[Fourlanders] directions help

[Brian McCarthy]

Bob Lear wrote:

>Gentlemen, I can't find the message I thought I had saved with the
>directions to the campground in it.  I've looked everywhere except the
>crashed computer I can't get stuff off of any more.  Help me out.  Does
>anyone still have that message (I think Brian wrote it up) so that we
>can put it out here on the reflector again for the new folks coming up
>this time?  If you have it, just send it to the reflector.  Thanks, Bob
>
>A final update coming tomorrow.
>
>  
>
IMPORTANT: Every vehicle that drives into the campground should check in 
with the campground manager. Look for the trailer just to the left of 
the closed/former bathrooms that are straight in front of you at the end 
of the T-intersection from the entrance road. You should not need to 
purchase a sperate campsite for yourself unless you are bringing a large 
trailer or camper for sleeping. Even then, it it likely that we have a 
place for it, check with us before you buy extra spots.

We want to keep the amount of traffic in the campgound minimized. Please 
do not do a lot of in/out driving within the camprgound with 
cars/trucks... Use the golfcart to drive down to the bathrooms/showers 
and keep the speed down, especially after dark. If you are taking the 
golfcart to the bathrooms, check for others that might need/want to go 
as well and share the ride. If you have not been there and you can't 
understand why, you'll understand when you see the distances involved. 
In past years, there have beens complaints about too much traffic being 
generated by our activities. Please help us avoid new complaints.

END of SOAPBOX ------------

Now for directions:

This is a bit convoluted, and the original directions below were written 
for people traveling from the Atlanta area. The generally accepted 
"wisdom" for departure points on the eastside half of the Atlanta metro, 
is to travel through Waynesville. See the messages copied in below for 
the details. If you are coming from the northwest Atlanta metro area 
(Marietta), Neal, K4EA, often uses a different route that ends up on 
US-19 going through Cherokee. Check with him directly about that route.

On the other hand, travelers coming from the east to northeast of the 
contest site will likely want to use I-40 and US-19:

     From the north traveling south on I-40, at exit 20, US-276 makes a
    nice shortcut to US-19.

     From the east traveling west on I-40, look for the I-40 Connector
    at exit 27 which then slides right in to US-19 west, and make sure
    to watch for the US-19 west exit ramp as the "interstate" pavement
    continues a bit further south as US-23. If you missed the US-19 west
    exit, don't panic, just take the US-276 north exit a bit more than a
    mile later and pick up US-19 west (left turn T-intersection.)

For frequencies: The main convoy often uses the 146.835/+ 100.0Hz 
Dahlonega repeater while getting formed up and then 146.550 simplex 
while underway. I will also have 223.500 and 446.000 on in my truck. The 
Dahlonega repeater is often monitored from the campground, but there is 
better choice repeater for closer in communication. Does someone else 
have that info handy?

I'm looking forward to the contest!
Brian
NX9O

> Date: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 13:32:49 -0400
> To: fourlanders at contesting.com
> From: Paul Yeager <w4ski at arrl.net>
> Subject: Re: [Fourlanders] MH directions/map
>
> Folks:
>
> When I used to drive up here from Atlanta, I found that going through 
> Cherokee, while it appeared shorter on the map, and may in fact be by 
> a mile or two, is not the best way to get there.  It is even less 
> desirable to go through Cherokee if you are pulling a trailer, due to 
> the many switchbacks on US 19 on the west side of the Parkway.
>
> For those of you who would like to try another way, here is an 
> alternative.  This route includes nothing less than four-lane 
> highways, except for the last four miles or so leading to the 
> parkway.  Also, this route gets you from the expressway to Mile High 
> with only three traffic lights, unless you elect to shop in Waynesville.
>
> 1. Take US-441/I-74/"Great Smokies Expressway" East toward 
> Waynesville, NC for about 19 miles
>
> 2. f you wish to shop.... take the US 276 South exit (103A, I think).  
> Ingles (my favorite, and open 24 hours) , Winn-Dixie, and Bi-Lo (open 
> till midnight on Friday) are on the left along the first half-mile of 
> US 276.  After shopping, return north on US 276 past the expressway, 
> and proceed to step 3, below.
> If not shopping, take the US 276 North exit (103B, I think).
>
> 3. Follow US 276 north approx. 1.5 miles to Hwy 19 (the first traffic 
> light north of the expressway).  Turn Left on US 19 south.
>
> 4. Follow US 19 south approx. 7 miles (through two traffic lights) to 
> the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Turn left onto the Parkway (no matter which 
> ramp you used to access the parkway)
>
> 5. Once on the Parkway, Brian's directions work fine:
>
>> Take the Blue Ridge Parkway West 2.5 miles to Wolf Laurel Gap and 
>> Turn Right
>> After about 1 mile on the left there is a sign and entrance for Mile 
>> High Campground. The first 25-50 feet or so of the entrance are paved 
>> and then the rest is hardpack gravel and dirt. The entrance road is 
>> quite long, more than a quarter mile. At the intersect
>> ion, make an almost U-turn to the right. Go all the way to the end 
>> (the top)to campsites 19, 19A and 19B.
>
>
> see y'all there!
>
> Paul W4SKI
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> At 12:37 PM 6/2/02 -0400, Brian McCarthy wrote:
>
>>  All,
>>
>> The map that Jim had archived is the only thing that I had as a file. 
>> I can offer the following link:
>>
>> This link to Topozone puts a plus sign cusor right on top of our 
>> campsite. It also gives the lat/lon. Our grid designator out to 6 
>> places is EM85jm. The entrance to the campgound is directly opposite 
>> the "G" in the name label of Mollie Gap:
>> http://topozone.com/map.asp?z=17&n=3932181&e=302079&s=50&loc=Soco+Bald
>>
>> Here are the directions as I use them:
>>
>> Take US-23 (SR-365) North out of Gainsville
>>
>> Take US-23/US-441 North through Clayton, GA (fill the truck up before 
>> the state line)
>>
>> Contune past Franklin, NC (take the bypass around Franklin, and not 
>> the business route)
>>
>> Take US-441/I-74/"Great Smokies Expressway" West toward Cherokee, NC 
>> for only ~7.5 miles
>>
>> Take US-441 North to Cherokee (here's a last stop for a real grocery 
>> store northbound)
>>
>> Take US-19 North (to Maggie Valley) to the Blue Ridge Parkway - Go 
>> West (if you took the offramp to the right coming from Cherokee then 
>> West on Blue Rdg Pkwy will be a left turn)
>>
>> Take the Blue Ridge Parkway West 2.5 miles to Wolf Laurel Gap and 
>> Turn Right
>> After about 1 mile on the left there is a sign and entrance for Mile 
>> High Campground. The first 25-50 feet or so of the entrance are paved 
>> and then the rest is hardpack gravel and dirt. The entrance road is 
>> quite long, more than a quarter mile. At the intersect
>> ion, make an almost U-turn to the right. Go all the way to the end 
>> (the top)to campsites 19, 19A and 19B.
>>
>> There are (were) two signs for Mile High Campground along this last 
>> piece of road. The first is about 1/4 mile down on the left. That is 
>> not where the campgound entance is. Keep going.
>>
>> I just spent the last hour arguing with DeLorme Street Atlas 8.0 and 
>> mapquest.com and I still don't have any accurate or presentable maps 
>> to give people who have never been there. The directions above and 
>> the Topozone link should be accurate and specific.
>>
>> Let me know if more is needed.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Brian
>> NX9O
>>
>>