I said I would report back on any group campsites I found. I started from the North end and didn't finish the route, instead I got distracted and ended up in Idaho to look at a 4wd van for sale. I did finish sections 6 through 10 though, and intend to finish the entire route by restarting at the South end in a few weeks. Anyway, the further North sections seemed to have one or two possible sites for a big group in each section, but the lower sections, say 7 and 8 might have only had one good possibility. I marked them on my Gaia map, and will post them here later. With the large number of folks expressing interest, a group of 20 or so may have an issue finding level group spots in the beginning, and its possible since its first come first serve, they may be already occupied, but I haven't run those sections so I don't know for sure. What I foresee happening is the group breaking up into smaller groups as the time to find a campsite gets near, but keeping a group of that size together is difficult anyway and by the time you get to the Northern sections the group may be smaller anyway as folks drop out. Never the less, the sections I did were fantastic. Some sections have optional bypasses, but I chose to do all the harder ones and made it through all but one noted as "overgrown but passable" and that's true if your on a motorcycle, but in anything with four wheels, unless your prepared to do a lot of brush and fallen log clearing your not going to make it. That reminds me, a chain saw could end up being your best friend. I foolishly left mine at home and seriously wished I hadn't. The number of trees that had fallen across the road was amazing. Fortunately for me, someone had recently been through and cleared the worst of them. Quite recently too as there were plenty of fresh wood chips every where. Clearly though, whoever cleared the road was likely in a Jeep or an ATV since the path was pretty narrow and there were spots where I had to get out and spot my self several times to avoid the worst contact. Plenty of low lying branches scraped over the top and along the sides, but there was no damage. Road conditions were mostly fine with about half of the roads suitable for towing a trailer with an SUV, the rest ranged from super bumpy washboard or deep ruts, to needing 4wd a couple times. One serious piece of advice, SLOW DOWN AND STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF THE ROAD. I was nearly involved in a head on collision when an idiot in a pickup came flying around a blind corner taking up most of the road. I headed for the edge of the road with a steep drop off while he headed for the ditch and we skidded to a stop inches apart. It's not a race, it's a good time exploring the woods with like minded folks. I look forward to hearing how the Southern sections go. Cheers.................
