JUNE MEETING (6/27-6/29):ONSC Virginia highlands trail ride

[mtweller]

Jealous. I spent most of my weekend w/ my nose in books. :(

Glad ya'll had that fantastic weather. Hope the next trip is after I finish my training!

R

[Flinny]

here are a few more

[Flinny]

and more

[Flinny]

another couple more

[strong_toy]

Thanks to Scott for the D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S meat and thanks to Juan for the awesome Banjo playin' and for teaching an old dog new tricks (well sorta ). Also, thank you Maria for making my kids feel so loved by you :-) Carly can't stop talking about you and Leo.

Here are a few of our pics.

Stacy

[strong_toy]

And a few more pics..

[strong_toy]

and a few more pics..

[strong_toy]

and finally, the last ones!

[addicted56]

Wow,

Sure looks like you all had a pretty good time. Weather looked perfect and those trails look just about right for everyone.

So when is the next one planned?

[southerncruiser62]

Great looking pics yet again, glad to see everyone enjoyed themselves and it def. looks like we will need to schedule another ride there maybe in the fall when the leaves are changing.

Hate I missed the trip, I'll catch it next time round.

[highlandcruzer]

Originally Posted by Flinny

Weather was great! I am so glad we make it to this trip.

FOOD as always was delicious....having Scott's creatures and Stacy homemade cooking was awesome! Thank you both for that!

It is a really nice place to wheel and cant wait to go back later on this year!!

Thanks Scott for everything....I am glad we turned around after we left you the first time if not we would still be in the top of that mountain

yeeaah.....that wouldn't have been fun for you at all. Thank goodness we stopped at the creek for pictures!......We were like, "what the hell is Juan doing on that trail above us?" My bad! I thought the trail was pretty obvious from there on out.

Originally Posted by strong_toy

Thanks to Scott for the D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S meat and thanks to Juan for the awesome Banjo playin' and for teaching an old dog new tricks (well sorta ). Also, thank you Maria for making my kids feel so loved by you :-) Carly can't stop talking about you and Leo.



Stacy

I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves. I know I did. It was great getting to know you guys better! There's nothing like a campfire and some fermented beverages to make for memorable conversation! ............ Stupid movie quotes, stories of Juan's father's "guidance"["You're high now aren't you? ],......... Stacy losing the keys [coughCLint],..... Abby stealing food,....and Caesar Me-Juan the "dog whisperer". Shakeyourpaw damnit!!! Good times that won't be soon forgotten!


Stacy, Jennifer wanted to personally thank you for "taking care of me"with all of the food, as all I had packed to survive off of was venison and cheap beer!!

[highlandcruzer]

For everyone else, sorry for the lack of commentary on the pictures thus far. I have been dead-to-the-world exhausted here lately, between the baby keeping us up all night, and work.....I'm just plain tired!


Anyway, the weekend was great. The weather was outstanding, sunny and cool. We kept things very informal, which was nice.

I arrived at the campground about 5:00 Friday afternoon, and made reservations for those on their way. Upon arriving at the tent sight, this dude from Colorado came up to me telling me how much he loved my "old Toyota". He was a real car buff, and he and his wife and two kids were traveling in an old 928 Porsche. Nice guy. He talked my ear off for about an hour about cruisers, and how he'd love to find one..... Lucky for me, he had a ton of firewood ..... I had banked on using charcoal to cook with, but the campground grills weren't setup for charcoal.

I got a fire started after all the cruiser talk, and Clint and Stacy arrived shortly after. Stacy brought a smorgasborg [sp.]of food with her! Totally hooked it up. Our camp dining was awesome thanks to her.

We got our tents setup, and ate, and drank, and BS'ed into the wee hours Friday night. Good times.

We kept it relaxed Sat. morning. No rush....just woke and milled around, ate some breakfast, and just generally chit-chatted and relaxed. It was really nice to just be away from the daily routine and chill out.

Eventually we all got ready to hit the trail...... but Clint and Stacy couldn't find their keys!! Yada, yada, yada....they were found. ......... My battery was weak in the 40, so I got a jump from Juan. I figured I left the radio on or something. I took the lead, and we hit the road. It wasn't a long drive from the campground to the trail head. As I was crossing some railroad tracks, I went to down shift and the motor died! WTF! Right in the middle of B-F-E. Tried jumping it again....started and ran....as soon as the cable was pulled....it died. Long story short.....I pulled the battery and the alternator, and we drove to the nearest town with a Vato Zone, and they confirmed that the alternator was good, and the battery was not. So I bought a new battery. Two lucky breaks there......One: I hadn't gotten half way up the trail already, and two: If it was the alternator it would have taken until today[Tues.] to get a replacement!!

Sooo.... we finally reach the trail around 4:00 iirc. A bit later than I would have liked...but better than the alternative! ......

The photo's I've posted are pretty random, but generally the dry uphill photo's are of the trail we took Saturday afternoon.

As I understand it, It's approximately 12 miles driven straight through without taking side trails. It starts at the valley floor and ends up at the top of the mountain at the blue ridge parkway. In my stock 40 at least, it's 1st low gear 95% of the way. Needless to say, it takes a while. IIRC, it took us maybe 5-6 hours?......I think we reached the parkway about 10:00-10:30?.....So we had our share of wheeling in the dark that night! (:.............

We got back to camp, got cleaned up, and continued where we left off Friday with grillin', story tellin', and turning up some cold ones.

[Flinny]

I am ready to go back pretty soon......

[highlandcruzer]

Originally Posted by Flinny

I am ready to go back pretty soon......

Come on up!

[highlandcruzer]

Anyway.....Suday was originally planned for the river float.....But I think we were all left wanting more trail time, and seeing as how the other trail that I had in mind was only two miles from the campground.....we opted to skip the float, and hit the trail. In order to make sure everyone got home at a decent time Sunday, we took the trail top-to-bottom,[faster, but not as much fun]and didn't stop for pictures much.

It's awkward to stop and take pictures on a trailride like this with a small group, so you had to be there for some of the better stuff. .........

Juan doesn't quite know how close he was to flopping his 80 Sunday!! He had it teetering like a sum-a-beach in one spot!! Clint and Stacy can confirm... [Juan was in between us] I had turned around to see how he would do...and my damn camera was in my pocket!.... WHOA-Hooaa........nice.

[Flinny]

How about last weekend in July? We have a few things left to see.............and a few things to take..

[highlandcruzer]

Originally Posted by Flinny

How about last weekend in July? We have a few things left to see.............and a few things to take..

Anytime.


Let's see some more pictures Maria!

[highlandcruzer]

Originally Posted by addicted56

Wow,

Sure looks like you all had a pretty good time. Weather looked perfect and those trails look just about right for everyone.

So when is the next one planned?

Yeah, we've got trails to suit most every level around here.....I chose these to suit a mixed group that needed to make it back home in one piece. They're fun for all, and scenic, but you're not going to tear your truck up.[a Land Cruiser-that is] At the same time, there are some areas to play if you chose to.

Originally Posted by southerncruiser62

Great looking pics yet again, glad to see everyone enjoyed themselves and it def. looks like we will need to schedule another ride there maybe in the fall when the leaves are changing.

I'm all for it, just say the word. Late Sept- early Oct. would be nice. Lots of color, and nice temps. for camping.

[little_joe]

Sounds like a fantastic weekend and I am truly sorry I couldn't make it. :( I'd love to get up there asap, my wife needs to go to Waynesboro anyway.

Those trails look awesome - looks like enough challenge to keep you on your toes, and beautiful scenery.

Glad ya'll had a great time!

[worldcruiser]

I enjoyed it very much...We need another one soon.. As my wife said we will probably be there again in July. Thanks to all of you specially Stacy for being so generous and accommodating. Look forward to be there soon again. This is the best trails as far as distance from the triangle and variety. We need to check out all the places you mentioned Scott. Once again thank you very much guys I enjoyed my time greatly.

[cruiser4life]

Looks like everyone had a blast and it seems like a great spot.

Couldn't make this one but would be interested in making the next ride there!!

[uzj100]

It looks like you guys and girls had a great time!

How long a drive to get up there from Raleighwood?

Thanks,

[strong_toy]

Originally Posted by uzj100

How long a drive to get up there from Raleighwood?

It's about 4 hours from Raleigh. We drove North out of Hillsborough on 86, then 29 out of Danville to Colleen, and finally 56 to Montebello.