So before we get started here, full disclosure, I am married to the originator of Atlanta Breakfast Rally, and often help plan these events, so to say I was invited along for the trip wouldn’t be honest- I helped to plan this trip, and as I do with all of the other trips planned thus far by ABR, I played the role of passenger photographer.

This event wasn’t a typical ABR drive, and was the first off pavement day planned since the start of the group. Typically, Atlanta Breakfast Rally focuses on driving street cars through some of the most curvy and scenic roads in North Georgia. This event, instead, was set up to explore some of the beauty of the Cohutta Wilderness and just on the other side of the state line in Tennessee, the Big Frog Wilderness. Both of these wilderness areas are supported by roads maintained by the Forest Service Department and can be bumpy, rutted, icy or wet, muddy and pitted with decent size holes as well as dotted by larger rocks, which are best navigated by cars with some ground clearance. Four wheel drive is often not necessary, but at times, it can be beneficial, and it was for us this past Saturday as we encountered some icy hills in some of the more shaded, upper elevation areas.

The drive started with a meet up at Buc-ee’s in Calhoun for gas and of course, snacks- the lure of the giant store of goodies is hard to bypass. Once we all had our snacks, replacements for forgotten lunches, and had fueled up we set off headed towards Chatsworth to begin the actual drive on Forest Service road 630 enjoying the few icy puddles along the Forest Service road as we wound through the quiet wilderness. We made a stop at Murray’s Lake which was frozen over, giving us all the chance to skip rocks across the icy surface, recreating the sounds we’d all heard on one of those viral TikTok videos much to our delight.

From there we continued up W Cow Pen until we reached Old Hwy 2 to lead us to Tennessee and to one of my favorite waterfalls, easily viewable from the side of the road. The waterfall here is on private property, and the owner would very much appreciate folks respecting the land by not driving up to it, and there are signs posted there is no camping allowed. It was our first time seeing it mostly frozen, the water flowing behind sheets of ice and slow-melting icicles.

We stopped for a quick snack and I got to wander a bit getting photos of the waterfall in all its winter splendor, then we headed to Big Frog Road which is where we encountered our first real need for 4wd as one of the hills was very icy, with only a bit of drier contact available far right. After a quick assessment and everyone setting up we took the hill one by one, ensuring each person was able to navigate the slick situation fully before we continued forward over more icy patches and the roadside becoming more and more decorated with solid icicles dangling from rocky outcroppings. The closer we got to our planned end of the trip, as we were planning to head towards McCaysville and Copperhill, the road and mountainside seemed to get more and more frozen, reminding us we were having an actual winter this year. As we rounded a corner we were met with chaos- a Tundra had slid on a patch of ice and was precariously perched along the ledge with the driver and passenger stuck inside.

The group that had come along for this drive was small, a total of 3 vehicles had actually shown up for the drive, ourselves included, and in that moment we were grateful it was not a larger number stuck on the trail, and also grateful the group was well prepared. While we talked to the driver of the Tundra we began assessing how to best help. They had called 9-1-1 25 minutes before we got there and were told there was no ETA for help to arrive, so we got busy. The driver of the 60 series Land Cruiser pulled to the front and the group began setting up a winch to anchor the truck while some of us kept talking to the driver trying to keep them focused on anything except the sure panic they were feeling. Thankfully the Copper Basin volunteer fire department was quick to respond, and shortly after the winch had been hooked up the Jeep arrived on the scene and served as a second anchor point, then in conjunction with our group a plan was set to get the driver and passenger of the truck out. The host of ABR worked with the fire chief to run a line to the truck, securing it inside the cab of the truck, then helped get the driver out, then his wife. We waited with them for a while so they could sort out how they were going to proceed, and once we were certain they had a tow truck on the way we all agreed it was time for us to get our group back down the mountain to ensure the children in the group were safely secured in their own beds that night.

We had hoped to not traverse the Forest Service roads in the dark due to the icy conditions we had seen during the day, and we were about half successful. The drive back down was uneventful in comparison, despite a few icy spots, and we were all grateful to hit pavement again in Cisco. I’m certain the Zaxby’s staff in Chatsworth were not as thrilled as they could be to see some exhausted, bewildered, muddy and dirty folks when we arrived for dinner, but we were exceptionally happy to see them, the chicken fingers and a clean bathroom for washing up.

I am happy to report the owner of the Tundra was able to retrieve the truck that night, finally heading back down the side of the mountain they had come up around 8:40 that night. For reference, we had come upon them around 3:30 in the afternoon, so they had a very long afternoon and evening. I am incredibly thankful for the group of people we were with immediately jumping in to help folks in need, and so very happy they were able to not only be pulled from the truck, but that they were able to also recover their truck. I think it might be a while before we traverse that part of the wilderness during the cold days of winter though.