The morning didn't start off good for me. I barely made it up the road to Rogers Camp, and then got stuck in the parking lot. I later came to find out though, that my posilock was out of adjustment so I didnt quite have 4wd. With a quick turn of the knob things suddenly became much easier. The road to Rogers Camp locked up pretty quick with rigs, and one stuck tow rig. 85xj4dr and I were at the parking lot already, but the rest of the group was stuck in the jam. Around 10:00 rigs finally started moving.
Most of the other groups up there went straight for Firebreak 5. We decided to take it easy and see what the conditions were like. We finished the first section of powerline with few problems, and began heading for the second section up the hill. We had some issues towards the top and decided it wouldnt be very smart to try powerline if we couldnt even get up the road. Back down, turn around, and head for the main road.
We then stuck to the main road for awhile and jumped on the third section of powerline. The first climb was a pretty good one.
85xj4dr climbing to the top.
We then came out into the open and found another hill. Junior tried to break trail, but handed it over to Ken and his new 35's. He probably gave it 25 tries, slowly making progress each time, but we decided to save time and turn around.
Junior seconds away from getting stuck. Ken fighting the hill in the background.
Back on the main road we were the first to lay down tracks all the way to Mini Rubicon. First time I have ever seen it snowed in.
...mojo...mojo...mojo... It was calling for you
Our patriotic group.
From Mini Rubicon we made our way around a beached whale, and then eventually to the C-Line road to see how far we could get. That's when we hit the super wet and heavy snow. Aside from a few downed trees, and me getting a little close to the edge we all made it up the road. I noticed I wasnt staying on top of the tracks so I aired down some more. It's amazing what 2-3 psi difference can do.
We played around at the bottom of the rocky uphill part of Archers for awhile. I managed to get through the gatekeeper at the bottom and break trail through it.
Later on right below Canopener after finishing another section of Archers.
From there we stayed on Archers all the way to the Waterfall. A few straps were needed in between, but it went pretty smooth. 85xj4dr decided to to attempt a mud pit with his 4 cylinders of fury. Needless to say he got stuck... really bad (hopefully someone got pictures). When this happened the group was split in half. We were a ways ahead of them and listened to it over the radio. Stuck... really bad... snapped two tow straps... rigs daisy chained together... no progress... need more help. Those of us ahead of them received the message, and turned around to go help. Only problem was we couldn't get back up the hill to reach them. The snow was way to slippery and heavy. Luckily though after awhile they were able to get him out and we all eventually regrouped.
By now it was nearing 4:30 and we were on our way out headed down C-line. 85xj4dr came on the radio and reports he has lost all power to the wheels. Engine is still running but no power to the wheels. He still had steering and brakes so he coasted down to Lyda camp, and I towed him to the highway down South Fork Rd. At the highway him and his passenger grabbed a ride with Terry back to Portland to get a trailer. My prediction is the clutch is packed with mud.
It started out very eventful, and ended the same way! Great day.
