ArmyJoe's Perpetual Picture Thread

Off on a new adventure. Moving to Georgia for four months.

UPDATE: I stopped at Tom's house on my way to Virginia. Unfortunately, he's still in the hospital. He had surgery yesterday to take skin from his stomach and graft it to his leg.

After describing the accident scene to his wife, she thanked me for being there and saving his life. At that point, I asked the question I'd been wondering about for a week, "Do we know that the tourniquet was actually needed?"

She said, "Oh, yes," and went on to say that on the helicopter they asked Tom where he got the tourniquet. When he told them what happened, they said, "You're lucky he was there. He saved your life."

As I was leaving his wife gave me a big hug and said, "If you get back this way, you call us. You now have family in West Virginia."

if you find yourself coming down near valdosta, let me know. i'll see if i can manage to get away from life long enough to link up. have a safe trip. and like i said... great job.

Ft Gordon, Georgia. My base of operations for the next four months.

well, you should be pleasantly close to some great riding. Helen, GA (3hrs NW of you) is a nice place to visit. Lots of local roads. Richard B. Russell Highway north of Helen is a nice scenic ride... I walked down to the falls at Dukes Creek Falls. Well maintained path... and roughly a mile hike as I recall.

if you find yourself going down to savannah... if you head towards the beach at tybee island... i recommend The Crab Shack which is just on the island as you drive in from savannah.

that said.
check Ernbo's "dives and diners" thread in the region forum. :)

Welcome to GA.

Thanks!

It's rained almost all week, so it's been poor conditions for riding. Today was clear and I got out of class early, so I went exploring. Heading out to the training areas, I turned onto the first dirt road I found (after checking for "do not enter" signs).

The roads were sand and pine needles.



Occasional rutted sections added some challenge



My bike got stuck



and took a nap



But I managed to string together over 8 miles of dirt.



At it's closest point, this track is only a mile from my room, so I'll definitely be back.

making the most of what the Army has to offer.

wish i had the toys that i have now when i was in the army. back in '93-95 when i was stationed at Ft Hood, so long as there wasn't any official training activity in specific areas... we had LOTS of room to explore.

no idea how it is now. but i wouldn't mind having the freedom to explore out there again. lots of memories there.

I have about two hours of video from last weekend's Long Cane Dual Sport near Abbeville, South Carolina, but no time to turn it into an edited video.

Here's a short one from this weekend. I took a break from studying my CCNP to work on a off-road route about a mile from my room. I was able to string together 5 miles, but I think I can get it up to 7.5 miles with very little overlap. Hopefully by the time I leave in October, I'll be an expert on sand.

Slightly NSFW due to one muffled F-bomb.

I have a 4-day weekend, so I'm heading up the southeast leg of the Trans-Eastern Trail - South (TET-S, aka Southern DS Loop). Over the next few days, I'll be riding through Robbinsville, Tellico Plains, and then dipping back down into Georgia to hit the Suches area. I'm not sure how much is gravel vs. pavement, so I'm not sure how far I'll be able to make it each day. As someone that like to plan trips, this is way out of my comfort zone.

It should be an Adventure.

Aaaaand go!

tellico plains is a really nice area. we've been through there twice in our Jeeps. Bald River Falls is a good photo spot. i dont think the road is open all the way through anymore based on what i've read.

they closed the "Tellico ORV Area" several years ago, but last I heard, the road that used to be "trail 1" is still an open gravel road from Murphy, NC area (off of Hanging Dog Rd iirc...)

Made it to Robbinsville, NC. That was one long, wet day.

GTFO 2013, Day 1 - July 4th

I set my alarm for 7 AM, but if it went off, I didn't hear it. I had a long ride planned and this did not bode well. When I woke at 9 AM, I scrambled to get loaded. It was almost 10 by the time I left Fort Gordon. More than once today, I'd scream out at nobody in particular, "I want my two hours back!"

With late start, I chose to bypass the first 60 miles of the route. Instead, I shot straight up Route 28 and would meet the trail just south of Abbeville. It wasn't long before I crossed my first state border of the trip.



A quick side trip to check out the Clarks Hill Lake and Dam.



When I finally regained the TETS, I turned south instead of north. I was in this area two weeks ago for the Long Cane Dual Sport and I wanted to check out the site of an Indian massacre. It wasn't long before I'd hit my first gravel of the trip.



The creeks are running high and dirty.



The Long Cane Massacre burial site. Wow, it just struck me. This happened so long ago, these people were English Colonists.







Most of the morning was a good mix of dirt and asphalt. In addition to weaving back and forth between South Carolina and Georgia, I'd also dodge thunderstorms most of the way. Stopping for lunch in Hartwell, Georgia, I saw this old gas station.



It wasn't long before I reached the mountains, but from here, I rode through almost constant rain.













I was running late and cut out a small portion of trail in order to make it to Kickstand Lodge by 9:30 PM. It was a long day, being on the road almost 12 hours and 311 miles.

Have a great trip!.....Keep the pictures. Coming......I have rode it....its a very nice route.....enjoy!......your right in me neck of the woods. I leave TN on Sunday heading to Montana to do the divide road.....cheers!

I am really digging this thread ArmyJoe. This is the first thread I subscribed to on this site. Partly because there are so many similarities to myself and also because it's just been great reading it.

Here is why I connected with this thread. Like you: I have WR250R. I am in the midwest (Michigan). I am in a reserve component of the military (Michigan National Guard). I am Signal. I have been to Ft. Gordon many times and I may be there again for 6 months or more next year.

I am new to motorcycles and have put it off for most of my life (except for some dirt bikes when I was younger). After turning 40 I bought this bike. I wanted something that can go anywhere. I do know that if end up back at Ft. Gordon next year I want to bring my WR and learn from your experiences there.

Thanks for the posting and keep it up. I am really enjoying the story and pics.

i used to play on the tank trails when i was stationed at fort benning ga 2003-2006 baker 1/15 3rd Infantry division rock of the marne

Hunkered down for the evening five miles northwest of Crandall, Georgia. One bar on phone and battery dropping fast. Will try to update tomorrow.

It was nice to meet you today at the bakery.

It's good to hear you made it to your next spot and are hopefully warm and dry.

We found our way to the Starr Mountain trailhead. Since it was raining we didn't meet a single vehicle. It was great! It was a wonderful trip. You will have to try it next time you are in the area. It wasn't far from Tellico at all. It had beautiful views. We imagine it will be an exceptional trip for the fall. We will have to plan something to help get past the pummeling UT seems to always get by Alabama the 3rd week in October.

Well, next time you're back in the area, let us know.

Have a safe trip tomorrow,
Ms. Jarhead

For what it's worth, Helen, Georgia is everything I expected it to be. I'm walking around in a T-shirt, BDU pants, and flip flops (my boots are soaked) and I fit right in.