Morning of Day #1 was another 5am wake up call but I ended up wide awake at 4:40am.
With a bathroom break and some coffee brewed, I went out to jack up the car and see what was going on with the starter. All the wiring connections were solid and we had checked the connection at the 14-pin connector at Bucc-ees so that pointed to the starter being dead. My friend John and I beat on it with a ½” ratchet and after some choice words, it did start to fire up again. That probably lasted only 5 starts before it stopped working again and eventually it would only start while hitting it and turning the key at the same time. That wasn’t a reasonable solution so we ended up push starting it the remainder of the trip. Thank you to all my friends that assisted with that! It takes a village.
The start this morning was at the top of Brasstown Bald Visitor Center/Jacks Knob Trailhead. It’s always an experience to be on the tail end of a trail of vintage sports cars head up the mountains in the dark. This morning was no exception. It was still dark while we parked and we were able to watch the sun rise from the top of the mountain and start to expand it’s reach on the other side. Was a breathtaking site.
Coffee was top of mind and fortunately three guys brought their mobile setups and were doling out the caffeine. I’d like to be better prepared for that myself the next time around. Both with coffee and “real” breakfasts, or at least greek yogurt parfaits or some pre-made breakfast burritos.
On our way down the mountain and onto the day’s route, we went through several foggy small towns before coming across an insane overlook:
After the insane overlook, there was one of the most idyllic roads I’ve ever been on. The curvy road navigated a creek, with beautiful fall colors, and several fly fisherman whipping their poles in search of fish.
From there Cherohala Skyway with its long, beautiful sweepers and valley views.
A few things to note at this point:
- Pretty minimal food besides snacks have been consumed (and one mcchicken).
- I’ve been working to get the truck listed on BAT and after months, it happened to get listed the Friday before the rally which meant it was ending on this day, at 1:30pm eastern: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-chevrolet-c10-pickup-11/
- We’ve had pretty minimal cell service.
- What was described as a 7-8 hour driving route at a pace to take stops could have easily been 11-12 hours at our pace, which wasn’t even that slow.
After Cherohala skyway, we briefly got service rolling through a few small towns as I was trying to refresh the BAT auction without much success. As luck would have it, we were also about to go through Tail of the Dragon again. At the bottom of the Dragon, we stopped at one of the merch stops for a break, finally got wifi, and I saw that the truck didn’t hit it’s $23k reserve. At least I got a TOD sticker.
With any auction, you know most of it is out of your hands but my hopes were up and I felt pretty crushed. Also running with minimal energy, I just felt like I wanted to be done for the day. I felt like the debbie-downer of my crew.
At some point, I realized I hadn’t really had much to eat besides the aforementioned mcchicken, snacks, and coffee (on top of the last two days of driving to Helen, GA's lack of normal nutrition). I scrounged an apple and a clementine from the crew and a Snickers at a gas station and it picked me right back up. Instead of wanting to take the “straight” route to our airbnb, I carried on and am glad I did.
It's also apparent that my lack of energy at this point resulted in a lack of pics...
We accidentally took a turn off the Overcrest route and it ended up being another banger of a road while also cutting some time off the regular route. Minimal cars, afternoon sun, and mountain roads. Chefs kiss.
The Airbnb we had on Friday night in Waynesville, NC was a great spot with a huge great room and a hot tub. We ordered a gaggle of pizzas and wings, enjoyed a few beers, hopped into the hot tub, and did my best to catch some ZZZs while being in a room with twin bunk beds and three other middle-aged men, who happened to snore… Unfortunately, I was the last to fall asleep.
Oh well. Another night with less than <5 hours of sleep and another 5am wake-up. Onto day #2!