So after a few days decompressing from ~2400 miles we covered in 16 days on the TAT from Ripley WV to AR/OK border a few things to mention. The AR leg was full of surprises. The Warloop Rd events already mentioned, but we also saw our first bear on the trail that same morning as we departed White Oak Campground heading towards Warloop Rd, exciting. We also did our good deed as we came upon a fire burning along side the trail in Eastern AR. We all jumped out of our cars and grabbed the fire extinguishers thinking we could put it out, since it was a hot dry day In middle of nowhere. But as we approached we heard crackling as the fire was started below an electrical pole. So not wanting to risk electric shock we called it in to 911 giving them the lat/lon location, and moved on. Later on “TURTLE” mentioned (they were behind us at this point) they saw 3 fire trucks heading to the fire. Also I have a much more appreciation to having proper recovery points and gear while on the trail. Of course less than 24 hours before Warloop Rd we did have to rescue the Toyota Land Cruiser from the drop off side of a narrow gravel road after passing on coming traffic. He did not have a winch but did have recovery points, kinetic rope and tow strap. But the strap of course was not accessible since it was in his truck on the downhill side, and the kinetic rope in this circumstance was not going to work. Phew what an AR adventure.
Lessons learned from the trip so far (in no particular order)...
There is safety in numbers. Both physical security, and if you get stuck or broke down.
Reinforced importance of strong attachment points front and rear. Two up front are better than one.
TAT can get repetitive after a while (gravel roads with trees or cornfields on both sides). Get off the TAT sometimes and run on pavement. Don’t be afraid to bypass loops of the TAT and just go straight across. Skip stretches.
Dispersed campgrounds are not plentiful like you might think. Dedicated campgrounds are not as plentiful as you might think. Don’t discount the Walmart or Cracker Barrel type options. Think outside the box. The more campsite apps you have the better.
Three to five vehicles makes a nice size group. Eight to nine can get a little unwieldy. Doable, but a little more work finding large enough campsites.
You WILL miss turns daily following the TAT no matter how good your GPS and map set up is. You will notice pretty quickly when you do get off. Do a U-turn safely and get back on. Not a big deal.
Winch extension cable comes in handy. Mine is coiled and unobtrusively strapped to my roof rack.
There are bears out there. Buy bear spray, and watch some videos on how to properly deploy bear spray.
You will survive rainstorms of Biblical proportion.
Any others?
