Jump to content
IGNORED

A quick visit to Maggie Valley


Indy Dave

Recommended Posts

Here's a quick recap of my visit to Maggie last Fall.

 

 

I left Sparta and headed South to meet some cousins in Hickery. I ran into some light fog in the hills, but for the most part, I had the roads to myself. I remember passing one house set back a bit from the narrow country road I was on. I could see from a distance a large dog arise on all fours from its resting position as it saw me on the horizon. We both kept an weary eye on each other, and as I got closer, I could see that its bed was made up of a series of old mattresses piled on top of each other. The base of its bed was a king size mattress, then a queen and finally a double on top. No doubt the bedding was water logged and smelly, but that didn't seem to bother the dog and apparently I didn't either, as he it maintained his position as I passed. I wanted a picture of this dog and his castle, but I didn't want to press my luck - the day was still early!

 

 

 

I was doing kind of a hodge-podge route that included some gravel.

 

20160925_142339.jpg

 

20160925_142317.jpg

 

IMG_1446.jpg

 

IMG_1451.jpg

 

But mostly pavement.

 

20160925_143826.jpg

 

About 15 miles from Maggie, a storm cell unloaded and I found shelter at a Sonic.

 

20160925_154512_1.jpg

 

 

IMG_1452.jpg

 

The storm passed through quickly and the sun and blue skies returned. About 6 miles down the road, everything was dry as a bone! I got to Maggie and checked in to the Maggie Valley Creekside and headed out exploring.

 

Everywhere I went - curves and hills and hills and curves. Heading a little deeper just outside of Maggie, I passed a bridge and the road changed from pavement to gravel. As I crossed the bridge, I noticed a guy sitting off the road a bit in an old pickup. I continued on and began climbing, eventually leveling off and the road came to a T. Hmm...? I went right.

 

And ended here.

 

20160925_183450.jpg

 

So I headed back the other way, passing the original road I was on.

 

IMG_1490.jpg

 

IMG_1489.jpg

 

Soon, the pick up truck comes by and follows me. :S

The better gravel road ends in a wide area and the truck loops around. I stop. I have ear buds in, so I can only make out random words. I'm not too sure if this guy is 'safe' or if I've just stumbled across someones sill or weed patch. He says the road continues down the hill (I think). So I ride through the overgrown path and down hill. . And then . .

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

20160925_185040.jpg

 

20160925_185054.jpg

 

Hmm - I go left and soon the gravel ends and it gets a bit sloppy and there's a few mud puddles. In the deeper woods, the fact that the sun is going down is magnified by the thick, tall trees. I see ahead the path gets narrower. I have no cell service. Light is failing. I make a 10 point turn around and head back the way I came, ignoring the higher road as I pass the fork. Up the sloppy path and back to the gravel road where I'd last seen the truck. Sure enough, a couple of miles up the gravel road, there he is idling along. I move on around him and return to Maggie for dinner.

 

Heading out the next day I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but here's what I've got.

 

IMG_1491.jpg

 

IMG_1497.jpg

 

 

I half expected a troll by the first bridge saying "None Shall Pass!"

 

IMG_1498.jpg

 

IMG_1499.jpg

 

 

IMG_1500.jpg

 

IMG_1501.jpg

 

IMG_1502.jpg

 

IMG_1508.jpg

 

IMG_1507.jpg

 

IMG_1506.jpg

 

There you have it, my quick pass through Maggie. To be sure, these photos don't even to begin or represent all that is Maggie. I invite others with pics from their visits to the area to post up some of their favorites pics.

NOTE! Ken's routes are all pavement. So any gravel pictures you see posted are not from Ken's routes.

 

Having said that, here's a few pics a GS rider shared from Maggie:

 

P1090599.jpg

 

P1090608.jpg

 

Soooo what do you have to share?

Link to comment

Great mix of pics! :thumbsup: Meaning that this is exactly why I'm eventually going to become a full-time GSer. :grin: Whenever / wherever I find dirt roads lately, I want to explore them. :revit:

 

Nice! :clap:

 

Pat

Link to comment
Great pics and nice write up. What kid of tires are you on?

 

Those are PR 3's.

 

Great mix of pics! :thumbsup: Meaning that this is exactly why I'm eventually going to become a full-time GSer. :grin: Whenever / wherever I find dirt roads lately, I want to explore them. :revit:

 

Nice! :clap:

 

Pat

 

Maybe we can get a 2 for 1 discount ;)

Link to comment
Maybe we can get a 2 for 1 discount ;)

That's the route I planned on taking (discount probably not but) until I heard that the GSA was going to receive a styling update for 2018, which should be available in the fall. This all hinges on me staying out of the Honda dealership though! :dopeslap:

 

Pat

Link to comment
roadscholar

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

20160925_185040.jpg

 

20160925_185054.jpg

 

To be sure, these photos don't even to begin or represent all that is Maggie. I invite others with pics from their visits to the area to post up some of their favorites pics.

 

I think 80% of GS riders started out on RT's Dave so there's probably no sense in fighting it : )

 

Here's a few pics of some of the dirt/gravel roads in the area..

 

IMG_0708-XL.jpg

 

IMG_0727-XL.jpg

 

IMG_0747-XL.jpg

 

287-XL.jpg

 

305-XL.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...