The Georgia Traverse: Crossing Georgia’s Wild Backcountry | 4Runner Overland Adventure

Here's the thing. This trip, it almost didn't happen. I've been working on this 4Runner for months. Well, with the help of my dad. We've installed everything from the suspension all the way up to the roof top vent. And at some points we didn't think that we were going to be able to make it. You know, staying up late, watching YouTube videos on how to do things, how to install things, how to fix things that got messed up after you installed them. Stuff like that. But at the end we were able to make it. Oh, and the last thing, the roof top tent. That piece of equipment that held everything together for this trip, it almost didn't get here on time. So, we were lucky. But now that everything's installed, I can't wait to try this out. I mean, that's what I've been doing this for, right? To get it out there, to go camping, and to just test it. And test myself as well. Because I haven't been off-roading that much. I'm just getting started. So, this is it. The Georgia Traverse is a perfect trip to test everything that I've been doing to the car. And to test myself. I can't believe it's happening. All right, guys. We've made it to the Burls Ford campground here in the Sumter National Forest. The beginning of the Georgia Traverse. We're going to be heading into the Chattahoochee National Forest for a couple days and exploring Georgia's beautiful landscapes and forests. For those of you that don't know, the Chattahoochee National Forest is in northern Georgia. It's over 750,000 acres. You know, the beginning of the Appalachian, Blue Ridge. It also contains the highest point in the state of Georgia, which is Brasstown Ball. It's right at 4,700 and something feet. And on a really good day, you can see a lot of peaks from different states. From South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and even all the way down to a little bit of the Atlanta skyline. We made it to our first camp of the of the Traverse. We're right on the river that separates the state of Georgia and South Carolina. This is Sandy Ford Beach. Really nice. I'm just going to chill here for a little bit, enjoy, kind of get this fire going a little bit more again, and then cook some dinner and call it a night. Because tomorrow we continue on the Traverse. Let's get the smoke out of the way. Alright guys, we've made it to camp for tonight. Getting up here wasn't really easy. There were a couple spots in the along the trail that were definitely rutted and you need a little bit of clearance to to get through them. Right now it's getting a bit windy. Temperatures are kind of dropping. We're at maybe 28, 29. So I got to get this fire going, get to cook a meal, and spend some time this beautiful view. Let's go. So last night was colder than what was expected. With the elevation and the wind, the real feel for the temperature was 16 degrees Fahrenheit. I remember waking up at one point in the night and the condensation that had built up inside the tent was actually frozen. Just decided to go down to the car, get that heating on, and get some hours of sleep. In the morning, I decided to fly my drone a little bit, but the batteries were still cold. So just like drones do, he decided to fly off on its own and I ended up losing it. It wasn't until three hours later and a machete and a path that I made down the mountain that I was able to find it. Along with that, coming down this mountain really put us behind. Additionally, we decided to head to the nearest town to upgrade our sleeping bags, given that the temperatures were just going to get colder. All right guys, time to eat. Let's see how this turned out. All right, so we just left the Anna Ruby Falls State Park. A little bit north of Helen. I got myself a little hat that says Ann Ruby Falls, so excited for that. We're on our way to get back on the traverse and find a campsite for the night. I gotta do a fuel stop, get some gas back into the forerunner, and get back on the trail. We'll see where we end up camping tonight. I have a couple spots on onX marked out. Yesterday there were a couple rigs out and about, so I don't know if the spots might be taken or not. So I got multiple options. Made it last night into camp a little bit later than what we wanted, but found a good site. We were able to make a quick dinner and then go to bed. Then the morning rain greeted us. First time sleeping in the tent with some rain, so that was interesting. I did not want to get up, I'll tell you that. Now we're on our last part of the traverse before we head back home. Gonna explore a little bit more of the Chattahoochee National Forest and see what the road has in store for us. When I started this trip, all I could think about was to test the gear, to finally see what this new setup could do after months of planning and working on the forerunner. But somewhere along the trail, I stopped thinking about the mods. I stopped thinking about whether everything would perform the way I hoped, because the moment the mountains opened up and the forest wrapped around the road, all of that faded into the background. I found myself completely immersed in the quiet, the cold morning air, the sound of gravel under the tires, the flow of the water, and the smell of smoke from the campfire. It's the kind of calm you don't realize you're missing until you're out here living it. I didn't expect it, but I needed this. The space, the silence, this reset. Somewhere between the river crossings and the ridge lines, I remember why I chased these trips in the first place. The Georgia Traverse gave me all of that. And now, I'm already thinking about the next adventure.