Trip Report Nov 3-10th
Originally our trip was going to primarily take place in the smoky mountain National park but upon further research we found that dogs are not welcome in the majority of the park. This made for a last minute replan of our whole trip.
Our trip was originally set for Tuesday the 2nd until Friday the 12th but due some last minute gear issues we left a day late and to an invite from a rover friend to do some trialing that Friday we decided to cut it short. As it stands right now we will be leaving for another trip come Friday.
Wednesday was a hustle to get the Rover loaded up, and we were on the road around noon if I’m not mistaken. We headed up to North Carolina through Caesars Head and through Sapphire Vally. It was a beautiful drive. We arrived in Nantahala National Forest early enough to set up camp in a little bit of day light. It was starting to get pretty cold and the rain was beginning to move in. Dinner consisted of some left over pho bowls from the previous nights dinner. We called it an early night since the coming rain didn’t give us much chance to start a fire.
We woke the next morning to snow, which was very exciting! Being that we have spent the most of our lives in the southeast snow was almost nonexistent. It was a real treat to wake up to the ground and trees dusted with a light coat of snow. Of course after a quick breakfast and coffee we went back to bed for a little while, we woke to more rain and the snow melting. We decided to stay another night in our spot since packing up wet gear seemed pointless. The rain stopped later in the evening. We decided tomato soup and grilled cheese would be the dinner of choice for such a crummy weather day. After dinner we had enough service to book a night at Cades Cove Campground in the smokies for the following evening. This would allow us to get a chance to see some of the smokies as well as restock on water, get rid of some trash, and have access to a bathroom.
Friday we broke camp as early and as quick as we could, it was cold so it took us sometime to kick into gear. However we were able to get on the road by 11. After a quick Walmart stop for more propane and coffee we grabbed Jersey Mike’s for some hot subs for lunch (much needed). We motored on through Bryson City and up into the Smokey Mountain National Park. It was beautiful. There were 2 downsides to the Smokies that I will point out, for 1 I don’t feel like there is enough time to ever spend here, so much to see and do and every turn is another spot I want to sit for hours and just stare, not to include all of the hiking and motorcycling and driving. 2 it’s very busy, I will relate it to Disney world, there was pretty much a line for everything. However it was awesome and I can’t wait to make a return trip. Our drive took us from the south end of the park up towards Gatlinburg and then west towards Cades Cove. Every part of that drive was just amazing (The rover did excellent as well if I may add). Our night at Cades Cove was sub par. It was nice to have some amenities to refresh before heading back out into the unknown, however the fellow campers were loud and it was hard to relax. At one point we could hear coyotes howling which I though would have been super cool if it hadn’t been for the people 2 sites down talking loudly over the sounds of nature. (Not out to complain or anything, I’ve had my fair share of loud camp nights myself but these folks were just terrible neighbors). We did make some pretty dang good tacos that night though!
Saturday was another early morning, we had a good bit of driving ahead of us just to get out of the National Park, and even more to figure out that nights camp. We managed to get on the road a little before noon and headed up through Gatlinburg. After passing through Gatlinburg we headed towards us40 and just before we made our turn on to 40 we got a puncture. We ended up finding a gas station with a puncture kit and an air pump. After about 20 minutes we were back on the road. Our first point of interest was a spot in Pisgah Nf, but had no luck finding camp, there was also a tremendous amount of traffic which was weird to me, turns out it was actually a thru road which we later used on Monday. Anyways, a little defeated and tired, ready to find camp we crossed over to the other side of us40 in hopes to find more Forest road. That’s when the going got good. We accidentally stumbled upon the Buzzards Roost NF road. What a treat! I kid you not I watched a video on YouTube from a guy who explored the very road the night before we left. I Knew nothing of it prior to, but I was like “I want to check this out” so I added to my bucket list items and boom, it presented itself. I was super excited to say the least. We headed over a small damn and up the mountain. After a good bit of climbing I saw the marking on the trees! We walked down the short path and the view was just insane. From buzzards roost it was a straight drop overlooking the valley. It was a sight to be seen, but when I say it was hard to walk up to, I mean it. It made me nervous getting even as close to the edge as I did. My wife made it about 12 feet from the edge and about had an anxiety attack. Anyways, it was a really cool spot and definitely worth the trip. We loaded back up and motored on. Eventually we found camp and had another round of pho for dinner. We had ourselves a nice fire and listened to some foxes howling in the adjacent mountains. The sunset this particular evening was also quite beautiful. It matched the fall colors almost perfect. Also star gazing was amazing. It was the first truly clear evening and the views were perfect.
Sunday was a relax day. We took our time waking up and had no intent of breaking camp. We made good breakfast of ham, eggs and hash browns and started our morning with a nice long walk down the forest road. Once back at camp we napped, then took another walk. Dinner was mahi mahi with creamy garlic and herb pasta shells. We enjoyed another nice camp fire and more stars.
Monday was another driving day, probably our shortest driving day though. Our goal was to head to Hot Springs NC, hopefully grab a good lunch and then head back into the National Forest just east of the town and go explore until we find a good spot to camp. We started with coffee and breakfast burrito bowls, then a good walk to wear out the puppy a bit for the car ride. We headed back towards us40 but stopped at the damn we had crossed previously to explore a dried out part of the river bed. From there we crossed over us40 up into the through road previously mentioned. After about 14 miles of dirt road we hit pavement and had a beautiful drive through Pisgah NF to Hot Spring. There we grabbed some coffee and a few souvenirs, did quick walk to see the French broad river and off we went back into the National Forest. We went from Pisgah in NC up to Tennessee and into Cherokee NF. There we headed to a known spot which I had camper previously on my bachelor party. Sadly the spot was pretty trashed and torn up from a bunch of downed trees. We did take the chance to make a good lunch since Hot Springs didn’t pan out for food, we were already pretty worn form the good bit of driving we had already done but also from the early morning and not eating. Grilled cheese and some sliced cucumbers. Wasn’t much but it definitely lifted the spirits. It was about 3pm once we finished up lunch and we were ready to find camp. After about 40 more minute of driving we same across painted creek campground and took up on the opportunity to snag a spot for the next 2 nights to finish out the trip. The campground was closing soon for the season and to our luck was primarily empty aside from one other Rv. We were able to o restock on water and had access to bathrooms which was nice. Also we snagged a spot on creek which was sweet. Another plus was that there is a hiking trail which we were able to take the puppy on. We made camp for the night, started up a nice fire and made some clam chowder for dinner. After some star gazing we called it a night.
Tuesday was another relax day. We took our time getting up, made some coffee and breakfast bowls again and got our gear ready for a hike. Not only did we hike the loop but we also hiked a portion of the Scenic drive across the street. Once we returned to camp I finally finished The First Overland which had been my camping reading material since the first trip in the disco to Helen way back on March. Dinner was pork chops and yellow rice followed by hot chocolate and marshmallows over the fire. It was to cloudy to star gaze so we took the chance to go to be early in hopes to pack up camp in the early morning.
The next morning was an early one in which we packed up and headed back home.
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