Only a few more days to go till the event starts.

Been trying to get the LR3 ready to roll and should be good by Thursday when we hit the road to VA.

Hope to see you guys and gals there!

 

Had to change our plans a bit, was looking a bit frosty for camping at Washington National Forest so instead we will camp Thursday at Uwharrie National Forest, than do a quick 4 hour drive in on Friday before hitting the trail.

 

So we loaded up the LR3 and set off around noon on Thursday. Stopped off to pick out food for the camping trip then pointed the LR3 towards North Carolina and set the cruise.

The drive went by quickly and smooth. When we arrived at Uwharrie we found that all the improved camp sites were full unfortunately and had to camp at the Horse Camp over-flow area in primitive camping. Well it was kinda glamping by the time we finished setting up.

The roof top tent and the awning are just awesome! If Trail Tailor does another group buy I would highly recommend picking up the bat wing awning. It is simply awesome. Super easy to set up and very nicely made. I also picked up the wall and floor kit so we could use it as a tent area or a screened in porch when the bugs come out. Great piece of kit can't recommend it enough!

The night was brisk but we enjoyed some eats from the grill and some Grand Tour season 2 before heading to bed in the roof top tent.

Did learn a valuable lesson, not all roof top tent ladders are the same width. So had to go with the Dewalt solution

 

So Friday morning we woke up, had breakfast than packed up. Very leisurely morning really as we didn't have to be at Wintergreen till 5 and it was only 3.5 hours away.

So once we were all loaded up, we pointed the truck towards VA set the cruise and enjoyed the ride.

Pretty impressed with the LR3, with all that kit on it and the bigger tires I still averaged 15.5 mpg riding in comfort the whole way.

We arrived at Wintergreen and snaked our way up the mountain to the resort at the summit. We got checked in and took quick showers before meeting up with the sunset trail ride group.

It was a great trail ride with breath taking views.

From there it was to Devil's backbone for some great grub and brews! Highly recommend the DB BBQ Sundae

 

Few more...

 

Saturday started with a great breakfast with my other family, Justin, Erik Brent and Corbin. As always great conversation and good times then off to line up for the trails.

All the trucks were lined up and we jumped into the short run intermediate back by lunch. That is the key phrase, and it was far from right lol.

We started out and everything was going fantastic till we hit a pivot steer right turn down the mountain. It had been raining off and on so we were in mud and wet slate drop off. Snow had also been falling off and on to top it off. So 2 trucks made the turn and promptly got badly stuck at the base. I was guided around the corner and promptly dropped my front left tire off the drop off so pointed down a steep slippery slope with one wheel off the edge. Had my daughter and friend hop out. The recovery A team got into the game and pulled me back around. Back on the trail I bounded down smacking every rock I could find I think off the skid plate. ( was cursing myself for not putting on my new sliders in the parking lot lol) So with the front section of the group around the corner we had a couple tough turns to navigate a stream crossing and hill climb to escape to the staging area. So we could cook hot dogs for folks back at the Lucky8 pikey wagon. Justin and Peter stayed back to guide what we found out later was another 26 trucks down and out of the trail. Did I mention that there was a baby black bear near the trail that was seperated from its mom and screaming like a banshee the whole time. So everyone was keeping one eye out for momma bears return.

So hot dogs cooked and being passed out, folks with heavy trail damage started rolling in and in most cases Erik from Lucky8 had the parts they needed on hand. I helped one gentleman change out a destroyed drag link on his D2. He was a happy man to have a "Wintergreen good parking lot alignment" and be able to make it home.

Trucks fixed and the A Team back from the trail, we all got cleaned up and headed to the buffet dinner hosted by ROAV and the raffle.

The food was really good, and the prizes were even better. Recovery gear, lockers, and gift cards for repair parts were given out to the lucky winners. Than great conversation and war stories from the trail along with beers were enjoyed.

That continued well into the night and Sunday was pack up and head home day.

It was a great event with some surprising twists and turns due to the weather. Awesome Rover folks and friends.

It is a great community we belong to and I look forward to the next gathering I can make it to!

 

Nothing beats the sight of LR's in the woods on a foggy/snowy day. No other vehicle in the world looks as good. Glad y'all had a good time and thanks for posting photos. Is that a Freelander I see? I have a weird obsession with those things eve though I don't like them one bit. I just never see them around anymore, the first gens at least.

 

Good eye, there was a stock G4 Freelander out running the beginner trails.