Overland Expo East & Georgia Traverse, Nov 7-?, 2018

[CAISOB Taco]

I'm taking a couple of weeks off in November and am putting together a trip to and from Overland Expo East that will include completing the Georgia Traverse. From there, I'll be heading south through Talladega National Forest, then heading home.

I'm coming from Cocoa, FL so my plans include both on and off highway travel on the way there with stops along the way. As this is in the planning stages and routes are subject to change in the next 5 months, I'll keep this post updated with changes to the intended course. I welcome those that have completed the Georgia Traverse (or those familiar with the trails in the area or along the route) to chime in with suggestions about areas to avoid, must-see spots, and logistical info (i.e. fueling, etc). Of course, anyone wishing to come along for all or some of this trip are more than welcome to join!

Day 1 (Wed, 11/07/18) - Cocoa to Amelia Island
Via I-95, US-1, and A1A through (possible stop(s) at Marineland and/or St Augustine), camp on the beach at Amelia Island.
MAP

Day 2 (Thu, 11/08/18) - Amelia Island to SC/NC
This will either be a push through to Overland Expo or to a campsite near there.
Via interstate, the route from Amelia Island to the event site is only about 6.5 hours. There is no info as of yet regarding when the campground onsite will be open. If it opens on the 7th, I'll be camping there.
MAP

Days 3-5 (Fri-Sun, 11/09-11/11/18) - Overland Expo East

Day 6 (Mon, 11/12/18) - Traverse Day 1
REEB Ranch to campsite (Chimney Mountain Rd and Trey Mountain Trail)

Day 7 (Tue, 11/13/18) - Traverse Day 2
Day 6 campsite to Day 7 campsite (Hickey Gap)

Day 8 (Wed, 11/14/18) - Traverse Day 3
Day 7 campsite to TBD campsite in Talladega National Forest

Days 9-10 (Thu-Fri, 11/15-11/16/18) - Head home

 

[RootedWanderers]

This is what me and a friend did last year. We are from Birmingham, AL. We drove up to OEE on the Thursday, camped for OEE, and then left Sunday morning for the Traverse and made it home Wednesday evening. We didn't have any road / trail closures on the route coming back and was a really good trip. Perfect weather.

 

[IGoFast1589]

New member here with a 2013 JK Wrangler.

Great idea! I too am interested in the Georgia Traverse. Maybe we can sync up for part of your planned trip.

 

[CAISOB Taco]

New member here with a 2013 JK Wrangler.

Great idea! I too am interested in the Georgia Traverse. Maybe we can sync up for part of your planned trip.

Excellent! I'd be glad to have company!

 

[CAISOB Taco]

@grantwilson Are you heading to Overland Expo East? Care to join?

 

[grantwilson]

@grantwilson Are you heading to Overland Expo East? Care to join?

I am going to east, but because of the 2 weeks i took off for west, im only taking weds/thurs/fri off work.

 

[CAISOB Taco]

I am going to east, but because of the 2 weeks i took off for west, im only taking weds/thurs/fri off work.

Good deal. I plan on camping at Amelia Wednesday night and driving up on Thursday if you want to caravan up.

 

[grantwilson]

Good deal. I plan on camping at Amelia Wednesday night and driving up on Thursday if you want to caravan up.

That I may be down for.

 

[hlpressley]

I would definitely be interested in joining for a couple of days after and including Overland East Expo. I’m relatively new and still learning but have been researching the Georgia Traverse. I’d much rather tag along with a group than try to go it alone.

So, if you’d allow a newbie with a mildly built 4Runner to tag along, I’d definitely be interested!

 

[grantwilson]

stock vehicle can make it. no need to worry

 

[CAISOB Taco]

I would definitely be interested in joining for a couple of days after and including Overland East Expo. I’m relatively new and still learning but have been researching the Georgia Traverse. I’d much rather tag along with a group than try to go it alone.

So, if you’d allow a newbie with a mildly built 4Runner to tag along, I’d definitely be interested!

You are more than welcome to join. I'm hoping to get at least one person that's familiar with the area to join in, but if not, I've got the route loaded in Gaia and exploring is half the fun.

 

[JTW5]

I am heading up to east from Birmingham. I have been thinking about doing part of the Traverse on the way up, however if you are doing it on the way back I would entertain joining in on that action. Still relatively new to the overland scene. It would be nice to learn from some people with some miles under their belt.

 

[CAISOB Taco]

I am heading up to east from Birmingham. I have been thinking about doing part of the Traverse on the way up, however if you are doing it on the way back I would entertain joining in on that action. Still relatively new to the overland scene. It would be nice to learn from some people with some miles under their belt.

The more the merrier!

 

[hlpressley]

Sounds like a good time! Looking forward to it!

 

[CAISOB Taco]

I have this posted on a couple of forums, so I set up a facebook event to help coordinate.

 

[ibemarcus]

This is what me and a friend did last year. We are from Birmingham, AL. We drove up to OEE on the Thursday, camped for OEE, and then left Sunday morning for the Traverse and made it home Wednesday evening. We didn't have any road / trail closures on the route coming back and was a really good trip. Perfect weather.

I’m from Tuscaloosa and new to overlanding. If you know of any trips or gatherings, I would appreciate any info. I’m planning to do this trip above in November.

 

[ibemarcus]

I would like to tag along with you guys. Not sure if my wife will be with me or not. I may be solo. Should be a lot of fun.

 

[Eric Neal]

This is what me and a friend did last year. We are from Birmingham, AL. We drove up to OEE on the Thursday, camped for OEE, and then left Sunday morning for the Traverse and made it home Wednesday evening. We didn't have any road / trail closures on the route coming back and was a really good trip. Perfect weather.

Wish I could join you folks to meet, camp, wheel, etc. However I'll be in the mountains of Central Mexico (Patzcuaro & Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico) for "dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) during the last days of October until mid November. My wife and I are headed there to welcome the migrating Monarch butterflies back home for the winter from their seasonal trip up to the US midwest and southern Canada. Either way it seems like we all win! Hope you have a great trip and that the weather is in your favor.

 

[Eric Neal]

Update - just got back from our Mexico trip which was, sadly, via commercial airlines. We had a great time for 90% of our plans yet we had about 7 or 8 "stumbles" in our travels. However by keeping our sense of humor and desire for adventure, even the bad stuff was able to be accepted as pleasant or humorous instead of a "deal breaker".

Delightfully we were able to greet the first official Monarch butterfly arriving into the Sanctuario. I say that with confidence since our dear friend who lives in Angangueo, Michoacan, Mexico and who is the formal liaison with Journey North and Monarch Watch (two of the official North American authorities for the monarch migration). We were with her up in the lower mountains of Chincua (one of the dozen or so "colonies" where they overwinter) as we observed, recorded and reported to researchers and followers of the migration.

We saw the first butterfly on Nov. 6 at around 13:00 hours on the first day of mostly sunny skies in over a week. Later in the afternoon we observed another 5-8 butterflies then late that evening we saw around 30-50 heading into the pine trees to roost of the evening. Seems Hurricane Willa and day after rainy day kept the butterflies a bit north of their preferred wintering sites a little later than we had hoped. We were looking forward to seeing them on or just before Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos) but this year that didn't work out.

Overall a great trip for us and our first time for Day of the Dead. We celebrated with local friends and several Canadian and Australian travelers who are now new friends in Morelia, Pátzcuaro, Cúpula, Tzintzuntzan, Uruapan, Santa Clara del Cobre, and to many small villages where we spent a few nights with Mexican friends we've made over the last 15 years trips to the State of Michoacan.