Tackett Creek, TN Snow

gasiorv

I'm a new world samurai, and a redneck nonetheless
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Memphis, TN
I know a lot of you live in areas prone to snow and you get to play in it on a regular basis. However, here in TN it is rare occurrence. But we did get a little snow storm and a drop in temps that allowed us to get out and do a little playing this past weekend. 6 of us in four vehicles headed to Tackett Creek WMA in North East TN. 4 of us from Memphis area, 1 from Murfreesboro, and one from Savannah, GA.
The snow started Thursday morning, hitting central TN the hardest. We left Memphis around 2:30pm and it took us 7 hours to get to Cookeville, TN which is normally a 4 hour trip due to the road conditions in the Nashville area. We grabbed a hotel in Cookeville Thurs night and then headed to Tackett Creek in Pioneer TN first thing Friday where we all met up and headed out on the trails. The lows were in the teens thurs into Friday and it never got above 30 deg on Friday day. We set up camp on the trails (just below a great overlook) and it dipped down into single digits that night. Saturday was a little warmer and it got up into the 40's.

A lot of great scenery, great overlooks, caves, natural bridges, AND SNOW! Another bonus is that my oldest son was home from college for winter break so it went along with me.

Here is a you tube video that I put together of some go pro footage I captured and I will post pics in following posts.

Tackett Creek, TN snow
 
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We had four vehicles on this trip:
Me in my TJ, a Suzuki Samurai on 37's, a JKU on 38's, and a 3rd gen 4runner on 33's. By far the most impressive rig and driver this weekend was the 4 runner, he drove it from Savannah, GA, wheeled it all weekend, then drove it back to Savannah in the same exact condition, not a scratch. Impressive!

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I’ve never been to Tackett before. Is anything marked? How easy/hard is it to navigate? I’m in a locked TJ on 35s. Would I be alright there?
 
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I’ve never been to Tackett before. Is anything marked? How easy/hard is it to navigate? I’m in a locked TJ on 35s. Would I be alright there?
Nothing was marked. My friend was using Lifetime maps (I may be wrong on name?) which is a paid mapping app common amongst SxS riders and it is really detailed and we easily got around with it.

Your TJ would be fine.
 
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@gasiorv how was camping in the cold weather? I’m heading to Land Between the Lakes in west KY/TN in couple of weeks for camping/wheeling. I’ve got a small tent with a full rain-fly (allegedly it’s “all weather” but idk), and a Mr. Buddy heater.
 
@gasiorv how was camping in the cold weather? I’m heading to Land Between the Lakes in west KY/TN in couple of weeks for camping/wheeling. I’ve got a small tent with a full rain-fly (allegedly it’s “all weather” but idk), and a Mr. Buddy heater.
Here was my set up and we were very comfortable. I recommend giving it a try.
Coleman 3 man tent - 3 season with rainfly
I put tarp down on the snow, tent on top of tarp.
I put a moving blanket as a rug inside the tent
Ozark Trails cot from walmart
Hyke and Byke 32 deg mummy bag with an ozark trail sleeping bag liner.
Mr Buddy Heater. I used 2 1/2 - 1 lb bottles on low, I also brought a battery powered Carbon Monoxide detector. The coleman tent has plenty of airflow through it even if you have all the zippers zipped and the Mr Buddy has a built in low oxygen shut off, but I just wanted that extra warning.
It got down to 10 deg. and my 20 yo son never missed a beat on sleeping, he said his feet got a little cold. I got a little cold during the night and got up and put on my hat and two Body Warmers (the same company that makes Hand Warmers, the Body Warmers are awesome!! and work all night and day) and was fine after that.
The 2nd night it was low 30's and I did the same set up but I didn't need the hat/body warmers and actually slept with my head outside of the bag all night. My son said he got a little too warm.

The propane (both 1 lb bottles and the 20 lb tanks) for the Mr Buddy Heater, camp stove, and fire pit worked fine at the cold temps. However, butane lighters wouldn't light (luckily I also brought matches) and my MSR pocket rocket butane burner wouldn't burn at all which was a surprise. Also, none of our electronics would work in the cold, my phone gave a temperature too cold warning and the go pro would turn on show 80 percent battery then immediately show 4 percent battery and then turn off. Any water that was left not near a heater froze, even in an insulated container. Whiskey was good.
 
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I will add that I have backpacked in twenty deg temps and I will not do that anymore (I just don't sleep well in the cold). But having the jeep as a pack mule to carry cots, blankets, heater, dry clothes to sleep in, etc.... makes it very enjoyable. Also, my only fear with the buddy heater was a sleeping bag making contact in the middle of the night and catching fire, with the cots the sleeping bags were at the same level as the top of the Mr Buddy Heater. I may look into adding something that would keep items from contacting the heater from the side in the future, not sure what yet, and not sure how hot the barrier would get, need to think about it.
 
@gasiorv how was camping in the cold weather? I’m heading to Land Between the Lakes in west KY/TN in couple of weeks for camping/wheeling. I’ve got a small tent with a full rain-fly (allegedly it’s “all weather” but idk), and a Mr. Buddy heater.
I just did LBL in the snow this past week with an all season and a full rain fly it was as good as it could be. The real winner was my 0*F sleeping back and a sleeping pad. Tent held up pretty well in the snow. Wish I had one of those heaters inside so my face didn't get so cold but outside the tent the fire we kept up was keeping us toasty. If you have one of those heaters and a decent sleeping bag you'll be fine
 
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Here was my set up and we were very comfortable. I recommend giving it a try.
Coleman 3 man tent - 3 season with rainfly
I put tarp down on the snow, tent on top of tarp.
I put a moving blanket as a rug inside the tent
Ozark Trails cot from walmart
Hyke and Byke 32 deg mummy bag with an ozark trail sleeping bag liner.
Mr Buddy Heater. I used 2 1/2 - 1 lb bottles on low, I also brought a battery powered Carbon Monoxide detector. The coleman tent has plenty of airflow through it even if you have all the zippers zipped and the Mr Buddy has a built in low oxygen shut off, but I just wanted that extra warning.
It got down to 10 deg. and my 20 yo son never missed a beat on sleeping, he said his feet got a little cold. I got a little cold during the night and got up and put on my hat and two Body Warmers (the same company that makes Hand Warmers, the Body Warmers are awesome!! and work all night and day) and was fine after that.
The 2nd night it was low 30's and I did the same set up but I didn't need the hat/body warmers and actually slept with my head outside of the bag all night. My son said he got a little too warm.

The propane (both 1 lb bottles and the 20 lb tanks) for the Mr Buddy Heater, camp stove, and fire pit worked fine at the cold temps. However, butane lighters wouldn't light (luckily I also brought matches) and my MSR pocket rocket butane burner wouldn't burn at all which was a surprise. Also, none of our electronics would work in the cold, my phone gave a temperature too cold warning and the go pro would turn on show 80 percent battery then immediately show 4 percent battery and then turn off. Any water that was left not near a heater froze, even in an insulated container. Whiskey was good.
That was my plan as well - tarp on ground, tent, then a large blanket on the floor. My tent is just a cheap $50 one from Amazon, and it doesn’t appear to have great ventilation.

Good to know on the propane bottles for the Mr. Buddy too!
 
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