TheSamba.com :: View topic - N.E.Georgia, N.C./Tn. King Holiday Weekend Trip 2016

Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:34 am

What a great way to spend a weekend, with good like minded people and our favorite vehicles. Thank you all so much for making it such a great time and for being so genuinely nice.
Can't wait till our next outing (Dead of Winter?)

I took hours of GoPro footage on our journey along with some pictures. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get a chance outside of class along with a very condensed video of our trek!

I'm glad I met every single one of you and can't wait to do it again and again!!

Tue Jan 19, 2016 12:59 pm

Everyone grab your site for Dead of Winter here: http://gastateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/clo...kId=530148

Tue Jan 19, 2016 1:31 pm

What do you think of the King Campout route Stuart?

Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:52 pm

Has anyone checked in with Barry and his boys?

Tue Jan 19, 2016 4:55 pm

ultralite wrote: Has anyone checked in with Barry and his boys?

I talked with Barry tonight for a while.

He said it lost power on I-85 and they exited. Up the ramp and turned right and saw the classic black smoke. He pulled off right onto the shoulder and opened the engine hatch. He was greeted with fire and smoke, so they tried to smother the fire with a blanket and started getting belongings out. He said about one minute was all the time they had till the smoke was too thick and hot to go near the bus. They kept a hub cap.

They are grieving and Barry asked for prayers for Matthew, his oldest son. Portland was his daily driver for the last two years. Matthew and Barry took a west coast trip in it summer of 2014.

For the armchair quarterbacks out there I will tell you he said they did not have a fire extinguisher on board.

There is full-coverage insurance, he is working with State Farm.

No one was injured.

Tue Jan 19, 2016 5:14 pm

That's terrible news. We are thinking of Barry and his boys.

Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:34 am

Prayers for Barry and his boys for their loss and safety

Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:15 am

Jeff Geisen wrote: ultralite wrote: Has anyone checked in with Barry and his boys?
They are grieving and Barry asked for prayers for Matthew, his oldest son.

I got my first VW at his age and that Beetle hooked me on these things. I remember it fondly as I packed it with camping gear and went all over the South. It was my daily in college just like this had been for him. Add on top of that a cross country trip with his dad? Man, that's a tough loss.

If Barry thinks there is anything we could do to lift his spirits, I'm in.

People handle grief in different ways but just in case something would help, it's a question worth asking.

Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:51 pm

Hey Pops, if we had went north this weekend we would have been in a mess. Might have been fun though. Lol

Fri Jan 22, 2016 8:23 pm

I agree, we could not have traveled the Forest Service roads if there was weather like today/tonight last weekend. Amazing that we just missed the snow last Saturday night by 500' in elevation.

Next year I am hoping to route us half and half on pavement and gravel/dirt roads.

Tue Nov 29, 2016 12:48 pm

Can we start getting excited about this years trip yet?!

Tue Nov 29, 2016 12:48 pm

I'm already excited!

Tue Nov 29, 2016 8:12 pm

Alright kids, here's the deal for the 2017 King weekend trip... it'll be a bus festival next year.

It has been getting more difficult each year to come up with a new route and getting 30 buses through small towns and traffic signals, restroom and fuel stops and all the other logistic issues.

Ian and I have spent the fall up in and around the Chattahoochee National Forest pre-running over 100 miles of FS roads and scenic drives on county roads too. We will have a killer combo of pavement and FS roads for Saturday's trip from Vintage VW to our host campground near Suches, Georgia.

Both nights will be based in the same campground like we did about 4 or 5 years ago (is that about right Russ?) and Ian and I will have a full day of off pavement touring Sunday from the Toccoa Valley to neighboring ridge runs nearing 4,000' in elevation. However, if you don't want to take your baby off highway there will be plenty of other things to do right nearby.

There is the Appalachian Trail, and dozens of other notable trails in the area with great day-hike options. Vogel State Park, the famous Walasi-Yi where the AT passes through the building will be near. A few miles away in another direction are the National Fish Hatchery and the resort towns of Blue Ridge, Blairsville, Ellijay and Dahlonega.

This will be a type of staycation compared with the experience some of you have been used to the last 8 or 10 years on the King trip. I really want to showcase what a spectacular area the rooftop of Georgia is. I think this deal will evolve nicely into a bus festival.

So, same meeting place and start time as last year. I will post contact info for the host campground as soon as I hear from them on the availability and the absolute max number of spaces they can offer us.

And thanks MJ, Ben and Russ firing up the thread again.

Later

Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:22 pm

Stoked! It's my favorite trip of the year and a bus festival sounds exciting.

I don't believe I've ever been to Suches. My first MLK trip was 2014 and we camped both nights along the Tellico River in Tennessee. Count us in.

Might want to create a separate thread for this to announce the 2017 event, so that it doesn't get skipped over. Or I'm not sure how much you want to promote it or your target group size, I'd say you've got 30 repeat campers easy already.

Wed Nov 30, 2016 1:29 am

We're in! Exciting!

Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:07 am

lostorbit wrote: Stoked! It's my favorite trip of the year and a bus festival sounds exciting.

I don't believe I've ever been to Suches. My first MLK trip was 2014 and we camped both nights along the Tellico River in Tennessee. Count us in.

Might want to create a separate thread for this to announce the 2017 event, so that it doesn't get skipped over. Or I'm not sure how much you want to promote it or your target group size, I'd say you've got 30 repeat campers easy already.

My favorite trip of the year too. Russ the ride from your neck of the woods over to Suches will be beautiful.

Coincidentally, the Expedition Portal folks do a camp out the same weekend every year and they have typically camped around Suches. If they do it again this January we may see a lot of 4x4s around that weekend. 2-3 years ago I camped with them on Friday night before joining up with our MLK Convoy. It was hilarious to see my Bus in among Unimogs, FJs, and jacked up Jeeps. The looks on their faces when I drove up in my off reader was hilarious. :lol:

Tue Dec 06, 2016 7:43 pm

The King Weekend Bus Festival will base at Wildcat Lodge & Campground, Suches Georgia 30572.

We will meet at Vintage VW, 3900 Camp Rd., Jasper, Georgia on Saturday January 14th. We will have the shop open by 8:00 am.

We will drive to the campground at 9:00 AM Saturday.

Call Wildcat Lodge & Campground at 706-973-0321 to make reservations. Tell them you are with the King Weekend Bus group.

Only 27 sites to go around.

See you then.

Wed Dec 07, 2016 12:38 pm

So the RV sites are $40 a night. They advertise primitive sites for $15/night, but from their website it seems they might be walk-in. Can anyone confirm? It's nice having full hookups but I'd be ok with primitive on this trip.

Wed Dec 07, 2016 12:48 pm

your bus isn't any bigger than a Subaru forester, I'd say pack a small tent to toss out next to you if they give a question.

Wed Dec 07, 2016 3:59 pm

All the sites I saw will accommodate vehicles Russ.