Test Run 2: Cherokee National Forest
We both had made some adjustments since our last run. I performed some much needed maintenance (spark plug, fixed a gas leak on my tank, and installed DOT-legal tires) and got my GPS to a point where I could easily use it one-handed. This would be our last test run before the big one.
I knew I would be a little groggy in the morning, so I loaded up the truck with my bike and my gear the night before. I woke up Saturday morning and made myself a breakfast of two eggs, then grabbed my stuff and headed to James’. After mooching some coffee, and getting introduced to this awesome latte spray (pictured below), I nagged James enough to finally get on the road.

After getting our bikes loaded up in a maze of tie-downs, we hit the road. We were headed for Tellico Plains, TN to explore the dirt and gravel roads that are all throughout that area of East Tennessee/Western North Carolina. I had asked around ADVRider the night before on a good place to stash the truck, and the best option seemed to be the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center. An hour and a half later (and a stop at Weigel’s to get gas and snacks) and we were unloading our bikes for our adventure. For some reason, there were hundreds of sweat bees at the visitors center, constantly pestering us as we are unloading and putting on our gear. No bites, but definitely annoying.

We finally got the knobbies rollin’ around 11:30a and promptly headed out toward Witt Road (Forest Service Rd. 341). This is the Conasauga Falls trailhead that can be seen from Highway 68. The first little bit of it was gravelly, rough, and full of ruts. When the path forks, go left to continue on Witt Rd. Now, the fun thing about this road are the amount of water crossings. There are 4 in total, with the third being the deepest and having the most unstable base (a rocky base with patterns perpendicular to your path). I’ve ridden this road a few times in the past, as well as driving it back when Hannah still had her X-Terra. Like I said… it’s a fun road.
The thing about water crossings is, you really don’t have to get wet. It’s all about how fast you go. Keep that in mind… and also keep in mind that my parents have always described the way in which I approach things as ‘either zero or one-hundred, nothing in between.’ Do you think I got wet? Yeah… I went through them a lot faster than I probably should have (and ended up paying for it). I made it through all of them, but right after the first water crossing, my bike started acting up, choking all over itself, and did this for the remainder of the trip (lesson learned: there is a position between 0 and 100).
We continued on the path that was laid upon the GPS that I now knew how to use (on trial run… I had no idea). My bike would not idle at all, so anytime I pulled in the clutch, it died unless I was also cranking on the throttle. This became annoying, and I was thirsty, so we took a break for me to check the map, get a drink, and forget about that frustration for a moment.

From here, we headed through the forest on Bald River Rd. (FS 126) toward Bald River Falls. If you’ve never visited, it’s a 90-ft tall waterfall that’s pretty amazing, especially when the falls are raging. However, James and I have seen it many times before, and it was a madhouse, so we didn’t stop for a picture. However, here’s a photo I took back in January 2015 (when we took the X-Terra for an adventure).

Continuing on, we soon were off the dirt and on pavement. I’ve gotta be honest, I hate the way the knobbies feel on the pavement. I just could never really settle in while riding on them. It was a trust issue I suppose, and I couldn’t enjoy the Cherohala Skyway as I was used to being able to do. Even still, the views were amazing, and it didn’t look like any rain was on the horizon.

We were only on the Cherohala for a short period of time, before cutting back off onto FS 81 which follows Santeetlah Creek. Hey, remember how I said there was no rain in sight? Well I guess I wasn’t looking the right direction, because at this point the sky opened up and starting raining on us. Thankfully, I was wearing my “waterproof” suit from Olympia (spoiler: I found out it isn’t waterproof) and only got marginally wet. James, on the other hand, was later wishing he had brought another pair of pants. We weren’t too far away from Robbinsville, NC when the rain started coming down, and neither of us hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, so we decided to head to town and grab a bite to eat.
At 5 o’clock we pull into Robbinsville, get gas, and head over to the closest restaurant: El Pacifico.

I was pretty hungry, so I ordered this chicken dish, covered in sauteed mushrooms, chorizo, and queso. It’s been my experience that most Mexican restaurants make their own hot sauce in house, you just have to ask for it, so… I asked for it. When it came out, the waitress was giving me one of those “go-ahead-and-try-it-so-I-can-laugh-at-you” looks and was being pretty coy about the heat level. So, I get a chip and get a nice dip in this sauce and start to chew. The dry, smoky, familiar heat hits me quickly. This is ghost pepper sauce (I know, because, I too have made ghost pepper hot sauce). It’s really good, and really spicy. I felt bad that I didn’t use all of it and couldn’t take it with me (but to be fair, she gave me 1/2 cup when really a couple tablespoons would have worked).

After dinner, I started looking for places to stay and found a campground that was 2 minutes away from where we were eating dinner. The place was called the Simple Life Campground. I gave them a call and they said to just come by and we’d be taken care of.
When we got there, we were set up with a [rather small] campsite. This was annoying to me because there were two other sites that weren’t occupied, and yet we got the crappiest on the hill. However, it was also good because on our trip, we are probably going to also encounter less-than-optimal situations, and we will just need to deal with it.

After getting all set up, I headed to the store for some hydration and adult beverages. I grab a bag of ice, a ginger ale for James, a Coke for me, and two Gatorades. I then begin looking for beer… and looking… and looking… Then it occurred to me: I’m in a dry county. A dry county in 2017. Crazy. It’s a good thing James was kind enough to bring some Bulleit Bourbon.
The rest of the night was spent sipping on bourbon, talking to the campers across the way, listening to music (at a reasonable volume, of course) and talking about what was going on in our lives at the moment. We were also amazed at the amount of stars you could see out there in the night sky, and cursed the light pollution back home in Knoxville. As I crawled in my one-man tent at the end of the night, I was pretty satisfied with the day. We did 130-something miles, found out James needs to switch to Reserve at 115 miles, got rained on and realized it wasn’t a big deal, and accomplished our goals.
The next morning I woke up around 6:30 am with the sun, and immediately turned my back to the sun and went back to sleep. I finally got out of my tent around 8 am and hit the shower facility (which was very clean and well-maintained). After the shower, I enjoyed a cup of coffee while chatting with the owner about how he started The Simple Life campground, how he strives to serve his customers, and make it an atmosphere that’s welcome to all kinds of motorcycle riders, whether dirt, street, or cruiser.
James and I decided that since we accomplished what we set out to do (find the limits of the gas tank) that we would just take the Cherohala Skyway back. There was no need to retrace all the dirt/gravel roads and spend another 5 hours on the trails. Again, with my complete lack of trust in my knobbies on pavement, James left me far behind as I putzed along the Cherohala. An hour or so later, and we were both back where we started at the visitors center.After loading the bikes back up, we grabbed a quick breakfast of an omelette and hashbrown at the local deli, then headed back home.

After dropping James off, I headed back home. As I was sitting at a stop light, I noticed smoke coming out from the right front fender of the truck. I rolled down the window and smelled that foul smell of burning brakes. So… now I have one more thing to fix before we head out in a month: a stuck caliper.
That’s how things go though, and it all depends on how you roll with the punches. I’m sure many will be thrown at us on the trail, and I’m pretty confident that we will find a way to make it work. After all, when you’re 4,000 miles from home, in the middle of the desert, you don’t really have a choice.

