CRASH said:
Well, got home late last night from Best of the West, version 4.0. Had a fantastic time, but then again, how could one have anything but a great time when surrounded by great people and great trails?
The wheeling was very good, and we lucked out on weather - for the most part. Got flooded out of Table Mesa, our first stop, because the Agua Fria River was at or above flood stage. Ran Raw Deal, which is basically the only trail in the area that does not require crossing the river. An average trail when dry, it was very fun when wet, which turned out to be the theme for the whole week. OneTon broke a hub (shocking), and Wisconsin Jeff broke two wheels while descending a V-notch. OEM Waggy wheels are not West Coast approved.
Pulled out for the Florence Junction area Monday morning and went to play in an area called Lower Woodpecker, which is not so much a trail as a very good play area. It was the site of an ARCA comp years ago, and it's always interesting playing on old ARCA lines. In fact, this area was the site of the original Dumb-fest. One of the ARCA lines claimed a rear 30 spline 60 shaft (OneTon's) and a front CTM (Goatman's). Led drove the line with ease, proving that at least one guy from Colorado can wheel. Headed back to our desert camp after dark (me on the tow strap as my adjustable MAP sensor crapped out). Fixed everything back at camp and we were all operational by dawn.
Tuesday, we ran Highway to Hell, a trail we had missed during BOTW I due to breakage earlier in the day. It is tight and tough dry, but when it's raining, and there is water running down the trail, it is MUCH more interesting. This trail claimed sheetmetal and glass. In fact. it was hungry for both. Goatman tore the Panhard bar mount off of the frame on one particular V-notch, forcing a trail fix right in the middle of the stream. Got it ground and welded in a permanent fix-type fashion, and it worked well for the rest of the trip. I lost a rear MTR while bound in a V-notch, but with some hi-lift help we got it plugged and reseated. Didn't get off of the trail until after dark, and we all had a nicely deserved beer back at camp.
Wednesday, we were scheduled to travel to Quartzsite to run Fistful of Dollars, but we soon realized that we were headed into a torrential rainstorm. We decided to bypass and head right into Parker, AZ, which is right on the Colorado River. The rain had come through Parker, but quit just as we were setting camp.
Thursday morning we headed to a couple of trails that were very close to camp, Rio Lobo and President's Choice. Both very good, and Rio Lobo was even more sheetmetal-hungry than Highway to Hell. Presidents Choice had a couple of vicious V-notches that required major air-time to get through. We finished both trails with few mechanical issues, but some scars on the full body rigs. We headed back to camp for a very good carne asada dinner cooked by our favourite chef, Mil.
Friday, the group, sans me, headed back to Quartzite to run Fistful. I decided to head home, and last I checked with Richard, it was a festival of carnage. Someone will have to pick up the stroy from there......
Random thoughts:
Chicago Jeff is the new official photog of the WCGIC. The guy is a madman with a camera, taking almost a gig of photos a day! Quote of the week: "Arizona is to Moab, what Moab is to Attica." - Kid4lyf. 37's and Dana 44's do not play well together in the rocks. Period. Hinkley was his usual cogity self. He tried to steal my dogs. Andy Couch takes his rig places on 33's that would scare most people on 37's. Jes is a better driver than I am. Rick Norman is about the best tour guide you can get in Arizona. Special thanks for all you did. Jumping Chola cactus is the scourge of the Earth and must be destroyed. The Roses are good people. Brad took a nice 99 Cherokee and modified it for rock use. Then the rocks modified it for Arizona use. Alloy USA shafts are not West Coast approved. Sobe bombs rule.
All in all, an excellent trip with very good friends. Can't wait for next year.....Nevada?......Baja?......PNW?......you never can tell where this crew will show up next.
Thanks for the memories.
CRASH
To pick up where CRASH left off.....
Friday morning we drove out to a trail called Fistful of Dollars....no wonder how it got that name considering the carnage we would experience. We had to stop on the access road to weld up the high steer arm on Sean's rig that he had welded up a few days earlier, but easily caught the rest of the group working through obstacles. The carnage started with Rick breaking his (actually Joe's, whose rig he was driving) rear driveline yoke and pinion yoke from hitting rocks. Sean pulled up to the same squeezing ledge and broke a Warn D44 stub shaft.....without breaking the 760x axle joint.
Meanwhile, most of the group was dealing with a wall called the "good, bad, and the ugly", sort of a fitting name for a trail called Fistful of Dollars (you youngsters that don't remember Clint Eastwood spagetti westerns won't get it). There are three routes up the wall, the "good" to the right, the "bad" in the middle, and the "ugly" to the left. The good isn't easy, the bad is rediculous, and the ugly is just that...ugly and scary. Led tried the bad and lost a bead (on a beadlock) and gave up the attempt after a few tries. I tried it unsuccesfully, but Sean eventually made it, but had to winch when his brakes gave out and he couldn't manuever to make the real tight turn at the top. So, since no one would settle for the good, everyone did the ugly. Some made it and some had to winch, but it was one hell of an obstacle.
Further up the trail, Gary broke a front shaft on a particularly tight and nasty V notch, then Sean's dad Jerry broke a rear driveshaft and pinion yoke when a spring pearch weld broke while bouncing trying to get up the bypass to that V notch. Gary was able to fix his, but Jerry got pulled out in front wheel drive only. Many thanks to Mark McGhee who came out from Quartzsite to lead us and spot on the trail.
That night we went out for pizza and beer, and since it was FarmerMatt's birthday, Jenni had a cake and ice cream to celebrate. So, we had a pizza and birthday party. Saturday morning Mil, with Jerry's help, cooked us a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes. Thanks again to Mil for the great cooking. For some of the gang it was time to head for home, and the rest of us headed out to the trails. We ran a short trail called True Grit, and things were going well until Matt and Sean decided to play bumper cars with their buggies. Matt was pushing backwards into Sean when we heard the proverbial loud bang! and saw his front driveline hanging down. He broke the front output shaft yoke on the Atlas and put a hole through the floor board, so he was done for the day. Brad decided to get into a real good wedgie, and even his 12,000 lb winch wouldn't pull him out without destroying a rim and tire. So, I climbed to the ledge above him and winched him sideways while he winched forward and he finally broke free.
When we hit the road we had had enough, so we headed straight to the Desert Bar, which is an interesting place. It's out in the middle of nowhere in the desert, about 8 miles off the highway on a dirt road, and open noon to dark only on Sat and Sun.....with live music. Matt decided to hit the road, literally, and ran into the inside bank of the road while not looking where he was going and bent the track bar on the buggy, and he hadn't even started drinking yet. After plenty of libations and fun, we all headed back to camp with the traditional racing and hauling ass. Rick passed one car too many and even though he was on a dirt road, a trooper pulled him over and gave him a ticket for reckless driving, after Rick barely passed the sobriety test. Since any of us could have been the one who got nailed, we all pitched in to help Rick cover the $210 ticket.
A few more random thoughts:
Mudzilla's are for mud. I'm going back to driving like I could break. Rick took care of Joe's rig, even though he added a number of new dents. Joe sucks for not making it. Piss on Caltrans. Andy should never pee in the desert. Sean's mom and dad are cool. A certain brand of motor mounts really suck. Jeff Ayers rocks for driving his rig from Wisconsin and wheeling the crap out of it. Brad will never be happy until he moves west. All the rain was a pain in the ass, but the green desert was beautiful. Led gets it, and is an honorary member of the WCGIC (he's not really from CO, is he?). Jes's rig with the new mods works. I don't know how Porch Puppy does it....still no dents in his rig. Erik just can't sleep in Parker.
Where will we go next year? Maybe we'll go to CO and not tell them we're coming........
