Azusa mud pit

[etaniyani]

hey all, anybody hear any news, are they open yet? if they are open, planning on going up on saturday if anyone wants to meet up there.

 

[skrracing]

man there are just so many places to go wheel in So-Cal. Why would you wan to go to a small mud hole and yell at folks that get stuck. Sign up for one of the runs and go wheel with a bunch of cool guys that want to go wheel some good trails instead of sitting at the side of a studip mud hole watching folks get drunk and trashing out their jeeps in the mud. Sorry...I just had to say that. Later...Clint

 

[casm]

man there are just so many places to go wheel in So-Cal. Why would you wan to go to a small mud hole and yell at folks that get stuck. Sign up for one of the runs and go wheel with a bunch of cool guys that want to go wheel some good trails instead of sitting at the side of a studip mud hole watching folks get drunk and trashing out their jeeps in the mud. Sorry...I just had to say that. Later...Clint

Honestly, why do you care if people want to go screw around in the mud for the afternoon? That's their prerogative, and the guy asked if anyone else wanted to meet for the same. Jumping down his throat for it doesn't do you any favours in the credibility stakes, and quite frankly does little more than make you come off as being an arrogant ass.

 

[skrracing]

Was not meant like that at all. Again, there are some great places to go and the only thing I have ever seen at the mud hole is a bunch of folks getting drunk and only yelling and having fun when someone gets stuck. Maybe I was just there at the wrong time or something. Again...the post was not meant in any way like you are saying. later...Clint

 

[etaniyani]

Skrracing dont worry about it. to some extent i would agree with you that going on a nice trail in the mountains is MUCH more fun than the mud pit, but the mud pit is not that far of a drive, and its actually pretty fun watching those crazy people. Im also in the process of putting 4.56's in my brothers jeep so i would only have one car in the mountains which is not the safest incase i get stuck, so the mud it is. i checked the web site, they re-opened on june 4th. i know one of my friends was driving on that road and saw the water level was pretty low, which means a lot of mud.

 

[skrracing]

Thanks for the understanding man. I mean no harm...I went to the mud pit5 once and just felt it was a very negitive scene. Man we go up to Big Bear, Calico, and all kinds of other cool places. You are more than welcome to join in on the fun. And we dont throw beer bottles at you if you get stuck. Later...Clint

 

[CMeTopless818]

Azusa is open

http://www.acorausa.com/forum/default.asp

 

[casm]

Azusa is open

Yeah, I went up there today. There's mud, that's for sure. Not as much as previously, but better than everage for this time of year.

And now a rant.

I'm probably never going back to that godforsaken f***tard magnet again. When I got there around 12.30, things were pretty mellow - lots of people there, but everyone was being fairly responsible. This stopped around about 2pm; I'm picking this time because this is where people started getting drunk. Now, I'm not talking about a-couple-of-beers-with-lunch-on-the-trail drinking: this was full-on drag-out-the-Bud-Lights-and-pound-them drinking. Watched a quad rider stop for a breather with a couple of his buddies in a truck for about 20 minutes and down three, and he wasn't the only one.

The mud pit ('strip' would be a more accurate term) was probably about 150' long. Threre were so many vehicles down there that the last 50' or so were clogged with people trying to turn around who couldn't because of the jackasses adding to the congestion. Naturally, said jackasses would come charging down at full tilt then hit the brakes to slow down before hitting the mini-jam at the end. Real smart.

On another mud note, there's the strip running parallel along the southeast wall of the canyon. Watched multiple stupid (read: dangerous) pulls, but the crowning glory has to be the three-vehicle-pull on the Frontier using chains front and rear of the middle tow vehicle. These people were also so smart that they tried to start the pull from the outside vehicle, not the inside one. Oh, and there was a person standing front and rear of the middle vehicle waiting to absorb the impact of the chain and/or hook should it snap. Glad to see they thought ahead on not damaging the bodywork.

Quad riders with death wishes were everywhere. Coming charging out of a dust cloud I can't see you in at 45mph is not the smartest thing you can do unless you want the word 'Jeep' impressed into your throat. The dirt bike riders weren't a lot better.

Plenty of idiots doing donuts across what qualify as access roads and trying to drive up or down the stream. Seeing as how the river is a lot higher than it has been in the past (hood height on an XJ in a couple of places) and there are plenty of large rocks in there to get hung up on, this is just plain lunacy. Incidentally, the terrain is now rather flatter than it was before, but the water crossings (four, IIRC) are much trickier than before. Current's up, too - watched quad riders being floated way off course when losing momentum.

Speaking of getting hung up on rocks, while trying to get out of the place at 3.45 (helped a guy with a hydrolocked ZJ get going again, otherwise I would've been out at 2.30) we had a 90-minute jam while no fewer than seven vehicles either stalled, got hung up, or suffered mechanical damage while trying to cross the entry. A couple of these were fullsize trucks: two suffered serious front suspension damage (though I blame that more on build ineptitude on the owner's behalf), another one hydrolocked, two more ZJs got high-centered, and the others just plain quit midway through for unknown reasons.

None of this was helped by the idiots who tried to cross with vehicles stalled in the stream, then got caught in the water themselves. The bright sparks with the GMC whatever trying to tow the fullsize Bronco out that was about to hit the Chevy stalled next to it were super-smart, too - almost like the guy standing between the two stalled trucks who was about to become the filling in the sandwich. Thank you, USFS, for not opening the south gate so that people could actually get out.

I've been up there before when it's busy or events are on, but have never witnessed behaviour this out-of-control. People were literally just being complete idiots, doing anything they could to be as aggressive (and stupid) as possible. The mud and water seemed to particularly be attractions for this (Bronco charges Samurai already halfway across comes to mind) - and while I expect to see stupid behaviour, I don't expect it to be the norm rather than the exception.

Screw that place. Screw it long, hard, and slow with a blunt chainsaw.

 

[CMeTopless818]

Ouch

You may want to email or post a thread on the link I provided above. Do the Rangers have any control over the drinking?

 

[jjmat3]

Hmm...Guess Clint was right. Mud sucks anyhow!

 

[casm]

Ouch

Exactly my thoughts.

You may want to email or post a thread on the link I provided above. Do the Rangers have any control over the drinking?

They do in theory, but two unarmed guys in USFS shirts on quads vs. somewhere in the region of 1200-1400 people (I asked at the booth how many had been in today when I left; the answer was 455 vehicles) aren't good odds. Sheriffs have jurisdiction there as well, but they patrol the area with (mainly) street cars and good luck getting one to come up all the way from Glendora or Azusa.

As for the email / signup thing... I'm not sure how well-received it would be if I emailed them or signed up on the forums just to moan about the state of affairs up there (speaking of which: thanks for throwing your trash on the canyon floor, folks). If anyone has their ear they're more than welcome to drop out this link, though. Really, though, I don't know how closely they work with the River Ranger district so have no idea if it would even do any good.

 

[Bent]

man there are just so many places to go wheel in So-Cal. Why would you wan to go to a small mud hole and yell at folks that get stuck. Sign up for one of the runs and go wheel with a bunch of cool guys that want to go wheel some good trails instead of sitting at the side of a studip mud hole watching folks get drunk and trashing out their jeeps in the mud. Sorry...I just had to say that. Later...Clint

DING DING DING, We have a winner!!

LMAO! I'm sorry, no I'm not actually, but there is little in this life that I enjoy more than a good, "I told you so"

TIM

 

[casm]

DING DING DING, We have a winner!!

Actually, I'm in agreement with you on that. To be fair, though, I never took exception with his opinion, simply how it was presented.

It seems like today's run was a good example of why I enjoy off-roading, but hate most of the people who call themselves off-roaders.

 

[IMORTL]

To Start, I want to say that I am not defending Azusa or the people that go there... Azusa is just as he described if not worse.... But that is part of the reason I go there.

I enjoy watching people destroy there rigs. Most every time I go I get to see at least 1 roll over. Sunday was no exception. I know beer has a lot to do with this. -- It gets better as the day wears on... Blown engines -- broken drive shafts -- bumpers ripped off of nice cars of people with no hitch points -- That is good entertainment...

I have had a quad hit the front of my jeep from being out of control... I was standing still --- it was his pain not mine... I did laugh at him ---


I love Mud. Azusa has plenty of it with enough people to pull you out...
I love watching stupid people -- Azusa has plenty of them too... If you know that going in you will have a great time...

BTW
Cam -- sorry for cutting in line to get out... But the kids were getting cranky... Like Daddy...

Ken

 

[casm]

I enjoy watching people destroy there rigs. Most every time I go I get to see at least 1 roll over. Sunday was no exception.

This I'm cool with - carnage is fine in my book.

I know beer has a lot to do with this. -- It gets better as the day wears on... Blown engines -- broken drive shafts -- bumpers ripped off of nice cars of people with no hitch points -- That is good entertainment...

All fine in and of themselves, yep. My problem's that the beer moves it out from places you'd expect it to be happening (hillsides, mud pits) and out into the general population.

I love Mud. Azusa has plenty of it with enough people to pull you out...
I love watching stupid people -- Azusa has plenty of them too... If you know that going in you will have a great time...

I get a kick out of mud every once in a while too, I have to admit, which is part of the reason I go up there. Maybe it's because it's all shiny and new again, but this weekend was *way* off the scale of anything I've seen up there before (and I've wandered by on club / unofficial competition days) and really pushed the bounds of what seems acceptable to me. *shrug*

BTW Cam -- sorry for cutting in line to get out... But the kids were getting cranky... Like Daddy...

No worries - I was OK with it having seen what happened to the two stock ZJs; didn't want to end up like them. The Chevy stuck next to the Bronco had blocked my path out anyway, so it was all good.