Great Smoky Mountain Trail Ride

May 12-17, 2008, Tellico Plains, Tennessee
TLCA Sanctioned Event hosted by Southeast Toyota Land Cruiser Association
Contact: Roger Theurer, (931) 728-9625, or RgrTheurer@aol.com

Where: Upper Tellico OHG Area in the Nantahala National Forest, Tennessee

Base camp for the event is at Crawford's Campground just a few miles from Murphy, NC. There we will have a cookout and Band on Thursday Night, a Bar B Q Dinner and a giant raffle with lots of great prizes on Friday night. This year on Wednesday, we will offer an optional white water rafting trip on the Nantahala River.

Any Toyota 4WD in good mechanical shape virtually guarantees you a good time. Come see first hand the beauty of the Smoky Mountains, the rugged trails of the Upper Tellico OHV Area and enjoy you evenings in one of the finest 4WD campgrounds in the country sitting around the campfire meeting new friends and swapping stories of the days ride. There is also large selection of rental cabins and hotels in the area if you are not into camping.

 

need more help guys!

From Roger of STLCA:

Time to send in your GSMTR registrations. We currently have only 43 registrations and if we don't get a lot more this will be the last GSMTR, we need at least 100 to make a profit and remember the profits go to helping keep Tellico open. So if you have not attended you need to register this year so you don't miss the experience.

 

I'm in.

 

I wish I could go to this! It was THE best event of '06! Here are some pictures:

Kodakgallery.com Slideshow

M

 

I wish I could go to this! It was THE best event of '06! Here are some pictures:

Kodakgallery.com Slideshow

M

I'll try to take some good pictures so you don't feel left out M!

Ahmed

 

Mo, I hope you can come back to our neck of the woods sometime! Missed you at Katemcy too, whatup with that?

 

It's a darned long drive from Sandy Eggo to Texas. Even further to Murphy!

I really wish I could just jump in the FJ and drive out. You know I would!

Please say hello to the following people for me, ok:

Corky, all the Hoosier Cruisers, Joe (from Florida), Roger, Rob (his son), and if Terry & his wife are there in their UBER-Motorcoach! *sniff* I'm going to really miss this one.

M

 

I hope I can make it there. Depends on what family is doing and what school is doing.

 

I am going. Let's run over big rocks!

 

Just a little :bump: and update.

Registration has been extended until April 21st! There's still time folks! And here is a little more info about the week's events:

GSMTR Schedule

All Times are EDT
Monday - Check-in/Safety inspection- 9am to 7pm

Tuesday – Thursday: Check-in/ Safety inspection- 9 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 7 pm

Tuesday- 9 AM Driving and Winching seminar at the pavilion followed by a guided easy ride, to be conducted by the FJ Cruiser Trail Team.

Wednesday- White Water rafting group meet at 8:30 AM at the pavilion. [Wheeling on your own is encouraged, if not participating in the rafting trip.]

Thursday- 9 AM guided easy Trail Ride- 10 AM to ? Rock Crawling competition at Campground Rock Garden. Free Refreshments in Metal Tech pint glasses at the Pavilion 6:30 pm ‘til?
Food provided by the FJ Cruiser Trail Team

Friday- Check-in/Safety inspection- 9 am to 12 pm - Rides be back at camp by 6:30pm for the Dinner (we eat at 7:00), awards, and raffle. .

Saturday-Campground will be open to visitors.

Sunday- Most folks pack up and hit the road. You may ride trails but you must be out of Crawford’s campground by noon Sunday unless you pay for additional days.

All Week- The FJ Cruiser Trail Team will be in camp to show you the Cruiser and other Toyota FWD vehicles and answer your questions. You all are invited to ride with them on the trail and slide behind the wheel and tackle a portion of the trail.

Because many of our participants are veterans of this event, we do not formally assign ride groups or departure times. If you’re unfamiliar with the Tellico trails, we recommend that you seek out a truck or two that’s equipped similarly to yours, and team up for an outing. The members of the committee will be happy to assist you, if you can’t get hooked up on your own. Stay off of trails 11, & 12 if you do not have a Hard-Core rig and an experienced group leader. There are a number of hard obstacle/sections of trail that are heavily used during events, if there is a line of vehicles waiting to try them, be courteous, if you can’t make it in 3 tries pull a cable and go on, let the next guy have a chance.

See y'all there!

 

May be the last GSMTR @ Tellico! This is the Southeast event of the year at one of the best facilities, with the best trails, fantastic scenery, and tons of other outdoor activities to partake if you wish.

It can make you feel real small...

like Woody a Toyota Trail Team Leader and owner of IH8MUD

Or it can make you feel real large...

like Bob Van Eeuwan who took the very difficult by-pass at Guard Rail and made it all the way to the crest! Probably the first FJ Cruiser to accomplish this ever...and without a scratch!

It's not too late to sign up! Deadline has been extended to April 21st.
Form is available at the first post on this thread. :signed:

 

:mecry: I want to go. Best place to wheel in all the South.

M

P.S. An FJ really made it up Guardrail? No winching? We winched 9 trucks up that rock. Wow. I lost 6 pounds the week I was at GSMTR due to all the winching, hiking, etc. It was amazing!

 

I'm in, will arrive late on Thursday May 15th.

 

As far as I know TN, GA, SC, NC, and FL club officers will be there. This would be a good chance to come out and see what your local clubs are all about.

UC will be there. Were in the big cabin and one of the bunk houses.

 

We're in. Will be there Fri around lunch.

 

Looking forward to hanging out with you again Tina.

 

Copied from STLCA rep's post on MUD:bigthumb:

chattfj40 said:
Hope ya'll don't mind, but thought I'd cross post this here:

Here's a list of the Big Prizes we have so far for the Raffle...More to come as we get them.

Interco Tires
Any set of 4 tires they make size 37 or less

Pit Bull Tires
Any set of 4 tires they make size 37 or less

BFG Tires
Set of 4 BGF MTs sized 35

Warn
Winch, either a M8000 or 9.5 Ti depending on how many we have registered

Iron Pig Off Road
Lance and Cam are cooking up something special. Only rumors what at this point, but ya'll know it'll be awesome!

Atlanta Custom Creations
Same deal as IPOR, not sure what but it'll be great!

Were still taking registrations so get them in quickly if you've forgotten. If you don't show up, you ain't gonna have a chance to win anything!

If you're planning on coming, but haven't yet registered, PM me so we can add you to the list.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there! :blueblob::redblob:
:cheers::cheers:

 

Thanks for the update Rick. We can't wait to be there.

 

GSMTR Raffle Prizes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TTT

Here's a list of the Big Prizes we have so far for the Raffle...More to come as we get them.

Interco Tires
Any set of 4 tires they make size 37 or less

Pit Bull Tires
Any set of 4 tires they make size 37 or less
BFG Tires
Set of 4 BGF MTs sized 35
Warn
Winch, either a M8000 or 9.5 Ti depending on
how many we have registered
Iron Pig Off Road

Bumper and skid plate package from IPOR.
IPOR rear bumper, 3/4" recovery points, no swing out
New IPOR FJ40 skid plate, also fits trucks with ORION tcase
IPOR front bumper with winch mount.
All Pro Off Road
FJ Cruiser Bumper
Advance Adapters
$300 Gift Certificate
Powertank
10lb Powertank complete setup
Atlanta Custom Creations
not sure what but it'll be great!


Were still taking registrations so get them in quickly if you've forgotten. If you don't show up, you ain't gonna have a chance to win anything!

If you're planning on coming, but haven't yet registered, PM me so we can add you to the list.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

 

We are packed and will be leaving town at noon today to make our way to Tellico. We should be there in time for dinner tonight with the Trail Team.

I just want to know who ordered all of this rain we are getting today?

 

We'll be on the road at 1:00 pulling the pimp house...
Didn't you say you'd be cooking! LoL

 

:lol: is right! I am not even leaving until tomorrow AM! But I promise, if I was there I would have food ready for you all!

 

What? No one has posted pics yet? Some of you have been there for hours now and all we (the rest of us at home) ask of you is to go ahead and start posting pics.
Is this too much to ask?

I don't think it is fair I not only have to miss the ride but I will also have to wait "days" for the pics to start coming in.

If you think any of these comments are out of line I will give you my info so you can wire me some gas money and I will drive strait there to discus it with you.

Scott

 

Yeah, where are the pictures? I know Crawford's has wireless internet! You just have to sit in the pavilion.
Scott, you're so close! You should go!

M

 

Hey M,

The event was a blast... I got to meet some peeps from the forum... made me feel really good when they came up to me and already knew who I was... Thank you to MrsTennesseeSquire & Heather (Heather told me you told her about me?) Thanks Maureen.

Here's a few pictures that I was able to take with my camera... i'm sure you'll see more soon...

 

Great Pics Ahmed!

I have about 400 or so to go through when we get home.:lol:

We had a blast at our 1st GSMTR. Coming in on Thursday night we kind of made a wrong turn and followed the GPS and got way off track. But we made it to Crawford's and checked in to our cabin and got some sleep.

Friday we rode with Sylvan, Allen and several other 40's. We had a great day of riding and made our way back to camp in time to get ready for the dinner and raffle. Even though we didn't win anything we had a great time socializing with everyone and hanging out with the Trail Team.

This morning we meet up with the Trail Team and NCFJ (Stan and Heather) came down to ride with us. We had another great group to ride with and got to play on the rocks a little bit more. After coming back to camp LilMissTNSquire (Makayla) was not feeling well and with the majority of people packing up to leave we decided to do the same and make our way home. So, within an hour there should be some pics to follow.

I would like to thank the East Coast Trail Team. Ahmed, Will, Kevin, Zack, and Dennis were a great group of guys to hang out with and they took the time to humor me and pose for some pics. Also thanks for the goodies and we look forward to seeing you soon at some of the other rides.

I would also like to thank STLCA for putting on such a great event. Roger, Rob, Todd and Clutchee did an awesome job and got alot of great items donated for the raffle. I know they put in alot of hours to see to it that we all had a great time and will come back again next year.

We will be back and I encourage those that have never been to Tellico to get out there and check it out. It's a great place to wheel and for those of you that didn't make this year's GSMTR, you missed out!

 

Great Pics Ahmed!


This morning we meet up with the Trail Team and NCFJ (Stan and Heather) came down to ride with us. We had another great group to ride with and got to play on the rocks a little bit more. After coming back to camp LilMissTNSquire (Makayla) was not feeling well and with the majority of people packing up to leave we decided to do the same and make our way home. So, within an hour there should be some pics to follow.

I would like to thank the East Coast Trail Team. Ahmed, Will, Kevin, Zack, and Dennis were a great group of guys to hang out with and they took the time to humor me and pose for some pics. Also thanks for the goodies and we look forward to seeing you soon at some of the other rides.

I would also like to thank STLCA for putting on such a great event. Roger, Rob, Todd and Clutchee did an awesome job and got alot of great items donated for the raffle. I know they put in alot of hours to see to it that we all had a great time and will come back again next year.

We will be back and I encourage those that have never been to Tellico to get out there and check it out. It's a great place to wheel and for those of you that didn't make this year's GSMTR, you missed out!

We had a great time as well! The trails and scenery were just incredible! It was a pleasure to meet the East Coast TT. Even though we did not stay along time, it was so worth the trip... The scenery along the way to Murphy is breathtaking to stay the least. Spending the day in the FJ is one of our favorite things! I highly recommend it to everyone next year!

On a personal note, I hope that Makayla is feeling better!

 

We had a great time today at Tellico with the Squires and the Trail Team Guys. This was my first time at Tellico with a full size rig. I've been there several times on ATVs and it is a totally different experience in an FJ (you can see all the rocks on an ATV ) I look forward to going back soon. Thanks again for a good group to be out on the trails with.

 

Same to you! I am glad she is feeling better and we will see you guys at Cade's Cove next weekend!

 

Made it home two hours ago!

What a great time :clap:

I am glad Makayla is feeling better.

Nice meeting new folks like NCFJ, Ms.NCFJ and some not so new like TennesseeSquire and MrsTennesseeSquire...

Had a blast, thank STLCA for putting on such a great event once again.
Can't wait for next year!

Now I need some rest...:zzz:

 

Made it home two hours ago!

What a great time :clap:

I am glad Makayla is feeling better.

Nice meeting new folks like NCFJ, Ms.NCFJ and some not so new like TennesseeSquire and MrsTennesseeSquire...

Had a blast, thank STLCA for putting on such a great event once again.
Can't wait for next year!

Now I need some rest...:zzz:

Glad to hear that you and the family made it home. It was great to see you again and we had a great time as well. Hopefully we can do it again sometime soon.

We spent 3 hours cleaning the FJ this afternoon, and I'm pretty sure I like it when it's dirty better than clean. Our rock rails took a beating and Terry wants a skid for the rear diff now. :lol:

 

I cant remember what trail this is but it looks like they took all of the climbs out and filled it with rock/gravel/dirt. There use to be a rocky ledge area to the left in the picture where you climbed up out of the creek. Then to the right there was a rutted out trail. Then in the back there was another rock ledge to climb to get up to the spot where the FJ's are parked. I think this may have been Trail 4 but I get the trail names mixed up all the time. Im more of a visual guy.

 

That's Fain's Ford on trail 4 after the river crossing, it use to be a nice obstacle but after they did the trail maintenance they took all the fun out of it!

I cant remember what trail this is but it looks like they took all of the climbs out and filled it with rock/gravel/dirt.