The Georgia Traverse, planning and what to expect. 

Yeah, it’s unfortunate for sure. It’s almost impossible to get a trail reopened. Sadly, we have lost a lot of great trails around the southeast due to abuse.

Ahh. Good to know. Thanks!

Fantastic! Hope you have a great trip.

Glad you found it useful.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the praise.

And I’m subscribed now!

That’s awesome. I really need to get back down there and check out more of the area.

Did you end up doing the traverse at the end of November? Im planning that trip this year, thanksgiving week. If you did it, how were the trails?

@teamnoexcuses8644 Yeah, we did. The trails were a breeze. One night was nice an foggy, but that brought rain the next day. IIRC the only time we took it out of 4wd was to get up a hill to a campsite. Have fun if you make it up there. We flew through it, wish we had slowed down a bit.

I hadn’t heard of that one yet. I’ll need to look into it.

You are welcome. Glad you found it helpful.

It is actually not possible to close Trey Mountain. The North East road is closed. The main road up to the top from Helen and down to the left is always open as people live on the mountain.

@@eag8999 are you referring to the chimney lake side?

From helen to the top and down the left road side towards Hiawassee cannot be closed. Trey mountain rd to the top at least. There is a gate on the road on the right. There is also another road 3/4 of the way up on the left that heads down.

@@eag8999 ill have to go look, i live 20 min from it, last time i was over there they had the area shut down due to slides.

Did you ever do the Georgia Traverse Trail? I have an 04 Chevy Tahoe Z71 that I'm planning on running on it.

@@straydogoutdoors7050 HaulinVols Adventures and I are discussing when we will go. I'll let him advise as I'm not sure of the details. However, he did tell me that my truck would do fine. There's one spot where it is a bit rocky on the portion he did where it may challenge the truck but it wouldn't be like rock crawling. It would just be a spot to take your time.

You are welcome, hope it comes in handy for you.

It all really depends on where you are coming from and if you are starting it from the west or east. I started from the east near the GA/SC border. I was coming from the north and topped my tank off in Cashiers North Carolina (bout 15 miles away from the start). Highlands North Carolina isn't that far either coming from the north and there were a few hotels around that area. Living in Knoxville, I just left super early in the morning and drove down to start my trip.

Sure thing. Hope you have a great trip.

Also would my 2020 tundra stock height and aggressive tires be good size clearance for the worse parts or should I go with my 19 4Runner?

I did see two full size trucks in the Charlie’s Creek section when I came through. That said, you may catch your undercarriage in some sections and your back bumper may drag in some spots. It may also be a little tight in some areas. The Tundra is fairly wide. If it were me, I think I’d take the 4Runner assuming it has some good tires and it’s not on street tread.

@@haulinvols general grapplers on method rims. Lift and armor should be getting done this summer. I wanted my tundra to simply sleep in the bed since I have a cap and because I have my full mounting hardware setup on it. But I could deal!

@@The.End. gotcha. As a comparison, my Wrangler is an unlimited Rubicon leveled with 32” BFG Mud terrains. It had no problems anywhere along the trail and your 4Runner would be perfect as well. Don’t get me wrong, your Tundra would be just fine on 95% of the trip but there are a few areas of Charlie’s Creek that may or may not give you some fits. I can remember at least two spots you my drag frame a little or may drag the rear bumper but other than that it would be passable. If you search RU-vid, there is a video somewhere of a guy that did that section in a newer stock Titan. There is also one stream crossing about 2/3rds into the trip that I remember being a little on the narrow side but still passable in a full size. It would be nice having the bed to sleep in. I tent camped along my trip and hopefully the next time I do the trip I’ll have a roof top tent.

Once I hit gravel for the first time, I did lower my pressure down to the lower to mid 20s just to help with the ride and allow the tires to conform to the rocks and ruts on the rougher portions of the road. I aired down a little more when I hit Charlie’s Creek. I put a few more pounds back in the tires after that section. I did add a bit more when I hit a stretch where I was on pavement for a while. Even then I didn’t air all the way back up to normal pressures until I headed home on the highway.

I took my first photo at the start of the trip at 8:52am and hit Helen that same day at just before 5PM. Hope that helps.

Great question. I think it really depends on your comfort level on temperature. I did it in early March and to be honest, I think I’ll do it again closer to the end of March or first of April so it is a tad warmer at night. I’m comfortable down to around mid 40’s. Lower than that and my joints hate me. I like early spring and late fall camping.

I’m always hesitant to give someone a solid Yes or No for liability purposes. That said, I saw several stock trucks of all types making the trip. I’d say you could do 95% of the trip in a Subaru and even saw someone on one section in a Prius. Most of the traverse is pretty well maintained gravel road and pavement. If you have some off-road experience and know how to pick a line then a stock Taco 4x4 should be suitable. The only area I used 4wd in my Rubicon was on Charlie’s Creek and even then only really needed it in a couple spots to keep from spinning out. My Jeep was stock on 32” tires.

@@haulinvols thanks

Hello, they are some 4 foot ratchet straps I purchased off Amazon. I just passed them through the handles of the boards and through the openings in the spare wheel. Here is a link. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088ML4FK2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

@@haulinvols thanks I have them saved

Good point. There were a couple areas closer to home doing prescribed burns that week I was doing the traverse.

As with anything like this it's hit or miss. Driving down the rural roads, I would have some service, further in the back country on the forest service roads, there would be little to no service. That's why it is important to make sure your vehicle is serviced well and is in good working order. I also have a CB radio for backup communication.

The traverse starts in South Carolina, travels through parts of North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee then ends just over the border of Georgia and Alabama.

@@haulinvols ok I thought you were at the eastern end of it around Tn/Ga. From Highlands NC over through Helen Ga etc. Thanks for the video. I'm wanting to spend some time on the traverse hopefully this summet

@@mlinder2000 I highly recommend it. I did start in the east side and worked my way west. Unfortunately my trip was cut short but I plan on doing it again later in the year.