Contributor II
Hey guys!! I see you\'ve already got 10 rigs, any chance for more? I\'d be interested in joining. I guess I\'m a beginner, certainly new to OB.
Off-Road Ranger I
Although I had originally suggested 10 because I had hoped we'd be getting a good number of newer guys and I thought that was the right number. One of my fellow admins bumped that up to 15 which you will see if you look at the RSVP thing.
Two slots still open at that number, so hop in quickly! Also, please read all prior posts in this thread.
Off-Road Ranger I
One other thing: everyone should be completely prepared to leave absolutely nothing along the trail and to take found trash out of the trail. We'll be a net plus to the area!
Off-Road Ranger I
Just noting that I've cleaned up some stuff on the Rally Point, including changing it from a Meetup to a Trip, adjusting the nominal rig limit, and changing the times and location to match our conversation in this thread.
Some benefits to going on this trip: note that there is a badge, I believe, on this site for meeting up with other members, which everyone will qualify for, and for those with Jeeps, I'm pretty sure this is a Badge of Honor, and if you don't have that app, Jeepers, you should get it before we go so you can get that fancy badge!
Some benefits to going on this trip: note that there is a badge, I believe, on this site for meeting up with other members, which everyone will qualify for, and for those with Jeeps, I'm pretty sure this is a Badge of Honor, and if you don't have that app, Jeepers, you should get it before we go so you can get that fancy badge!
Contributor II
Just got caught up on the thread. I've got basic gear and been wheeling a handful of times. I just moved to VA and haven't been wheeling out here. I come from South Florida so I'm used to flat and swampy. Looking forward to meeting some locals and making friends.
Evening all!
Glad to see some enthusiasm on this run.. Damn good stuff right there.
My short and sweet, and not trying to deter from anything here.
This trail is fairly easy. With this run being early in the season after the trail opening, be ready for a lot of motorcycle and ATV traffic. Especially if this turns out to be a very nice weekend. This is a two way traffic, single lane trail. Some spots to pull over, some not. Some places are wide, others are narrow.
For the most part all play nice together. I have never had an issue yet with any bike/Atv coming at me (window down and radio off to hear for high reving engines in the blind curves). A majority of the time they will pull over and let you pass. Every now and then, they shoot by you.
Lead vehicle.. When encountering traffic coming at you, you are making the decision on passing them, or them passing you. Relay that info back if they are passing you and how many. Either way, let them know how many vic’s (Vehicles) are behind you. Same for the rear.. know how many are in front of ya.
Rear vehicle also needs to pay attention to his/her rear as well. You can very easily pick up more traffic behind you because they are running faster than your pack. Rear should call it up to the front so they know. This happens more times than you know of.
Midway through the trail she gets straight and kinda wide. A good place to pull over for a break (lunch, stretch the legs or what have you).
My $.02 of rambling.
I can go on, but the Z monster is on my back. Homie needs sleep.
Glad to see some enthusiasm on this run.. Damn good stuff right there.
My short and sweet, and not trying to deter from anything here.
This trail is fairly easy. With this run being early in the season after the trail opening, be ready for a lot of motorcycle and ATV traffic. Especially if this turns out to be a very nice weekend. This is a two way traffic, single lane trail. Some spots to pull over, some not. Some places are wide, others are narrow.
For the most part all play nice together. I have never had an issue yet with any bike/Atv coming at me (window down and radio off to hear for high reving engines in the blind curves). A majority of the time they will pull over and let you pass. Every now and then, they shoot by you.
Lead vehicle.. When encountering traffic coming at you, you are making the decision on passing them, or them passing you. Relay that info back if they are passing you and how many. Either way, let them know how many vic’s (Vehicles) are behind you. Same for the rear.. know how many are in front of ya.
Rear vehicle also needs to pay attention to his/her rear as well. You can very easily pick up more traffic behind you because they are running faster than your pack. Rear should call it up to the front so they know. This happens more times than you know of.
Midway through the trail she gets straight and kinda wide. A good place to pull over for a break (lunch, stretch the legs or what have you).
My $.02 of rambling.
I can go on, but the Z monster is on my back. Homie needs sleep.
Member III
I’m not really from the area. What’s the weather like in April? Is it likely to be muddy? Cool, mid 40’s or 50’s?
Contributor II
Dunno if I'm pushing it, lol, but I know of a handful of fellow OB East guys that wanna jump in on the fun... Is 15 the maximum rigs we can have??
Off-Road Ranger I
Boy, you're asking a tough question.
I've lived in MD and VA my entire life. Spring weather is very odd. For example (we're getting into the spring pattern now), three days ago it was in the mid-70s. Two days ago, it rained so hard you couldn't see five feet in front of your car with the wipers on fast. The high today is going to be in the mid-40s. Bottom line is that there's no real long-term prediction that will work with any accuracy.
I guess you could say the mean high is likely to be in the 60s-70, but that mean doesn't tell you much. You would learn much more about a week beforehand with the mid-range forecasts.
In April, there is a definite likelihood to have mud in spots. It either will be raining, will be about to rain, or will have rained within the past day or two. So, low-lying spots that are in forest cover (meaning all the low-lying spots) will likely have water and mud.
Sorry I can't be more helpful, but that's about the best we can do for you.
Member III
Off-Road Ranger I
Here's my concern.
The point of this trip was to encourage relatively newbies to come out and get their feet wet (perhaps literally). I'm much more comfortable with there being a high ratio of experienced to inexperienced wheelers in that kind of circumstance, and I want to do everything I can to make sure everyone has a great day. Limiting the numbers keeps manageable the things we have to keep an eye on. I expect there to be people with no comms, no recovery gear, etc., which is why I asked people to let me know their gear.
There are lots of areas where it's kind of tight, and sometimes it's hard to find areas to pull over to allow people coming the opposite way to pass (or faster people going the same way, for that matter). All these things work together and led me to want to keep the numbers down.
Right now, it looks like this is super successful and has drawn lots of interest. If a separate group wanted to start ahead of us or a half hour behind us and meet up somewhere afterwards, I think that would be great. And, as many people seem interested I think we should put together another run in the near future.
If anyone else has any thoughts on this, I would be pleased to see them.
Enthusiast III
Hello to all -
Been reading through the thread on OB and would like to join in the fun. Wife & I live in Ellicott City MD,
Been reading through the thread on OB and would like to join in the fun. Wife & I live in Ellicott City MD,
Enthusiast III
Hi -
Replied earlier, but doesn't appear to have worked.
I just joined this outing, and look forward to meeting and riding with everyone. I have a spare handheld CB should someone need one. (Range from within my JKU is very limited - other vehicles may be different - but should be adequate on the trail.) Thus the external antenna on the JKU. What is the permit needed to do this ride? Finally, wife is likely to join me which means an early Sat start for us. Camping Sat night is an option, though. Anyone know if campsites being used allow for large ground tents? Hope to try out our new Gazelle.
Replied earlier, but doesn't appear to have worked.
I just joined this outing, and look forward to meeting and riding with everyone. I have a spare handheld CB should someone need one. (Range from within my JKU is very limited - other vehicles may be different - but should be adequate on the trail.) Thus the external antenna on the JKU. What is the permit needed to do this ride? Finally, wife is likely to join me which means an early Sat start for us. Camping Sat night is an option, though. Anyone know if campsites being used allow for large ground tents? Hope to try out our new Gazelle.
Member III
It did work. Your first message popped up. It looks like your rig 15 with a limit of 15 rigs. So welcome! I’ll be staying at the Elizabeth furnace family campground. Which is a first come first serve place so I’m crossing my fingers but that’s where I’ll be Friday night and probably Saturday night. I hope to do some research and have a second or third option lined up just Incase.
Elizabeth Furnace Family Campground
A spare cb might be nice if there’s someone without one. I may bring a spare cb with magnet mount antenna if someone needs to use it with a cigarette plug on the end or something.
Elizabeth Furnace Family Campground
A spare cb might be nice if there’s someone without one. I may bring a spare cb with magnet mount antenna if someone needs to use it with a cigarette plug on the end or something.
Enthusiast III
Member III
Traveler III
Exactly what KAC said. I've lived here in NOVA my entire life as well, and have seen snow in April and 80 degree temps a few days later. The forecasts a few days out are generally pretty accurate these days, so I'd wait until then to get a better idea as well.
Like HAFADAY said, PMR is a fairly easy trail.....it's just rocky, not big rocks, smaller stuff that keeps your pace down. Nothing that requires a spotter. Even when it rains a lot the rocks tend to cut down on how much mud there could be - you'll still get it in some places, but it's nothing to be concerned about really. It is tight in places, so be prepared to pull over up in the brush to let others pass-you will get some minor pinstriping potentially, but nothing crazy at all. Sounds like you guys have a good sized group and have everything covered! It's a fun trail!
And Schake, Elizabeth Furnace is a great campground! I'm out there almost every other weekend. Get there early if you can, as it is popular. The sites are spread out far enough to offer some decent privacy.
Schake, you also asked about permits. You can grab a permit about 5 miles south from EF Campground, on Fort Valley Rd, at the Fort Valley Convenience store....$5 for the day.
Enthusiast III
What permit is
What kind of permit is it? Something specific to this trail? I have Lifetime pass for all national parks and forests, so if that's what is needed, I'm good.
Traveler III
It's a Day Use pass for the OHV(Peter's Mill Run and Tasker's Gap) trail network, not related to your National Park pass. FYI...the Fort Valley Country Store is open Sat 7-7 and Sun 10-5.
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests - Passes & Permits
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests - Passes & Permits
www.fs.usda.gov
Enthusiast I
Hey friends! A group of us in 6 rigs just wrapped a trip yesterday on Canaan Loop Road in West Virginia and we were talking about where to go for our next trip. We are based in Harrisonburg, Va and are looking to join up with this crew for the Peters Mill trail ride and doing some primitive camping on Friday and Saturday night just North of Harrisonburg. We will be camping on 20 acres of privately owned land, but I wanted to open it up to anyone down this way who would be interested in camping with us.
Also, I’m having trouble RSVPing for the event off my iphone and ipad so I wasn’t able to get on that list. I saw someone mentioned doing a couple of smaller groups about 30 minutes apart and I thought that might be a smart idea for a mix of newer (like myself) people and more experienced!
If anyone is interested in joining us for the camping feel free to message me! I am thinking of making an event for the camping if that would be helpful, and I will keep you all posted!
Also, I’m having trouble RSVPing for the event off my iphone and ipad so I wasn’t able to get on that list. I saw someone mentioned doing a couple of smaller groups about 30 minutes apart and I thought that might be a smart idea for a mix of newer (like myself) people and more experienced!
If anyone is interested in joining us for the camping feel free to message me! I am thinking of making an event for the camping if that would be helpful, and I will keep you all posted!
