Upper Tellico ORV Area
Rick Russell Video Trip

By Flatlander

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It's just over 1,000 miles to the Upper Tellico ORV Area from 4X4NOW's Nebraska headquarters.  But I had heard so much about this premier Off-Road Vehicle area that I couldn't resist the invitation to join Rick Russell to participate in the video taping of his Tellico Off Highway Adventure Video.  I took Tellico's reputed appetite for drive train parts quite seriously and packed the 4X4NOW TJ with a complete set of spare front axles, spare rear drive shaft and rear diff yoke, and a tool kit.  As I negotiated the long highway drive I was just hoping that those tools and spare parts would allow me to return without a protracted delay awaiting parts or worse, repair of serious body damage.   My mind kept recalling the stories I'd heard about rolling off of obstacles such as "Slickrock" on trail #9 or the "Staircase" on trail #11.  I was more than a little worried that the 4X4NOW TJ would not be able to negotiate the long return trip on its own power.  There are plenty of less threatening trails in Tellico - many suitable for stock SUVs.  But those wouldn't be the ones used for the video.

The 4X4NOW TJ was doing fine on the way out.  Even with the 35" BFG MTs the stock 3.73 gears were allowing me to engage cruise control at the posted Interstate speed limits (65 - 75 MPH) with little problem.  The half dozen times that a steep hill caused the cruise control to reach down for the automatic's second gear served to keep me alert (not a good time to be sipping hot coffee though).  I knew the Atlas II transfer case (3.77 to 1 low range) would be plenty low enough for the control and low end torque needed for the serious rock crawling that I would find in Tellico.

The Upper Tellico Off-Road Vehicle Area is near the western end of North Carolina just south of the Tennessee border in the Natahala National Forest (see Key Map).  The closest communities are the small towns of Murphy, North Carolina to the south and Tellico Plains, Tennessee to the northwest.  The high-elevation basin, formed by the Unicoi Mountains, are the source of the Tellico River and numerous feeder streams.  The 8,000 acre ORV area's rugged, steep terrain vary in elevation from 2,500 feet on the Tellico River at the North Carolina-Tennessee border to nearly 5,000 feet on Grassy Top Mountain.  Mixed hardwoods with some pines and a variety of understory species adorn the terrain in what looks like a rain forest to this arid Nebraska native.  The Tellico 4WD trails are mostly abandoned logging trails from the extensive logging operations conducted there in the 50s and 60s. 11 4WD trails ranging from EASIEST to MOST DIFFICULT are designated in the area.  All of the trails we would cover were in the northern portion of Tellico (See Trails Map).

Tellico is the Home of the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association's Dixie Run.   This annual membership event is all-around family fun! Your registration fee and raffle tickets fund Southern's continuing conservation work and volunteer trail maintenance in the Upper Tellico ORV Area, Uwharrie National Forest, Beasley Knob ORV Area, Royal Blue Recreation Area, and other public ORV areas in the region. Southern members work in cooperation with the US Forest Service and state agencies to maintain and open ORV trails, construct roads, bridges, camp grounds, water breaks and install erosion control devices on public ORV trails. All recreational forest users benefit from Southern's regular volunteer work. Your support of the Dixie Run keeps this important work going.

I arrived at my motel in Madisonville, Tennessee in time to make a trip up the Tellico River to the Green Cove Motel meeting spot.  Full service motels (including telephones in each room) seemed to be available no closer than Madisonville on the Tennessee side and in Murphy in the North Carolina side.  The road along the Tellico river on the Tennessee side is hard surfaced all the way to the entrance to the ORV area at the North Carolina border.  So even though Murphy is closer, the drive from Tennessee may be faster.  For those that can do without some of the services normally taken for granted in modern motels, the Green Cove Motel offers rooms only about 5 miles from the ORV area.

The daily compute up the narrow, tree canopied, winding asphalt road on the banks Tellico River was a pleasure.  You couldn't ask for a more scenic drive. The trout fishing must be good too as I noticed many a fisherman casting into the Tellico waters with their fly rods.   Each day I drove past Bald River Falls and numerous other photo opportunities. When I reached the Green Cove Motel I could see Rick's camper and yellow CJ-6 were already there along with some of the other participants.  Talk quickly turned to the trails we would do and I soon learned that that trail #9 including the "Slickrock" obstacle I had heard so much about and pondered on the way up would be included the first day.  I even tossed a little in my sleep that night thinking about it.

The next morning Rick held a driver's meeting to let everyone know what to expect during the video taping and about the trails we would be doing.  Dave Enlow of the Tarheel 4WD Center in Carlotte, North Carolina would lead the group the first day.

We were soon on our way to Trail #9 via Trail #5.  Trail #5 (Tellico River) is rated MORE DIFFICULT. We reached trail #5's most interesting obstacle about a mile into the trail.  The Tellico River crossing can be deep but the biggest challenge is climbing out over huge boulders on the far bank.  See a Quick Time video with sound of the River Crossing.

Dave and his Tarheel Driver, Wayne cross the Tellico River which can be much deeper

Rick Russell follows in his CJ-6 complete with sharp looking new Kayline top.

Even the Trail #5 had several obstacles.  There is a 2 foot wall to climb as you come out of the Tellico River at this location.  The photo also provides a sample of the non-stop scenery in the heavily forested Upper Tellico OHV area.  We soon left trail 5 for a short connecting link on Trail #8 to the beginning of Trail #9 - Mistletoe Connector.

Trail #9 - Mistletoe Connector | Trail #2 - Tipton Knob | Trail #11 - Chestnut Mountain

Trail #9 - Mistletoe Connector | Trail #2 - Tipton Knob | Trail #11 - Chestnut Mountain

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