The
TJ's and YJ's seemed to fair off pretty well, their
shorter wheelbases putting them into just the right
spots. Besides wheelbases, this hole was a good show
of driver/spotter skill in picking the right line. A
certain green Cherokee on 31's elected to go first,
if for no other reason than to illustrate what line
not to take…
Darrin's
XJ made it to about the ¾ mark before coming
to rest on the front diff/LCA mount on the driver's
side. Didn't seem like much beyond a tug was going
to help, so Adam lined up with strap at the ready.
A little screeching later and Darrin was clear…though
we noticed an odor in the air - one of the rocks had
its way with his gas-tank and that was the end of
his day. Not a huge problem, but one where erring
on the side of caution seemed prudent. We were down
to 11 rigs now. (I'll move that this section henceforth
be named Darrin's Gas Tank for obvious reasons.)
When
everyone cleared this obstacle, we had some fun watching
Dave in his 8" Rock Krawler equipped Cherokee
on 35's find a new line up over a small hill. The
face of the hill was at about 70 degrees from horizontal
in spots, so this looked like fun if you were equipped,
which we thought meant lockers, big meats, etc.
After
snapping a few pics (which don't do this spot justice),
I decided to surprise Dave by doing something he's
never seen before - try a really out-there obstacle
fearlessly.
With
some guidance from Chris and support from Mr. Momentum,
my open diffs and 31" Goodyear MT/R's, I was
shocked to find myself completely intact sitting at
the top of the hill! Of course, no sooner did that
fact register in my addled mind then I realized I'd
backed off a smidge too soon and was suddenly clawing
to the right, front end first! I jabbed on the brakes
and screamed the first thought I had - "TOW STRAP!!!"
Thirty seconds later the drama was over; I was up
and we were ready to roll on.
For
the next while it was back to the bump-and-grind (occasionally)
of the main trail, picking our way over rocks and
through the ever-present muddy patches.
Then
we hit the bog.
Well,
at this point a few things became evident:
- Vehicle
prep is crucial
- Driver
skill & experience is rewarded
- Mistakes
are punished
- Big
trucks with big tires float
- Small
trucks on small tires don't
- Even
big trucks get stuck
We
pressed on as best we could and within an hour the
scene unfolded. Trucks were stuck in the middle of
mud holes too large to drive into for strapping. Rigs
were leaning over at almost 40 degrees in "new"
holes that were found. At any given time over the
next two hours, you could watch from the hill, waiting
for your turn as at least 3 trucks were stuck at one
time. Now we're having fun!
Picking
the right line and drawing on experience managed to
get us far enough to snag a winch cable in most cases.
There were a few who made the run through unassisted,
but everyone got dirty: trucks, drivers, dogs, spotters,
everyone.
I
should mention at this point that this particular
area was composed of three separate and distinct sections.
The mud hole mentioned above, a very rocky transit
section, which dropped you at another muddy hole,
this time filled with rocks for variety.
It
was like a mini driving lesson - first you learn mud,
then you learn rocks and finally you put those skills
together in the final test. Each section was smaller
than the previous one, but narrower, so there was
less choice of lines available.
After
a couple hours we'd winched, strapped and wheeled
our way clear of that area and were looking forward
to a late lunch stop. A few more hills and one more
obstacle were between that rest stop and us.
Coming
down one hill, we waited anxiously for the lead truck
to call the depth at the river crossing. Luck shone
on us, as we were all able to cross the river, in
the right place, with little drama. …and you
guessed it, there was another mud hole waiting on
the other side for us. It swallowed a couple TJ's
before we got wise and took the other side around
making for quick work by the back half of the group.
Our
"lunch" found us sitting on top of a granite
slab with a lake to one side and a 360-degree view
of the surround area. Of course, it was also 4:00
PM by this time as well…and we were at the halfway
point of the trail.
Now,
those of you following the timeline will note it took
6 hours to get here. "Nah!" we thought.
"It won't take us another 6 hours to complete
the trail." One we pressed.
Everyone
was starting to yearn for the end of the trail, and
with only 2 or 3 of us ever having done this trail
before knowing the difference; we began to yearn for
home. There was talk over the CB's of turkey dinners
waiting at home, soft sofas, cold drinks and the thought
of work in the morning.
We
then came to another muddy, rocky hole. This one was
about 200 or so feet across, with big rocks at what
looked like the exit and an actual, hidden exist just
to your right was you drove by. Adam made it through
fine. Mike did not. At this point, sitting about 40'
behind Mike on relatively solid ground, I was questioning
the merits of trying that other exit I thought I saw
on my way by. With Adam winching Mike through some
hidden, diff-grabbing rocks, I backed up and skittered
across the soft loam and up the muddy back to safety.
This was truly the exit. One quick dip through a gully
and we're all past the obstacle, or so I thought.
After
getting across safely, I decided to scout a bypass
for the next mud-hole, which was, surprise, surprise,
40 feet away. At this point, going on 8 hours on the
trail, I was happier crawling over the rocks I could
see, rather than bouncing of ones I couldn't.
Natalie
came along and we managed to find a route we thought
would be passable by everyone in the group. A couple
folks looked at the next mud-hole, but the gashes
in the granite from Chris's Jeep (he left earlier
and went ahead of the main group) were a clear sign
the bypass was the route to follow.
During
this recce, I heard a loud metallic noise and looked
up to see the Grand Cherokee shudder in the big mud-hole.
He was pulled out only to learn that 2 of the 4 control
arms on his front axle had almost ceased to exist.
Some trailside engineering, ratchet straps, excellent
spotting and careful driving later and the Grand was
ready to roll.
We
were actually starting to make good time now, as we
seemed to be in luck and avoided more mud-holes. As
fate would have it, the next challenge would take
the form of trees - birch trees to be exact.
Remembering
that when the trail was first cut there was over 2
feet of snow on the ground will help you visualize
how high the stumps were that littered the trail.
Liberal throttle and re-selecting your line brought
the desired results of forward motion. We did cut
back a few stumps and trees to clean up this section
a bit, but it was pretty un-eventful for the pack
traversing this area.
Topping
the hill after emerging from the birch forest brought
the familiar view of rocks and mud. By this time everyone
was expert at these sections and the Greg & Craig
team proved effective at nursing the Grand through
it all.
The
next freak carnage hit your truly. While all flexed
out between rocks and holes, my front end had lots
of traction while the rear diff snagged on a rock
- nothing hard mind you, just a tug like pulling on
your socks in the morning…expect this tug was
followed by a sickening grinding sound and a drastic
decrease in forward momentum.
The
inspection revealed I had popped the driveshaft out
of the transfer-case and in doing so, the splines
inside the driveshaft yoke took a beating. A bit of
cursing, a bit of winching, a bit of highlifting (thanks
again Dave) and Mike worked the jammed driveshaft
free from under the truck and after trying for a trail-side
hail-mary, tossed the shaft into the back of my Jeep
and declared me FWD only. We covered the output shaft
hole with a bag to contain the fluid, no sense dripping
it all over the trail, and got under way again.
We're at about 10 hours on the trail now and beginning
to see some of the best views around. You could see
all the way into the city and, if you knew where to
look, the opposite direction afforded a view of the
ocean in spots.
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