7 days to Wild Hogs II (the trip not a movie)

OK, another day down and a day closer to the trip. Quiet night at work last night. Those are always good.

For those who may not know the story behind our Wild Hogs trips, let me explain. I am the oldest of 5 boys. When we were growing up, we were together all the time and had the benefit of each others company as we moved from place to place. My Dad was a bit of a nomad and was unafraid to go where ever the next job led. In many ways it made us a close family. Once we were grown and had families of our own it seemed that we did not see much of each other even though we all live in the same general geographic area. When we do get together we always have a good time and pick up right where we left off. But, we have much lamented the fact that we don't get the opportunity to do things together anymore.

As it turns out, we all developed a love of riding motorcycle. For a few years we kicked around the idea of taking a trip together, but it seemed it never quite got past the talking stage. Then, last year (2009) one of the wives (not sure which one) suggested we stop talking about it and do it. That was the push we needed and the Wild Hogs trip was born. Obviously taken from the movie, it seemed a fitting name since like the characters in the movie, we more or less just picked a direction and rode. We did have some ideas of things we would like to see or do, but in general we did not have any hard and fast plans and we just "winged" it. As it turns out, that is a great way to travel, free and unencumbered by schedules or deadlines. About 2 days into our 4 day trip, we decided that we needed to make this an annual event.

The first day we went south from our home base of Harrisburg, PA to Skyline Drive in VA. We stayed the first night at High Meadow Campground on Skyline Drive at about 3300 feet elevation. Boy was it chilly that first night. From there we moved on to the Blue Ridge Parkway for many more miles of beautiful mountain riding. We finally left the mountains around Charlottesville VA spending our second night near Bristol TN. Our Third day, we ran route 129 from TN to Deals Gap NC where the last 11 mile stretch is known as the "tail of the dragon". The "tail" has 318 curves in 11 miles. this was a bikers dream. After a couple of passes we headed back north setting up camp in a little place known as Rural Retreat VA. A great name for a place to camp with great people who showed real southern hospitality. Then the next day back home.

That is how our version of the Wild Hogs trip was born. This year will be a little different as it will only be 4 of us. My brother Mark (next to the youngest) is not able to go this year. The plan for this year to is head north to New England. We will set up a base camp so as to avoid hauling all our gear every day, then make day trips to different areas. We added a day to the trip as well. We are all looking forward to it and even though Mark cannot go with us this year, I am sure he will be there in spirit. Hopefully, by next year he will be in a position to join us again. As with last year's trip, The start and end are set but aside from knowing where we will stay each night, (last year we did not know) we will wing it day by day. We will try to take lots of pics and update when we can. If I cannot get internet access I will have to update you when we get home.