North Georgia Mountains Rant

Here in North Georgia we are fortunate enough to have the Appalachian Mountains, National and State forests... That means hundreds of miles if FS roads to explore and enjoy. You often hear people complaining that it is just not "technical" enough for them and their rig. It always makes me laugh, because there is very little real technical wheeling in this area outside of a few private parks and some SMALL ORV areas (Beasley Knob comes to mind) around here. I have been wheeling since before I could legally drive and in my mind it is as much about getting out and exploring as it is about hammering a rig through muddy holes (which I am no fan of), off camber ruts and picking the correct line over / through an obstacle.

Search North GA wheeling and you will see plenty of mentions/videos of Bell Mountain, Charlie's Creek, Dodd and Sheep's Wallow (just a mud hole really). All those trails are:
1. Disappointingly short... Driving for a couple of hours +/- to ride a 15-30 minute trail and then driving pavement for 30 or 40 minutes to the next 20 minute trail is not my idea of an exciting day out. Yesterday I left the pavement at 10 AM and did not see it again until around 5 PM.

2. Crowded. A good example is the side trail at Charlie's Creek before the second crossing (if you can call it that). It is can be a busy, it is a one way through the ruts, with little visibility down the trail to see oncoming traffic, and few seem to run a radio. If they do have a working 2 way, they could be on ANY channel. Why can't people use 4? It is the common channel... 4X4, get it?
Again, yesterday, I didn't see another soul for the first 5 hours after I got on the trail!

3. (IMHO) extremely overrated for difficulty. Not putting down anyone who has a stock rig, I respect all Jeeps, but if a stock rig can do it, well, it might not be all that difficult... 'nuff said on that

Look, every ride does not have to be the equivalent of the Rubicon to make it a good ride.

Get out and enjoy ALL off road access RESPONSIBLY. Stop throwing your trash around, defacing things (see the rocks at the top of Bell Mountain), pick up the parts you tear off, stay on the trails and off posted property... and... be prepared. I have a winch, recovery gear, tools, rain gear, trash bags, a first aid kit, fire extinguishers, an air supply, water, snacks/food/ice, radio, GPS, chargers for my electronics, spare parts etc, etc... All to get me out of a jam. SO unless someone says to you... "Hey man let's go out in the woods and don't worry about bringing anything, I've got you covered"..., make sure you are prepared. That is not to say that I would not give it all to help someone out of a jam, because I would. It just means that after I help you, I will very pointedly ask you why in the hell were you so unprepared for the situation. Don't act like I owe it to you to winch you out when I happen upon you and you are really stuck. I will do my best to get you out, but keep in mind that I probably just saved you hundreds of dollars on a 4X4 wrecker. Don't be a dick about it when I ask what you were thinking.

Above all, get out and be part of the off road community, be an ambassador, not a problem.

I completely agree with what you're saying. While I enjoy challenging myself and vehicle as much as possible, I also really enjoy just getting out and exploring.

I'm working on planning out a trip using only Forest Service roads from North GA into Tennessee. Just exploring and camping for a nice weekend.

thardy said:

I completely agree with what you're saying. While I enjoy challenging myself and vehicle as much as possible, I also really enjoy just getting out and exploring.

I'm working on planning out a trip using only Forest Service roads from North GA into Tennessee. Just exploring and camping for a nice weekend.

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Get yourself the BackCountry navigator app, download the topos for the regions and you will be set for a trip like that, should be easy enough

Awesome pics and I agree with you about taking care of where you wheel. There are very few places, if any, down here to wheel. Unless you like mudding or driving through sugar sand. Scottsmoor is the only place close to here where everyone brings their atv's, dirt bikes, trucks, jeeps etc. There's always people dumping furniture and other trash everywhere,drives me insane. We have few places to wheel to begin with and the places we can will be shortly closed because of these idiots.

Sorry about my rant. Anyway, we were just up at the falls you are pictured wheeling by during Christmas. We can't wait to get up there in about 3 weeks now. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains of upstate New York, so this is very close to home for us. Still trying to convince the Mrs. to move up there.

TwistedJK said:

Awesome pics and I agree with you about taking care of where you wheel. There are very few places, if any, down here to wheel. Unless you like mudding or driving through sugar sand. Scottsmoor is the only place close to here where everyone brings their atv's, dirt bikes, trucks, jeeps etc. There's always people dumping furniture and other trash everywhere,drives me insane. We have few places to wheel to begin with and the places we can will be shortly closed because of these idiots.

Sorry about my rant. Anyway, we were just up at the falls you are pictured wheeling by during Christmas. We can't wait to get up there in about 3 weeks now. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains of upstate New York, so this is very close to home for us. Still trying to convince the Mrs. to move up there.

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If more people "rant" and make it known to those who are causing the issues that poor behavior wont be tolorated... Maybe then we can make progress on improving the image of responsible enthusiasts. We need to recognize that as a community, we have an image problem. The public see us as trampling on nature with our big bad vehicles. We need to show that we can be good stewards.
I am not some kid with a barely legal vehicle out for a weekend romp in the mud. I am a professional with a considerable investment in a hobby which I am passionate about. I dont what to see our hobby continue to suffer damage at the hands of yahoos.

choosingtangent said:

If more people "rant" and make it known to those who are causing the issues that poor behavior wont be tolorated... Maybe then we can make progress on improving the image of responsible enthusiasts. We need to recognize that as a community, we have an image problem. The public see us as trampling on nature with our big bad vehicles. We need to show that we can be good stewards.
I am not some kid with a barely legal vehicle out for a weekend romp in the mud. I am a professional with a considerable investment in a hobby which I am passionate about. I dont what to see our hobby continue to suffer damage at the hands of yahoos.

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While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying, I just don't think the kids that are really causing the issues in the area are going to change. And for every kid that does change, there's 10 more that thing they know everything and won't listen to a word anyone else says.

I believe that the public has two views of the Jeep/4x4 community. There's a view of the responsible wheelers that mind their manners and pick up after themselves, doing everything possible to "tread lightly" and then there's the view of your stereotypical high school kid that goes out and trashes things in the attempt to look "cool". While I think it would be nice to be able to eliminate the 2nd view from the general public opinion of our hobby, I just don't think it's possible to do so. Just like every big car show or meet I've ever been to, you'll never be able to keep the dumbass from doing a burnout that eventually gets the event shutdown.

That's why I worry about me and the company I keep when wheeling. If I don't like what someone is doing, I simply don't wheel with them again. Edit- while letting them know why I don't want to wheel with them again.

thardy said:

While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying, I just don't think the kids that are really causing the issues in the area are going to change. And for every kid that does change, there's 10 more that thing they know everything and won't listen to a word anyone else says.

I believe that the public has two views of the Jeep/4x4 community. There's a view of the responsible wheelers that mind their manners and pick up after themselves, doing everything possible to "tread lightly" and then there's the view of your stereotypical high school kid that goes out and trashes things in the attempt to look "cool". While I think it would be nice to be able to eliminate the 2nd view from the general public opinion of our hobby, I just don't think it's possible to do so. Just like every big car show or meet I've ever been to, you'll never be able to keep the dumbass from doing a burnout that eventually gets the event shutdown.

That's why I worry about me and the company I keep when wheeling. If I don't like what someone is doing, I simply don't wheel with them again. Edit- while letting them know why I don't want to wheel with them again.

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Well said my friend, well said

choosingtangent said:

If more people "rant" and make it known to those who are causing the issues that poor behavior wont be tolorated... Maybe then we can make progress on improving the image of responsible enthusiasts. We need to recognize that as a community, we have an image problem. The public see us as trampling on nature with our big bad vehicles. We need to show that we can be good stewards.
I am not some kid with a barely legal vehicle out for a weekend romp in the mud. I am a professional with a considerable investment in a hobby which I am passionate about. I dont what to see our hobby continue to suffer damage at the hands of yahoos.

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Agree with all of the above. I love hitting those trails in GA and it's a shame that they are slowly getting closed out or restricted because of a few people without any common sense or regards for those around them. The local police patrol all of the fire roads now and are ticketing now because of the all the kids partying and tracking mud all over the main roads. Now it seems like the cops are more interested jeeps then they have been in the last several years.

bsimon187 said:

Agree with all of the above. I love hitting those trails in GA and it's a shame that they are slowly getting closed out or restricted because of a few people without any common sense or regards for those around them. The local police patrol all of the fire roads now and are ticketing now because of the all the kids partying and tracking mud all over the main roads. Now it seems like the cops are more interested jeeps then they have been in the last several years.

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All we have to do is show the police and the public that we as a community of enthusiasts, are better than that. If you see poor behavior simply report it. Be an ambassador

Well said choosing tangent.

choosingtangent said:

All we have to do is show the police and the public that we as a community of enthusiasts, are better than that. If you see poor behavior simply report it. Be an ambassador

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I agree with you, but the original people who made the complaints to get law enforcement ou there to begin with, don't care unfortunately. The more they complain to law enforcement, eventually law enforcement will just shut it down to everyone. I'm not saying I agree with this scenario at all, but I've personally seen it being a former law enforcement officer. As we always said, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

TwistedJK said:

I agree with you, but the original people who made the complaints to get law enforcement ou there to begin with, don't care unfortunately. The more they complain to law enforcement, eventually law enforcement will just shut it down to everyone. I'm not saying I agree with this scenario at all, but I've personally seen it being a former law enforcement officer. As we always said, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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We, as a group, need to be the squeaky wheel. When you see the bad behavior, get plate numbers. When you report it, let law enforcement know that you are the part of the community that DOES care. We need to police ourselves. Like it or not, the folks misbehaving are indirectly associated with us. Get together and let them know we will not tolerate them ruining things for the rest who would use access responsibly. Organize to pick up the trash. be vocal and active in your local community so people will know you care. Be part of the solution.

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you. I was just giving an example.

TwistedJK said:

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you. I was just giving an example.

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I know you were. Not to worry.