The Oak Ridge Jeep
Jamboree this year was great; it took place in the gorgeous
Blue Ridge Mountains of middle Virginia in Nelson County.
This area is made up of two mountain ranges, The Blue Ridge
and The Shenandoah, between the two is the famed Shenandoah
Valley. The jamboree took place on a private ranch that was
open up for the event and a perfect setting for what we had
in mind for the weekend. Since there are not too many places
in this part of the country that people can just head out
and wheel for the day so enough can't be said to say thanks
to these folks for letting our group come out here and wheel
for the weekend on their property. This is why it is so
important that people work together to preserve our right to
wheel on public lands by taking care of them while you are
out on the trail.
The terrain was varying
between rolling hills, short steep climbs, tight trees and
some water crossings. There were glimpses of wildlife to be
seen from time to time including turtles, snakes, deer, and
many types of birds. The setting was absolutely
breathtaking, nestled in the mountains just outside of
Lovingston, it was simply one of the most picturesque parts
of the country that I have been to in a long time.
Now on the other hand I
did find a whole new appreciation for Deep Woods Off, man
without any kind of repellant I can only imagine how fast a
person would be eaten alive. There is high humidity in this
part of the country and it is just something that has to be
dealt with and chalked up to being “all part of the
experience”. The gnats were so thick that all a person
needed was a small lunch for out on the trail since the odds
were pretty good that a meals worth would be inhaled while
we were out wheeling.
This Jeep Jamboree was
extra special when it came to meal time; these folks know
how to eat in the south. Most everything I had was covered
in gravy and the iced tea was to die for. I don’t know if it
was because I was just dehydrated from the time on the trail
or if they just make it better down there. Either way, big
hats off to the crew from the local Women’s Auxiliary that
worked hard at the fire house to keep us all fed morning,
noon and night.
If you haven’t seen
much of this part of the country and are possibly looking
for a reason to do so then I highly recommend checking into
Jeep Jamboree USA’s schedule and plan for next year. The
country side is great, the people are nice and it was just
another great place to go wheeling. For those of you that
may be attending Camp Jeep this year you will be enjoying
the very same trails and private ranch that the 2007 Oak
Ridge Jeep Jamboree was held at. Happy Jeeping and we’ll see
you on the trails.
