OFFICIAL Upper Tellico "Virtual Rally" Thread

[Kurtuleas]

This is the offical Upper Tellico Rally thread.

The rally will be on Wednesday May 7th from 4 to 9 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Please make sure to post your comments on that day. Until then, PLEASE spread the word!

Basic Rally Instructions:

1. Please post up your concerns on the Upper Tellico OHV area being closed. You MAY make multiple posts!

2. Tell people how you have enjoyed Tellico in the past! (Tell us stories!)

3. If you have never been to the Upper Tellico OHV area, voice your concern about this closure and tell people how you or your club recreates responsibly in your own area! If you have always wanted to go to Tellico, let us know!

4. Show them what this area means to the entire OHV community!

5. Post pictures! Trail rides, camping with your family, etc.

6. Have fun, but please remember to be professional. Many eyes will be on this thread!

7. MAKE SURE you see what number post your FIRST post in the thread is!

Please put that number somewhere in your sig-line so we know who has posted!



Thank you all!

Nick McCracken
Rally Lead

Kurt Schneider
Pirate4x4.com land-use Editor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Nick McCracken: Rally Lead
E-mail: orangecherokee@yahoo.com

Kurt Schneider: Pirate4x4.com
E-mail: kurtuleas@pirate4x4.com

El Dorado County: April 18th, 2008

VIRTUAL ONLINE RALLY FOR UPPER TELLICO OHV AREA
Pirate4x4.com builds on a successful rally format to protest more route closures

After an extremely successful virtual rally for Johnson Valley and the world renowned Hammers rock crawling trails in California, Pirate4x4.com members are shifting their focus to the east coast and are once again gathering for a massive virtual rally to save the Upper Tellico OHV Park in North Carolina. On Wednesday May7th, 2008, Pirate4x4.com, a leading website for the OHV community, will hold this rally from 4 to 9 pm eastern standard time.

In 2007, the Southern Environmental Law Center, in coalition with Trout Unlimited and P.E.E.R. (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) filed a notice of intent to sue the Untied Stated Forest Service, claiming it was in violation of the federal water pollution act. This coalition stated that the Upper Tellico OHV area was dumping sediment into nearby streams and destroying the habitat of local brook trout. In turn, the USFS closed a major portion of the Tellico trail system.

There are many arguments against closing this popular OHV area, and many organizations involved in keeping it open. Carla Boucher, the attorney for the United Four Wheel Drive Association states, “United Four Wheel Drive Association (UFWDA), along with its partners Blue Ribbon Coalition and Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, are committed to taking all steps necessary to save our access at Tellico, including legislative, administrative, and legal action!” This rally will bolster the efforts made by these organizations in this battle by showing a large contingent of OHV users who back and support these organizations in their efforts.

Virtual rally participants will be asked to post their experiences, photos and history recreating with their families in the Tellico area along with their feelings and beliefs as to why the trail system should not be closed. Their comments will be posted and tracked in a bulletin board format, with a goal of creating a lasting record of how important this area is to a vast number of people in the OHV community. Tellico is one of the very few public areas on the east coast for OHV recreation. Interested parties are encouraged to participate in the rally and read the thread.

On March 12th 2008, Pirate4x4.com hosted a similar virtual rally for the world renowned OHV trail system in Johnson Valley, CA. That rally had nearly 1,500 posts from OHV enthusiasts all across the world in a four hour time span. Saved in time in order to create a lasting homage to the rally, to date the Hammers rally has been viewed by over 48,000 people.

# # #

If you would like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Nick McCracken, please e-mail him at orangecherokee@yahoo.com. For Kurt Schneider, Pirate4x4.com land-use Editor, Please e-mail Kurt at kurtuleas@pirate4x4.com

[threadkiller]

I have enjoyed Tellico since 1991 when I first started flyfishing at the age of 13. Part of the experience was fishing, and part of it was seeing off road vehicles. It opened my eyes to offroad recreation; the camaraderie, the challenge, and the responsibility those guys had with regards to preserving their recreational opportunities. At the time, flyfishermen and offroad enthusiasts got along. The “problem” began when flyfishing became chic and its popularity surged. Not once have I seen any evidence of vehicles causing damage to the trout streams in the area. The damage to the trout habitat is coming from the feral hogs rooting up the ground near the streambeds. This has been established in fact by TWRA and a host of biologists and wildlife managers.

In two weeks, I will again be at Tellico with flyrod and enduro motorcycle. I will be riding off pavement as much as I legally can and dropping dry flies into every pool I can reach. If Tellico is closed to off road access, then I will be forced to spend my money in north Georgia or Arkansas.

[Lance]

I have never been to Tellico before, but it is on my list of places to go. I have many friends who spend lots of time enjoying the Tellico trail system, and I look forward to making the pilgrimage from California to Tellico to spend my money there, and enjoy everything the area has to offer.

[BadAssXJ]

To whom it may concern. The closure of Tellico OHV area would be crushing, not only to the bussinesses of
the surrounding areas, but to pur family. We have enjoyed the area for years and tears, from Fishing, Camping,
and riding the wonderful trail system Tellico has to offer. The OHV community in whole has poured countless hours
volunteering clean ups, raising money to build bridges, and any trail work that was needed to keep Tellico OHV Area
beautiful.

I have to ask, PLEASE do not take our land from us. I have a wife and 2 beautiful kids Madison 7 and Caleb 5 that
wants to share the enjoyment that I have over the years at the Tellico OHV Area.

[Pt_Ranger_V8]

Tellico Offroad Park. Home to some great times, for families, and for friends. Or, for anyone interested in off-highway vehicle entertainment.

Being originally from Michigan, currently living in Alaska, I don't have much of a chance to 'play' at Tellico, but, I will soon. I intend to drive down, and camp near Tellico, and wheel for a week with my buddies. If this place is closed, how can *I* do that?. I'm sure there are at least one or two other people on the Eastern Seaboard who make annual plans to attend, and enjoy Tellico. If all of these 'tourists' stop patronizing the OHV Park, how much income will the surrounding areas lose?

Please keep Tellico open. The legal, safe, and 'reachable' places to recreate offroad are diminishing, (alarmingly so in the lower 48) and every time another one closes, it's a nail in the coffin of OHV's, and all the related businesses that are involved, from parts manufacturers to local towns around these areas.

Thank you.

[battallion14]

One of the most memorable wheeling trips I have ever had was at Tellico. We could not have asked for better weather or people. We spent two days of just enjoying the cameraderie, scenery, and challening ourselves and our vehicles. Like any good wheeling trip ours was filled with highs and lows, moments of exhiliration and moments of disappointment. Parts were broke, memories were made, friendships created and others strengthened. We sat around the fire each night at our campsite off of trail 5 and reminisced about that day's adventures. It seemed we never ran out of things to talk about. We laughed at each other and ourselves all while one of the guys strummed his guitar to some of our favorite songs with a few of us occasionally singing along. The Sunday we packed up to leave was the only bad day we had because I think we all knew a great time had come to an end.

It is with a heavy heart that I post this because I hate to think of all the good times that may never happen. I hear some of the old timers talk about all the trails we used to have in NC and how one by one they have been picked off until little is left. I don't want to just have fond memories of Tellico, I want to make more fond memories of Tellico.

[MossMan]

Closures at Tellico dishearten me greatly to say the least. This is one of the premier and foremost OHV recreation areas on the East Coast; a side of the country that already has very little access to government land for motorized enjoyment. Furthermore, I don’t know of another area that receives such aid and care from an OHV association as Tellico. As long as I have been hearing about Tellico I have also been hearing about all the work that the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association does to maintain. I always thought that they had a model for other areas to follow. The cooperation with the USFS seemed to be great and evidently it has gone under appreciated. Please consider this rally as our support for the reopening of all of the areas at the Tellico OHV.

Thank you,

Andrew Moss
Treasurer
Mountaineer Off-Road, Inc.

[Kurtuleas]

To whom it may concern;

Motorized recreation on public lands is one way that my family has always enjoyed the outdoors. Starting with my grandfather after WWII, my family has always wheeled and camped using some form of 4x4 vehicle on public lands. It is a family tradition passed down through generations, not just for my family, but for many other families across the Untied States and the world. Just as many others hunt, fish or hike on our public lands, there is a massive community that chooses to experience nature in a four wheel drive four wheel drive vehicle. For some, such as my father-in-law that has a hard time walking, it is the ONLY way he can participate in an outdoor sport.

There are very few public lands on the east coast that are open to this type of recreation. Upper Tellico is one of the very few spots left in which to recreate in this way and enjoy the outdoors.

Fisherman have a VAST number of places where they can enjoy their form of recreation, my community does not. Yet it seems Tellico will be closed because of their “monopoly” on public lands. While they can fish anywhere, the OHV community will not be allowed to recreate in a family-orientated, legitimate and traditional way of enjoying our public lands. Balanced recreation means that different user groups should all be able to recreate. The balance between OHV use and fisherman is non-existent. Why are they given more areas to recreate in than OHV users? Where I live on the CA delta, farming dumps tons of sediment and chemicals into the water, yet it is still a hotspot for fishing. Please xplain that to me.

Furthermore, the supposed “damage” done by sediment washing into stream from OHV use cannot be measured! Are they any base-line studies that prove that the waterways were crystal clear before OHV use? What about farming in that area? Do they not dump massive amounts sediment and chemicals into the water? Why are THEY not targeted as a culprit of the supposed damage?

Our National Parks are for preservation. We preserve those areas for future generations. Our other public lands such as National Forests are for the public to USE and recreate in. We must conserve those areas, but allow then to be open to the public.

Please keep Upper Tellico open to the OHV community.

I encourage all OHV users to please donate to the Blue Ribbon Coalition to help fight for our rights to access public lands in a motor vehicle.


Kurt Schneider

www.pirate4x4.com land-use editor
CRAWL Magazine land-use editor
The Friends of Eldorado National Forest co-founder

Member of:
Blue Ribbon Coalition
Cal4 Wheel Drive
CORVA
The Friends of the Rubicon
Friends of Tahoe Forest Access
Friends of High lakes
Friends of Coy Hill
Stewards of the Sequoia
Friends of Greenhorn
Kyburz Krawlerz
The ancient and Honorable Society of E Clampus Vitus

[McCracken]

Hi everybody and welcome to the Upper Tellico OHV Online Rally. This whole thing came about because I decided one day that I needed to more for the area. Many people helped organize this and put in their time and effort so that this could happen. Threads were started, press releases made and flyers handed out. Now, we have our chance to show the entire world how we feel about Tellico.

The Upper Tellico OHV is an area best known for its variety of trails. It’s hard to find a better place to enjoy the outdoors and drive our four-wheel drives than there. I still remember my first trip. I had no idea what I was going to find but I met up with a great group of friends and headed out. We started on Trail 4 not knowing where we might end up. As we traveled along I was amazed to find this entire trail system under the canopy of the forest. I couldn’t believe it. I honestly thought it couldn’t get any better than right then and there. Then I got my first glimpse of Trail 9, “Slickrock”. Never had I seen a rock face so menacing. I knew I’d never make it up because my truck just wasn’t that capable at the time. We ended the weekend with a great ride, new friends met and many new improvements, in my head, for my truck.

I can now look back and say that I built my truck for Tellico and nowhere else. I didn’t want to go anywhere else. My best memories and stories are from inside that forest. Every shop hour and penny spent has been so that I can get back to Tellico for one more ride.

My truck started as this:



and ended like this:



After riding for some time I joined the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association so that I could lend a hand in preserving our trail system and that’s exactly what I want in the future. I want there to be a trail system that we can all enjoy. This trail system should be the Upper Tellico OHV area. Closing the OHV area will not only take away a wonderful resource for all outdoor enthusiasts but also will take away future memories and good times by everyone planning to visit. Please take our thoughts and opinions into consideration and do not close the Tellico OHV.

[apeters89]

As an avid offroader, I am frustrated every time I hear of another possible land closure. While I live in Oklahoma, I make 2 or 3 trips a year to out of state offroading areas. On these trips I buy fuel, food, and lodging in the areas I am visiting. I also, bring friends along with me. Without the premier offroading areas, we have no reason to visit and spend money in these, often remote, areas. Tellico is on my short list of places to visit, I hope the land will still be open for me to schedule a trip.

- Aaron Peters

[PDC_RNR]

I have never been to Tellico, but certainly would like the option to be able to recreate there. There are too many recreation areas getting closed these days. No matter the reason for the closure, we have to come up with a solution to stop this. Please consider keeping this area open to the public. In this day and age, family friendly sports are in dire need. Do not close down one of the East Coasts premier spots.

Thank you for the time and thank you Pirate4x4.com for hosting this event. Let's open their eyes.

Sincerely,
Chris McKenzie
Kalispell, MT.

[thecj3man]

I absolutely love going to the Tellico OHV area. The last three or four years I have been going three times a year, once in the summer and twice in the fall. Even with the price of fuel doubling I still went. I do not go to the beach or Disneyland for vacation, I go four wheeling. I have taken several friends over the years so that they could see the natural beauty that I was always trying to describe to them. And I have made many more friends out on the trails. It takes me about four hours to travel there from the Tri-Cities, TN area. I have always had a very enjoyable time camping out in the Nantahala National Forest. Once we did not even get to the trails because of part failures and I still put 20 bucks in the pipe because I thought that it would go to help the area.

I never spent thousands of dollars in the local economy, but always stopped and bought my groceries and camping supplies and fuel for my Toyota truck at the local stores, and the people always seemed appreciative to have us stopping and spending our money. I hope that some common sense prevails and we can find a way to work out our differences with the different groups that want to see Tellico all but closed.

Wes Painter.

[BRUTUSFSJ]

To whom it may concern,

I am increasingly concerned at the amount of public land that is being removed from public use. While I have not been to Tellico yet, I plan to make the trek there in the coming years. Of course if Upper Tellico is closed I would be stupid to drive to North Carolina with my rig. For my sake, my childrens sake and all that wish to someday wheel Upper Tellico, please keep this area open to OHV uses.

Thanks,
Jason Habrock
Colorado Full Size Jeep Association
Fort Collins Colorado USA

[1SAWB]

Please Keep Our Trails Open. These Are Here For Us And Our Childeren To Enjoy The Wide Open Spaces.enjoy Nature And To Just Plain Get Away. These Places Are For Us To Go Outr And Enjoy Not To Be Taken From Us.



Thank You
The Miller Family X 4

[dlc]

I have grown up enjoying the Tellico OHV area. Since we live about 30 miles from the trails I have memories being in those mountains for as long as I can remember. Whether it was spending time with family when I was young or as I got older going up with friends. Tellico has given my family an area to recreate together doing something we all enjoyed when there were no other areas around like it.

I have a very close family. Not just my immediate family but my entire family. In the early 90’s my family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents spent at least one weekend a month a year at Tellico ridding ATV’s and camping. There were usually at least 20 to 25 of us camping up there. I can remember one family member was so young and wanted to ride so bad that his father got him a little helmet and would ride him along trail one until he would fall asleep. This continued up through my teen years. I can remember a lot of times I would get home from camping and riding and learn of what my friends at the time had done that weekend and what trouble they were in, often with the law. At that age I was thankful I had the opportunity to be doing something I loved with family or I know I would have been in the same trouble. Looking back now and knowing I realized this at that age was really something.

As we got older everyone started to have other commitments like collage or work and these trips got harder to get everyone together. My mother was then in an accident which left her unable to ride an ATV. So with her unable to go with us when you left for a trip to go ride you knew she wanted to go as well because she loved it, probably more the anybody, but she could not go. Over the next few years around 2000-2001 we sold the ATV’s and no longer made the trips. This lasted about a year and no one in the family could stand it. So when my brother turned 16 my father talked him into getting a Jeep Cherokee for his first car. We realized this was are new way back into the mountains in Tellico. My mom was thrilled with the idea of still being able to enjoy the area again. Before my brother even got his license his jeep was at the local 4x4 shop getting a lift.

This lead to my father and me deciding to both build jeeps. So that year we both went out and bought jeep wranglers from the local junk yard. My father, brother, and I have spent countless hours in the garage working on different vehicles and I don’t think a meal has gone by that we all set down at that the rest of are family has told us to shut up about rock crawling.

All this time me and my brother spent working on are Jeeps are friends got interested and all started getting off road vehicles. On of our real good friends is named Brian. Brian loved anything to do with the outdoors from rafting to skydiving. Well of course this lead to him having to get a jeep. He loved this jeep more than most could imagine. Any time you called him he would be ridding somewhere and anytime he called you, you knew he was stuck. I remember one time he had cut his knee with a chain saw and could not drive but instead of just ridding with one of us he made my brother drive him in his jeep. They hit a rock on the ledge of upper two and put some rock rash on the back fender. My brother felt bad he had dented Brian’s jeep and then he turned to Brian to see what he had to say and he looked him in the face the a smile from ear to ear and said “I love it”. Over the next few years my dad, brother, Brian, and a few other close family friends spent a lot of time on the trails in Tellico. I don’t mean just a few weekends a year but more like a few weekends a month. Then Brian was killed in a mountain biking accident. Neither my brother nor I had ever lost a friend before. This was very depressing for both us until we got back to Tellico. Then every trail you ride or every ledge you climb brings back memories.

Since we started riding at Tellico we have made many new friends in the offroad community. Most of these friends make there livings with ether 4x4 garages in the area or fabrication shops that build vehicles designed just for the trails at Tellico, or rental property’s for the visitors to Tellico to stay in. So not only are you taking away a recreation area for some but are taking away a living for these people by closing the Tellico OHV area.

My wife and I now have are first child on the way. He will be born in July. I just want to be able to give him the memories of enjoying the outdoors like I was able to have. Not everyone likes to hunt or fish, or is physically able to hike or bike to enjoy the national forest in this country. Tellico is one of the few public OHV areas in the southeast and it would be a shame to see it closed.

DJ Carder


















Brian

[Numidian]

I've not wheeled Tellico YET. But it is definitely on my list of places to wheel before I die. It's a 12 hour trip from my home and just not feasible for me at this point in time. But as soon as I graduate college, I WILL be making it down there.

We need to preserve what land open for wheeling that we have. I want to be able to take my children wheeling and allow them to enjoy the beautiful land that our country has.

[backyard wrenchers]

I would like to keep tellico open, many of my friends have been there and loved the wheeling and camping down there, ive personally never been but would soon like to make a trip down to tellico. the number of places to wheel on the east coast is getting smaller and smaller it seems, i dont want to loose any more places especially a big one like tellico because of all the good things i hear about it. for most people wheelin is more than just a hobby, it is a part of life, if i can help to keep tellico open i will do what it takes.


thank you,
Grason

[vetteboy79]

In the summer of 2004, I made my first trip down to the Tellico OHV area. I had just finished lifting my jeep another few inches, gotten a set of 33" TSLs, and another online forum I was involved in was hosting a trail ride. I packed all my camping equipment in my XJ and set off on a 900-mile day.

I arrived at Crawford's campground late that night and was promptly welcomed by other members of that same forum, who had stayed up to not only make sure I found the site without problems, but kept a warm fire and a cold beer for me as well. I had only met these people over the internet at this point, and to receive such instant friendship was a great start to the week.

I quickly found out that I wasn't quite ready for 33s...




Spent some time warming up on the piles at Crawfords...






and we hit the trails. Here's a few other shots I found...

Fain's Ford:




Stateline crossing, which has since been bridged:



Somewhere on the way to Slickrock, I think:





We wheeled the trails we could handle, and watched others do those we couldn't. I had a 900-mile return trip looming at the end of the week so I was hesitant to really push the limits, but we still had a terrific time. Besides Crawfords, we had some members staying at the Tellico cabins, and we made frequent trips into Murphy for food and supplies, as well as many trips to the General Store just past the Stateline campground. My jeep made the return trip without issue and I was left with nothing but great experiences from the whole journey.

Since that trip, my rig has grown quite a bit. My fond memories from a few years ago, plus the greater capabilities of my rig, left me just waiting for the chance to make that 900-mile trek again with the jeep in tow this time.

The group I wheel regularly with had just started throwing around ideas of making a trip this summer when the closures were announced. Without being sure of what we could expect by the time summer came around, we were reluctant to commit to reservations, vacation time, and fuel costs. At this point we've gone back to planning smaller and more local trips, because it's now past the time when we can really schedule and coordinate the extended days off. It may be another year before we're able to go down to Tellico again, and I can only hope that the park will be still be open by the time we have the opportunity to make another visit.

The amount of land available for OHV usage on the East Coast is very small. Many states have absolutely no public land available for wheeling, and no plans or resources to allow it. Many of us, especially those of us in the northeast, are completely used to driving several hundred miles just to spend one weekend wheeling. To reduce the amount of land available will only serve to concentrate this usage even more tightly, creating greater potential for overpopulating and overusing the land. I totally support seasonal closures for trail maintenance, and I totally support management of existing routes in order to achieve workable compromises for all types of usage. However, management by blanket/permanent closure and bias towards specific usage groups is NOT an acceptable solution. I look forward to doing what I can to help keep this area open...not only so that I can make many more trips there, but so that others can have the same great experiences that Tellico OHV has allowed me to have.

Chris Macock
Red Bank, NJ

[NorthGaZJ]

I still remember my first trip to Tellico and how awesome that trip was. Since then I have enjoyed many memorable trips, from family camping trips to “guys” weekends, from non-eventful trips to trailside repairs in the dark and rain. Tellico is by far my daughter’s favorite place to wheel and it holds a special place with our family in that most of our trips have 4 generations represented. We always have a great trip and each time we leave for home, we look forward to the next trip that brings us back. I surely hope to be able to continue to enjoy this area in the future.

[aaronr10]

I have never been to Tellico but the fact that trails all around us are in risk of closure concerns me as an OHV'er. Once I get the chance to make it there It would be nice to have it available for use.

[slravene]

Tellico was one of the best trips that I have been on. The times that we shared around the camp and while on the trail were amazing. Not only is Tellico home to some of the best trails in NC, it is home to one of the most beautiful sceneries in the United States in my opinion. The town of Murphy has always been welcoming and on our trip, we tried our best to give back to the community through gassing up in town, eating in town, and buying the things that we needed for the trip in town. During our ride we took time to enjoy the scenery as well as wheel and without Tellico being open, the generations after us are missing out on that scenery and it makes no sense to deny them that ability. Some of my best memories of trail riding and camping are at Tellico and I want future generations to have those memories as well.






Just Enough around the campfire.

[Renee]

Originally Posted by Lance

I have never been to Tellico before, but it is on my list of places to go. I have many friends who spend lots of time enjoying the Tellico trail system, and I look forward to making the pilgrimage from California to Tellico to spend my money there, and enjoy everything the area has to offer.

And as always, I'll be tagging along, so please make sure the trails are kept open.

[Lil' Rich]

Save Tellico!

I have never been but it has been on my list of places to visit. Why? I have the unique sense of adventure and wish to see the many portions of the U.S. that make this country so great. I have friends that wish to do the same; some of them don’t have the ability to walk, whether it is old age, injury, or natural born causes. With closures, not only am I facing the lack of ability to see these things, but also are my friends who cannot hike, ride a horse, etc.

I will be helping out a group on the Rubicon this year that does just that, gives disabled veterans, disabled athletes, and the like the chance to see and experience things that would otherwise be impossible with land closures. This experience gives more than anyone could ever ask, and I for one think they are due for the chance.

On another level, the trail systems that many off-highway users navigate build great family ties and relationships that last for years to come, and at the same time take the minds off the never ending onslaught of economic issues. Think about the effect of closing a popular trail does:

1. Families have to find other ways to bond, making families spend money elsewhere and not locally to the trail system. This has many major effects, the most prominent being that the economic structure local to the trail will suffer due to lack of tourism dollars spent at the town or county. People no longer have a reason to visit local towns and spend money. No money spent in towns mean a better chance of economic loss.

2. You are affecting a culture. Four-wheeling has become just that, a culture. How? Many hundreds of thousands of people use 4-wheeling as a way to raise children. When you look at the 4-wheeling movement, it involves TV, Magazines, TONS of internet, a 4.2 billion dollar industry, videos, events, charities, children, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, heroes, veterans, and the whole gamut of everything that every other culture brings to the table.

3. People also use 4-wheeling to relieve their minds of economic issues, kind of like a vacation of sorts from the brain pounding media outlets that say the nation is in trouble. With out venues to recreate, people tend to not spend money, think about problems more, and in turn cause more issues like mind and fiscal depression. This in turn brings the U.S. Economy further into a low state of stability.

Again, I ask that you reopen the trail, not just for me, but also for my culture of 4-wheeling. This trail is one we hold so very dear to our heart as it originated East Coast 4-wheeling. I ask that you keep in mind all the families, towns, and dollars that will be effected when something like this happens. I also ask to take a look at the local economy before the trail was closed and now with the trail closed for some time period. MAJOR differences and it hasn’t been closed for long. Can the local government and economy take this lack of finances for years to come?

Thanks for your time, I hope one day I can share many great stories about this trail of Tellico to my kids and their kids.

Lil’ Rich Klein
W.E.ROCK
Werocklive.com

[BadAssXJ]

Here are some pictures from one our many trips to Tellico OHV.

[Mr. Mindless]

My first and so far only trip to Tellico was in the summer of 2006. I was on a trip for work, training in Cherokee and Graham counties on each side of Memorial Day weekend. Just like half of us do too often, I made a last minute change to my front shock setup on my way out the door before my long road trip. I don't tow, I run what I brung, so good shocks are a nice thing to have. I wheeled at Paragon (R.I.P.) the weekend before and broke off my brand new shock mounts on my way out of the park Sunday afternoon. I drove all the way down to Crawford's Camp with no front shocks....

It wasn't as bad as it could have been to drive, but no matter - it was worth it. I stayed at Crawford's for the weekend, and my first order of business was to stick my shock towers back on. The owner (I want to say his name is Jim but I don't remember) was real nice and lent me a hand fixing my truck.

I had posted up on Pirate on my way down asking if anyone was going to be there, and whether I could hook up with them for the weekend. I ended up hanging out with some Dixie Crawler guys for the weekend who made me feel right at home. I dodn't have my truck locked at the time so I wasn't doing too well on the slippery rocks but they let me ride along on a few trails.

I remember coming up a trail towards the back side of Guardrail and getting the first honest body damage on my Dakota. I remember having it start to rain just beyond that, and we came down Gaurdrail in the rain. All the Jeeps I was with took the bypass around but I wasn't sure I'd fit, so they spotted me down the obstical. I still have not done anything that compares to coming down a soaking wet Guardrail.

Now that I'm locked up on both ends again I can't wait to go back and do Schoolbus and Helicopter Pad and maybe if it's dry enough I'd give Guardrail a chance again - going up this time... I really hope I get a chance to.

Even though I've only been there once, the Southern hospitality of all those I met and wheeling like nowhere else I've been will always leave Tellico near and dear to my heart. I really hope I get to go back.