Sherrie and I made a successful trip to Uwharrie over this past weekend. We stayed through Sunday and worked and wheeled with members of the “other” CORE, as well as members from other clubs in North Carolina. I’ve got some good pics on CD that I will post as soon as I figure out how to do it and what online site to use. Anyone with any suggestions along this line, feel free to chime in.
“It was good to see active cooperation between the Forest Service and 4X4 club members instead of the usual coolness or down right antagonism we are used to.”
The trip down to Uwharrie was uneventful. We met the NC CORE group as well as many members of other clubs, at 0900, Saturday morning at the Uwharrie Hunting Camp. The Forest Service apparently holds a work weekend once a month and people may come in and participate. The plus is that you get to wheel that day for free. Things were very well organized, with members of the Forest Service participating in, and directing activities. It was good to see active cooperation between the Forest Service and 4X4 club members instead of the usual coolness or down right antagonism we are used to.
Sherrie and I took part in work groups both days that included setting up stone birms to help with erosion control and setting fence. Moving stone was the hardest, as the stone was located in a large pile which then had to be moved to the appropriate locations… anywhere from a few yards to maybe 35 yards away. Many of us carried stone by hand, but Wess, one of the NC CORE guys, also used the back of his jeep….. very helpful… and there were several wheel barrels available. An hour or so after we had started, other Forest Service personnel arrived with a tractor/front end loader and we moved the rest of the stone with it. Other people also set fence the first day, and we all participated on Sunday morning in finishing the fence project.
Wheeling was GREAT!! The first day was overcast but no rain, although it was raining not very far to the west of us. The second day, we caught a few light spurts of rain here and there, but nothing that kept us from wheeling. (the skies opened up after we had finished for the second day!)
We never made it to Tellico. We were advised not to try it alone and the weather on Sunday in that part of NC was basically flooding conditions.
The trails in Uwharrie are maintained for the use of OHV and ATV type vehicles although there are trails for other uses (hiking). They vary in difficulty as some are very steep and/or have rather formidable rock passages while others are basically for enjoying the terrain but offer no really hard obstacles. All of Uwharrie seems to consist of a rather slippery brownish red colored clay which forms the basis for the trails, with degrees of difficulty derived through the varying degree of steepness, wetness and/or amount of rock protruding. One of their members broke a rear axle the first day out, and yours truly blew out a tire on the second day, on a very dicey rock obstacle that the NC CORE members had made themselves. (Yes !! the Forest Service down there actually allowed them to pile rocks from up on the hillside, into a very formidable obstacle along one of the trails!)
NC CORE were great hosts and we spent the first evening with them at a cookout. I would love to have spent the late evening with them as most of them camped out, but Sherrie and I had already committed to a motel room. They want to do it again and are interested in coming up here and going to Paragon with us… gives us something to work on.
Give me some suggestions on where to post my pics people….. I think they’re worth it!!
Trail report written by Gil Campos