My First Motocamping Trip

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Me and my wife like to go SUPing (Stand Up Paddleboarding) on Lake Jocassee, in SC. It's a beautiful mountain lake with several waterfalls that dump right out from the NC mountain highlands into this lake. I've driven down Horespasture rd a little bit before to hike to another waterfall in the past but I forget it's name. Looks like a nice camping spot with a view you had above the lake. There really is nothing better than being out in the wild like this. If this doesn't recharge your batteries then really nothing else will. And I can imagine it's a different experience when your by yourself. The only down side is riding dangerous muddy roads and crossing rivers by yourself. Anything happens to you...your by yourself and your screwed. I'm glad you didn't have any major issues.

You seem like a real nice guy. I'm not into the whole bible / religion / faith thing that you end all your Blog posts with...but to me just being in nature is a "spiritual" experience and a time to refocus, take a deep breath and keep things in my life in proper perspective. I would imagine it is for most people that truly love it.

Me & my wife plan on doing at least a couple overnight camp trips this year.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
GeorgiaRoller said:
LakeJocassee_zps4ef4f38f.jpg
G.R. & StreetBetty SUPing on lake Jocassee, SC

Me and my wife like to go SUPing (stand up paddleboarding) on Lake Jocassee, in SC. It's a beautiful mountain lake with several waterfalls that dump right out from the NC mountain highlands into this lake. I've driven down Horespasture rd a little bit before to hike to another waterfall in the past but I forget it's name. Looks like a nice camping spot with a view you had above the lake. There really is nothing better than being out in the wild like this. If this doesn't recharge your batteries then really nothing else will. And I can imagine it's a different experience when your by yourself. The only down side is riding dangerous muddy roads and crossing rivers by yourself. Anything happens to you...your by yourself and your screwed. I'm glad you didn't have any major issues.

You seem like a real nice guy. I'm not into the whole bible / religion / faith thing that you end all your Blog posts with...but to me just being in nature is a "spiritual" experience and a time to refocus, take a deep breath and keep things in my life in proper perspective. I would imagine it is for most people that truly love it.

Me & my wife plan on doing at least a couple overnight camp trips this year.
Click to expand...
Thanks for checking it out and posting back. I have a buddy that lives in New Mexico and he loves to SUP on the river. I would give it a shot, but it does look like it would be difficult to get good at it.

You make a good point about being aware of where you are riding when you are by yourself. That's part of the reason I picked Horsepasture. It is maintained pretty well. Doesn't remove all the risk, but for me it was manageable.

Yeah, I know not everybody is into the bible/religion/faith stuff. I don't want to push it on anybody, to each his own. For me and my writing it helps me develop as a person.

So where are you guys thinking about camping? I am always on the lookout for good tips on places to go.

 
kaosbandit said:
GeorgiaRoller said:
Me & my wife plan on doing at least a couple overnight camp trips this year.
Click to expand...
Thanks for checking it out and posting back. I have a buddy that lives in New Mexico and he loves to SUP on the river. I would give it a shot, but it does look like it would be difficult to get good at it.

So where are you guys thinking about camping? I am always on the lookout for good tips on places to go.
Click to expand...
SUP is not very hard at all. As long as your not completely uncoordinated your fine. It took us all of about 10min to figure it out the first time we did it. Talk about peaceful. Do this for a few hours in the morning when the lake is flat & calm in the summer with the sun coming up. Its amazingly relaxing.

Not sure what our plans are yet. There is some camping options over right around Tellico Plains, TN at the base of the Cherohala that I've been considering. Also I want to possibly camp at 6000' above the BRP around Graveyard fields in the Shining Rock area. If we can do both of those this year I'll be happy.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
kaosbandit said:
I wasn't on my FJR, but I know you guys are always up for a good story.

New experiences and motorcycles are always a great combination. Here's a story about my newest motorcycle experience.

https://www.spiritstrike.com/blog/2014/3/27/my-first-motocamping-trip
Click to expand...
nice write up. Couple of questions for ya. How much air do you let out of your tires for gravel/dirt riding, and how do you air them back up for your return trip on road? Do you have an onboard compressor, or just ride it home with the lower air pressure?

 
SouthernCruizer said:
kaosbandit said:
I wasn't on my FJR, but I know you guys are always up for a good story.

New experiences and motorcycles are always a great combination. Here's a story about my newest motorcycle experience.

https://www.spiritstrike.com/blog/2014/3/27/my-first-motocamping-trip
Click to expand...
nice write up. Couple of questions for ya. How much air do you let out of your tires for gravel/dirt riding, and how do you air them back up for your return trip on road? Do you have an onboard compressor, or just ride it home with the lower air pressure?
Click to expand...
Thanks for checking it out. I am currently running Michelin T63 tires on front and back. For street I like to run them around 32 psi Front and 35 psi Rear. I find this allows for better tire life and there doesn't seem to be any sacrifice in handling.

For offroad I like to air down to 15 psi front and 18 psi rear. If I am loaded with camping gear I will leave them around 18 psi front and 21 psi rear.

If it is just short stretch of gravel on the way to our destination I don't always air down. If we are going to be on gnarly terrain or on gravel for a long time I will stop and air down. If we are going to be on the street for a while I use a Slime portable compressor to air them back up. It will work off of the same SAE connector as a battery tender so I just leave one of those hooked to my bike.

You can ride the street on lower pressures and the handling is fine, but the tire will wear a lot faster.

 

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