2:01
Hey, hey, hey. Heat. My friends, welcome to this episode of the outdoor gear review. I hope you all are doing well. We are currently in the back of the truck on top of a very tall mountain. And as it stands, heavy rain is coming this way and possibly some
thunderstorms. As far as the time goes, it is 900 p.m. and we made it up here to the top of this mountain right before dark. Currently, it is very, very windy outside and it's raining nicely. Luckily, it's not so loud that we can't have a conversation. That's definitely a good thing. I'll tell you folks, it has been one busy week. Lots and lots of work. That includes fresh gravel being dropped at Lonewolf Mountain. The entire road has been taken care of, and it looks great. We'll talk more about that in just a little bit. For now, folks, I need to set up a table real quick because I need
a place to put my stove. Before I do that though, let's take a look outside real quick with the back of the truck here. I parked at such an angle that basically the wind and the rain are blowing over the truck and not through the back window here. So, if I want to keep this open, I could do so, which is nice. Now, luckily at this elevation, it's not all that warm. Currently around 60° F. By the way, everyone, we got here at exactly the right time. It is now so foggy outside, you literally cannot see anything. And that developed within 1 to 2 minutes. As you all can hear, it is storming nicely at the moment. Heavy, heavy rain,
very strong winds. At the same time, it is super, super foggy. So foggy, in fact, that a vehicle has actually pulled next to my truck here. The thing is, this is a campsite, but it's so foggy they have no idea. For them to park where they did, that means that they drove over this huge rock fire pit. I doubt they even saw it. Hopefully, their vehicle is not messed up because it was huge. As you can see, I've taken this blanket, put that up, and that's because I don't feel comfortable with people looking in watching me. That's weird. So, I made a makeshift curtain with this It is pouring everyone. Seriously, it is raining really, really hard.
Ever so often I'm seeing flashes of lightning, too. It looks like according to the radar that here in a little bit we will have a break. Like the heavy rain's going to move out in about 30 minutes. Then we'll have some light rain for maybe an hour and then a break. By the way, everyone, the point of me saying that it's been a busy week is this. This week's adventure, I wanted it to be something really, really simple because this week's been just crazy busy. Lots going on. I felt like a very
simple sort of camp. That's why I just packed a truck with some basic necessities and I hit the road. Now I'm on top of a mountain surrounded by fog. People are driving over huge fire pits just to park next to me. They've followed the light and maybe they shouldn't have, but you know, who knows? Anyways, it is raining. It's storming. The conditions are absolutely perfect. For dinner tonight, it's going to be simple. Spaghetti and meatballs, parmesan cheese, a little bit of ranch over the top. Oh, yeah. Sounds good. I'm
going to let this rain rock and roll for a little bit. I'm going to kick back, listen to it, and then I'll make dinner. I'm in no rush, everyone. With this camp out here, it's all about relaxing. Oh yes, everyone. This smells good. Spaghetti and meatballs with a little bit of extra sauce. Spaghetti with extra sauce with three cheese stuffed meatballs. Smells good. I picked this up at the grocery store on the way out here. Again, everyone, I just wanted something super simple. And I have to say, I haven't had spaghetti in a really long time. It's been a few years, which is
weird to say, right? How often do you all have spaghetti? It seems like it's should be something that you have more often, but it's just how it goes. As it stands right now, still raining, but lightly. Super windy. At one point in time, with like all of the wind taking place, I thought I may have heard a vehicle. I didn't see any lights, but that doesn't mean anything because it's so foggy. Hopefully, they're not still here next to me. You know what I mean? Already, it's pretty weird that they parked next to me in [clears throat] this campsite, but I'll give them a break because it was crazy foggy. And I will also
give them a break because they drove over that freaking fire pit. As far as a very basic spaghetti goes, this is pretty good. That ranch makes all the difference. The extra sauce does too, actually. Both of those help out a lot. Otherwise, this would be a little bit dry. Let's go ahead and check the weather real quick. For at least right now, the heaviest of the rain has moved out. But we are now under a flood watch until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. The forecast states showers and thunderstorms before 5:00 a.m. Then showers likely patchy fog between 4 and 5. Low around 59°. Up here at this elevation, it'll be 54 or so. Maybe even a little bit colder than that. West winds at 5. Well, they're roaring
outside right now. Easily 20, 30 mph at times. 80% chance of rain. Rainfall amounts half an inch up to 3/4 of an inch. It's quite a bit. The other day, my friends, on HBO, a three-part documentary popped up, and I believe it's called Bring Me the Beauties, a model cult. Now, the odds are you have not heard of this cult before, but growing up here in North Carolina, I did. As a kid, I heard about this cult and it was more a rumor than anything else. Nobody really knew if it was true or not. The truth is, I didn't know it was real until this documentary popped up. Growing up, I heard about it,
forgot about it, never looked into it. So, this cult actually took place here in North Carolina, a few hours south of here. A few hours south of here at a beautiful place called Lake Lure, North Carolina. Now, apparently this cult was called Eternal Values. When I was a kid, I just heard little bits and pieces. And this was often described as a like sex cult. I honestly don't know if that's true or not. I haven't seen this documentary yet. And I really don't know a whole lot about this cult in general. I did look it up a little bit and I took some notes and I think you all will find this interesting. And there is a point to talking about this, not only in addition to it being interesting. So
apparently this cult was started by a guy named Frederick von Mirs. That was not his real name. He changed it to that so he can sound a little bit more higher class, more sophisticated. This guy was absolutely full of Apparently, he went above and beyond to fabricate a sort of story that he could tell about himself to make other people find him more interesting, more charismatic so that they would follow him. So, going back to the 1960s, he had this idea pop into his head from a book. And he basically created like all of this nonsense that he convinced others was true. Through the ' 60s, '7s, and 80s, he was a model. He was a like a decorator sort of thing and he built a reputation in New York. Then apparently
at some point in time he claims that he had a near-death experience where he discovered that aliens were real and that he was in fact an alien. To be more specific, he claimed that he was an alien walk-in. Basically, he was reborn from an alien to a human. Still alien, something like that. Something weird. He was a whole brand new being, right? As with most cult leaders, he claimed to have information that nobody else had. His thing was that the planet was going to be destroyed with crazy storms and whatnot. But there was an isolated pocket in North America in North Carolina at Lake Lure where everyone was going to be safe after all of the earthquakes, volcanoes, the world
governments collapsing and all that stuff. aliens were going to go to Lake Lure, North Carolina, and they were going to rescue these selected few. From there, they would lead the new age. Apparently, he had a little spill that he would tell people that said basically something along the lines of like, "You're the person I've been looking for. You're a leader of the new age. You may not recognize me, but I recognize you. I recognize your soul." He would exploit his followers financially. All of their money became his money. He sold like psychic life readings and precious stones that had supernatural powers, stones that would heal people and stuff
like that. Those that joined the cult were amongst the most beautiful people in the world, other models and so on. And he would describe what was going to take place as God's cocktail party on earth. So, in the 80s, they purchased a mansion in Lake Lure, North Carolina. And it was in the late 80s, early 90s that I begun hearing rumors about that cult. Now, of course, I didn't know anything truthful about that cult. And the truth is, I don't know anything now truthful about it. Apparently, the head of this, he died in the '90s from AIDS, and the group broke up then. That is basically all that I know about that cult. I don't know if I'll get around to watching that documentary or not, but it should be pretty interesting.
Stuff like that and more is very, very common in the mountains of North Carolina or similar areas because everything is remote. Everyone's isolated. You can get away with so much more. Or I should say back in the 80s and 90s, you definitely could. You can get away with a lot. I don't know how much you can get away with now, but thanks to technology, social media, and whatnot. I'll tell you what everyone. I'm going to finish up my dinner before it gets cold. I will see you all when I'm done. Everyone, let's take a look outside.
Let's see what it's doing and let's see if that vehicle is still there or not. You might be able to see that truck just a little bit. I didn't want to shine the flashlight right through the freaking window. Obviously, they are too scared to leave. And I really don't blame them. It is so foggy right now. You literally can't see anything. It is that foggy. Visibility is about 7 ft, which means you could just barely see over the hood of your car and not much further. The plan from this point forward is pretty simple. I'm going to kick back, relax, watch a movie. I'll decide what that's going to be when I lay down. Just listen to the rain. If you have the opportunity to do what I'm doing here, I highly
recommend that you do late into the afternoon into the evening. Hit the road, go out for a trip. I promise you it will do you a lot of good. It'll take your mind off things, allow you to relax. It's awesome. It really is. You could do a super simple setup just like this. And I promise you, you'll love it. It's nice listening to the rain, everybody. The rain and the wind. It looks like it's going to do this basically all night long. Good. Talking about living in western North Carolina and all of the strange things that can take place, things that you can't even imagine
really. Mafia hits, gun running. When I was a kid, ever so often the ATF would come to my town, race up the road to go raid someone. I don't think they ever caught anyone. Why? Because they were tipped off every single time. There were stories, and I believe these are true, like uh friends of my dad's who lived on top of the mountain up above us. They uh basically were just hiking around through the woods, which was very common at that time. And people would just walk all over the place. They would walk over the mountains to go into town. Anyways, they came across this property that had been cleared and there were pill boxes with
armed soldiers with machine guns manning those things. They said they were very polite but told them to get out of there. And of course they did. Apparently one night they get word that the ATF is coming. The next day the ATF goes up there and every single thing is gone. Every building knocked down. Just a blank canvas of raw dirt. Tomorrow when we're having coffee, I'll tell you all about a mafia hit that took place up here. Not in my town, but fairly close. It's pretty wild. Everyone, I am going to get ready for bed. Speaking of which, I have some new products that I'm testing out tonight, including a new pad and a new sleeping bag.
Oh yeah, that is incredibly comfortable. Everybody, good night everybody. See you in the morning. My friends, it is time for an update. Currently, it is 12:30 a.m. and as you all can hear, it is crazy windy and it's pouring the rain. It is time for another update, everyone. Currently, it is 3:00 a.m. and it is pouring outside. I mean, it is really, really coming down. No thunderstorms, just rain.
Get this. I decided to move. I was thinking about that vehicle that was parked next to me. And initially, I thought they pulled in here because it was so foggy. And maybe they did. The guy obviously was going to stick around for a while. And I didn't like that. Not that I felt intimidated or anything like that or like anything nefarious or bad was going to happen, but plain and simple, when I go camping, it's not about other people. It's about being by myself with you all. Because of that, I hopped in the truck, drove down the road, and just found a sweet little spot. I think it's sweet. It's now so foggy. I can't see anything at all. So, I've had really good luck as far as the
fog goes with this trip. You know, I got here, it was clear, then it started raining, got foggy. It cleared up. I moved the truck. It's now super foggy, like incredibly foggy. So, these adventures, folks, and the people, you know, that's what makes adventures so interesting sometimes. The weather could be good, right? It could be intense, but then again, at the same time, the people can be so weird. Like that truck drove over that big fire pit. I mean, they might even have a flat tire. I have no idea, right? They obviously didn't want to bother me. They didn't come to my vehicle or anything ask me for help. I don't know. There's a lot of assumptions that one could make,
but nonetheless, I decided to move down the road, and I'm glad I did. Now I have the peace and solitude that I was looking for. People are strange. really Good morning everybody. Good morning. It is 5:30. The sun is coming up and that means it's time for you to get up and me too.
I got the water on. I'm going to make some cowboy coffee. Currently, it is pouring outside. It has basically done this all night long. It may have stopped for 15 minutes here and there, but it has been heavy, heavy rain nonstop. And there is a reason for this. One, there's a cold front coming through. And two, tropical storm Arthur is coming through the area. That is why we are receiving so much rain. We have the cold front and tropical storm Arthur slamming right into western North Carolina. And we've received inches and inches of rain. Rain that we desperately needed. Oh yeah. Good morning everybody. Good morning.
It is still pouring outside, but the sun is coming up. Speaking of which, I mentioned last night that because of western North Carolina being so isolated and remote that all sorts of crazy stuff happens up here, including mafia hits and whatnot. The most famous was the Dixie Mob. Their most famous hit took place in the mountains of western North Carolina in the 70s. Even though the group operated from the 60s to the 80s, and they were based out of Mississippi, they were based in Mississippi, but they operated throughout the entire southeast, including here in the mountains of western North Carolina. During the 60s and the 70s, this group was at its biggest and also at its most violent
point, killing roughly 25 to 30 people across the Southeast. This mob was big, really, really big. It included entire sheriff departments, attorneys, judges, mayors, pastors, bankers, and so on. Initially, the group started off with bootlegging, but it didn't take long for things to escalate. They began stealing, drug trafficking, prostitution. Then came the mafia hits. One of those contract killings took place in the mountains here. Not in my hometown, but somewhat close within an hour or two. Three people were killed. And that case was not solved for 50 years. It was solved in 2022. Unfortunately, they never found out who ordered the hit,
though. That actually took place during a blizzard in the middle of the winter. The contract killers hiked through the snow to the house and did what they did. This group would steal dynamite, blow up people's houses, kill everybody in it, then go rob a bank. They were very prolific and were known to operate in at least six states. And crazily enough, that's not the only contract killing that has taken place in this area. The Blue Ridge Parkway spans Virginia down into North Carolina. And it's a basically a scenic drive that you can do. Because it's so remote, though, bodies are found, murders take place, including some mafia hits. Now, of
course, finding information about a national park and what takes place is really difficult. So the odds are you're not going to find a whole lot about that. In addition to contract killings, there's of course the drug running which still takes place today and all of the violence that goes handinhand with that. People go missing, bodies are found. Sometimes people go missing and their bodies are never found. That is surprisingly common. People get in too deep with these drug dealers and that's it. You'll never be seen ever again. I think I've mentioned in the past the issues that my cousin has had with drugs. In truth, all of my cousins have had issues with drugs. They're all dead except for one cousin. And he came very,
very close for numerous reasons, of course, dealing with drugs and stuff, but at one point in time, he got in too deep with the drug dealers. And they beat him to like an inch of his life, right? knocked out all of his teeth, brain damage. Um, yeah, he was very, very lucky. And luckily enough, he is off of that stuff and he is doing good now. But it's taken, I don't know, 25 years, something or other, but unbelievable. Anyways, everyone, switching subjects. It's a little bit heavy for six o'clock in the morning, This everyone was a great trip. Thank you all so much for joining me. I really do appreciate it. If you had a good time, please hit the thumbs up. Oh yeah,
this has been a very interesting trip. The conditions were wild, but I think more interesting than that was the individual who parked next to us. They were sleeping in the front seat of their truck, which you know, that's not super uncommon, but it's a little strange. You know what I mean? Most people don't drive to the top of a mountain to truck camp, car camp, and sleep in the front seat. But they did. I mean, from the moment they pulled in, lights off, they basically went to sleep or they were doing something in their
vehicle with no lights on. Not one time did I see a light on. That's interesting to me. Means nothing. It could be. Everything could be completely innocent, but you never know. People are strange. The one thing I have discovered over the years when camping out, even in remote areas, is that people tend not to have any sort of awareness of other people. No social boundaries at all. You could be in a campsite that's obviously a campsite no bigger than, you know, for one person, two person, whatever, and you will still have people trying to merge their way in. I have over the
years told, I mean, countless people, listen, you got to go. There's not enough space for you. I'm camping here by myself, with my friends, my family, whatever it may be. We don't want you around. Right? It's not like there's two campsites here. This is just one campsite, one small campsite. People are strange and you have to be prepared for it. In this situation, I decided to move. Nice and easy. No mus, no fuss, no drama. And I think that's the most important thing. No drama. Anyways, everyone, I'm done. Thank you so much for joining me. Let's drive out of here in this dense fog.
Strengthen hunter. Bye, folks. Heat. up Heat.
