From: "Barb Beck" <>
>
> Note: we are not "off roaders" but travel a lot on logging and oil/gas ro=
ads
> which can be a BIG challenge if wet. Lots of the wood is hauled out the
> winter when things are frozen. In the US your have paved logging roads
> courtesy of your government (which does not subsidize the wood industry)
> Here the logging companies are responsible for construction and maintenan=
ce
> of the roads.
Paved logging roads? Not around here. There are whole counties here
where except for a few main highways all the roads are strictly graded
out of the local soil, not even gravel added. And they are not regraded
often. That's pretty much the norm here for unpaved roads except in the
N Georgia "mountains" where some more gravel may turn up.
No one seems responsible for road upkeep from damage due to logging. The
logging companies only do something when their big 4X4's or their
logging trucks are getting stuck a lot. And then only enough to not get
those stuck. When they are done they don't fix the roads. I have to be
happy if they don't put a locked gate on them. It's a sometimes
confusing mix of private and public roads.
When I was up in Canada last summer, all I seemed to find in the way of
back country roads were graveled and reasonably graded. Though I did
find one that ran in a lake for over a mile. Pretty pleasant backroads
compared to Georgia. Though I expect that the more remote parts than I
got to would get worse.
I'm also not a off roader, though I know what I'm doing. Some of the
things I travel take a lot of imagination to call roads, even if they
have county road markers and names.
Consistently the worst areas are the wildlife preserves here. They
assume you have a 4WD for their roads. They typically only do
maintenance once a year, just before hunting season. Unless nothing can
get through and they want to. On the other hand, the preserves often
have a lot of nice recording opportunities.
And that does not count the adventure of bridges. I've run down some
county road with lots of fresh truck tracks and come up on a bridge so
rotted that little remained but the two I beams supporting it. With the
fresh tracks continuing right over. I definitely draw the line on those,
though I've been over some real rustbuckets of bridges.
I agree on dual batteries, I've had several rigs with them, a real bit
of peace of mind.
Walt
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