Weekend trip Northern AL, Southern TN!

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JMY24

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2,049
Huntsville, AL/Dahlonega, GA
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Myself and 3 other buddies will be riding a route from Gurley AL to Winchester TN the 11-12 of March! With the mapping resources we have there is no definite route. Our first attempt at this trail could be considered a failure, we took some advice from a 'local' on the path and ended up branching off the main trail heading west toward Huntland TN. Due to the delay and wasted time we had to backtrack and we're unable to finish the trail, not due to resources but short on time. I have a new group of people wanting to go and I hope to meet some of y'all if you join.

Our first attempt was this passed Christmas, we navigated to the trail head with an extremely high chance of rain for the two days of riding ahead of us....

As you can see here the start of the trail goes from an unimproved surface to a river... something to consider if we had to backtrack for any reason. If the rain caused the river to rise we would be in trouble.


Lots of river crossings on this path.

After roughly 4 hours in we made it to this summit.

We set up camp in the tree line on the summit pretty early, around 1700 feeling the storm blowing in after holding back all day! We were extremely blessed to have a full warm, overcast day of riding.

We got hit hard that night but with the proper gear we're able to keep ourselves and our gear dry. The next day however, we realized we had taken a route and gone too far westward, landing us in Huntland TN instead of Winchester TN...

Not having enough time to reach Winchester and then head home we had to backtrack and leave the same route we entered. The water levels were significantly higher leaving, but we were able to accomplish getting through without the use of snorkels.
 
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JMY24

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Huntsville, AL/Dahlonega, GA
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It's a pretty entertaining, and some parts rather challenging. If you find Winchester Tn and Estillfork AL on the map it's basically a straight line between the two


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MagnoliaOverland

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Owens Cross Roads, Madison County, Alabama, United States
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Mike
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Looks like maybe you just followed the Estillfork River until it ended and splits? I can see how that area would flood quickly will all the water sources nearby and the varying elevation.

It used to be the same way down in the Sipsey Wilderness Area. I had one friend that left a vehicle at a water put in and came back to find it gone. It was eventually found about 2 miles down river :tearsofjoy:
 

JMY24

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Wow.... there are some good river crossings. Last time we went up there it poured the night we camped and crossing the rivers coming back wasn't the most comforting thing ever. Roughly 2-2.5 feet of water to cross. No need for snorkels though! We camp on the high ground! ;)


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Tim D

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Sounds interesting. I've already got a trip planned in LBL in March, but might catch you guys/gals? another time.
 
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Contributor I

Some of these photos seem familiar. I've driven from near Huntland down toward Gurley. We went in on Greasy Cove Road. I'm looking forward to getting back out there very soon. Was not aware you could get to Winchester through here.
 
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Zheking

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planet Earth
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I will come over from AR on the next time. Just dropped $ on a new DD which put new tires for the X on the back burner :-/. Would be a great trip for me, as I've been wanting to get back to my home state for a weekend and also check out Decatur / Athens, home of P Riv.
 
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JMY24

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Advocate I

2,049
Huntsville, AL/Dahlonega, GA
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1815

I will come over from AR on the next time. Just dropped $ on a new DD which put new tires for the X on the back burner :-/. Would be a great trip for me, as I've been wanting to get back to my home state for a weekend and also check out Decatur / Athens, home of P Riv.
Sounds good! I'll hit you up next time
 

Tricklet03

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Traveler II

JMY24 has trail that goes from southern TN to AL. It starts in Winchester TN and heads south. With a little coordination and planning we could do a two day trip on that route and meet some of the AL guys in the middle, have a few beers that night and then either head down the trail to AL or break off and head home depending on everyone's timeline. Second or third week in May?


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