Aetna Ride

[MrMom]

Planning on going to aetna next weekend...any here going to be in the area? will be my first trip there so looking for some advice on trails etc
thanks for any tips!

[Popeye'sJeep]

I'll probably be out of town, but I put together a basic Mt Aetna map that may help. I'm in Roswell, whereabouts are you? Me & some buds do a little wheeling here & there. Mostly Allatoona and here lately, some Mt. Aetna. It took me years to find the freakin place & now they soon may be shutting down the road that leads up. The subdivision hired a security guard but he's not blocking you from going up- just making sure nobody parks down there or messing anything up. Wave to him- he's friendly enough.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103384373404172757550.0004765d8ace6839d61c0&z=14

[Ghost]

Planning on going to aetna next weekend...any here going to be in the area? will be my first trip there so looking for some advice on trails etc
thanks for any tips!

Welcome back! I thought you sold the xj's off?

[MrMom]

Hey Glenn
still around still have my beater just a little more beat up
just been a little depressed about wheelin later since they closed tellico.
that was our second home
so not a lot of motivation. all the trips you guys have planned have been
to far for me to make or bad timing.
trying to get back at it!

[Ghost]

Sweet! I know what you mean on the Tellico thing. You should be ok at Aetne, I don't think bears are a problem there! :looney: :shhh: :clap:

[mbogosia]

You will love Aetna. Its amazing how much is out there and it is all free. Since you are in North Georgia you need to take advantage of it being right there in Chattanooga.

[MrMom]

Sweet! I know what you mean on the Tellico thing. You should be ok at Aetne, I don't think bears are a problem there! :looney: :shhh: :clap:
reference to my sister I presume :D

[Ghost]

reference to my sister I presume :D

You know it budy! Seen Travis lately?

[MrMom]

No I believe he is trying to sell his place and go west I heard

[Ghost]

No I believe he is trying to sell his place and go west I heard

Yes bordor patrol is what he told me I think. RIde atvs and capture illegals and get to pack a gun! :thumbup:

[Popeye'sJeep]

In case you haven't been to Aetna- here's my take on it...

There are plenty of acres to have fun for a couple of days, so I like to do some primitive camping when I go. Make sure and check out the view at the two scenic overlooks I've noted on my map. On the top of the mountain, there's everything from mild to challenging, so you can bring friends along that are running stock rigs, just keep this one thing in mind- if it has rained heavily in the last few days, they better not bring street or all-terrain tires on their jeep. They'll be fine on top of the mountain, but the road up can get pretty sloppy with heavy rains and they may not make it up to where there are do-able obstacles for stock rigs.

It's well worth the drive from North Georgia.

[MrMom]

Yes bordor patrol is what he told me I think. RIde atvs and capture illegals and get to pack a gun! :thumbup:
IT does not get much better than that

[MrMom]

road leading in are there obstacles on it? or is it mainly dirt and ditches and such? can you take a unlocked stocker on it? where is the best place to go there? is the peanut butter hole the place you see all the videos of with the hill climbs and ledges. will mainly just have saturday so I want to make the best use of our time. looking for some long rocky sections with bolders. any thing like that?In case you haven't been to Aetna- here's my take on it...

There are plenty of acres to have fun for a couple of days, so I like to do some primitive camping when I go. Make sure and check out the view at the two scenic overlooks I've noted on my map. On the top of the mountain, there's everything from mild to challenging, so you can bring friends along that are running stock rigs, just keep this one thing in mind- if it has rained heavily in the last few days, they better not bring street or all-terrain tires on their jeep. They'll be fine on top of the mountain, but the road up can get pretty sloppy with heavy rains and they may not make it up to where there are do-able obstacles for stock rigs.

It's well worth the drive from North Georgia.

[Popeye'sJeep]

The road up to the top is fine for an unlocked stocker. No obstacles, just mud if it has rained recently.

I don't know of any extended stretches of rocks / boulders anywhere at Aetna, but if you'll continue straight on the main trail, until you get to the Lookout Valley power line overlook, turn right and drive along the powerline. You'll find a couple of stretches with rocky hillclimbs, with some ledges that are challenging for any rig with tires less than 40".

Stick to the power lines if you want rocks. The wooded trails are mostly flat and have varying degrees of muck.

Something we didn't explore much, but was getting pretty rocky when we turned around for fuel reasons, so you may want to check it out: From the Lookout Valley overlook, head northwest on the same power line I mention above. Continue after you see an intersecting power line. Eventually the driveable trail pretty much ends because of a gorge. Take the very last trail on the right and it becomes pretty rocky.

If you follow that to the north, you should end up at peanut butter hole, where you'll find rock ledges and a very cool overlook, above the Tennessee River.

I higly recommend you carry a printout of the Google map. Do a printout from terrain mode and another from satellite mode. The criss-crossing power lines can throw off your bearings. The satellite map will help you see where trails go. The terrain map will tell you if it's a freakin cliff. :-)

[MrMom]

how do I get to the PB hole?