- Details
- Written by Chip Woods
Trip report for the lower level green/blue group, Saturday October 19.
So I'm sure you already know from Rich's reports we got a little bit of a late start Saturday, so around 10ish the lower level group of the day hit the trails. The group consisted of:
Chip and Melissa Woods, member and guest, '04 TJ on 33's
Vitaly Beckkerman and his friend Andrew, member and guest, '01 TJ on 31's
Terry and Sally Dunlap, potential members, '10 JK on something metric
Ed and Shannon Salas, members, '05 TJ on 35's
We left the parking lot with the intent of just wandering around with no real destination in mind. Hit the Rausch Creek website and print out a map to follow along :)
We started off on green B to green 1A to blue 1 then back to green B to blue 2 past Frog Hole. Because of the rain I suppose the water was up and it was difficult to tell exactly where the bypass was, so with some slow going and staying way to the right we made it by without taking a bath.
We stayed on blue 2 all the way to Pole Line, ending up on green D. We sort of went in and out blue 2 , really just in and out of the bypass's and generally made our way south past Crawler Ridge and decided to head down the 101 trail, which I think has two entrances. The 101 was a little challenging for the newer drivers, and due to a bad spot (sorry) we had to put a strap on Vitally to get him out from between a rock and hard place. We continued along the 101 trail, passing by Cemetery, and came back out onto green D, where we decided to stop for lunch near one of the food plots.
It was while we were eating when most of the excitement of the day happened. There we were, eating, chatting, you get the picture, when a couple of regular pick up trucks from one of the local mines came down trail D. They stopped to chat for a moment, when all of a sudden Ed starts hollering "fire, fire" and pointing to the hood of the lead pick up. We all headed for our fire extinguishers while my wife headed down the trail as fast as she could away from the burning vehicle. The driver opened the hood letting air get to the flames and sure enough the whole area around his air cleaner was burning. Three or four extinguishers made short work of the flames, and the owners puttered around under the hood for a few minutes then hooked up a chain to the burnt vehicle and towed it away. The best part was the company name on the truck that caught fire. "Explo-Tech, explosives experts and demolitions" or something very similar. Yaaay, a burning explosives truck :) It was empty, but amusing nonetheless.
After lunch we continued south on green E to green 25 past Boot Hill and Tombstone generally heading towards Lake Christy. We turned right onto green S1 to green S to another right onto green 21. This was probably my favorite trail of the day. It was long, scenic, had a nice challenge or two, and it is a great beginners trail. There was one spot that involved a little rock stacking for Vitally and Terry, but nothing to terribly difficult. We ended back up on green S and took that to an area where we could stop and take a look at Lake Christy, which surprisingly did not have anyone playing around in it. We continued down green S to Quarry and headed down there to check out the scenery. Ed and I did the one small loop down at the bottom, where I needed some spotting from Ed to get around that one stupid rock that wouldn't cooperate and stay under my tire.
At this point we opted to start making our way back to camp, which we did via green E to green D and passing Crawler Ridge again where we turned on to a short stretch of blue 2 to bypass a deep mudhole at the intersection of green D and Pole Line. Good thing because there was hydro locked JK sitting there as we passed. From there we took Pole Line to green B and headed back to camp, somewhere along the way picking up Rich's group as well. Back at camp my wife got out of the Jeep to unwind, Terry and Sally called it a day to set up camp, and Vitally and I headed back out with Rich for another hour or two.
All and all it was a great day, nice and relaxing, with a nice mix of trails and good company. I'd like to extend a big thanks to Ed for being tail gunner for me and handling a good part of the spotting duties.
Chip Woods
- Details
- Written by Rich Martinez
2013 OCC Fall Run – Rausch Creek, PA
October 19 and 20
Sunday, Run – Blues and Blacks
Our Sunday group consisted of:
Scott C. driving his red Cherokee
Scott L. and Suzzy in the YJ on 38.5s
Jeff E. in his TJ with 39s
And myself Rich M. as trail-leader in my CJ-5 on 33s
We decided to wheel until 12 and wanted to run some black trails. So we headed straight for Yellow Jacket. Before getting to Yellow Jacket via the C Trail, we ran CV Trail (blue). Then we started on Yellow Jacket and that’s where things got interesting. I started up the black obstacle and bounced off my line ending up in a position I didn’t want to be in. My rear passenger tire was pretty much over a deep hole while the driver’s side was going to climb some rocks in either direction. After unsuccessfully trying to get back on the correct line, we decided it was winch time. Jeff E. and Scott C. ran my winch to a tree about 50 feet ahead and to the left of me. Then they connected a strap to my roll-bar, around a tree and connecting it to Scott C’s winch line behind me to prevent me from tipping in the wring direction as I winched myself forward. After a few minutes/feet of winching and positioning I was in a stable position and could continue on. With good spotting (I think from Jeff) the rest of the group made it over Yellow Jacket without a problem.
We complete Yellow Jacket and ran Trail 8 (black). We all enjoyed the big rocks but didn’t have too much difficulty making it through.
From Trail 8 we headed to Walk in the Park. This is a black trail connected to CV Trail. We entered and ran CV Trail and continued to Walk in the Park. We picked our way through it until we came to a rock garden. We surveyed various options and proceeded. Jeff E. took the harder lines up a small rock waterfall and we all met back up at the end of the trail. We then called it a day and headed back to camp where we loaded up our gear and prepared for the drive home.
I’d like to thank everyone who attended this run for making it a great time.
Rich Martinez
- Details
- Written by Bryan Folts
Labor Day Weekend Sunday Trail Report
Bryan Folts – OCC member– 1987 Wrangler
Kevin McHale – non-member – 1999 Cherokee
Jeff Duesel – OCC member– 2004 Wrangler
Doug and Robin Masnick – OCC member – 1994 4 Runner
Sean Valentine – non-member – 2009 Wrangler
John and Terry Crowe – OCC member – 1994 Wrangler
Phillip Wolfe – VA4WDA Land Use Manager – 200? Wrangler
At 8:40 AM I departed camp with Kevin riding shotgun to meet Sean at the intersection of Flagpole Rd and Briery Branch Rd. After Sean arrived we headed back to the campsite to gather the others. After departing camp and heading back toward Meadow Knob we turned at Dunkle Hollow to head to Switzer Dam. At the intersection we collected an abandoned, wadded up tent. We stopped for some pictures at the lake and then headed on to RT 33. As we go on to RT 33 John called on the CB. He was waiting, with Terry and Phillip, at the loading dock at Rocky Run Recreation area. It took us just short of an hour to get to where they were waiting. So we all ate lunch and Phillip told about what he’s been talking to the various Forest Rangers about. We talked about the trail clean-up and gave our information for the clean-up forms to be sent to the US Forest Service and passed out orange 40 gallon trash bags. There are two trails we were to clean up; Dictum Ridge and Second Mountain. Phillip suggested we split into two groups, wheel to the end of each trail and clean up on the way back. John and Terry lead Jeff, Sean, and Phillip down Second Mountain, while I lead Kevin and Doug and Robin down Dictum Ridge. It was a fun and easy run down Dictum Ridge. There are several area with minor rocky sections and plenty of puddles to splash though. When we got to the end, at the gate and ATV only trial, we stopped and gathered some firewood for Doug and Robin. There were lots of different mushrooms along the trail all day. We took pictures of several at this stop. Time for some work. We made our way back up the trail slowly as we looked for trash to pick up. Robin rode shotgun with me as it was easier to get in and out of a door less vehicle to gather trash. Mostly beer cans were found as well as plenty of soda cans. A few car parts were also picked up as well as a 1969 license plate. We got to within a quarter mile of the trailhead when the sky’s opened up. Thunder, lightning, and heavy rain followed, so we continued back to the loading dock where we dropped the Orange bags we had filled. My group traveled down Second Mountain a short distance and caught up with John’s group. They also had stopped due to the rain and were heading to drop their bags at the loading dock. There were some home type lounge chairs they could not get out and Phillip said he would try to put them in his trailer later. So each group traded trails and explored the one they had not cleaned to look for missed items and get more wheeling time in. After we ran Second Mountain and got back to the loading dock, Doug and Robin needed to get back to their camp before dark so they headed out. Once the other group got back off Dictum Ridge Kevin, Jeff, Sean, and I had to make a quick departure to get them back on the road home. All in all we collected about twelve, forty gallon trash bags full of trash off those two trails. I want to thank Phillip Wolfe for his efforts to organize this clean-up and for his work with land managers to help keep trails open, clean, and safe for us and future off-road enthusiasts.
Happy Motoring,
Bryan Folts
Off-Camber Crawlers Member at Large
- Details
- Written by Rich Martinez
2013 OCC Fall Run – Rausch Creek, PA
October 19 and 20
Saturday, Run #2 – Blues and Blacks
With 1.5 hours of trail time still available I asked Scott C., Chip and Vitaly if they would like to hit more trails while Suzzy and Jeff E. were running Gaunlet. So we headed out; ur group consisted of:
Scott C. driving his red Cherokee
Vitaly B and his friend Andrew in TJ on 31s?
Chip W. in his TJ on 33s
And myself Rich M. as trail-leader in my CJ-5 on 33s
We decided to do a mix of blues and blacks staying close to camp so we were sure to be back by 5pm. We started on Trail 1 where Vitaly high-centered on the hill guarding one of the entrances. After a quick tug we continued on. We stayed on Trail 1 avoiding a backup of wheelers on part of it and elected to run the black section. We completed the black section and the rest of Trail 1. Then we went across Pole Line and started the part of Trail 2 that leads to Crawler Ridge. We spotted for each other, stacked rocks when required and completed Trail 2 without any real problems. From there we headed back to camp on green trails.
Rich Martinez
- Details
- Written by Bryan Folts
Labor Day Weekend Saturday Trail Report
Bryan Folts – OCC member– 1987 Wrangler
Kevin McHale – non-member – 1999 Cherokee
Jeff Duesel – OCC member– 2004 Wrangler
We gathered at the E. Market St Sheetz in Harrisonburg about 4:30 PM and departed shortly after a quick driver meeting. After heading down RT 33, through Old Town, and a couple turns later we arrived at Union Springs Rd and headed into the George Washington Forest. As we passed the closed side hill area we saw several guys with two rigs on that hill. We pointed out the signs on the trees saying the area is closed and advised them of proper trail etiquette. A little further up the trail we passed 4 guys backpacking up the trail. The driver in a rig just after that said he was there support vehicle and that they were going to camp at Meadow knob. With only three rigs we made good time getting up to Meadow Knob. A call on the CB to Team Honey Badger was answered by Doug Masnick. He and Robin were camped over near Flagpole Knob. Their camp was our final destination for the day. We made our way from Knob to Knob and set up camp. John and Terry Crowe showed up to visit for a while and went back to the campground they stayed at for the weekend. Clouds rolled in and it started to rain at dusk, but it cleared up and we were able to see the Milky Way before bed.
Happy Motoring,
Bryan Folts
Off-Camber Crawlers Member at Large
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