This past weekend i went to Coal Creek (Windrock) in oliver springs TN, with a buddy of mine, for my birthday. I had an absolute blast, and my XJ didnt disappoint. My friend is in the red TJ Rubicon on 33's, and I had no problem keeping up. My only limiting factor was if I flexed too much my tires would hit my flares.

Heres a few pics from Saturday:



















How bout that view?













It was amazing looking out over the smoky mtns at the tops of some of the trails:






I still need to get the ones from my friends camera, so i will post up some more whenever i get them.

 

Looks like fun! The Smokey Mountain Range is one of my favorite parts of the country - just beautiful.

 

That place looks sweet, read alot about it. And it's on my top ten places in the country to wheel..

 

72,000 acres, open just about 365 days a year. It costs 17 dollars for a 1 day 'land use' permit. There is the Windrock campground about 1.5 miles down the road from it. 20 bux for 1 tent, 2 adults.

Lots of trails, some are for ATV only, which is why you need to get a map (they tell you what trails you can ride on). The trails range from gravel roads going all over the place, to moderate trails (i stuck to these, since i have such a small lift. they were a lot of fun, some smaller rocky trails, hill climbs, etc. You can hit these on a stock vehicle if you drive carefully.) Then they have difficult, which is pretty tough (oh boy i cant wait til i get 33's!), and finally Extreme, which looks insane...and you will need some serious ground clearance and rubber to make it through these.

Definitely worth it if you can make it. This was my 2nd time there, and Im hoping to make it there again early next year, once it warms up a bit. Would be a great place for a group run.

 

Wow great view. Looks like fun.

 

here's a few more from the trip:


here's what happens when you're so excited to go 4wheeling you forget to pack anything to cook with...anyone else want some shovel burgers? they're my specialty...






hey there's a big hill...think ill climb it


hey another hill...



Great view...except for that moron thats standing in the pic...oh wait, thats me, oops....



And now, we have the 1 almost WHOOPS! of the weekend, and the almost end of my jeep, and possibly my life....I was leading us down an atv trail that i dont think we were supposed to be on, and my buddy was following me. Well, all of a sudden the front right side of my jeep drops down and slams into something...i think i just bottomed out or something into a deep rut. Until i got out and looked, and i realized my front right tire was in the air! i had driven right into a section of trail that had been washed out, any further over and my jeep would have tipped over and rolled down a couple hundred feet of steep rocky cliffs! I was freaking out, so needless to say i wasnt thinking about taking lots of pictures...but i did snap 2 while we were yanking my jeep out with a tow strap.


most of the passenger side front is in the air!...very terrifying experience, but i came out of it ok, and nothing wrong with my jeep.

Its hard to see here, but if you look right next to my fenderflare you can see where it is washed out. and that slope is a LOT steeper than it looks.



well no harm done, ha...and i definitely neglected to tell my mom about that part when she asked how my trip was

Climbing up to get a better view...


Cant wait to get back there...lots of fun. Could do without the scare next time thou...

 

Those are awesome, looks like a fun time. That CB antenna there would drive me crazy though. Haha. You ever gotten a view obstruction ticket?

 

I didnt even know there was such a thing haha...nope, i bent a bracket and screwed it into the bumper endcap right before i left...didnt even screw the antenna in til i got there. Just a temperary mount, a few days ago i removed the bumper endcaps and flares. New bumpers are on the list, with a permanent mount on the rear.

 

At least you didn't forget the beer!!

 

hey, i brought what's important