Epic Trip #2

Planning epic trip #2 with the first this summer being my New York to Cincinnati to Moab to Las Vegas and back to New York. That trip was about 5,600 miles and this will be less that half of that, but a lot of driving and a lot of wheeling.

That first trip was more than epic and it was about the mortar more than the bricks. Both of my Jeeps have been function over form and my trips have been similar. I want the experience of connecting with people while having great times and memories. So the Jeep is just the means to an end and a way for me to engage more with life.

This past weekend, Dec 9th-10th, I did Holly Oaks and South Marblehead Loop - both in Michigan and the former was darn near the Canadian border. The first picture was from 8:04 am on the 10th after I had run South Marblehead Loop from

12:30am-2am, slept in the back seat of the Jeep. The trip was almost 30 hours of driving plus trail time. And I did it in a little over two days. I want this trip to be a bit more intentional and cover a bit more ground.

I may chip away at some of these trips and Bearwallow, in West Virginia, isn't on this list as I may do that as a trip this weekend.

If I added Bearwallow to the above trip, it would add 184 miles
and three hours of driving. This next trip will add between five and six Badge of Honor badges to the

Jeep and give me a bit more trail cred. There are a few trails that I could hit that would not be on that list. One trail at Windrock is more than what I want to do and Beasley Knob, in Georgia, rated between 7 and 9, is another I'm just going to let pass me by.

The screenshots of the distances to these trails are all from my house in Poughkeepsie/Lagrangeville New York. Rather that tackle these trails as onesie, twosie, I figured I would go on an adventure and do a bunch of trails at once.

When looking at the December 2023, calendar, the time to leave seems like December 26th and come back on January 1st. That would be 1,626 miles of driving over 7 days which equates to 232 miles of driving per day and less than 6 hours of driving a day. I have to take into account trail time and also, that some of these days I will be driving more than that...especially the first day and the last day will be more driving. So this is certainly doable. And I have the time off of work so I'm doing it. I can't imagine I will have any mechanical mishaps. I did buy my Jeep on June 3rd with 13 miles and it now has 29,926 miles, but I still consider it new and it drives actually better than the day I first bought it.

Dec 26th - drive to Redbird
Dec 27th - off-road at Redbird and drive to Turkey Bay Dec 27th - off-road at Turkey Bay and drive to Windrock Dec 28th - off-road at Windrock and drive to Gulches Dec 29th - off-road at Gulches and drive to Bearwallow Dec 30th - off-road at Bearwallow - 6 badges total

This allows me to run six Badge of Honor Trails and gives me an extra day to visit Rob or Julian or just do whatever.

I do have a bit of extra time and I don't have to be back in New York until January 2nd, so I added Stony Lonesome in Alabama to the mix. This will add 247 miles and 4 hours to my trip which makes is doable for sure. And a lot of the trails have been about tackling the trail without smelling too much of the roses thing. If I were doing this trip with someone, there would be less of the need to do it at this frenetic pace, but since this is solo, I can push it to the limit. This trip would be seven Badge of Honor Trails which would bring me up to 20 in total.

I invited Julie to come along and she'll be in Texas until Dec 29th - I told her that instead of flying home to Baltimore, she can fly to where I am and I'll grab her at the airport, and we can run a few days of trails together. I

ran my first Badge of Honor Trail with her back in early July, Peters Mill Run, and she loved it. She has also been to Assateague Beach with me where we ran the sand with feral horses. Julie is a great trail companion and she has a lot of adventure in her, and she can keep up with me both mentally and physically.

I also have the possibility of visiting Rob & Julia in Cincinnati and Julian & Deb in Raleigh and I have the opportunity to do that, I can visit one or both of them.

There is also something I have not factored in, is that these trails will even be open during the week and this time of year. Most likely will be but there is the off chance that one might be closed and I want to know that ahead of time so I can plan effectively.

Logistics of the trails:

Redbird - they are open 7 days a week and do not require any fess be paid as long as your vehicle is road legal

Turkey Bay - open 7 days a week dawn till dusk but requires a permit

Stony Lonesome - open 7 days a week for $15 - day and night rides

Windrock - open everyday for $29.16 per day

Gulches - $25 a day - only open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Bearwallow - no fees - open 7 days a week from dawn till dusk 

There is also a more optimistic or adventurous trip which I will call option #3. 

Option #3
Dec 26th - head to Redbird
Dec 27th - off-road @ Redbird & off to Turkey Bay Dec 28th- off-road @ Turkey Bay & drive to Stony Dec 29th - off-road @ Stony & drive to Windrock Dec 30th - off-road @ Windrock & drive to Gulches Dec 31st- off-road @ Gulches & drive to Bearwallow Jan 1st - off-road at Bearwallow
Jan 2nd - drive home - 7 badges total

I spoke with Julie and she gets back from Texas, to Baltimore, late on Dec 29th. I would like her to join me on the journey and meet me on the road, meaning fly into wherever I am and I would just grab her. But she doesn't work that way.

Another option is to do Redbird this weekend, Dec 16th-17th, and shift the timeline. This would be option #4. I have a lot of routes I can go down. All of these options are not considering visiting Rob or Julian and spending time with Julie if I can.

 I know I will meet people on the trail as I always do, and I want to make space for them as well, and leave myself flexible and open to new experiences. I also have to plan for my health which has been shaky at best lately. I can always pivot for a day and skip a trail. There are also some of these places where I can shower for $5 and just sleep in the Jeep. I will bring food and water to keep expenses down and my major cost will be gas.

Option # 4
Dec 26th - drive to Turkey Bay
Dec 27th - off-road @ Turkey Bay & drive to Stony
Dec 28th - off-road @ Stony & drive to Windrock
Dec 29th - off-road @ Windrock & drive to Gulches
Dec 30th - off-road @ Gulches & drive to Baltimore to get Julie
Dec 31st- drive to Bearwallow and off- road
Jan 1st - drive to Baltimore
Jan 2nd - drive home - 6 badges

Option 5 can be the most workable - do Bearwallow this weekend and head to Julie's after I do Gulches - the challenge is I would have an 8 1/2 drive after doing a trail on New Years Eve

Option # 5
Dec 26th - head to Redbird
Dec 27th - off-road @ Redbird & off to Turkey Bay
Dec 28th- off-road @ Turkey Bay & drive to Stony
Dec 29th - off-road @ Stony & drive to Windrock
Dec 30th - off-road @ Windrock & drive to Gulches

Dec 31st- off-road @ Gulches & drive to Baltimore - 8 hours 32 minutes Jan 1st - spend in Baltimore
Jan 2nd - drive home - 6 badges total

Option # 6 would be even more feasible - I just sacrifice a badge in the process and don't do Gulches

Option # 6
Dec 26th - head to Redbird
Dec 27th - off-road @ Redbird & off to Turkey Bay
Dec 28th- off-road @ Turkey Bay & drive to Stony
Dec 29th - off-road @ Stony & drive to Windrock
Dec 30th - off-road @ Windrock & drive to Bearwallow
Dec 31st- off-road @ Bearwallow & drive to Baltimore 6 hour 35 minutes
Jan 1st - spend in Baltimore
Jan 2nd - drive home - 6 badges total