My job was to get to Tellico early and nab a campsite. I left before sunrise and by 9:00 I was wandering the national forests looking for an unoccupied campsite. It was like being in the Walmart parking lot, anything that was half flat had a tent or camper on it. So I went back to cell phone range and sent a text that I was bailing out and going home, just too crowded. I promptly got a phone call and an earful over my plan to retreat. So I went down to Cherohala Motorcycle Resort and set up under a tree next to the creek. It took me quite a while to set up, since I forgot my tent poles, but I had time since Clay and David were still in Huntsville and wouldn't arrive until dark thirty. So I drew upon my vast storehouse of youtube survival video tips and started to fashion tent poles out of sticks, slowly moving around my shade tree as sunlight edged up on me. All these pics are David's, I don't bother with taking pics when he is around, here's one of my survival tent.
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The next thing I discovered was that my terrorist cat had spritzed my evaporative jacket with weapons grade urine. I tried washing it out at the bike cleaning station to no avail. I wouldn't need until the next day, I though maybe the smell would go away, but it didn't. So the next morning I got the bright idea to look for some sort of soap there in the Motorcycle Resort store. I found some citronella scented eco-friendly Joshua Tree camp soap. I figured citronella wouldn't be too bad of a smell and it might keep bugs away. It didn't work, the jacket just smelled like citronella cat urine. So I had choice, heat stroke or eat alone. I chose to eat alone, not sure I would do that again, once the jacket started it's evaporative magic, the smell was quite noticeable at a distance. Sitting alone with the offending jacket:
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Sometimes people leave their campsite on Sunday even with a three day weekend so we decided to give it another shot and it paid off. Our favorite spot on Doublecamp Creek was now vacant. David brought a hammock and a tent, so I used his tent and didn't have to make more tent poles.
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After setting up camp we spent the day riding dirt and pavement, and found a road I we hadn't been on before, David thinks he might have been on it but recalled a very steep downhill with knee deep ruts so so we didn't try to follow it out, save that for the little bikes.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Tellico/i-MmccbgV/0/9aa0663e/X2/BA4E9DEE-180D-41B3-9B08-9C6F68D66F32-X2.jpg)
We ate at the Tellico Cafe and went back to camp for a swim. I did get in, but it took me about 20 minutes to get up to my neck, I have to go an inch at time, can't do that jump in all once.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Tellico/i-BTzxG76/0/94f5d310/X2/5E07BB86-7E1F-49BB-AA1F-ACE52600E5B6-X2.jpg)
piddled around until the sun went down and hit the sack.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Tellico/i-FNsHNJS/0/92e3c8fd/X2/F3C363F5-5965-4AC8-9BF1-1FDF6ECD088A-X2.jpg)
Came home and ordered a new evaporative jacket.
<--- Jealous!
Thanks for the report and photos!
Looks like that turned out nicely after a harrowing beginning! Thanks for the report.
Nice report.....
Nice report. One day I will find a guitar that's easy to pack. When I'm alone a full sized acoustic is ok, but not on a dual sport ride.
Teared laugh about the evaporative jacket! Sorry, but thanks for sharing. Backed into this story from the Elk River strikeout. Best way to discover the citronella story!