Charlotte Area Meeting & Gulches - January 2015 (1 Viewer)

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@NCJC, That's terrible news. I guess Heather is going to be spending plenty of time nursing that horse. I've seen coyotes as close as 3 miles to uptown CLT.

Thanks to all who came out today. We had one Tacoma and six 80's. The Taco was a quad cab and its length showed on some tight sections. @Izzyandsue proved what a stock 80 can do with only All Terrains - but he did blow a tire on a wet uphill that sent him sliding off into some trees and roots. I've got video of that! @Trollhole rode along with @Teddy in the lead truck to show us all around. They started off by scrambling over a stack of concrete culverts like it wasn't even there. The trails are tight and are mostly red clay. It's obvious that the easy trails can turn evil really quickly when wet. A winch is better than a strap here since there are so many turns an plenty of trees.

I think the owner, Skip, said that there's a 450' elevation change over the property. He also pointed out that most of the standing water is actually silt drain holdings that shouldn't be driven through due to their insane depths and soft bottoms. He was a very nice guy and seemed genuinely concerned that we were having a good time. There's a free truck wash station and air compressor behind the office. He has a serviceable bathroom and 'kitchenette' back there, too, that he leaves open for campers but it's a loooong walk from the campsites and probably not an easy nighttime drive. There's also an RTI (Ramp Travel Index) ramp in the parking lot.

Overall, it was a fun trip. An 80 is about as big as can comfortably fit most trails. Power steering is a huge plus due to all the quick turns and rutted clay. Most trails are short. Eight campsites (primitive rock ring fire pits) are on the river. One is across the trail from the river. There's deep water at or near each site. Some have better bank access than others. The place is open to quads, bikes and trucks (it would be terrible if the quads/bikes aren't courteous). 2.5 hours from CLT and Charleston. One hour from Greenville. Cell coverage was pretty good throughout the park except in some low spots. It's easy to ride the perimeter ring and stop along the way to watch the hardcore trails getting run since most trails branch off the ring.

Sarah dropping into the Water Cooler...
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There were more than a few of these things on the harder trials...
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Sarah talked us into going down Lil' Devil, a 75 yard, rutted out, single track chute of a steep downhill. Red clay, of course, and lined with trees all the way to the edges. My flare was already cracked from last week. The white scrapes are new. Rafael has some to match...
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Eric is probably fixing something here. :doh: Seems to be a trend...
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I forget the trail names of the first three.
The last one is Rafael going up Heartbreaker with Marshall spotting.

EDIT: Trying to post videos... Screw it. Will try again Monday. Anybody wanna walk me through doing that from an iPhone 6?
 
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Had a great time and it was nice to finally meet you John. As usual, I didn't get many pictures of anything. Judging by the map I have (Marshall was marking off trails as we ran them), we did every red and blue trail in the park and 2 black trails.

Also, the last run up through the rock garden that Rafael made was pretty epic. I definitely don't think that Gulches would be fun if had rained within 48 hours though.
 
What an awesome time yesterday! Man, I'm still pretty excited about it. The 80 performed so much better with the Aussie Locker installed and working properly. Looks like I really missed out on Raphael's epic run! I have watched his video like 20 times already. Seeing Marshall work on the Grilled Cheese was awesome and Raphael and Izzy made quick work of Izzy's blown out tire. The camping spots look like they will host a heck of a party.

@NCFJ, our hearts go out to your horse and we are hoping for a speedy recovery. Hope you and Heather are doing okay!
 
Wish I had been there, too many 80s, need to mix it up a bit.
I like Gulches, even if it is small.
Last time, we rented a bunk house, not great, but they do have heat.
Just a thought for next time.
 
Thank you for the kind words guys, Cedar is at least eating a little and drinking. Heather is there now trying to take care of the wound. She was there at lunch and Cedar would have nothing to do with the nostril swab required to keep all wounds and stitches clean, probably a good sign. She is the herd boss and has very little patience with humans, so she is getting back to her old self. Lots of antibiotics and some pain killers and anti inflammatory for a bit.
 
Looks like you guys had some fun in those 80's. Nice!


As of now, it looks like I can actually make the Burger Co. meeting. Looking foward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones.
 
Looks like you guys had some fun in those 80's. Nice!


As of now, it looks like I can actually make the Burger Co. meeting. Looking foward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones.
Great! It'll be good to meet you.

This thread kind of got away from me with all the Gulches info, so remember that we're meeting at Burger Company this Sunday 25th. It was requested that we move it up to 2:00pm this time. We'll still be there for anyone who needs to wait till 3:00pm.

See post #1 for address.
 
Thanks to everybody who made it out today. I think we had 12 or 13 people plus 2 people who came looking for us when they saw our trucks in the parking lot - Alan and Linda have a Minnesota 40 that's getting some work right now. If you're reading this, welcome. @72rockcruiser finally came back to the fold today. Sorry I didn't introduce myself; I wasn't wearing comfortable clothes so I wasn't thinking straight. :oops:

I didn't think to get a picture until the end...

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