The Hard Way from Thurmond to Prince, WV: McKendree Road
15,278
Published 2018-03-04
As you watch the video, keep an eye out for low-hanging branches slamming into my Drivelapse camera!
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I made this trip in August-September 2017. Video shot with a Brinno TLC-200 Pro time-lapse camera mounted on my roof with a homemade magnetic case. I travel with two Brinno cameras - one facing forward, the other in reverse. Sometimes the reverse camera captures better video (fewer raindrops and bugs hit the rear-view lens).
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Photography: daniel-woodrum.pixels.com/
Music Info:
I am running with temporary success from a monstrous vacuum in pursuit
Artist: Chris Zabriskie
chriszabriskie.com/
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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The video used in this clip is copyrighted. You may NOT rip, re-encode, download, rebroadcast, etc., on any platform without permission. You MAY embed this video on your website without permission. You MAY -- and really should -- post this video on your Facebook page, tweet it out, etc., and share it with your friends! If you'd like to use it in a non-commercial project, school project, etc. (for free), please contact me for permission.
All Comments (21)
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We just drove this road from Thurmond to Prince in my stock manual Subaru Crosstrek. A true adventure, especially the second part after the “rough road” sign in Thayer… made it through without issues, using every bit of the 8.7” ground clearance the Subi has. Nevertheless , it was a bit of a nail biter… thanks for posting!
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Whew! I’m exhausted just lying here on my couch watching that trek...
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I’ve driven this road once and was passenger once. When I drove it, I was in my ‘97 Wrangler with my then 8 year daughter. It was a spur of the moment trip so I didn’t gas up or buy water. By the time we got to Prince, ours and the Jeep’s tanks were dry. Several years later, the family met at my dad’s house in Glen Jean. My nephew brought his Wrangler and we drove it with my niece and their son, picking berries along the way. I think we were on the road for at least 3 hours with tons of stops along the way. We had a great time and came back with a big ol’ mess of blackboard raspberries. We get back there once a year but I never have had another chance to drive it.
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really outstanding choice of background music/soundtrack. the pensive, slightly ambient minimalist guitar-forward vibe is perfect for this captivating drive 🏆
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A tree fall across the road in front of you, and the banjos begin to play........
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This just proves to me that it's a miracle that "modern roads" are even a thing in West Virginia.
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We took this road last night... bad idea. We were touring Thurmond and decided to see where the bridge led and came to this road it was pitch black outside and we were in a small car that sits low to the ground. We totally tore the bottom of the car up but we couldn’t turn back either because some of those rocks are too big to go over the opposite direction. Horrible horrible road... had to google it this morning and found this video. Depicts the road quite well
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In the 90s, me & the bff would get high and take this drive, listening to the eagles. In 1993, a girl from school died when they pulled over and the side of the road collapsed. 😿
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1. I had family work down there when the coal camps were going. 2. McKendree Rd is a lovely drive for sure. Been through there plenty of times.
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This is a great trail to tide. I did it in the snow a couple of years ago. It was a fun day!
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Just a nice pleasant ride through the woods. You are crazy, willing to drive any road, anywhere. Excellent looking video and a fun trip. Though there was that point when you got out of the car to see if you can make, that you might not. You were right about McKendree road. Thanx for posting that.
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Awesome drive ! As somebody stuck in Massachusetts it was refreshing to see no houses, people or angry drivers. Wow ,wild and natural....I want to go !
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That looks like FUN. Thanks for expanding my bucket list to include one more item.
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Just my kind of road. I love a good gravel road and this one was even dirt & stone. Thank you for posting. I did feel a sense of relief as you navigated the muddy spot, the tree trunk where you got out & prevailed through ALL!!
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Nice video, thanks for sharing. I made the McKendree Rd trip from Thurmond to Prince today Sept. 15, 2022 driving a Nissan Rogue......was not a good idea. From Thurmond to about Thayer you'll be OK, but after that it's a total gamble. I had two passengers and felt like I put them in danger! The "road" narrows at Thayer, weeds & brush along edges left uncut. Large tree limbs sticking out and apparently cut but hardly cleaned up by ATV riders. It was a dry week but still experienced many very wet or partially flooded areas. Had to use speed/momentum to get thru.....with no turn around areas. I Do Not recommend this route to anyone not driving a true 4x4 with good ground clearance and prepared with hand saws etc. 12 miles took 1 hrs. 35 mins.
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Started up that road today from the Prince side driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Got up the high voltage sub station and turned around. Thanks for sharing, I'll go back and do it.
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Just drove this today in a Ford f150 by accident. I thought we were going to die. Not knowing how much longer or how worse the road gets is scary. It'll definitely make me think twice about taking dirt road near mountain sides. Those drops off the side of some spots are so sketchy. Plus there was a spot where we crossed what was supposed to be a bridge and there was barley any road left. Never again!
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Just did this a couple days ago in early April. There was a huge land slide that had just started to move a couple feet made the track about 9/10 of a car width. We made it with wheel in the subsidence. Heavy rains days before in Nashville. Road was sketchy for a 4x4 in my novice overland driving experience. No cell service. Bring vhf radio, gps, chainsaw, winch, shovel, pry bar and 2 vechicles.
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Paved wagon trails.
