- Details
- Written by Rich Martinez
I'd like to thank everyone who put time and effort the 101/201 a great success once again. Especially the board members and the instructors. Rob C. was very entertaining and insightful in the 201.
As Charles reported after the instruction period, the 201 group started out as one big
group of 17 vehicles. Some of the vehicles with smaller tires and less experienced drivers had a little trouble making past some obstacles. So the decision was made to break the group into 2. I led a few vehicle off wahoo at one of the bail outs and we formed a group on the access road. The group consisted of:
Rich Martinez, leader in a black JK
Morgan Franklin, white YJ
Jeff Fox, silver JK
Dana Gramling and company, yellow FJ
John and Terri [what was wrong Sunday morning? :)] Crowe, YJ
Rich Quaye, black Rubi TJ
Vance Middleton, JK
Don and Barbara, blue TJ
Pete and Thomas McCaughey, camo YJ
Jim Atwell, green XJ
Doug Masnick, tailgunner, green Forerunner
Rich Q. got stuck on a long near the beginning of Wahoo. So Rich Martinez who was near the end of the line winched him backwards. After another attempt and another winch pull Rich Q. took a different line and made it. There were other sections that made the going very slow we Rich M. led a couple of people at the bailout and met up with the big group on the access road. That's where the decision was made to divide the big group into two.
Rich led the second group up Cobra with very little problems...just some spotting here and there. Then we decided to take U-Turn Hard to get back down to the main access road. It was great to see the group help each other out as they learned the best line to take in certain spots.
This group had very little trail damage until Doug reported his broken axle arms a couple of days later.
From U-Turn the group headed back to camp. Some decided to take a refreshing swim in the lake. It was a great way to close out the day's activities.
Rich Martinez
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- Details
- Written by Super User
On Saturday after the instruction period the 201 group started out as one bug group of 17 vehicles. This turned out to be too many in one group so after doing wahoo we split up into two groups. I led the group who wanted to do Corum which was
Charles Galpin and dog - '94 D90 on 33's
Allen Myers & kids - 07 2DR JK 35s
Patrick Wilson - 2012 JKUR with 35 KM2s
Patrick "ping pong" Martin - 87 XJ mostly, 37's
Virgil Moore and Bradley - 98 xj 35s
Doug Stephens and dog - LR Disco 2 on 35's
Loic Fabro - D90 / 33"
Edward Salas & Rob Cavaleri - 2005 TJ on 35's
Things went well up Corum with some spotting. At one point Allen damaged a valve stem so we swapped his spare in. It was a good learning moment that the stock jack is actually quite useful for tire changes, and safer and easier than ratchet strapping the axle to the frame and using a high lift. At some point Virgil broke the outer axle shaft in the right front and had to winch a little to complete it. We later found out Patrick Wilson had broken a shock and damaged his driveshaft which have a nice spiral shaped dent in it :) After Corum Virgil went back to camp and we went down Cobra, where Allen decided to head back to camp. The rest of us ran trickle and decided to call it a day.
Chip, Doug and I took the dogs for a swim and were approached by a young man from camp 6 who needed help welding a sheared lower control arm and the office had suggested he talk to us since they knew we could do trail welding. Chip and I went and took care of that for them. I should have taken pictures but didn't (all day). Let's just say I wouldn't want my name associated with those welds (I need to add some thinner rods to the kit) but I hit the bracket with a BFH a few times after to test it and would have risked my life driving home on it. Hopefully he made it home ok :) The weather held out all day and we had a nice time at the camp fire that evening.
On Sunday the 201 group was smaller and consisted of the following:
Charles Galpin, Vance Middleton and dog - '94 D90 on 33's
Patrick Wilson - 2012 JKUR with 35 KM2s
Patrick "ping pong" Martin - 87 XJ mostly, 37's
Doug Stephens and dog - LR Disco 2 on 35's
Dana Gramling and family - '07 FJ Cruiser on 35"
Jim Atwell - Jeep Cherokee, 33 x 10.5
Morgan Franklin - 94 YJ 35"
Rich Quaye and passenger (sorry I forgot your name) - TJ Rubicon on 32's
Although I had originally hoped to run v-trail, a few of the group wanted to run something easier. In hindsight I should have just split the group and had the others join the 101 group on trickle, but Vance convinced us to go to squealer and sissy. I say this because on a Sunday morning I would prefer to do a known entity that had easy bailouts than go on trails I don't recall. It turns out squealer has gotten very washed out and after Dana watched me rub my rear quarter panel on a tree, and then my fender flare on a rock was quite rightly concerned about body damage on his FJ. So we spent some time stacking rocks and threw a large log into a rut to keep the vehicle away from the tree. As he approached the obstacle a large rock started moving so we pushed it free and into the rut and then did a whole bunch more stacking of rocks to be able to go over it. Dana skillfully made it through and then the rest of the trail without a scratch. But this was rather time consuming and I had exceeded my monthly quota of exercise so we decided to turn the rest around (some could back out) and head back to camp. Vance found it educational and I hope the others did too. All in all it turned out ok, but the main lesson learned is go with what you know on Sunday morning, or go easy :)
charles
- Details
- Written by Melissa Burn
This year the 2013 OCC Spring Run to Rausch Creek proved to be quite an exclusive affair with only a few elite members being permitted (by their busy lives) to participate. There were 8 rigs in our parade.
OCC Member Participants included:
> Josh Sprinkle -- 2008 JK with 4-inch lift and B/A tires
> Wes Lunsford -- in the aforementioned JK
> Melissa Burn -- in the aforementioned JK
Non-members included:
< Dame Helen Jean Burn (Melissa's 87 yr old mother) -- in the aforementioned JK
< Mr. Shelly Roden -- some kind of red YJ
< Ms. Sherry Roden -- a 90-something Cherokee type
< Paul -- some kind of red jeep, maybe another YJ
< Brad and his son -- some kind of jeep with round headlights
< An old man and teenage girl -- 2013 Gray Rubicon with 125 miles on it, worth at least $50K.
< Jeff and his girlfriend Linda -- some kind of silver jeep with round headlights, stock, struggled a bit on green/blue trails
< some other guy in a fancy new, nicely lifted pickup truck, who arrived late
THE REPORT PART:
Josh, Wes and I only had the one Jeep so we needed to find someone else to ride with. The RC people recommended we ride with "Right Coast Jeeps" (RCJ) since we were looking for green trails and their mission in life is to introduce newbies and stock vehicles to the offroading life. Well, I was looking for green trails because I didn't want to kill my 87 yr old mother on her first offroad adventure. Josh really wanted to test out his recnt lift but he very patiently stuck to green for me and Dame HJ. In any case, of the non-OCC drivers I listed above, Shelly, Sherry and Paul are leaders of RCJ.
For those who care, we were on Trails A, E and H most of the time and we were out for about 6 hours. Any time we weren't on those trails, I don't know where we were. Josh got a spot in the lineup right behind the $50K brand new Rubi, and we watched it do really well. I'm not sure we would've been disappointed to see it suffer a little road rash, as pretty as it was.
A few of the stock jeeps had some trouble. The RCJ leaders cruised through, as did Josh and the $50K Rubi. Rausch Creek was crazy busy so we stopped more often for traffic jams than for real obstacles. Only one rig broke and it belongs to Sherry. she busted a control arm bracket but they managed to bungee it back together and she limped home under her own power. Very impressive! Driving back, the Parade became a Funeral Procession. We bailed out of RC at the property corner near Rt 209 and took roads back, which we've never done before, to keep an eye on the wounded Cherokee.
Of course you want to know how my Mom did: She had a blast! We weren't very far up the trail when the rock thunks and mud puddles started. Sitting in the front passenger seat so she had things to hang on to, she giggled and laughed like a crazy person. I'd been a little worried about her getting banged around (she didn't). Every time we got to an especially rough patch, Wes put his hand up to keep her head from banging into the door. Wasn't that nice?
As the day wore on, HJ got a little tired of sitting and waiting for things ("You spend more time waiting than driving!"), and her enthusiasm for being banged around dampened a bit. By the afternoon, she was giving Josh the hairy eye when he aimed for an obstacle. "You took the most difficult route on purpose!" "You drove fast through that puddle on purpose!" While she really enjoyed herself, she says she doesn't understand why anyone would do this for fun but she's super glad she went.
AND, we had dinner and peanut butter milkshakes at The Red Lion Cafe!
The End.
FINAL NOTE: There was a burn ban in place and, while some dastardly individuals insisted on having a huge campfire anyway, that fire was nowhere near Josh & Wes's tent or the OCC banner, which was proudly displayed.
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- Details
- Written by Bryan Folts
-Off-Camber Crawlers Trail Report-
Daddy’s Day Members Only Run
At Big Boys Playground
Bryan Folts -1999 Jeep Cherokee locked/locked 33”tires
Chip Woods -2004 Jeep Wrangler open/open 33” tires
Scott and Steve LeLacheur -1993 Jeep Wrangler locked/lsd 33” TSL’s
Jeff Eppolite - 1997 Jeep Wrangler Beta TJ locked/locked 37”tires
Chip arrived at Big Boys Playground (BBPG) Friday late afternoon, set up camp, and went to Wally World for supplies. Jeff arrived sometime after Chip to drop off his trailer and rig, and to hang out for a while before heading to camp hotel. I arrived shortly before dark and proceeded to set up camp and start a fire. Saturday morning after Chip and I ate breakfast, Jeff came back. Steve, Scott’s Dad, was dropped off by his wife around 9:30. Scott got there a little later because of a tire loosing air made him have to stop several times on the drive to BBPG. While waiting for Scott I took a spin down the back trail to see if it was still overgrown. Scott finally arrived, aired down the other three tires and we hit the trails. We headed down the back trail to loop around the outskirts of the wooded area of BBPG. Although it was not as over grown as last time I was there, because the trails are so tight it still seemed tight. Jeff, with his full width axles and large tires, had to take some different lines so he could fit through the trees in some spots. At the end of the outer trail there were two muddy holes with a tree that you slide into on each. The second has been filled in with trees and brush from a new access road that was recently built. The remaining hole was driven through by me, Scott, and Jeff. Each of our Jeeps got souvenirs from the tree on the edge. (Scotts front license plate may be in that hole still) The first difficult rock obstacle was next. I made it up fairly easily due to knowing the line to take from my previous trips there. I had gone over the next couple rock obstacles to make room for the others, and came back to watch/spot. Scott and Chip each took a few shots at it and finally made it up. The bottom of this obstacle (and most obstacles in the woods) and part way up was wet, watery mud which made the rocks very slippery. So Jeff had a mess to deal with! After many, many attempts plan B was implemented and he backed out and drove around to a second entrance just above that spot. The three Wranglers went over the next couple rock obstacles and we all continued around the center loop. Again, tight trees, and some other smaller rocks to go over. We had to stop and use hand saws to clear a couple cedar trees that were across the trail just low enough to stop us. The second difficult rock obstacle was next and I offered first shot at it to Jeff. Again the wet mud at the bottom made tires and rocks very slick. After a couple attempts Jeff got his Jeep sideways and tippy. We put a strap on the roll bar and four of us pulled while he backed off. A couple more attempts and he made it up the center. Scott took a different line, to the left, and got up with a little trouble. I chose the line to the right. After several attempts I was able to get past the rock. Chip too the bypass and we headed on. This trail has the most rocky sections, most easy and fun with a couple somewhat challenging spots depending on the line you choose. After finishing that trail we took a loop through the field, went over a dirt pile, and stopped at camp for lunch. The weather was beautiful and we took a nice long lunch break. After lunch Scott packed Jeff’s chain saw on his Jeep. We then headed back into the woods to hit the next rock obstacle. I’ve never been able to get over the largest part of this rock, so I took the line to the side. We all took about the same line with varying degrees of success. At the top of these rocks were some more cedars hanging too low for taller rigs. The chain saw was used. This trail is the second longest trail. It is very tight twisty trail, ATV tight. At the end of this trail we hit the first trail of the day, but backwards. I got hung up between a couple rocks and thought I was going to need to winch out, but one more try and I was able to pop out of that spot. That spot gave everyone a little trouble, but all made it through. Then after traveling back across the back trail we went down the first set of rocks we had gone up. We left the woods to hit the field with rock piles, dirt piles, tires, and telephone poles. After hitting several of the obstacles out there we hit the large rock pile with large rocks which was fun to play on. The rocks moved as we drove over making the lines change while on the rock pile. The area of the rock pile Scott was going over must have been a home for a skunk. Luckily, Flower ran off without spraying! We went back to the other obstacles again and that’s when Scotts Wrangler first cut off. After checking for fuel and spark, the coil was suspected of being the issue. But after it was plugged back in the engine fired. Onto the long water hole! (2-2 ½ feet deep, 25 feet wide, and 100 feet long with a firm bottom) It’s like piloting a Jeep boat. Scotts Wrangler cut off again, right in the middle. An attempt to disconnect and reconnect the coil did not help. Scott hooked his winch line to my front bumper so I could pull him out. My Cherokee was taking on water by this time. Once out we checked for spark again and nothing was coming out of the coil. It had power and ECM signal going in. After reconnecting it started and Scott drove it back to the camp site. I gave Scott a spare coil I carry and he installed it on his engine. This is when Scott noticed that his front tag was missing. After checking the photos I took during the day we found it was there before the first mud hole, but gone before lunch. Kelly Straughen, Owner of BBPG came to the camp site. After talking with Kelly for a while and paying him the fees for wheeling he invited us to join him at Wood Grill Buffet for dinner. Chip and Jeff had to leave, and Scott, Steve, and I went back out to run the trails we did before lunch to find his front tag. We did not find the tag and Scott’s engine died again. Disconnecting the coil connector and giving it a good wiggle fixed the issue. So we went back to camp, aired up and headed to dinner with Kelly. After Dinner we dropped Steve off at the hotel, and Scott and I went back to camp, sat by the fire for a while and went to sleep. Scott slept on his trail cover on the ground. In the morning we packed up, and hit the road. Scott headed to the hotel to spend some time with his parents and on his trip home only had one stalling issue which was fixed with a coil connector wiggle. I headed down to Roanoke to meet a friend and run Potts Mountain Jeep Trail.
Happy Motoring,
Bryan Folts
Off-Camber Crawlers Member At Large
- Details
- Written by Rich Martinez
On Saturday April 13, a group of us met at Raucsh Creek to celebrate tax day by
going 4-wheeling. Our Sat group consisted of:
Rich Martinez, black JKUR, lead- OCC Member
Jeff Duesel, silver LJ- OCC Member
Scott Corliss, red XJ- OCC Member
KP Murphy, silver JKUR
Frank Oviatt, red TJ
*Mac Ramont and Matt Hennessy, white Overlander Grand
*Mac and Matty attempted to stay with the group on some trails but they made a wise decision to park and hop in other vehicles.
The camping area was very crowed as the KOH qualifiers were taking place that day and the race track/route used both east and west properties. This left only the northeast property available to regulars like us.
We all checked in and had a quick driver's meeting in the camping area. The plan was to stick to Green and Blue trials but the trails seemed a bit more difficult than the colors indicated. Here's our route thru the NE property.
N1 - N2 - F1 - X5 - N2 - N1 - Blacktop Rd. - T2 - 32- 35 - X4 - N2 - N3 - 37 - T2 - N3 - Tip Top - T6 - N3 - L2 - R1 - R - N4 - N3 - K - 39 (Scott and Frank only) - K - Blacktop.
Some highlights from the trip.
Jeff kept making strange references to movies that I don't think many of us understood. But in doing so he asked "can I be the key master?" Jeff, I hereby dub you "Key Master".
In places where all of us struggled to make it without spinning tires, stacking rocks, or careful spotting, Scott seemed to thrive and looked like a pro. Only when he climbed a short steep rocky section and came to a complete stop at the very wide open top of it by hitting the only obstacle left.....a teeny-tiny stump, did he have the look of shock and utter despair. The rest of us were laughing too hard to get get any good pics of that event.
Frank wanted a little more challenge so he started on Outer Limits by himself while we waited at the bottom. He missed a turn and ended up turning around and re-joining the group. While he was doing that some of us walked up Outer Limits from the other end to meet him only to discover that you can look down on the Ravine exit/Exxon from the top of Outer Limits. The view was unexpected and pretty cool.
Overall, we had a great time and challenged most of our stock or near-stock vehicles.
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