George Washington National Forest – The second part of the spring weekend get-a-way
After leaving Skyline Drive with stiffening legs from the high mountain climb. I hit the road for some lazy camp time reading and relaxing. Again, without a good map or GPS, I made my way toward George Washington National Forest (GWNF) and the OHV / ATV trails. Five years had passed since I had been there. I could see the mountains in the distance, shouldn’t be that hard to find. I needed state road 675 out of Luray, VA.
Entering GWNF – I found it !
Trail Closed. Bummer.
I could find 648 and 682 but no 675. No worries, I just kept driving toward the mountains. Soon enough my path crossed with 675. I was in business. And sure enough the Peters Mill and Taskers Gap OHV / ATV area was found. A gate blocked the dirt road and stated the road was closed. I drove on. Further along I found the real entrance to Peters Mill and Taskers Gap OHV/ ATV area and the gates were open. Yippee.
Getting Mud on the Tires
By off roader’s standards these roads are not much of a challenge and in fact, last time I was here, I never engaged the 4×4 on the Jeep. Not much had changed since last time. But I had the trail to myself late that Saturday evening. Several Tom turkeys flew off the dusty road, as I would turn the corner. Strutting for the ladies and taking a dust bath for a later date, they were enjoying their mating season.
Next week or so, I’ll be walking the woods with turkey call and shotgun. I hope these are not the last turkey’s I’ll see for a while.
The Tacoma doing what she does best.
Finding a convenient level spot along the side of the trail, I stopped and set up camp. The little cocoon one person backpack tent has seen better days. Rust stains from the wet weather camping of last summer marked the tent. The rain fly was missing a window. Think about that, a rain fly without a window is not much of a rain fly now is it? I took a mental note to visit REI soon for a replacement tent.
After a dinner of beefaroni, I went to work on finishing a project I had started a week earlier. The auxiliary back up lights I had installed on the rear bumper had taken a beating with one losing its’ lens. New LED lights from Advance Auto Parts were installed as replacements. However, I had not finished wiring the lights. With the remaining daylight, I wired the lights. On the test run they worked. After completing the taping of the pigtails and stuffing the wires, the lights no longer came on. Nor did the windows go up, or did the heater fan run. I had blown the fuse.
No biggy, I went to the tools / extra parts box in the bed of the truck to get another fuse. Woops, the leftovers from the jeep are full size fuses and the Toyota Tacoma takes mini fuses. Oh well, looks like I’m driving with the windows down and no heat until I get to town tomorrow.
By Flashlight, I read about the history of the Shenandoah National Forest. Interesting, I learned the park property was almost all owned by private individuals at one time and unlike most other parks the land had to be purchased from private citizens.
Sunday Morning Service GWNF Style
Eggs and sausage fried on the camp stove filled the camp air, as the morning sun appeared in the east. I could see the sun, but my valley remained in the shadows, chilly shadows. Looking over the trail map, I decided to run Peter’s Run trail, a 6.5 mile drive on rock, mud and dust. Then I planned to spend the afternoon in the kayak catching smallmouth bass in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.
Enjoying the view
With camp packed, I jumped in the truck and began my Sunday. Turning on the radio, Amazing Grace played; A song of special significance. I thought of family members that have past including my father and grandfather. They would have enjoyed this weekend out playing in the woods. The next song played was Believe by Brooks and Dunn.
If that song does not raise the hairs on your arm, nothing will. I was not sitting on a church pew on this Sunday morning, but I believe God placed those songs on my radio at that time for me to hear. I sat for a few minutes, prayed, contemplated my future and pondered my past. In my old truck in the middle of the woods, I held my own church, just between me and God. The view from Peters Mill Run over the valley below and the distant mountains was awe inspiring. I stood captivated, cleansing my mind of the weekday daily grind clutter.
Mountain view from Peter’s Mill Run GWNF
Adventure Augie Style
Jumping in the truck to continue on, I soon realized the truck was not running right. She started to spit and sputter. The dash started to go dim. I shut her down and she would not start again. So here I was miles from nowhere, early on a Sunday morning, with a broke down truck. Woops.I first started to think I had done something with the wiring of the backup lights, causing a short of some sort. I finally discovered the positive battery terminal was corroded, not making a solid connection. The battery was not recharging.
I fixed the problem by cleaning the terminal. The cheap flimsy clamp was old and brittle. I could not get it good and tight after the cleaning. But good enough for now I figured. Being it Sunday, I just knew someone else would be coming down the trail at some point. I could get a jump start from them. So I just sat there and read.
An hour or so later a guy came by in a new shinny black Ford Raptor pick up. He was quickly followed by a parade of ATVs. One of which, we attached my winch cable to; pulling my truck off to the side of the trail, thus allowing the Ford to pull up along side of me and connect my jumper cables.
The old Toyota would just not take the juice from the Ford. Click, click, click, is all I got when I turned the key. At one point I heard the words “You’re screwed my friend.” But soon enough my rescuer arrived. Tom riding his 1973 Honda 125 dirt bike stopped to investigate. He fiddled with the battery terminal and reconnected the jumper cables. A few minutes later the Tacoma came to life. Using a pair of vise grips wrapped in a rag, we secured the battery terminal connector and leads. I was back in business and after several “thank you’s”, I was back on the trail.
Temp fixed battery terminal with vise grips
A simple $6.00 part, left me stranded on the trail.
You know, I believe I am going to look into purchasing one of those battery jump boxes, or adding a second battery to the truck.
I never made it fishing as I was kind of afraid to shut the truck off, thinking it might not restart. On the way home, I stopped at Advance Auto Parts spent the $6.00 on a new battery terminal and in ten minutes the truck was fixed. I had not noticed the corrosion build up because of the boot over the terminal. I would strongly suggest you check yours. It could be a lurking problem.
All in all, I had a great weekend exploring the hiking trails of Shenandoah National Park and driving the OHV trails of George Washington National Forest. A little physical exercise, adventure and reflection all tossed in two days. Yep, I feel refreshed.
