pit we came through earlier had been completely bogged out and the Tundra got stuck going back the way he came in. It took a while to get the big truck out.
Once we all got through that we were all pretty much over mud for the day and headed to our new campsite. This site was a bit more secluded and down a short trail to the edge of the water. I enjoyed sitting by the water for a while and then we spent the remaining evening talking by the fire and having a few beers.
The group split up throughout that night and the next morning. I did one little short scenic loop before leaving LBL Sunday morning and then headed back to Indiana and the "real world." All in all, this was a wonderful trip and great little adventure.
