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Sundays weather was a lot better, the sun had
broke through and it was warming up nicely. For the ride today,we had
the same head count as shy one of the full-size rigs. We headed out to the
"Gulf" as it's known locally. It's basically a river gorge than can either be
wet or bone dry. It all depends on the weather. I can tell you that you don't won't to be
down there during flash floods as you can see many places that the water line is a lot
higher than the average 4X4.
We originally were going to run it south to north but due to high water we
turned around went back out of the gorge and went in at the north entrance. From where
you air down and leave the pavement it is a little over a mile to the bottom. you loose
about 700 feet of elevation in that mile too. It's a steep and narrow trip down filled
with loose rocks and a few off cambers. Once at the bottom, you basically follow the
rivers path downstream. There are several creek crossings and the big river crossing that
can be real deep sometimes. Mike and I have been down there many times and it's always
fun. You get such a variety of terrain, mud, rocks, ruts and combinations of it all.
We reached the "House of Prayer" which is a block building in
the middle of nowhere. You have to
have a 4X4 or ATV to get
there but they still hold services down there. Since everybody wanted to head home before
dark, we turned around and headed back the way we came in. The long uphill
section coming out of the gorge was way more challenging going up as opposed to down. The
loose rocks meant that unless you were locked up, you didn't stop until you got to the
top! Once we made it to pavement, it was no time and we were back in Monteagle. It's hard
to beat the terrain that Monteagle offers, everybody had their fill of every type of
wheeling. So until next time.........Which by the way, is not until hunting season is
over. A lot of the land is open courtesy of hunting clubs, so lets respect our fellow
outdoorsmen.
--Drew Huber |