attn: On-Road -and- Off-Road Driving Enthusiasts (long- pic & link heavy)

A few weeks back, on June 27, while looking for "best size turbo for a 5.3" videos, I stumbled across this Drifting Appalachia video: 23min It chronicles a drift race team on their journey from New England down to SE West Virginia for some of the best closed public road drifting you're ever gonna see! My first thought was "oh wow.....it's about flippin time the rest of the world get a glimpse of one of my absolute favorite things about living here!". That "thing" referenced is the plethora of black and gray ribbons of asphalt and concrete that twist and turn their way all over the state, and the region for that matter. Miles and miles and miles of them, laying in wait, ready to stand the hair on the back of your neck..... and arms..... and legs if you have the right vehicle [Seriously: There are countless stretches of road that, topographically, offer everything the Nordschleife has and then some.....the thing they lack, of course, is the ability to legally run them on the ragged edge.....or is it maybe better said: the thing they LACKED??]

At the end of the Drifting Appalachia video (and i'm paying extra attn bc I want to know who made this happen 1 hour from my house?) the dude gives some shout outs, one of which was to @BackroadsofAppalachia: https://backroadsofappalachia.org/

Over the next couple days I learned that BofApp is a non-profit .org created under the Appalachian Regional Commission(ARC), with the goal of bringing people (money) to the Appalachian region, and benefiting local charity organizations, by way of Adventure Motorsports. Which couldn't be more perfectly grooved in my wheelhouse (punn intended).

Aside from a year in Louisiana and a year in Texas, I grew up in WV, and I've heard all the stories and seen all the aftermath of how, over the last 100yrs or so, this region has been ***** and pillaged by the gov and the robber baron's, then abandoned and left to deal with the socially and physically toxic aftermath. No place has been hit harder than West Virginia with all 55 counties falling within the borders of what the ARC has deemed "Appalachia". WV is only state with ALL of its' land inside the ARC's borders. The amount of salt, timber, coal, and natural gas freight trained out of here during the 19th & 20th centuries is STAGGERING! It made a very very few, very very wealthy, and it helped power, fuel and build the country and world we live in today. WV may have seen the worst of it, however we weren't the only victims of these parasites. The ARC includes counties in North Georgia, much of Northern Bama, NE Mississip, East Tenn, the Western portions of both Carolinas, Western VA, Eastern KY, Western MD, Eastern OH, a large part of PA, and from the mountains over to the Finger Lakes in NY state.


Because, I've spent my entire life participating in, involved with, following, and/or daydreaming about Motorsport. From the decade of Kart Racing I competed in as a youngster, to the thousands of miles I've logged on a dirt bike, to the near triple digit number of F1, Indycar, Sportscar, NHRA, Off-Road and even a few Nascar races I've attended as a fan, to the uncountable number of times I've straightened out a curve; when I finally figured out that the dude at the end of the Dirfting Appalachia video was saying BackRoads of Appalachia.......I couldn't type into the search bar fast enough!

The first result from that search bar was a video from the inaugural 24 Hours of Appalachia- Run for the Hills which took place earlier this year on Feb 4th
** Upon seeing this, I was literally sitting on the edge of my chair, in front of my laptop, mouth open, and in the early stages of shock over learning that a 24hr Off-Road Endurance Challenge, a full on Amateur Rally, had taken place in MY BACK YARD w/o me even having a clue about it ** The 24 Hours of App is a Rally event organized by BofApp that takes place on a designated course. The goal is to complete said course in under 24hrs. The course, with exception of towns and intersections is solely compiled of rural county roads, gravel roads, back roads, 4x4 trails, logging roads, mountain goat paths, creek bottoms, and private land; as any good rally should be.... The first was 599.6 miles from Seneca Rocks to Pt Pleasant, WV
about- 3min teaser- 3min

After 2 days of reading, listening to podcasts, and watching everything I could find about BofApp and the 24 Hours of Appalachia Rally events.....annnd talking it over with my better half.....I sent the Director of Operations an email asking "How can we help?".

On June, 1st I received a reply from one of the other organizers of the event (the Dir of Oper I emailed had a run-in with a deer on his CRF 450RL while cruising home from an evening of trail scouting a couple months earlier and was recovering in a VA hospital). The email stated, in a nutshell, that it was great to learn of our willingness to help out, and they would love to have us on board, but they needed to make sure that we were up to the task. Not only mentally capable, with enough experience on trail to actually help out, but did I have a vehicle capable of helping out? The last thing they need is to deploy a rescue rig to go get an overly eager, in over their head, volunteer!

My reply email listed all the mods I've made to my GMT900 platform Chevy Avalanche and explained how I'd spent the majority of my life navigating rough terrain on/in just about everything you can name that has a motor and 2, 3 or 4 wheels; and how I've dealt with getting stuck-unstuck-stuck-and unstuck again......and how here, in these hills and on these mountains off-road driving is all about: 1. tires- the heavier you are, the better tires you need 2. taking correct angles 3. using the correct amount of momentum. A few hours later I received a reply welcoming Amanda and I to the team!

The first event back in Feb had 70 full size rigs, 5 SidexSide's and 3 media vehicles.

The second event, which took place last weekend, was a 455.6mi course broken up into 5 stages that started and ended in Hinton, WV. It was titled 24 Hours of Appalachia- Miners and Loggers Delight. This one featured 50 Bikes, 50 SxS's, and 100 Full-size vehicles. The application period was open from 2/15-3/30. They received 150 applications in the first 5 days...

Here is a little of what I experienced:

Drivers Meeting:
The Starting Line:
Some of the field:
A few of the SxS's:
A few of the Full-sized field-
continued on next post....only link 5 pics

Sorry delay, buddy stopped by and disrupted my flow...
Thx for the like @swathdiver ;-) Hope you've been well my man!

The reason I posted this here is: There was only one GM Product in the field. A 2008 Trailblazer.....and I wanted to invite any serious off-road and/or motorsports enthusiasts to come take part in one of these events!

Entry fee is a donation, your choice of amount, to the designated charity. The first event generated $13k and change for a group that helps at risk kids. The second over $21k split between two local charities that help families who have lost a child...

Here is the pre-event coverage Amanda's station did on the event: 4.5min

I spent most of the day Saturday at the last switchback above the town of Thurmond, just a few hundred feet before the participants dropped in on all the tourists visiting America's newest National Park, The New River Gorge. Thurmond, population: 04, is the home of two of our good friends and I wanted to make sure they and all the tourists weren't stampeded by drivers and riders that had been running unimpeded across remote trails for 8-9hrs straight.

Here is the wrap up story Amanda did after filming from the Thurmond switchback: 1min
https://www.wowktv.com/video/24-hours-of-appalachia-miners-and-loggers-delight/9908948/

From Thurmond I drove just under 2hrs down to Checkpoint 4, the Start of the final Stage 5. Ashland is one of the southernmost towns in WV, and honestly I'm not even sure you could call Ashland a town. The only thing there was a beautifully manicured RV Park, and the Park's own "company store" along with 4 brand new gas pumps placed in the back corner of a large gravel lot that, thankfully, they agreed to leave on all night long for us! Not only were the grounds at this facility clean cut, but all buldings were finished with gorgeous cedar colored cement board cladding.

I arrived around 10pm to find my new friend Lance, still hangin tough! (been there since 10am!!)

You really get a feel for what the drivers and riders have gone through at the start of the final stage. As they trickled in through the am hours, many were excited to know they were goin the right way, some were tired, a couple even managed to sleep riding shotgun....and most importantly all but one or two were smiling! This was the longest stretch of asphalt on the route, about 50mi worth. At the end of that asphalt stretch was a HUGE culvert, a giant metal cave. It might as well have been a portal to another world after an hour and a half of listening to the entrancing hum of mud tires on the hard road...

At this point you were only 20 miles from the finish.....But in this new world those 20 miles took an average of 2-2.5hrs ... On the other side of that steel cylinder, awaiting the participants, was a far more sinister world. A world made up of a nasty series of linked short sections purposely chosen to test riders and drivers at the end, when they were at their weakest. 20 miles of mud holes, mud bogs, tight woods, water crossings, boulder fields, rock ledges, short steep descents & climbs and long steep descents & climbs. Definitely saved the best for last!

I checked in my last vehicle at 6:48am. By the time I made my sweep run through the hard road section and as close as I could get to the off-road sections. Along with my two wrong turns, as I too was running on fumes, I made it to the finish line at 10:03 am. About 15 seconds ahead of the vehicle I checked 3hrs and 15min earlier. The name of that rig was Pretty Bitchin... In it was a family of 4. Mom Dad and two young boys that couldn't have been more than 8 or 9. I asked if they had slept? her reply "Ha, I wish!" as the boys both yelled NOOOO and laughed.....and the name fit because mom was driving at the checkpoint and bitchin about two abandoned vehicles that caused a huge log jam on a steep technical descent near the end of stage 4. And when she pulled up beside me at the finish line, she was still drivin and still bitchin, this time because I had told her the last 50mi should take around an hour and a half.....smh. The only thing I could come up with in response was "sorry, I only said that because that's what Lance was saying all night" and I pointed at Lance asleep in his Jeep half block behind us... We laughed.....and as they drove away I thought of a tik tok video message I had shared with Amanda a few weeks earlier. It was one of those lovey dovey messages and showed a collage of photos of a young couple on numerous different off-road outings......It was titled: Couples That Mud Together Stay Together. I'd be willing to bet that in that Pretty Bitchin' Jeep Cherokee there was a family that will stay together....

Over the length of the 455.9 mile course, those who completed the challenge ascended and descended a cumulative total of just over 100,000 feet in elevation That may be the most impressive number of the whole weekend?? More impressive than the 3 pro drivers that competed for charity. More impressive than the 200 vehicles that entered. More impressive than the $21k raised. More impressive than the 3 Smallmouth Bass I caught Sunday afternoon before the banquet. More impressive than the 12hrs and 4o some minutes the fastest bike completed the course in. And even more impressive than the 4.5hrs of sleep I got from Thursday morning > Sunday Night!

Sorry for being so long, but hopefully it was worth the read? More hopefully someone else helps me get a some American as Apple Pie GM representation in the field of one of these soon! If anyone from this group wants to come here for an event, whether it be the next 24hr endurance challenge (likely late Oct), or one of the Airport Attack drag racing events, or next weeks Hillfest Time Trial Race up Snowshoe Mountains rarely ever driven Southern entrance: https://westvirginiahillfest.com/event-info/#MAP
please let me know so I can roll out the welcome carpet.... I would happily co-drive with someone, drive separately as a buddy vehicle, show you the ins and out of the area, turn you on to the nearest fishing hot spot, and/or generally make sure you get the most out of your adventure... Jeep is not America's only off-road juggernaut!

To wrap: After the banquet, myself, the Dir of Operations, his cousin, and a local mechanic friend went and retrieved the two abandoned rigs that had clogged things up so severely near the end of stage 4. They were owned by the same individual. It was the first class V section of the course I had seen. We arrived to find an early 90's Toyota Land Cruiser and an early 90's Toyota Hi-Lux, both trucks were right hand drives, both were built, lifted and with more than adequate, properly aired down tires. The Land had blown out a brake line right at the top of the most difficult section.....The Hi-Lux was simply the victim of an exhausted owner. It was left snugged up behind the LC in ready to roll out condition. We restored the 3.0 diesel swapped LC to a driveable state in less than 5 min with some strategically placed locking pliers. It took longer to top off the reservoir than it did to make the trail repair lol. I drove the Hi-Lux out, and in the process came to the conclusion that a standard shift right hand drive was actually easier to wheel around than our left drivers here... Who would've guessed that!?!?

I finally limped up my driveway about 1:30am Mon morning. Mandy retrieved me from my drivers seat about 7hrs later lol. I did say earlier that this was perfectly grooved in my wheelhouse didn't I?? And yes, I've already got my eye on a couple different long travel suspension setups

more Full-sized rigs:
LOTS AND LOTS OF JEEPS:

Even some of the trucks were Jeeps
Pics only to be cont....

Finally a full sized rig.....kind of


There's a full sized rig! I would guess pushing 7000# with all the tools, recovery gear, camping gear, unnecessary bs, and food/drink I had with me...

I did find a deal on a swank new set of recovery boards before the event


If you look close you can see why I set up here: tourist going up through the switchback -vs- endurance challenge driver that's been screaming through the wilderness coming down


VelociRaptor and two SxS's waiting their turn to cross the, one lane for pedestrians bicycles and vehicles, New River bridge at Thurmond



Last participant I watched through the CYA turn at Thurmond....headed to Ashland


about 5am and Lance was asked to go and attempt to un-jam the log jam caused by the Land Cruiser and Hi-Lux. He was advised to approach from the south but before he could get to the area the drivers that were blocked all made it back up the hill in reverse and had gone around, leaving me to close out the final checkpoint and allowing Lance to go get some rest

7am.....the 24hr mark.....shut er down and roll out on a sweep run to the Finish Line



And finally a few shots from the sweep run in. Is there any way to capture steepness of slope on a camera?



Thank God nobody needed swept, the chances of me seeing them were...zero! Even heavily loaded, the LS was stretchin out the legs in between apex's on Sunday morning



Speaking of apex's


This is a little of what I meant earlier when I wrote about the gray and black ribbons of concrete and asphalt

Had to add one more.....I'm sure the last thing this Mustang, out on a Sunday morning cruise down into the Gorge, expected to see pushing up in his rear view mirror was a 13yr old 7000lb GMT900


note to self: PPV or CTSV brake mod asap


Lastly, I hope some of you guys will read this and come check out one of these events or come explore WV for yourself someday! My offer stands! (at least until I'm able to get some long travel suspension on my truck.....after that I likely won't be available for the role of co-driver )
Take Care

That has to sound like the most fun kinda racing in the world!!! i am out in southern california and used to desert racing only. I think i have lived in this little bubble too long because I didn't even fathom any other kind of off-road racing beside desert & mud (my knowledge of which is seriously limited to my on and off living in Illinois when I was married and compared to desert imo it was kinda boring)...When I get my Tahoe put back together and set out on my 2yr tour of the US/Mexico/Canada next year hopefully your offer will still be standing because I think I may just head your way first...TYVM for your post, I have a couple new additions to my list of things-to-do-before-i-can't-do-things-anymore and looking forward to doing some more research about WV and the Appalachians....and btw imo this was an AWESOME and very interesting post and NOT too long at all.

I might have to check that out next year or so once I get my Tahoe squared away or the truck converted to 4wd! I’m in eastern nc so not too far from you! Sounds really really fun! We do a lot of beach riding my way but also have a lot of mud bog drag racing around home also if you ever end up my way give me a shout I’ll put you on some of the best and most secluded beach’s to ride down with hard pack sand

Here’s our local mud bog

AtHeart1CaliGurl said:

That has to sound like the most fun kinda racing in the world!!! i am out in southern california and used to desert racing only. I think i have lived in this little bubble too long because I didn't even fathom any other kind of off-road racing beside desert & mud (my knowledge of which is seriously limited to my on and off living in Illinois when I was married and compared to desert imo it was kinda boring)...When I get my Tahoe put back together and set out on my 2yr tour of the US/Mexico/Canada next year hopefully your offer will still be standing because I think I may just head your way first...TYVM for your post, I have a couple new additions to my list of things-to-do-before-i-can't-do-things-anymore and looking forward to doing some more research about WV and the Appalachians....and btw imo this was an AWESOME and very interesting post and NOT too long at all.

Click to expand...

My offer will stand as long as I can! In fact, it'll stand as long as we can find a couple peeps willing to carry me to my truck

I worked my 2nd "24rs of Appalachia- Haunted Hollers"(Halloween themed) The last weekend of Oct. It took place in eastern Kentucky. Smaller event this time, only 123ish participants' but it took place in a smaller land area that has lower elevations to work with. However, it turned out to be FAR more technical/difficult of a route. It really tested the field! We had a very high DNF rate in Ky. A lot of that was due to some accuracy and detail loss in the offical route map when transfered from platform to platform to patform (Garmin Tread > GAIA > OnX) [[Ironically, one of us (U-hummm-cough) inquired, multiple times leading up to the event, about making the couple hour drive down in the weeks before the event, so he might run/record the route from start to finish using OnX to avoid any issues.....but what could the new guy know lol....
Trutfully it wasn't really necessary, but it could've ensured a higher completion percentage and allowed for more participants to leave with that feeling of "goal set......goal attained" ]]

IT ALSO MADE FOR SOME AWESOME IN-VEHICLE VIDEOS

We used an incredible company based out of KY called Morrisons Outdoor Adventures to map the route. Mike and his wife Sara provide the full spectrum of off-road training as well as guided adventures, and are really good at what they do! That said Mike uses Tread, which is probably the best off-road map system out, but it's quality gets reduced a little each time it's digitally shared.

***I may ask moderator to change title of this and continue it as a series??

So we just had our "2024 year end review", eventhough we still have an event to do 12/27 - 12/29. Details a little fuzzy on it so far, it set to take place at a brand new Off-road park just outside WV's Capital city of Charleston. It's not yet open to the public. I'm of the impression this will be the Grand opening weekend??

I hope it's awesome, because I'm only 15-20min away, and I'll guarantee that the owner and I will have some type of mutual acquantances...at a minimum(benefits of a lesser populated area).....and being that I'm about to be the ONLY Long Travel Suspension, Overweight Luxury Pre-Runner round these here parts and am affiliated w/the group that is going to help promote them Opening Weekend; I should be able to work out some deeply discounted rates for use!

Trey Hardy said:

I might have to check that out next year or so once I get my Tahoe squared away or the truck converted to 4wd! I’m in eastern nc so not too far from you! Sounds really really fun! We do a lot of beach riding my way but also have a lot of mud bog drag racing around home also if you ever end up my way give me a shout I’ll put you on some of the best and most secluded beach’s to ride down with hard pack sand

Here’s our local mud bog

Click to expand...

You more than welcome!

Nice video! I LOVE when people post old racing vids of any kind!


In mid-80's my dad and two buddies built a Mud Bog Jeep! A little like the one that finised 3rd in above video!

It was a late 70's CJ7 chassis that they had extended the length of the frame on 10" or so. 44" tires and had a navy blue full fiberlass body on it, with a 454 in it. I was only like 7 or 8 so it scared the waste liquids and solids out of my body.... Some of that couldve been due to the first time I saw it completed being at this one gas station where ALL the locals 16-30yrs old would congregate (loiter lol) at, right on the main drag in in that little town. After listening to 25-30 locals gawk over it for 30min, they backed it off trailer and before I could blink I was in the passenger seat and one of dad's buddy's looked at me smiled and said "HOLD ON" about 0.05 sec before reving the straight piped big block to about 2000rpm and dumping the clutch.........The front end shot straight up about 2.5-3' off the ground, all I could see was clouds and sky.....which Im sure stopped my heart temporarily?? When it landed I was balled up in the floor upper body on bottom lol... We hadn't gone 10ft across parking lot lol....and EVERYONE was cheering......even me eventually.....on the outside anyway lol