November 26, 2006.
Northern Tellico Off Highway Vehicle Park
Near Murphy, NC
After spending a few days of holiday weekend sitting in front of my father's TV set digesting turkey, I was ready to be moving again. Luckily, the eastern Tennessee location of my father's home offers a few interesting options for diversions on or near my return track to Louisiana. On a previous trip I had brought my KLR650 dual sport motorcycle and worked in a circuit of twisties on Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway. This time, I drove my new Toyota FJ Cruiser and returned home via Murphy NC and the trails of the Tellico Off Highway Vehicle Park.
My Silver FJ Cruiser has 4x4, automatic transmission, rear locking differential, A-Trac, and rock rails. It has the factory Dunlop Grand Trek tires with street treads, and has not been lifted. However, its greatest handicap offroad other than a novice pilot is its newness; with 35 payments ahead, it is a scary thing to go bouncing around a month old $30,000 vehicle in the rocks on slippery muddy mountain trails.
The GPS and instructions from the Tellico4x4.com website led me to the park with little trouble. I talked to a couple of guys unloading an ATV and a highly accessorized Suzuki Samuri. They gave me advice on my route. I had determined to follow trail 1 and trial 4, which from my research seemed to be most suitable for my stock vehicle. They suggested I use trail 5 to connect trail 4 to trail 1 in a loop rather than doubling back. I asked if I should air down my tires and they said it probably wasn't necessary.
Entrance to Trail 4
I think I was expecting trail 4 to be a cakewalk, like trail 1; a reasonably smooth and wide road with great views. There was a few vehicles gathered at the intersection to Trail 4. Since I had my plan I just waved and kept on going. All eyes were on the new FJ as I put it in 4-low and started up the hill.
I slowed nearly to a stop to hit the rocks at the top of that first rise; and before I knew it I was already stuck and spinning. Please, not with an audience! I locked the rear differential; that did the trick. Up and over with no fuss.
I watched the trail unfold before me, looking nothing at all like the graded road that is trail 1. Where I live in Louisiana, if I find even the smallest chert pebble, I know it is an indian artifact. Trail 4 may not be the extreme rock crawl that other trails in the park offer, but I suppose BF Goodrich wouldn't rate Trail 4 as one of the top 5 4x4 trails in the US if it didn't present something of a test. Each loud clunk and scrape against the undercarriage tested my nerve. I drive my Toyotas for hundreds of thousands of miles, and it was hard to think of this as anything but abuse. On the other hand; what a better way to bond with my new vehicle than this!
I had read a few tips on offroading the night before; wheel over rather than straddling large rocks; when hung up, move the wheel from side to side to try to find traction, don't restart a stalled vehicle that has stalled during a water crossing. There was more but that's all I absorbed, and it seemed a good start. That, gravity, and Toyota engineering kept me advancing down the trail.
I was amazed at how seldom I spun a tire even with the street tires. And further amazed at how the suspension could articulate over large rocks. The FJ inspired confidence even when the trail did not.
I moved over to be passed by two brothers riding two up on a yellow ATV. They stopped to thank me for getting over and laughed that they thought THEY were crazy for being on this trail with the bald tires on his ATV. The driver had been down the trail in his older Land Rover. They rode off in front of me and kept turning back to take pictures of me with their cell phones. They kept me in sight at all times and stopped to watch at the tricky spots; whether out of courtesy or wanting a good shot of a bad spill, it didn't matter, it was good to have them looking out.
I moved over for two vehicles coming up the trail the other way, and a man in an older Toyota Pickup also recommended I return by Trail 5. Though rated more difficult than 4, they said going downhill it was not so bad. My ATV friend said that a three foot rock dropoff at the beginning was the toughest part.
Trail 5 was much muddier than Trail 4. At the dropoff he spoke of, the walls closed in quickly and I was more concerned for body than undercarriage. There was very little clearance and I was worried a rock would tilt me to one side and give me a long lasting momento of the day. It went through straight and rock rails did their job.
Near the end of Trail 5 only a couple hundred yards from the water crossing, my luck in picking lines wore out. A rock that didn't look like much on the approach left me high centered. I locked the rear differential and both rear wheels spun freely. I changed to A-Trac; nada. Just air. My ATV friends had gone on ahead but came back after I had tried putting rocks under the wheels to no avail. We tried jumping on the bumper and even hooking a chain to the ATV but couldn't budge it. Finally he said he would go to the end of the trail and get his truck and return.
After he left I kept trying. I moved the rocks around, and tried moving the wheel from side to side. I noticed that A-TRAC kicked in when I had the wheel hard over. I put my head out the window and saw it was just my sidewall against a rock. I worked that a bit and the truck nosed slightly to the right. Interesting. I moved some rocks around and did it again, and it moved a little more. Eventually I turned it enough that I slid forward off of the rock. Success! I left behind four dark patches of rubber dust mixed in the silt and one scratched rock.
I walked ahead and made OK and thumbs up signs to a vehicle at he base of the hill but he looked at me puzzled. I drove down and found it was not the ATV guys but another guy with a killer FJ40. My rescuers were hung up at some ruts after the water crossing and I flagged them off. The FJ40 was manned by Rob Theurer who lives near the fish hatchery adjacent to the park on the Tennessee side. He is with Southeastern LandCruiser Association and I enjoyed talking to him about Tellico and his experience with the FJ Cruiser Trail Team and the pre-production FJ Cruisers that had come through on photo shoots. The yellow ATV with the two brothers on it came back and talked with us for some time.
Rob did me the great favor of spotting me as I moved through the last major obstacle of the day; the deep earthen ruts heading down to the water crossing. He also took the obligatory water crossing pictures that I hope will exempt me from poser status for another year of causeway commuting.
In the parking lot on the Tennessee side, a different ATV rider was securing his quad in the back of his pickup. I asked him to confirm the direction back to North Carolina along trail 1. He said yes that was the right way. Then he looked at my truck and said, "I'm impressed."
The scenery on all sides was stunning when the road did not command undivided attention. Dramatic vistas mark the high trails, and the lower ones follow the rushing water of the creek below. On the ride back to the North Carolina entrance, it was evident to me why more serious accidents occur on the graded dirt road that is Trail 1 than on any of the rocky goat trails above; with a little freedom to look around it is easy to be distracted by the beauty of the place.
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