Enthusiast III
Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway, Kentucky - 11/17/2017
- Thread starter Revere
- Start date
We're a week away, and everything is still set to go. I'll post one more update when I arrive at the campsite on Friday 17th. I'll give my location, and put a picture so you can find me!
Timing:
I'll arrive at the campsite around 6pm on Friday night. If you want to show up on Saturday, plan to be there around 9am, leaving at 10am. We'll have a full day of trail riding on Saturday. I probably won't be running any trails Sunday morning.
Camping:
We'll be at Callies. It's a family and pet friendly campsite with showers/bathrooms. I think that basic camping spots are $15 (maybe $10), camping with power is $20, and RV with hookup is $25. You can usually show up, set up, and pay later. Reservations aren't necessary for camping, but RV spots are limited. Firewood is available.
Food:
Bring your own food for Friday night, breakfast and lunch (on the trails) for Saturday. EDIT: The Mexican restaurant is closed for the season. If you're staying, you'll need food!
Trails:
All of the trails are rated as easy. I realize that 'easy' is relative, depending on your vehicle and your experience! A stock high clearance vehicle (4runner for example) will be fine on the trails. If anyone is familiar with the trail names, I'm planning Spaas Creek, Mountain Springs (tbc), Fixer Leeco, and Cave Fork. The route can be viewed here: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/route/ae8bca7a-5b0f-4c53-b3e0-095999718415/?layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet
Equipment:
We can work with the vehicles that show up, and adapt any routes based on capabilities. High clearance is strongly encouraged, all terrain tires are strongly encouraged, and CB radio is encouraged. The only thing I require is some sort of recovery point that can be used to pull your vehicle out of sticky situations! A tow hitch will work as a recovery point, but front and rear is preferable.
While body damage is highly unlikely, it's not impossible. I recommend removing vulnerable plastic trim such as air dams and mud flaps. Pinstriping from trees and bushes is pretty much guaranteed.
If you're not comfortable, we can always turn around. I know several people who are going, and we're happy to have people ride along.
Weather:
The weather forecast is different every time I look. Saturday is going to be rainy during the day, and cold at night.
Other:
- Alcohol/DUI is not permitted on the trails.
- I'll have signal Friday night and Saturday morning, so feel free to message/comment. There won't be signal after we leave at 10am.
- I would love to put together a video for my YouTube channel. I have a Google Drive that HD landscape footage can be uploaded to.
Timing:
I'll arrive at the campsite around 6pm on Friday night. If you want to show up on Saturday, plan to be there around 9am, leaving at 10am. We'll have a full day of trail riding on Saturday. I probably won't be running any trails Sunday morning.
Camping:
We'll be at Callies. It's a family and pet friendly campsite with showers/bathrooms. I think that basic camping spots are $15 (maybe $10), camping with power is $20, and RV with hookup is $25. You can usually show up, set up, and pay later. Reservations aren't necessary for camping, but RV spots are limited. Firewood is available.
Food:
Bring your own food for Friday night, breakfast and lunch (on the trails) for Saturday. EDIT: The Mexican restaurant is closed for the season. If you're staying, you'll need food!
Trails:
All of the trails are rated as easy. I realize that 'easy' is relative, depending on your vehicle and your experience! A stock high clearance vehicle (4runner for example) will be fine on the trails. If anyone is familiar with the trail names, I'm planning Spaas Creek, Mountain Springs (tbc), Fixer Leeco, and Cave Fork. The route can be viewed here: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/route/ae8bca7a-5b0f-4c53-b3e0-095999718415/?layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet
Equipment:
We can work with the vehicles that show up, and adapt any routes based on capabilities. High clearance is strongly encouraged, all terrain tires are strongly encouraged, and CB radio is encouraged. The only thing I require is some sort of recovery point that can be used to pull your vehicle out of sticky situations! A tow hitch will work as a recovery point, but front and rear is preferable.
While body damage is highly unlikely, it's not impossible. I recommend removing vulnerable plastic trim such as air dams and mud flaps. Pinstriping from trees and bushes is pretty much guaranteed.
If you're not comfortable, we can always turn around. I know several people who are going, and we're happy to have people ride along.
Weather:
The weather forecast is different every time I look. Saturday is going to be rainy during the day, and cold at night.
Other:
- Alcohol/DUI is not permitted on the trails.
- I'll have signal Friday night and Saturday morning, so feel free to message/comment. There won't be signal after we leave at 10am.
- I would love to put together a video for my YouTube channel. I have a Google Drive that HD landscape footage can be uploaded to.
Last edited:
Hi Everyone!
I am in KY and very interested, but I have something going on that weekend.
How tight are these trails? It looks like more Jeep off-road trails.
I have a 2014 Ford Sportsmobile. It's a big rig, but fully off-road capable. Not looking at scratching it up, i.e " bush pin stripping".
We overnighted 3 days at Point Sublime, at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2015. It is an awesome place to go if you have not done it.
I would like to plan an off-road gravel road trip the entire length, north to south, of the Daniel Boone National Forest gravel roads and off-road trails. Maybe I can plan it with fellow Overland Bound'ers.
Also, where was the image at the top of the page shot? Looks like it was shot with a drone. Great shot!
I am in KY and very interested, but I have something going on that weekend.
How tight are these trails? It looks like more Jeep off-road trails.
I have a 2014 Ford Sportsmobile. It's a big rig, but fully off-road capable. Not looking at scratching it up, i.e " bush pin stripping".
We overnighted 3 days at Point Sublime, at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2015. It is an awesome place to go if you have not done it.
I would like to plan an off-road gravel road trip the entire length, north to south, of the Daniel Boone National Forest gravel roads and off-road trails. Maybe I can plan it with fellow Overland Bound'ers.
Also, where was the image at the top of the page shot? Looks like it was shot with a drone. Great shot!
You'll probably want to avoid most of the DBBB with a rig that size, especially if you don't want any scratches! You would be fine with the Fixer Leeco and Cave Fork areas - it's all gravel roads with plenty of clearance. The overlook in the drone shot is in that area. I can message you the map to it. Check out some of my YouTube videos if you want to see what it's like (https://goo.gl/1h6QLz for the playlist, and https://goo.gl/y8RCkJ for the overlook).
Thanks again for the info. Maybe I can a mountain bike point to point[emoji16]
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If you can make it down you're more than welcome to ride along. I have some back seats available, and I'm sure that someone else would be willing to have you ride shotgun!
Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately we got plans for that weekend. I would like to meet fellow overlanders here in KY..
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That drone pic is great. I checked out your video that it came from and am the one that commented about the bridge. I have a trip planned there this weekend as well to show a new Jeeper around. I was planning on starting at mountain springs and heading to old fincastle if time permits. I was going to try and find that lookout but I dont remeber where it is and didnt map that trip. Hopefully we'll cross paths. Enjoy!
Update: The Mexican restaurant I mentioned is closed for the season. If you're staying Saturday night, you'll need food! You'll also want something warm!
Off-Road Ranger I
If anyone is looking for a cool local restaurant in the area, it is hard to beat Miguel’s Pizza near Slade. It is favorite hangout for for rock climbers and hikers. Just be sure to check their hours ahead of time.
www.miguelspizza.com
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www.miguelspizza.com
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Enthusiast III
I was gonna mention them too... I can’t go to that area without stopping by unless it is dec-marchIf anyone is looking for a cool local restaurant in the area, it is hard to beat Miguel’s Pizza near Slade. It is favorite hangout for for rock climbers and hikers. Just be sure to check their hours ahead of time.
www.miguelspizza.com
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I’m going to try to be there tomorrow to camp but if not I’ll be there Saturday morning for sure
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Hey all! I found out about this through word of mouth in our little Chicagoland OB group and thought I'd check it out. I'll be the only one from our crew, but I'm excited to meet up with you and make some new friends. I'm coming from Central Illinois, and it's a 7.5 hour drive if I don't stop so I'll be rolling in late (closer to 10pm). Thinking about dispersed camping at Paragon and then joining the group in the AM.
Enthusiast III
See you there!
Awesome! You're coming quite a long way. You can text me if you're running late? I would hate for you to drive all that way, and us leave 5 minutes before you get there!
Maybe next time!
We’re here! If you take a left at each of the forks, past the lake, left again, we’re at the back. We have a Jeep ZJ, WK, and XJ.
As promised, here is a picture. It doesn’t show much though!
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As promised, here is a picture. It doesn’t show much though!
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About 200 miles out in Indiana at a Loves feeding the dog and dumping some GoPro footage onto the laptop. Looks like we will be getting to our dispersed camping spot around 10:30 tonight. See you guys in the morning!