Runnett Bag is a non-state-maintained “road” in Floyd county that forks off of a road I take to work every day. Okay, to be technical about it, Runnett Bag is the name for many roads and/or trails in the same area around the border of Floyd and Franklin counties. At least, according to Google maps - the undisputed authority undoubtedly.
The state-maintained Runnett Bag [above] connects Route 40 to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
While dicking around the area one afternoon I followed Laurel Bluff Road (which, according to the map, turns back into Runnett Bag road across the Floyd/Franklin border) to its “End State Maintenance” sign. After that the road trickled down into almost nothing and I turned around and went home. I assumed it was somebody’s driveway and prowling around it would just add to my list of problems.
Later that evening I did some research on the area and found this message board post from six years ago. It was long, so I skimmed it. For those who didn’t click the link, the poster describes driving down this grassy dirt road on his motorcycle, finding some old moonshine tanks, and taking a wrong turn near the road’s end. From my original skimming, I read “overgrown with grass, but passable” and completely missed “broke my motorcycle.” A couple weeks went by with the post still in my mind I convinced Sparky that we must try driving down this road. It was absolutely critical.
So we did.
We found the remnants of an old house and the moonshine tanks and debris the poster above described. It did seem truly uninhabited for miles. Somebody had gone through with a chain saw at some point and chopped all the large fallen trees, but from the looks of them it had been a while. I’d be interested to know how often this road sees traffic (even pedestrian traffic).
We reached the first water crossing and Sparky claimed that the bank was too steep and the Jeep (Charlotte) would get stuck. I argued that their was only one way to find out.
Well, now we know.
This looks less like bad news than it really is (or at least I don’t think the pictures show what was going on). The car is sitting on its back bumper instead of its back tires. The tire in the second photo is four or five inches off the ground. I guess that’s not really a lot, but it’s supposed to be “zero.” The hour we spent getting out of this predicament was actually a good time.
Despite that fun I don’t think I’d try this again in a vehicle. We spent a lot of gas and spun a lot of mud around that stream to accomplish mostly nothing. Not to say that it wasn’t a great time or that the woods weren’t gorgeous, but I don’t like the guilt. I think next time we’ll try it on foot.
I didn’t post all of the adventure photos here because maybe everyone doesn’t want to scroll through pictures of trees and moonshine tanks, but those interested in Runnett Bag and/or my various witty remarks can see the whole shebang at the flickr set for this.
Sparky’s suggestion for “What should we do today” that particular Sunday was “stay at home and play WoW.” Don’t worry, I’ll post a play-by-play and photos for that, too. I know you’re filled with anticipation about it.
