Got my new 4x4Labs rear bumper this week, but it was way too pretty outside to spend my only day off wrenching. So, I decided to check out Talladega National Forest. Only a couple hours from the house, and it was a pretty scenic drive. Cleburn County, Alabama has some of the prettiest small ranches this side of New Zealand. Happy Cows. The trail (NF 600-1) is bumpy but easy, with just enough interesting spots to air down and engage 4wd so you can feel macho about the days excursion.
I scouted all of the non-posted side routes looking for campsites. There are lots of places on the road, and a couple pretty good ones a little ways off the main trail. All of those were taken by the time I got there, but I talked to a local guy riding the trail on a mule (a real one, not a Kawasaki), and he said that the six cars he had seen that day was about as busy as it ever gets. I talked to a few campers that reported the trail does get some late night revelers, so the off-trail sites are definitely the way to go. Maybe next weekend . . .
Truck looks so much happier with a little mud on the tires . . .
The blue blaze on the tree is for the Pinhoti Trail which runs parallel to 600-1 for most of this ridge.