US Southeast NC/SC Piedmont - Old NC 105 Ride

[Sasquatch SC]

I'll be coming in from the middle of SC and I'm hoping to get there at 10. But if I'm not please wait for me!

What route are you taking? Google Maps has me taking US-221 to US-64 for most of the drive from outside Spartanburg (closer to Cowpens) to the meetup.

 

[JasKolp]

What route are you taking? Google Maps has me taking US-221 to US-64 for most of the drive from outside Spartanburg (closer to Cowpens) to the meetup.

I'm coming in from Manning SC, and I'll be stopping in Columbia to pick up my friend then taking back roads to get there (I find it more enjoyable than taking highways on these trips). I'll be plotting the route this afternoon

 

[THorner]

I am soooooo distraught. I've had something come up that may prevent me from going on this run. I was originally going to come over this afternoon and spend the night near Lake James. Now I'm trying to work out a plan to come over in the morning. Wish me luck! I'll keep you all posted so you don't wait for me if I'm not going to be able to make it. [emoji848] Really looking forward to [emoji481][emoji488][emoji904].

 

[Sasquatch SC]

I am soooooo distraught. I've had something come up that may prevent me from going on this run. I was originally going to come over this afternoon and spend the night near Lake James. Now I'm trying to work out a plan to come over in the morning. Wish me luck! I'll keep you all posted so you don't wait for me if I'm not going to be able to make it. [emoji848] Really looking forward to [emoji481][emoji488][emoji904].

If you do end up coming in the morning and are playing catch-up, just look for the strangest group of vehicles imaginable! I have one of those small sized Overland Bound Base Camp flags I may try rigging up to fly on a brush whip on the car. We'll be hard to miss.

 

[JasKolp]

If you do end up coming in the morning and are playing catch-up, just look for the strangest group of vehicles imaginable! I have one of those small sized Overland Bound Base Camp flags I may try rigging up to fly on a brush whip on the car. We'll be hard to miss.

I need to get a flag mount for the regular size one I have. But yeah, we should be hard to miss.

 

[Thatsilver100]

Hey Yall! I've been able to rework my schedule so I will be joining as well

 

[bowserwafer]

Usually these rides are dominated by the Jeep YJ’s, TJ’s, JK/JKU’s, JL/JLU’s, Taco’s & 4Runners.
**There is nothing wrong w/ that at all, it makes sense. They are made w/ the off-road drivers as their primary target market & that also bleeds over into the Overland subculture.***

However, based on the RSVP’s and plus one: we are going to have the usual suspects - but then a big group of the outliers. A Toyota RAV4, Toyota Tundra, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Silverado, Subaru Outback, Mercedes ML320, & then a minivan riding on Yoko AT tires. I am really hoping some of the fire lanes will be open for exploring. A wide frame photo of a bunch of random & unique rigs in a cool location would be the epitome of this community. The one photo would highlight most of those core principles:
“Overlanding is for everyone”
“It doesn’t matter what you drive”
“A connection w/ nature is paramount”
“Help each other & engage in the smallest of interactions”

After a day of exploring, I am looking forward to enjoying the night at altitude and looking for the Brown Mountain Lights. I know they are mostly seen in the fall, but I’m still keeping my fingers crossed. I’ll be bringing some Gatorade, water, some soft drinks and beer & I will pack some burgers or something. I’m open to suggestions.

Does anyone know of any other trails nearby the main route that might be cool to check out? I’d like to squeeze every last drop I can out of this trip. Some more challenging short trails would be pretty cool.

I'm coming with Trail Runner Bowser (hubby) and I've got my Canon camera so I'd love to take this photo!

 

[JButtress]

I'm coming with Trail Runner Bowser (hubby) and I've got my Canon camera so I'd love to take this photo!

Would be awesome to get a shot of the entire crew haha

 

[UltimaSanctus]

So sadly my buddy isn't going to be able to make it with the Odyssey. When inspecting it earlier today he found 2 torn CV boots. Probably a bad idea to get dirt in there. Maybe next time

 

[JasKolp]

I'll be leaving Columbia in about 10-15 minutes. My ETA is about 10:15/20.

 

[Sasquatch SC]

I'll be leaving Columbia in about 10-15 minutes. My ETA is about 10:15/20.

Running behind but in motion.

 

[bowserwafer]

We are here in the parking lot at the GPS coordinates. Black 4Runner with maxtrax on the hood

 

[THorner]

Just stopped for gas be there in about 15 minutes

 

[JButtress]

My ETA IS 10:30...

 

[bowserwafer]

We had a blast folks! So glad we got to meet everyone. I'll post individual rig photos in the OLB-S and SE groups as well as on Instagram. My handle there is the same as here.

 

[THorner]

I also had a great time. Weather was perfect route was great and the campsite was too. Thanks to all.

 

[JasKolp]

I had a great time! I forgot to take my laptop with me, so I wasn't able to transfer my friend's pictures and footage to my computer. I'll post what I took with my camera once I've transferred them to my computer later tonight!

 

[JButtress]

Great trip everyone! It was awesome to see all the different rigs and set ups and meet everyone

 

[JasKolp]

 

[JasKolp]

For those of us who camp: remember hearing that vehicle tear past our camp and down the mountain? And we were joking about if we would find it stuck in a tree the next morning? Well, we did. @Sasquatch SC was behind me when we found an old Nissan pickup wedged between a tree and the edge of the mountain. When I talked to the driver, he said he was 'tearing it up' and acted like this was a normal thing to do. During the recovery they used another truck to stabilize the Nissan so it didn't fall down the cliff, but its tires were badly balding and didn't have a decent grip on the road so it ended up digging 4 holes into the road.

If I had large trash bags I would have stopped and cleaned up the trash and vehicle parts they left behind. I need to start carrying large trash bags so I can help keep these public lands clean.