Candler (NC)

In an effort to position ourselves where we could quickly access mountain campgrounds, we headed  to the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains; to a small town just west of Asheville named Candler.  This marked the first time we stayed at a privately owned RV park, and we were pleasantly surprised at the very reasonable cost for the full hook-up amenities.  The owner was a very pleasant man who told us during our reservation process to just pick a spot and he’d drop by later to square up.  The park was small—five or six slots tops—but it was located in a quiet area towards the end of the road, and had a bubbling creek 30’ out our back door.  There were hundreds of acres of national forest across the creek that we never got to explore.

Cold, Cold, Cold (from the Little Feat album Sailin' Shoes; 1972)

When we rolled into Candler, the temp was 50F, with north winds at 20-mph.  This would be the best weather we would experience for the next 4-days.  The next day the temperature hovered in the low-40’s, but the wind blowing at 30-mph, with gusts to 40-mph made the high-humidity & overcast day much colder than we were prepared for.  Then it rained.  Then it got colder, with daytime temperatures below freezing, and nighttime temperatures into the teens.  As the temperature and winds continued their relentless assault on our rig, the forecast inside the rig was reported to be 90% miserable with increased anxiety and diminishing morale over the next few days.

We were in all-out heat-seeker mode, both to keep ourselves in a comfortable climate, as well as protecting the utility infrastructure of our rig from freeze damage.  We headed to a local Home Depot and found that they didn’t have a specialized RV department, so we’d need to get inventive on our heat-preservation project.

The duct-tape addition to the external refrigeration panel we performed at Stone Mountain was not going to suffice at these temperatures.  When temperatures get below 20F, the liquid in the refrigerator compressor can start to “jell”, causing damage to the entire unit.  We opted to add a light-bulb in the small compressor compartment to keep the temperatures barely above freezing.

Another cold-weather threat was the freezing of our water lines and holding tanks.  The fresh water supply to the RV is bimodal—utilizing either a pressurized garden-type hose (if “city water” is available); or filling the internal potable water tank which uses an electric (and noisy) pump to keep internal lines pressurized.  The external garden-hose source was not going to work at sub-20F temps, as the hoses will quickly freeze and most likely burst.  We opted to fill our fresh water tank, and fill it with a large enough quantity that 1) it would benefit from the radiant warmth of the RV interior temperature; and 2) it would pose a large enough mass that it would not freeze in as short of a timeframe.  Another tactic to keep the fresh water tank from freezing is to add a bottle of vodka to lower the freezing point.  After careful consideration as to what life around the trailer would look like following the morning coffee, shower, and teeth brushing; we decided to practice this tactic when we had less life-threatening weather events occurring around us.

A huge concern for us was the consequences of prolonged cold weather with regards to the possible freezing, expanding, and bursting of our waste holding tanks.  I won’t use this opuscule to belabor the potentially revolting scenario involving copious cordage of odure oozing about our abode; but rest assured that this was a terrifying proposition that remained in the forefront of our minds.  Unlike the freshwater tanks, you cannot simply “fill” your black-water tanks at will (at least we can’t…although we’ve met those blessed with hyper-regularity), so we opted to pour hot water down the toilet to increase the tank temperature.  Likewise, pre-bedtime showers were scheduled to add large quantities of warmer water to the grey-water reservoir (which didn’t break my heart, as I really missed long, hot showers).  I must admit that when we were planning this excursion, we just didn’t have the clairvoyance to consider how we would heat our waste.  This trip was truly changing the way we think about everyday life.

"A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache." - Catherine the Great

Even with the measures put into place to heat the holding tanks, the frigid temperatures and high winds were presenting a tremendous challenge in keeping the underbelly temperature—which directly correlates to holding tank and living area temperature—from rapidly dropping.  What we really needed was a wind break around the RV.  An approach used by snow-belt campers is to either create snow berms around the RV—kinda “iglooing” the underbelly of the RV.  Others (likely Texans) stack hay squares around the exterior footprint.  Since we didn’t actually have snow on the ground; and we didn’t want to purchase a literal truckload of hay, we bought a 100’ roll of contractor-grade polypropylene anti-erosion fabric.  After wrapping the base of the RV, we stood frigidly proud of the light, inexpensive eye-sore we had "MacGyvered."

"If it weren't for electricity, we'd all be watching television by candlelight." - George Gobel

 It was during this cold streak that we also discovered the amperage limits of our RV.  Powering space heaters using the RV electrical system resulted in periodic loss of power when the fuse rating was exceeded.  Concerned that this might happen while we were sleeping—creating a really bad morning after scenario—we ran the space heaters off the 20-amp service, routing heavy gauge extension cords into the RV and sealing them off with duct-tape (use # 4,562,132).

We didn’t get a chance to visit the opulent Biltmore Estate, but we did find a few hours to shop at the Asheville Farmer’s Market.  This year-round market houses a treasure of foodstuffs—honey, nuts, jellies, jams, flours, produce—thousands of local small business produced items that show the skill & pride of the agrarian community that utilizes this outlet to sell their goods.

"My wife and I, we like to ride where there's not much traffic." - Evil Knievel

On the ride back to the RV, I asked my trusted navigator if we could make our return trip via the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We have always been fans of this scenic route, known for the breathtaking views and absence of any commercial presence.  Kristy made short work of getting us onto this historic route, and we were cruising the ridgeline towards our camp.  A few miles into the drive, we found ourselves in near whiteout conditions with the dense fog (clouds?) socking us in. 

The outside ambient temperature gauge on my dashboard began to drop, and was soon below freezing (at 3pm).  The last leg of the route home was a twisting, winding goat-path that descended down the mountainside.  The hairpin turns spaced about every 100’, coupled with the narrowing road—especially in the turns—made this portion of the drive a white-knuckle adventure.  I prayed that I would not meet any type of on-coming vehicle, as the dually covered more than half of the road width, and I’m not sure how a passing negotiation would play-out—as there was also a noticeable absence of guard rails.  In the end, my prayers were answered and I never got to add “dangerous mountain road passing” to my repertoire.  The next morning, the entire mountain top was coated with a glistening glaze left behind by the freezing fog we’d endured the day before.

When we were ready to break camp, we still fought the weather.  The dog dishes were frozen, as was the door mats and the 8’x18’ outdoor patio carpet.  There was a heavy frost on all of the RV & truck, which made packing out tricky—as I needed to climb on the roof and sweep any debris that had landed on the roof of the slides before we could retract them.  Breaking camp was profoundly slower than normal, and when we finally pulled-chocks, we had but one wish—warmer weather. 

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