Week of Camping in Oct

[Hilldweller]

Can anybody else get a week off to camp in October? The wife and I have another week coming and we prefer the cool mountain air.
We were thinking of a couple of different places, maybe staying at one all week or dividing between two.
Cataloochee: GORP - Cataloochee Campground, North Carolina - Camping in the Smokies
This area has the semi-famous herd of Rocky Mountain elk to watch in the rut at that time of year.

NC Location... I still haven't been here yet but I hear that it's lovely.

Anybody up for this? We need to request the week off soon.

tkinze --- I'm looking at you, sir....

 

[TeddyBoy]

PM Sent

 

[Wilkinson]

I have been there to hike but have not camped there. It was in the summer and was packed with people. Although there is no easy way to get there you could drive there in your Honda Civic. I-40 is close but with no close access it take a long gravel road to get there. Very pretty place.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...9441,-83.07621&spn=0.037667,0.061712&t=h&z=14

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cataloochee.htm

 

[TeddyBoy]

I have been there to hike but have not camped there. It was in the summer and was packed with people. Although there is no easy way to get there you could drive there in your Honda Civic. I-40 is close but with no close access it take a long gravel road to get there. Very pretty place.

Cataloochee - Google Maps

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Cataloochee (U.S. National Park Service)

Bill has his eye on another spot in NC w/o coming right out and saying it. it's a definite possibility but Oct is a very busy month for me.

 

[Hilldweller]

Bill has his eye on another spot in NC w/o coming right out and saying it. it's a definite possibility but Oct is a very busy month for me.

Time to clear that week out, Ted; rearrange things...

I'm thinking of hitting both areas; Cataloochee (the campground was deserted last year at this time; too cold for most folks) for 10/17 to 10/19 and the NC location for the remainder of the week.

 

[TeddyBoy]

Time to clear that week out, Ted; rearrange things...

I'm thinking of hitting both areas; Cataloochee (the campground was deserted last year at this time; too cold for most folks) for 10/17 to 10/19 and the NC location for the remainder of the week.

geez if it was too cold in Cataloochee in late Oct it has the potential for being much colder in the other location at the same time. We camped at the other location in mid Nov last year and had almost 2" of snow, single digit temps. and 30mph winds. It was damned cold and not for the faint of heart.

 

[armytaco]

I might be going to that spot if thats goin on again....If Ted doesnt go and I can go HilldWeller....Ill go. I love "that" spot.

 

[Hilldweller]

I might be going to that spot if thats goin on again....If Ted doesnt go and I can go HilldWeller....Ill go. I love "that" spot.

The week is looking like 10/10 to 10/18 --- getting interest from the ExPo members and hoping for a Unimog or two.
My wife still wants to go see the elk for a weekend too; not sure if the first weekend or the second.

Ted was aiming for the very end of the month to go up there; I'm still hoping he will come to his senses and have a beer with me by the fire....

 

[TeddyBoy]

The week is looking like 10/10 to 10/18 --- getting interest from the ExPo members and hoping for a Unimog or two.
My wife still wants to go see the elk for a weekend too; not sure if the first weekend or the second.

Ted was aiming for the very end of the month to go up there; I'm still hoping he will come to his senses and have a beer with me by the fire....

10/10 is the weekend of the Ga Cruisers Annual picnic at Ralph's

 

[Hilldweller]

10/10 is the weekend of the Ga Cruisers Annual picnic at Ralph's

Does that take all week?
You could come up Mon or Tues and spend the rest of the week.
I think we'll go to Cataloochee on the first weekend since Stumptaco has a boat race that weekend.

I'm good down to about zero degrees, btw. At 10 degrees outside I was able to maintain 70 in the tent with the heater on low.

 

[armytaco]

If I can go and Ted doesnt and he gives me permission to take yall up there I will. Its a sacred place...i.e. the less said or known about it the better. I will see but its too far away for me to say anything else but maybe.

 

[Hilldweller]

If I can go and Ted doesnt and he gives me permission to take yall up there I will. Its a sacred place...i.e. the less said or known about it the better. I will see but its too far away for me to say anything else but maybe.

There will be some Land Rover guys coming that have been there before; Patrick has probably been there too in his Mog.
But we could certainly always use an experienced guide and extra story at the fireside.

I still want to go up sometime soon and scout it a bit.


And the plans are working out like this.
10/10 we go up there, assemble in a parking lot at a pre-designated time, roll up to the camping area.
On Thursday or Friday go to Cataloochee and watch elk until Sunday the 18th.

Some are coming up for the first weekend, some during the week, some just for the second weekend in TN.

 

[armytaco]

Well the Rover guys know it well..I am no expert guide...but I could get around a little. The spots we went through, I am not sure a MOG would want to. My FJ got real tippy in a couple spots...puckered up good in one..thought I might have had a hole in my seat after that one. But there is alot of trails to explore and are not to bad.

 

[Hilldweller]

So you're sayin' I better get some discos for my swaybars, huh?
I don't feel like rolling the Jeep either...
I've never seen something to turn a unimog around; those things articulate better than William F Buckley.

 

[armytaco]

Yeah it would be nice to have some sway bar disconects. But also we had a stock height truck with skids, M/T's and open diffs and he went everywhere we went. There is tons to explore up there and a good GPS would be needed. Well see as it gets closer to what I can do..I would love to go back up there...but I also got my eye on a Outer Banks trip in that time frame.