Day #141 – Cherohala

Cartersville GA to Sweetwater TN

Yikes!  We’re supposed to be in Gatlinburg tomorrow!  I had wanted to get there today so I’d have time to shop for groceries and do some meal prep for Debbie and Linda.  I really enjoy cooking for them and wanted to prepare something special for them after their long road trip.

That was a pretty good plan until I looked at a map showing elevation.  Both Google and my trusty Trailer Life Trip Planning software had suggested the same route for us to take from Cartersville to Gatlinburg.  The Trailer Life software showed elevation changes along each step of the travel plan.  Both packages had us travelling less than 200 miles, which was great.  But, careful inspection showed we’d be towing through dozens of switchbacks, from 755 feet, up to 4849 feet, then back down to 1601 feet.  I knew our transmission could handle it, but I wasn’t sure about our brakes, or Kelly’s sanity.  By traveling a different route, via Sweetwater, we would stay along the ridges and minimize the ups and downs.  Today, we would travel 127 miles, going from 755 feet, up to 1050 feet, then down to 928 feet.  Much more do-able.

In reality, it was another white knuckle day.  The roads looked big on the map, but for most of the way, they were narrow with deep ditches and neither shoulders nor guardrails.  I admire Kelly’s ability to tune out my fear and focus on the road.  I feel guilty that I’m afraid to drive this rig, but I’m eternally grateful that she has the necessary courage.  I try to do more than my share of other tasks to make up the difference, but nothing can make it up.  Without her courage to drive this new trailer, we’d either be crawling along at my pace, taking out trees and pedestrians with my current level of driving skills, or travelling without a trailer.  I know I’ll master it, as I had done with the TrailManor, but thankfully, we have Kelly. 

We got into the Sweetwater KOA in the early afternoon.  The staff there was so nice!  They had heard about the staff at the Cartersville KOA – enough said.  They were happy to see us and we were happy to see them.  We set up camp, which took no time at all, and headed off to see what mountains Google had wanted us to travel.

Both software packages had recommended a road known as the Cherohala Skyway (http://www.cherohala.org and http://www.cherohala.com).  Loved by bikers and sports car drivers, this twisty turny road goes from the Tellico Plains of Tennessee to Robbinsville, North Carolina.  It links the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests.  It is one scary road.  Two lanes; no shoulders; no guardrails; no cell phone service.  The 44 mile-long road took two hours to travel.  Follow this link (http://www.cherohala.org/images/imagespresskit/cherohalamap2.jpg) to see a picture of the map.  Oh, yeah, I want to tow a trailer on that.  Part of the road, closed right now for repair, is called “Tail of the Dragon” and boasts 318 curves in 11 miles.  Truth be known, I’d love to tackle that road on a motorcycle, but even in the truck, it was dicy.

After our little road trip, we returned to the lower elevations of Tellico and some dandy BBQ.