Smokey Mountain Trail - BOH

[nU7OuxIx]

If you're planning to go up there, there's an easy offroad trail near Cades Cove called Parsons Branch Road. You can take that and end up on tail of the dragon.

Also, I had pinstripes just as much as you do. I have no affiliation with this company, but I bought some MEK magnets that I love. They're pieces of hard plastic with a sticky back end piece. I just put mine on over the weekend and they'll probably stay on until the fall. They're expensive, but really helps save the paint.

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[vaJLUR]

Unless it's become grossly overgrown in the last month or so the pinstripping is just a loosely applied term in that you'll have things brushing against your body, but none of it was enough to actually cut the clear coat (it'll polish out).
It's a fun little trail system, maybe a few hours worth depending on how slow you go and how much time you want to spend looking around. The skyline is pretty. It can be run solo, but be cognizant of space on the couple off camber drops.

 

[Martial Fartist]

Definitely not worried about pinstripes. Those are almost unavoidable here on Florida trails. I just don’t want to tumble down a mountain. lol

 

[NJRadioGuy]

Well, it is and isn't part of wheeling, depending on the trails you run. That's why I asked. Much appreciate the heads up. We avoid the pinstripers.

We have two parks within a couple of hours from where I live: Rausch Creek and AOAA, each with two BoH trails. AOAA is much tighter than Rausch and you'll leave with trail rash every time. Rausch far less so, but still a good chance of encountering them. Just a fact of life for east coast wheeling unfortunately. I think the worst pinstripes I ever received were on Big Levels (a.k.a. Bald Mountain Jeep Trail) in Virginia. Especially the optional offshoot. It's an amazing trail, but you can hear your paint crying the whole time. The Canaan Loop in WV is the same. Good wheeling, but very tight branches. Also the BoH Hallfrisch/Walker trail on Drummond Island, Michigan. Relatively easy, but tight and scratchy.

With that said, it's far better to go when the leaves are out, which will reduce the severity of the scratches quite a bit, and pretty much all of what you do get can be buffed out. Out west is obviously very different. My doors and fenders have a ton of battle scars now, and would require paint work to fix if I was so inclined—which I'm not. At least not yet.

 

[NJRadioGuy]

Definitely not worried about pinstripes. Those are almost unavoidable here on Florida trails. I just don’t want to tumble down a mountain. lol

Just pay attention to tire placement on the second (?) trail you'll encounter on the Badge route (the one without a number). It gets extra tippy toward the bottom. You could breeze through these in a TJ/YJ/TJ without a second thought, but driving my hardtop JL 4-door with an awning is a different animal.

 

[WannFly]

Definitely not worried about pinstripes. Those are almost unavoidable here on Florida trails. I just don’t want to tumble down a mountain. lol

you will most definitely get stuck in a tree, so dont worry about tumbling down... for long anyway

 

[Trails]

We have two parks within a couple of hours from where I live: Rausch Creek and AOAA, each with two BoH trails. AOAA is much tighter than Rausch and you'll leave with trail rash every time. Rausch far less so, but still a good chance of encountering them. Just a fact of life for east coast wheeling unfortunately. I think the worst pinstripes I ever received were on Big Levels (a.k.a. Bald Mountain Jeep Trail) in Virginia. Especially the optional offshoot. It's an amazing trail, but you can hear your paint crying the whole time. The Canaan Loop in WV is the same. Good wheeling, but very tight branches. Also the BoH Hallfrisch/Walker trail on Drummond Island, Michigan. Relatively easy, but tight and scratchy.

With that said, it's far better to go when the leaves are out, which will reduce the severity of the scratches quite a bit, and pretty much all of what you do get can be buffed out. Out west is obviously very different. My doors and fenders have a ton of battle scars now, and would require paint work to fix if I was so inclined—which I'm not. At least not yet.

It sounds like northeast wheeling is rough on the paint. Haven't had the Jeep up there. Will have to pick our trails carefully if we head that way.

 

[NJRadioGuy]

It sounds like northeast wheeling is rough on the paint. Haven't had the Jeep up there. Will have to pick our trails carefully if we head that way.

Yep, it sure is. But since your paint is still pristine and the wife insists on it remaining that way, why not invest in paint protection film? You paid to protect to underside of your Jeep (a very wise move), so why not add protection to the purdy side too?

 

[Trails]

Yep, it sure is. But since your paint is still pristine and the wife insists on it remaining that way, why not invest in paint protection film? You paid to protect to underside of your Jeep (a very wise move), so why not add protection to the purdy side too?

That sounds like good advice. Does ppf prevent "most" pinstriping? I understand that it obviously won't prevent a gouge from a huge branch digging in.

 

[NJRadioGuy]

That sounds like good advice. Does ppf prevent "most" pinstriping? I understand that it obviously won't prevent a gouge from a huge branch digging in.

Yes, from my understanding it will protect against average trail rash. Your careful driving will prevent clearcoat damage; just avoid bit thick branches, and carry along a folding saw to trim them if necessary. After you get PPF applied, you can add ceramic to it for added protection.

PPF will self-heal, so any typical trail scratches into the PPF will disappear over time. Plus it can be peeled off if necessary. I'd definitely do it next time, but now it's pretty chowdered up, even though it still looks good after a good wash and wax.

 

[Martial Fartist]

If you’ve driven this trail, what are your thoughts of driving solo?

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos now. I don’t see anything crazy challenging so far and they claim it’s stock friendly.

 

[MntGoat]

Colored polish helps! Especially at night from 2 parking spots away

 

[NJRadioGuy]

If you’ve driven this trail, what are your thoughts of driving solo?

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos now. I don’t see anything crazy challenging so far and they claim it’s stock friendly.

Yes, I'd say stock friendly, but it's tight and has a few very steep climbs and descents, with a bit of off-camber thrown in for good measure. You really have to pay attention to your line in a few spots, but no, nothing crazy here. I think 2-doors and narrower CJ/YJ/TJs would definitely have an advantage here but even my lumbering JL with an awning hanging off the side made it without issue.

I will say there were two relatively minor pucker-factor spots on this trail, the first being an un-numbered trail early on, downhill, off-camber and has a decent drop-off to the left, and the second an extremely steep downhill with loose rock and a sharp turn at the bottom. Good place for Hill Descent Control and concentration.

It's now about 8 weeks out and the badge is still out of stock.

 

[WannFly]

I was reading the reviews on the BOH app, it sounds like there is a easy trail for stock, and steeper one for challenge. One dude commented that he made it up without much fuss on stock gladiator, another dude said he bottomed out with 3.5 inch lift and 37. go figure

 

[vaJLUR]

It's now about 8 weeks out and the badge is still out of stock.

My fav part is that they just never made the badges, or at least I dont think they did. We were check-ins 94 to 100, we're also backordered.
Same thing happened with the new MD trail last year, we were like 100-105.

Just make a couple hundred, the warehouse space is minimal.

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