Uwharrie Thanksgiving 2009
After getting all stuffed with turkey, why not spend a good weekend of off roading to burn off those calories. That is what a few of us did over Thanksgiving at Uwharrie.
Bill M. and his family decided to camp the entire week at Uwharrie. I did not arrive until Friday afternoon after thanksgiving. From what I was told, it was a fun week with all the rain that had come down.
Once I got there, the weather was perfect. Sunny and warm during the day and very cool at night. Friday morning there was a very stiff breeze that seemed to really help out the trails. By the time I got there, none of the trails were slimy but just wet/damp.
After setting up camp, we decided to head out and did Rocky Mount. What a great ride. Lots of mud, some slippery spots, and lots of action. When we got to Kodak Rock, I went first. I tried many different lines but just could not seem to get over the rocks. There was a lot of dark, thick mud that kept caking the tires. Eventually I decided to just go around Kodak Rock - not the bypass but around to the left. At one spot there is a large rock and tree that you need to squeeze thru. The rock was covered in tranny fluid. I made it over with the front tire but the back one slipped and my bumper got wedged into the tree. Oh well, lets go watch Bill.
Bill had a bit of trouble on an approach I tried as well. That black mud is quite slick. He made it up to Kodak Rock and actually climbed it. Only problem now was the rock is very slick so instead of trying to take the risk, he winched off the rock to avoid sliding to the left and tipping it on its side.
Once he was off the rock, I pulled my winch and slowly pulled myself out from the tree. After cleaing the obstacle, we continued on down the trail. It was about dinner time so once at the end of the trail, we headed back to camp for some homemade split pea soup.
That evening we decided to go after Dickey Bell. Very uneventful but a lot of fun. We extended the ride over to Rocky Mount and went in the backway for Danial and played on the rocks. After that, we headed home. It was a bit chilly that evening driving the forest roads for those of us without heat.
Saturday we got on the trails in the morning and went all over the place. We got to watch a great show on Kodak Rock. There was a line of folks to clime it. One Cherokee decided to attempt the V-Crack and use brute force. The driver door and rear quarter panel will never be the same.
While on Sawmill at the big mudhole, a '48 Willys came by and zipped right thru the hole. He is so skinny, he never touched a thing. Behind him was a Jeep driven by his son who was paralyzed from the chest down. It is great to see that kind of spirit on the trails.
We leap over to Rocky Mount backwards and were going thru the steep mud hole and I got a bit stuck. It was very slick and I was trying to climb off camber to the right. Since I am right hand drive, my face was staring at a nice size pond while my front end was so high, it was talking with the Greek Gods. I know, you will hear about it from Bill who will make it sound like I was driving over a speed bump. From my perspective, I will not crap for a week.
After that, we did Falls Damn backward and then headed back home. We ate turkey chili but never ventured out for a night ride. We had been on the trails since morning.
Overall the trails were perfect as was the weather and am looking forward to the next outing.