Land Between the Lakes Overlanding – April 2022
Land Between the Lakes Overlanding
24
APRIL, 2022
The second trip of the 2022 season was not a backpacking trip. Continuing with the ‘expand my horizons’ theme that started with my 2021 Boundary Waters canoe trip, I teamed up with Jeremy (YouTube channel ‘All Things Outdoors’), and Jeremy’s brand new Ford Bronco, to do an ‘overlanding’ trip in the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area in Tennessee.
My first overlanding experience
It used to be called ‘4-wheelin’. Nowadays, backcountry travel using off-road capable vehicles is called ‘overlanding.’ Whatever it’s called, I was excited to try it. I’ve only had one other overlanding-type experience. During one of our western US family camping vacations in 2004, we rented jeeps in Silverton, Colorado, and drove the famous Alpine Loop. It was a blast!
The drive down to Land Between the Lakes
Jeremy picked me up in his pristinely clean Bronco. It wouldn’t stay that way for long! The Land Between the Lakes is located just over the border from Kentucky in north-western Tennessee. It’s a 6.5-hour drive from my home in central Indiana. Jaden and Bailey figured out they weren’t coming along and gave me their best ‘stink eye’ look.
The drive down was long but uneventful. Rain fell intermittently as we drove south on a nearly empty I-69. The dark, cloudy skies were gloomy and threatening. However, we expected improving weather because the forecasts indicated clear skies and temperatures in the 80s.
First night’s campsite in Land Between the Lakes at Clay Bay
We planned to meet up with Chris (YouTube channel ‘That Hiking Guy’) at Clay Bay on the Kentucky Lake side of Land Between the Lakes. On the drive to Clay Bay, we saw evidence of the massive tornados that had passed through the area in March 2022. Countless downed trees made us wonder what type of obstacles we would be running into in the backcountry. Jeremy did not yet have a winch installed on his Bronco, and we weren’t carrying a chainsaw, but having two vehicles bolstered our confidence. Chris arrived after dark and quickly set up his roomy Gazelle tent. We enjoyed some time around the fire. Plans for the next day were finalized, and we retired to get some sleep.
First day of overlanding in Land Between the Lakes
There was no evidence of the expected sunshine and clear skies the following day. It was gloomy and overcast, but there was no rain. Jeremy started some percolator coffee and bacon, and I quickly realized I would love overlanding! The smell of that freshly brewed coffee and bacon was almost as good as the taste. I took advantage of the breakfast lull to capture some video with my DJI Mini-2 drone. After our satisfying breakfast, Jeremy reduced the air pressure in the Bronco’s 35-inch tires to 20 psi. The lower tire pressure smooths out the ride and improves traction by increasing the surface area contacting the road.
Taking on the first obstacle
We stopped the vehicles and got out to examine the terrain. A detailed plan on how the obstacle would be attacked was developed. Then we got back in the vehicles to execute the plan. Jeremy overcame that first obstacle with ease. I was impressed by the off-road capability of the Bronco. The Bronco is a beast!
We tore down camp and completed all the preparations for our first day exploring the Land Between the Lakes. Jeremy packed the Bronco, and we headed out to find our first adventures. It didn’t take long! We found a washed-out area along a stream at the end of a long meadow.
Becoming tourists – Great Western Furnace
With our first overlanding challenge behind us, we drove toward the Homeplace sight to do some ‘touristy’ stuff. The Homeplace is an interpretive living ‘museum’ that replicates life on an 1850 farm in the Land Between the Lakes area. This would be the pattern… explore the worst backcountry roads we could find for a few hours and then return to civilization to take in some of the area’s tourist stops.
As we made our way over to the Homeplace, we came upon the ruins of an old iron furnace, The Great Western Furnace. It was built in 1854 and only operated for 34 weeks. It shut down when the supply of ore in the area was exhausted. During the short time that the furnace was in operation, it produced 1350 tons of high-quality iron.
Becoming tourists – The Homeplace
The Homeplace is located a short distance up a hill from the Furnace. It is a living museum with interpreters in certain buildings. They play the part of people living on the farm in the 1850s. The interpreters dress the part perfectly. They’re passionate about the roles they play and are very convincing. We talked to the lady of the main house who was getting ready to cook chicken and dumplings on the wood-fired stove. Watching her, it was easy to imagine you were back in time. While cooking, she explained life on the farm in the 1850s. It was very cool! We toured the rest of the area, spent some time viewing the exhibits in the HQ building, and reloaded the vehicles.
Backcountry Cemeteries in Land Between the Lakes
As you drive the backcountry of Land Between the Lakes, you’ll encounter many old family cemeteries. On one road alone, there were signs for six different cemeteries. Some were far down rough back roads, and I wondered what life had been like there long ago. Travel was next to impossible on some of those roads in 2022. It must have been a remote, isolated existence a hundred years ago. We visited the Champion cemetery and one other to understand what they were like.
Back to overlanding – More obstacles
It had been a full day, and we were starting to think about figuring out where to camp. But we decided to take in a couple more ‘300’ roads before calling it a day. LBL ‘100’ roads are the easiest, often paved in the Land Between the Lakes. ‘200’ roads are a little rougher. ‘300’ roads are the ‘good’ roads we were looking for. ‘Good’ in this case means rough and gnarly. In this area, the roads were a combination of deeply rutted washout areas followed by stretches of flooded areas. There were a couple of spots where we had to get out of the vehicles to make a plan first. Everything went smoothly, and we started to look for camp.
Tourist mode again – Elk and Bison Range
It had been a successful first day of ‘overlanding.’ We had found some fun, challenging stretches to overcome, our confidence had increased with each obstacle, and everything had gone smoothly. After we made it back to the relative ‘civilization’ of The Trace, one last tourist stop was on the day’s agenda before we started the camp search. The Elk and Bison Prairie is a 700-acre native grassland habitat typical in the area over a century ago. There is a herd of Elk and another of bison, wild turkeys, and other wildlife that must find the protected habitat, something of a dream come true. We took our time exploring the 3.5-mile paved loop – it is a beautiful, peaceful area.
Second night camp in Land Between the Lakes at Sugar Bay
We found our camp the second night at Sugar Bay. It was the same campground we ended our LBL hike at in January 2021. Jeremy made his specialty ‘Pacos Pizzas’ for dinner, which was outstanding. After dinner, we got a fire going and enjoyed the cloudless sunset over Sugar Bay. Reminiscing about our first day around the fire ended what had been a great day.
Second day of overlanding in Land Between the Lakes
The 2nd morning of the trip started as nicely as the first, breakfast-wise. The oh-so-wonderful smell of percolator Hilltop Packs “Happy Camper’ coffee greeted me as I emerged from the tent. I was starting to like this style of backcountry travel! The weather was again sunny and clear, and with the early spring foliage and flowers and birds chirping, it was wonderful to be in the woods. It only got better when Jeremy started cranking out pancakes topped with Kerrygold Irish Butter (thank you, Chris!) and Sap Jack bourbon-barrel-aged pure maple syrup. The pancakes were heavenly and a great way to get the day started.
New driver, more confidence, and more obstacles
The confidence we gained on the first day translated into a much more ‘adventurous’ 2nd day. The general plan was to head in the direction of Energy Lake and dam, and on the way, the ‘action’ was non-stop all morning. It started with a downed tree across the road that we decided to pull out of the way with the Bronco. The drone was deployed for a nice aerial view of the action. We stayed on a road along a ridge top all morning and then explored each side road that went downhill to Lake Barkley. The roads were more rutted and washed out than anything we had encountered on the first day, and the flooded stretches were deeper and longer. Oh, and I was doing the driving all day! (I still have a perma-smile thinking about it – thank you, Jeremy).
Forest Road 330
One of the side roads we came to along the way was Forest Road 330. We planned to head down FR330 to see what kind of ‘trouble’ we could get into. But when we got there and looked down that road, our initial reaction was ‘that can’t be a road!’. It was flooded side-to-side for as far as we could see and deep. We decided to pass on it.
We didn’t pass on it for long! FR330 was one of the first roads we came to on our outbound journey. We came upon it again on the way back. Each of the roads we had successfully overcome increased our confidence and spirit of adventure. When we got back to FR330, we decided to at least get out of the vehicles and check it out. A branch ‘probe’ was used to check the depth. The depth check almost ended with comical results. Jeremy nearly fell in when the stick just kept going deeper! Though the depth test seemed to have failed, we decided to go for it anyway. As Jeremy said, “we didn’t come here to say ‘no’!”.
Stuck in 35 inches of mud
Well… let’s just say the Bronco has 35-inch tires and when I finally got into the deepest part, the muck was above the passenger tire! We were stuck in about 38-inches of water and mud. But we had a ‘just in case’ plan using the 2nd vehicle to extricate the Bronco. Tow ropes and a drone were deployed, and the Bronco was quickly pulled from the muck. It was fun to test the limits of the Bronco, and we found them!
Hotel California
With the Bronco on dry ground again, we decided to end the overlanding portion of the trip there. We stopped at Energy Lake for some ‘rest and recuperation’ (lunch and a shower). One last touristy stop was the ‘Hotel California.’. It’s an abandoned, graffiti-covered structure in the woods down a trail from FR220. We found the trail marked with graffiti-covered rocks.
The hike to the Hotel California from the road was about 1/4 mile, but it was the most grueling ‘hike’ of the trip. I filed a ‘grievance’ with the Overlanding Union over this egregious breach of overlanding protocol! 🙂 When we arrived at the Hotel California, I was puzzled and shocked. It is a large, two-story concrete structure in the woods in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to understand the history of the place better:
History of Hotel California
The home was built sometime before the creation of LBL by a riverboat captain named Grover Marler. He built this place as a retirement home for himself and his wife. Jamie Bennett, the director of the Heritage Program, sent me an aerial photo of Mr. Marler’s home when Lake Barkley was first flooded. Below is a TVA archives photo of the house before it was purchased to create Land Between The Lakes in the 1960s – 60+ years ago.
Hotel California today
The place looks a little different now! The structure is relatively intact since it’s made of concrete, though it’s starting to crumble a bit in some areas. It is also entirely covered in colorful graffiti. The grounds are littered with trash but primarily empty alcohol containers. It is a destination for ‘painting and partying.’ We did notice that even with all the ‘philosophical’ expressions on the walls, there was very little profanity in the graffiti. Meaningless but interesting. We explored for a little bit as I took some pictures, and then we hiked back up the hill to the vehicles. It had been a full day, and it was getting late in the afternoon; being a gorgeous Saturday, we were concerned about how hard it would be to find a place to camp.
Last night camping in Land Between the Lakes at Twin Lakes
It did turn out to be tough to find a place to camp. We stopped by three of the car campgrounds in the area, and all were full. After resigning ourselves to dispersed camping, we stumbled upon the Twin Lakes Backcountry campground. It was perfect for our needs with open spots and a flat place to park the vehicles. I set up my Triplex on a hill overlooking Kentucky Lake. It was certainly a ‘room’ with a view! I launched the Mini-2 drone for one last very windy flight. Chris, Jeremy, and I enjoyed an evening of chili dogs and adult beverages around the fire.
Conclusion – Land Between the Lakes Overlanding
My first overlanding trip had been a rousing success and a ton of fun. Being able to drive the Bronco the entire second day was like an educational ‘drinking from a firehose,’ but I enjoyed every moment of it. I was undoubtedly a more skilled and confident backcountry Bronco driver at the end of that day. And I learned that the new Ford Bronco, with the ‘Sasquatch’ option package, is just a beast of a vehicle. It is comfortable, technologically advanced, and extremely capable of handling anything thrown at it. The trip left me wanting a Bronco as my next vehicle, maybe sooner than later! The Bronco was a bit muddier after we were done but came out unscathed. The Land Between the Lakes trip was my first overlanding trip, but it won’t be my last.
