Evans Creek 26/27 August '06

[IXNAYXJ]

When relatives come to Seattle, most people take them to the usual spots; The Ballard Locks, the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Musuem of Flight, Geoduck hunting, etc.... Not GI-John.

He prefers to take them wheeling and scare the ever-loving crap out of them (remember most of these people have never been inside of a real Jeep). Which brings us to our story.

The original plan was to all meet in Bonney Lake as usual, but a few of us (the usual suspects; Myself, Ian (Slacker87XJ), Phil (ECKSJAY) and Eli (12GaugeXJ) decided to go up camping the night before (Saturday).

Many of the pics are only Den-Worthy, but I'll post a couple to give an example of the debauchery and general good time that was had by all.

Dinner:

Come to think of it, that about the only non-Den-Worthy pic from the camping portion. To hell with it, here they go:

I like paste...and Irish Whiskey:

Passing the bottle around:

Ian, going quickly downhill. Phil with Shiner Bock and Jameson.

We drank Ian under the, uh...tarp.

Home Sweet Cherokee. Those of you who have seen my rig know how amazingly clean and orderely it is here:

So the next morning we collected Paul (mud1059) and his Toyota buddy Josh from their campsite and set out to meet GI-John and Adam (adamusmc2002) at the trailhead. With me in the lead and John pulling tailgunner, we headed up the 311a and 311b to sort everybody out. Most of you guys recognize this spot by now:

There was amazingly little smoke considering the ferocity of the fire that was blazing on the other side of Rainier. On the way in through Enumclaw we could see the pillar of smoke pretty clearly, but not at all from any of the trails we ran.

Phil on the last corner of 311b...which used to be MUCH harder:

Adam and his buddy in Adam's really nice looking '96. I've never seen a Marine concentrate so hard in my life though....

John playing around, looking for a challenge.

It was at this point that those of us already at the top enjoying the view heard this hellacious "BANG...CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!!!" We all looked at eachother and said simultaneously, "There goes an axle...."

It turns out it was Paul's buddy, Josh in the Yota/Truggy on 36" Iroks. It turns out it wasn't an axle but something inside the diff...we're still waiting to hear what exactly it was. I didn't get any pics, but I know many were taken...so post up! After an hour of winching and pulling and swearing, we got him to the end of the trail. Paul decided to stay with him and help, and Adam had to go home at this point.

And then there were four.

Stay tuned!

-----Matt-----

 

[IXNAYXJ]

The remaining trucks made our way to the entrance to what I've been calling "the switchbacks" 'cause that's the best descriptor I can think of. The trail markers and map at Evans is so terrible I don't really know what it's real number is. 168? 520? Anyway, it's hairy.

We have run it twice downhill (once last year, when John flopped, and once last Evans trip) and it was pretty challenging. If you don't care about body damage, it's not too bad, but if you're trying to avoid it, the tight corners are tough.

This time we went up it. Getting to the start was hard enough; I had forgetten about the section at the very beginning by the swamp/pond/lake thing at the bottom. Lots of rocks and off-camber stuff. A couple tense moments.

Here's me, posing...as usual:

From here is the portion of the trip where all of the carnage occured...to other people (I managed to escape unscathed):

Narrow confines:

Phil taking a memento with him...part of a rotten log that was (apparently) in the way:

CRUNCH! Now neither rear door opens! As Phil put it, he now has the smallest-doored 2-dr XJ in the world:

*****Disclaimer*****
This photo was not doctored, manipulated or enhanced in any way. John got really close to this log...so close it neatly took the "4x4" badge off his right rear 1/4 panel. This is how I found it:

As you can see, it's neatly stuck into the log:

Always a fun corner:

What you can't see in this picture is how damn steep this was:

Rainier poking out behind the trees:

John, trying to re-attach his mirror:

Adam, it was great meeting you. Welcome to the NW, hopefully you'll fall in love with this area as much as the rest of us have. Looking forward to wheeling with you again.

SO! Great trip. Awesome trip. Stay tuned for my "Oktoberfest at Evans Creek" trip which will be a lot bigger, should these pics inspire an Evans run for any of you.

-----Matt-----

 

[XJLaredo]

Looks like fun guys.

Noticed that Eli was shotgun with Phil, What happened Eli?

As always, Your a camera hog Matt.

 

[IXNAYXJ]

As always, Your a camera hog Matt.

Damn skippy! You see, we all have photographic memory, but I don't have any film...I have to rely on the digital stuff I bring back.

-----Matt-----

P.S. Nice sig.

EDIT: And for the record, I was only in 6 of the 24 pics. So there.

 

[CanMan]

Ok, Here is some of the pictures I took. Some are blurry and look like chit, I had the camera on Distant Landscape mode, so stuff up close is blurrier. Anyways, the pictures.

Saturday night, Phil got out his loosly fitting vest and what does he find?

The group airing down.

Matt on the first trail we ran.

Adam on the same trail.

Phil giving it a shot.

 

[CanMan]

Ian doing it with ease.

John walks right up it.

The group at the top of the trail. Nice view of Mt. Ranier in the background. Turn your light off Phil!

Ian showing his wicked flex on a monster rock.

 

[CanMan]

After the rest of the group, minus 2 rigs made it to the top of another section, we kept hearing some loud clanking in the distance. After a while, we found it.

John, joining the TRT.(Toyota Recovery Team, for the late person)

Matt, has fond memories of this part. Don't know why the picture is small, oh well.

Matt coming up the switchbacks.

Ian on the switch backs.

John on the switchbacks.

 

[CanMan]

Matt showing off his bad ass flex.

Phil, coming around a snug corner of the switchbacks.

John coming around the same corner.

My camera battery died at this point, but was able to get some pictures of the fire as we were leaving Evans.

 

[adamusmc2002]

Hey guys, thanks for inviting me, and my friend Chad and I had a blast. Wish we could have stayed for the switchbacks, but we both had repercussions to face if we didn't make it back in time, I'm sure you guys understand I'm definitely looking forward to 2 weeks from now, won't have a curfew, and am really anxious to do more trails.
I took a couple pictures, but am not sure how to post them on threads. So if anyone can walk me through it, I'll put um up, but they're really similar to the ones already on here. Anyway, it was great to meet you guys, and look forward to many more outings.

Adam

 

[adamusmc2002]

Oh, one last thing, Matt, what type of super swampers are yours, I already forgot? And, what do you guys think of Mickey Thompson MTZs?

 

[2xtreme]

Oh, one last thing, Matt, what type of super swampers are yours, I already forgot? And, what do you guys think of Mickey Thompson MTZs?

Matt has 33x12.5 TSL radials. (not that I wrote that I am questioning myself? Maybe they are SSR's?)

No experience with MTZ's yet, but you are not comparing them to TSL's are you?

Michael

 

[IXNAYXJ]

Matt has 33x12.5 TSL radials. (not that I wrote that I am questioning myself? Maybe they are SSR's?)

No experience with MTZ's yet, but you are not comparing them to TSL's are you?

Michael

Yeah, I PM'd him the specs. They are SSRs, though they don't say it anywhere on the tires. Slightly less aggressive than regular TSLs, but still VERY capeable for NW trails, pre-siped and pretty quiet on the highway. Awesome in the snow.

I also have zero first hand experience with the MTZs.

-----Matt-----

 

[mud1059]

The verdict is in! This is what would cause the Toyota to make such a horrible racket embarrassing the hell out of the driver - Josh... Notice the round teeth on the ring and the lack of teeth on the pinion. Ouch

Now the trail with the damage causing log (which you were all warned about - sorry) was trail 197. The switchbacks is trail 120. It's got some great views on 520 next to the rock garden Josh was talking about. 519 also has a CRAZY rockface I would love to see some of you guys try. Not really for the weakhearted but damn cool and really challenging (even when it's dry!)
Evans map

Views of Rock Garden off 520..yes you can go up it and play!

Wish I had the one off 519 but I don't. However in 2 weeks Josh and I will be up there again, PM me if you want to tag along. Also, for those poor folks with all the body damage, I have an 87 you're more than welcome to. I can't sell the damn thing anyway (And it has 2 working back doors Phil!

 

[ECKSJAY]

Also, for those poor folks with all the body damage, I have an 87 you're more than welcome to. I can't sell the damn thing anyway (And it has 2 working back doors Phil!

Haha, fawker.

I actually have a 3-door again. I peeled up the drip rail on the pass. side last night so that door works again. Have to figure out WTF is up with this other one I crunched on Sunday... Already have a line on the parts if I need them.

 

[adamusmc2002]

Michael: I don't know if I was comparing them, but they are two of my prime candidates for new tires. Thanks for helping me clear up the super swamper thing, I think the ssrs are actually tsls, just a milder version. that's where the confusion came from for me. Anyway, I'm still searchin for my next tire. My MT/Rs are about dead.

 

[2xtreme]

Michael: I don't know if I was comparing them, but they are two of my prime candidates for new tires. Thanks for helping me clear up the super swamper thing, I think the ssrs are actually tsls, just a milder version. that's where the confusion came from for me. Anyway, I'm still searchin for my next tire. My MT/Rs are about dead.

You are correct. The SSR is a TSL, but a more street friendly version of the more traditional TSL.

The MTZ "looks" to be what I consider more of a "street MT" than a "real" off road tire. I might do better in dryer climates but I would guess here in the NW it would clog a little too easily. But this is just my intuition.

Michael

 

[ladywolf]

SO! Great trip. Awesome trip. Stay tuned for my "Oktoberfest at Evans Creek" trip which will be a lot bigger, should these pics inspire an Evans run for any of you.

-----Matt-----[/QUOTE]


when is "Oktoberfest at Evans Creek" gonna be? duh on the october, but wanting to know dates....tentative timeline to be home on leave is roughly around the 10th...first week of leave is shot tryin to get stuff done for school.

 

[IXNAYXJ]

when is "Oktoberfest at Evans Creek" gonna be? duh on the october, but wanting to know dates....tentative timeline to be home on leave is roughly around the 10th...first week of leave is shot tryin to get stuff done for school.

Stay tuned for my "Oktoberfest at Evans Creek" trip...

Working on it.

-----Matt-----