Roxtar
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- NW Indiana-Chicago area
Some thoughts on the inaugural MWBDR:
All that attended had a great time despite the shortage of actual Big Dogs. While the turnout was disappointing, the terrain was anything but.
Ron, the owner, really put out the red carpet for us.
The accomodations were practically lush, with all of us staying in a brand new two bedroom log cabin, complete with AC and full kitchen.
He had several of their regulars come out to join us and actually led the trail rides himself.
We started out with a medium trail to get a feel for things. Medium is truly a relative term here as these trails have many of the same characteristic of the tough trails, only with bypasses around the bigger obstacles. Day one finished with a little bit of carnage, all easily repairable in Ron's shop.
Mark's pretzelled MJ rear driveshaft was sleeved and welded up, my track bar end was rewelded, and a melted shifter cable was fixed (kinda).
Day two was simply awesome as we got a true look at the "nasty stuff".
Earlier in the week Ron had cut a new trail just for us. Unfortunately the combination of rains earlier in the week and brand new trail excavation made the opening climb (truly intimidating) undoable to all but one lightweight tube buggy. Since none of us made it, we weren't allowed to name it.
We then did a couple "black diamond" trails that, by themselves, made the whole trip worthwhile.
Entire trails of solid rock gardens with no breaks or easy sections, lots of off camber stuff, and nice climbs.
We then got to watch the true big dogs do trail 14, an evil little section doable by buggy or truggy only. Very cool. Body panels need not apply.
All in all, FlatNasty is a great place for all and deserves to be mentioned right up there with names like Paragon and Tellico.
While the trails are great, what really sets the place apart is the attitude of the owner. A former rockcrawling competitor, Ron is constantly working to improve the place, continuously cutting new trails, leading night runs, opening his shop to customers, and generally creating a feeling of comeraderie.
All that attended had a great time despite the shortage of actual Big Dogs. While the turnout was disappointing, the terrain was anything but.
Ron, the owner, really put out the red carpet for us.
The accomodations were practically lush, with all of us staying in a brand new two bedroom log cabin, complete with AC and full kitchen.
He had several of their regulars come out to join us and actually led the trail rides himself.
We started out with a medium trail to get a feel for things. Medium is truly a relative term here as these trails have many of the same characteristic of the tough trails, only with bypasses around the bigger obstacles. Day one finished with a little bit of carnage, all easily repairable in Ron's shop.
Mark's pretzelled MJ rear driveshaft was sleeved and welded up, my track bar end was rewelded, and a melted shifter cable was fixed (kinda).
Day two was simply awesome as we got a true look at the "nasty stuff".
Earlier in the week Ron had cut a new trail just for us. Unfortunately the combination of rains earlier in the week and brand new trail excavation made the opening climb (truly intimidating) undoable to all but one lightweight tube buggy. Since none of us made it, we weren't allowed to name it.
We then did a couple "black diamond" trails that, by themselves, made the whole trip worthwhile.
Entire trails of solid rock gardens with no breaks or easy sections, lots of off camber stuff, and nice climbs.
We then got to watch the true big dogs do trail 14, an evil little section doable by buggy or truggy only. Very cool. Body panels need not apply.
All in all, FlatNasty is a great place for all and deserves to be mentioned right up there with names like Paragon and Tellico.
While the trails are great, what really sets the place apart is the attitude of the owner. A former rockcrawling competitor, Ron is constantly working to improve the place, continuously cutting new trails, leading night runs, opening his shop to customers, and generally creating a feeling of comeraderie.
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