The Premise:
Rob wrote the trip report.
We felt it was too Rob-centric so we
demanded rebuttal space!
(Photo captions by Lars)
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Prologue
I set a meeting time with John Edgar for another BC 4wd
Assoc. meeting for the evening of Sunday, the 1st of June.
Plus, Alan Chung was going to be in Vancouver and I was
able to organize a few other things for that weekend, so I
took my truck over to the mainland. Ferry costs are not
cheap, so I plan as much as possible into a weekend on the
mainland.
When I say "as much as possible", that usually means some
offroading. And Larry has always been able to come through
with that! We played on Saturday and Sunday, and it was a
blast! Here are some details:
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Lars:
Approximately one month ago, Alan Chung from the Jeep
Mailing List contacted us. He was going to visit the Pacific
Northwest (BC Southwest) and wanted to meet us and do some
offroading. The word quickly spread and we soon had a
decent-sized group of offroaders ready to go out on a very
wet Saturday.
As it turns out, the wet weather was a bonus because it
increased all trail ratings by one or two grades. And, as Rob
so coyly points out, it created lots of mud.
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Even when it's pouring rain, we manage to waste time by B.S.'ing on the
trail. When it's wet like this, we park side-by-side so we can sit in
our vehicles and talk...pathetic, isn't it?
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Saturday
Friday night, Wil phones me and organizes a meeting spot so
that he can lead me out to the Husky near Blue Mtn. I know
that Wil, Larry, Alan Chung, myself, and a few others were
going to be there, but didn't know for sure. As it turned
out, we had a decent sized group which included:
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Larry Soo
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1991 Jeep YJ, spring-over, 31" BFG MT's, rear locker
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Ed Mah
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Jeep CJ-7, OME rear springs, 32" TSL/SX's, F&R L/S's
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Jonathan Yim
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1997 Jeep TJ, Teraflex lift, 31" mudders
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Wil Girindra
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Toyota pick-em-up, lift, 33" Yoko's, ARB's F&R
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Rob Bryce (me!)
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1989 Jeep Comanche, 8" lift, 35" General MT's, locked
F&R
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Jeff Franchuk
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F-150, locked F&R, 36" tires
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Alan Chung & William Chow
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THE Best 4x4 Ever Made: a rent-a-car! (S-15 Jimmy)
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The long wheelbase trucks
drove straight up.
Meanwhile, the short rigs had to
maneuver from side to side
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Shortly after we reach the trailhead, we hook up with a couple
other trucks. One was a Heavy Chevy Blazer with a pickup cab, 38"
TSL's, locked F&R, and the other was a CJ. The group grows!
Off to Wil's Waterfall! Wil gets out to check it out. Cool!
It's raining so there's all kinds of water on it.
Rocks...slippery when wet! Well, Wil drives up there with little
trouble. Gets a tire in the air, not the perfect line, but
still, no grief at all. Next was me. Let's say I just love my
35" General MT's and lockers F&R!
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Lars:
The CJ belonged to John Bruce, another Jeep List member
whom I hadn't met before. He had his young daughter with
him. I guess he was trying to get her indoctrinated in the
Jeep culture early. With them was John's brother, Mike.
Mike had a Chevy Blazer with a pickup cab,
chopped rock box, and 3/4 ton running gear with lockers
front and back. I'm not a big fan of full-sized rigs but
Mike's Blazer/pickup hybrid was very, very cool.
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Jonathan "I don't need no stinking locker!" Yim was shortly
afterwards. We tried going straight up. Nope. Crowd to the
left. Nope. Crowd to the right. Nope. Sounds like a dance!
Let's try to go up sideways! Nope. The little Twinky Jeep just
wouldn't go up there. What was that about lockers, Jonathan? :-)
We couldn't even get Alan Chung to try his rent-a-Blazer on the
hill. He was mumbling something about body damage and credit
card limits....
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Jonathan:
I'll try again when it's a bit drier. I have reconsidered, though,
and it may be possible that I need a rear locker...maybe *grin*
Wil:
Sorry, Jonathan, but I think you're going to regret ever saying that.
The locker crowd is taking every chance we get to remind you of that.
There is only one way to never have to hear yourself say that again. :-)
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Ed Mah made it up with little difficulty. Larry had some fun on
the hill! He'll never say that he had any trouble...just trying
to make Jonathan feel better for not climbing it! :-)
Larry turned around and came back down Wil's Waterfall to lead
Alan and Jonathan back out. Alan decided to park his
rent-a-Blazer (good move) and catch back up with the rest of the
group.
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Jonathan:
If I can get my other roll of film dried-out, I'll show you the
pics of that '91 YJ lifting tires all over the place!
Lars:
Ok...everyone who made it up the waterfall, raise your hands...
I thought as much. The fact remains, my unlockered friend,
that I made it up the waterfall where as you did not. Nyah nyah.
As for Alan Chung and the rental Jimmy, his uncle was tired
and getting bored of 'wheeling so he drove the Jimmy back
to the hotel and I let Alan drive my YJ. With the exception of
one very difficult section, Alan drove my YJ to the top of
the Lookout without a hitch. Considering that most stock
vehicles can't get up there, I think he did very
well...especially for a Hawaiian who spends most of his
time 'wheeling in mud.
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Jeff and his big red Ford at the spot where Wil rolled his
Toyota last year. We're not far from the Lookout
(Jeff's winch is homebuilt using the electric motor from an aircraft
hangar door opener)
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After the waterfall, we proceeded along the powerlines. This
route has been well documented before. Nobody had any
difficulty, and it's a very fun road.
Once we hooked back up with Larry and Jonathan, we decided to
split into two groups. Wil wanted to show me a new hill he
found! Joy...Wil's anxious to show me a hill that he calls
"interesting", and Larry doesn't want to come. This is about a
month after Wil telling me he's gonna get even with me for me
spotting him through some "interesting" lines on the island. And
Larry doesn't want to come. *cringe* Oh well, I'm game for
self-abuse!
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Lars:
Good instincts, Rob.
Wil and I have only been 'wheeling
together for a short period of time and for the first few
outings, I wasn't sure if our definitions of "challenging"
were on the same level. I soon realized that our versions
of that word were perfectly calibrated when he showed me
that rock- and debris-strewn mess he calls a trail.
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The climb is very decent! It's too bad that it dead ends. But
it sounds like it won't take much to turn it into a through road.
Do it!
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Wil:
Rob failed to mention that the road had basically become a fast-flowing
creek. Funny thing was that it seemed easier to do with the water
running through it than when Larry and I did it when it was
dry.
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Here's the section where Wil's Toyota
started to bounce in a bad way.
Obviously, that's not Wil.
It's Jonathan
in his very capable TJ (shame about the driver...
heh heh)
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Wil and I hadn't had enough so we decided to catch up with
Larry's crew. Well, it didn't take long for Wil to have some fun!
He came as close to a roll- over as I have ever seen him! I
don't like spots where one's truck starts to hop, and hop
sideways across a steep climb! He spooked himself. A couple
times. He spooked me. Well, by taking a very unorthodox line,
he idled up the hill. My turn! No problems! Whew! That was a
relief!
After Wil pointed out where he did flip his Toyota once (how he
ever did that I'll never know!), we caught up with Larry's group.
The drive back down was rather uneventful 'til we hit gravel.
Alan was riding with me, and I decided to find out how this
suspension of mine would work at speed! Smooth! But I don't
think Larry appreciated me leaning on the horn to get out of the
way! *grin*
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Here's Alan Chung pointing at the huge chunk of rock which separated
from the ledge. We ended up moving it out of the way before it sliced
up the next vehicle's tires.
This left John Bruce with a more challenging descent
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Jonathan chose the unorthodox line on the far left during his descent
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While most of us aired up, Wil had to return back up the
mountain. It turns out that someone was very badly high centered
and needed a tug. In the end, a tug wasn't enough, and Wil's
winch was required to save the day. We sat down after a long day
for Japanese food. We start talking about Sunday's trip and Wil
mentions all kinds of mud holes.
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Wil:
I was just closing the gate to Blue Mtn when 2 kids on a motorbike
pull up and ask me for a tow rope. I go with them to the top of
Blue Mtn to find a very high centered Ford Ranger. It had a lift and
what looked like 32's on it. It was very high centered. Having done
things at least 20 times as stupid as this myself, I was glad to
help them out. It's definitely part of 4wheeling; that is, getting
everyone off the mountain.
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Heh heh! Mud! Yeah! Heh! Mud! Heh heh!
After supper, I arrived for my movie date that evening 5 hours
late. *oops* Good thing I had a cell phone! Still, the mood of
the evening was rather chilly... I got greeted with "I should
leave this door locked!" Oh well. :-)
Sunday
The evening before we were talking about playing on Sunday. I
couldn't commit 'cause I didn't know for sure when the 4wd
meeting would be, so I said "phone me in the morning". Wil did.
I'm a 4x4 slut so I had to say "let's go for it!" I phone up Pam
and Dave Hansen and they agree to come along too, in Dave's
recently re-done CJ. Sunday's group was similar to Saturday's
'cept for Alan not coming along, and Mark Dietelbach taking his
place. I was actually really looking forward to this. Wil
promised mud!
Heh! Heh heh! Mud! Heh heh!
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Wil inches his way through the entrance to the Rolley Lake powerline
trail while Rob spots
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But first, we had to cross the trailhead. It is quite the
guardian! Big rocks lining a ditch that you have to drive
through. All the pickups banged their back ends. It quickly got
more difficult as it started to rain. So what happens when it
starts to rain? Well let's see. - Wil, the trip leader decides
to hybernate in his cab, justifying it as "in case we need my
winch". - Everyone else takes turn under umbrellas and driving
their vehicles through. - Me? Well, I'm getting wet, no
umbrella, spotting people through, hooking up winch cables,
moving rocks, running around to look for diff's hitting rocks and
rocker panels getting dinged. How in the h*ll did this happen?!?
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And it was getting slippery pretty quick! Even Larry needed a
winch to get through! Hee hee! Time for new tires there, Larry!
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Lars:
I know, I know. 33" tires definitely figure prominently in
my future.
Jonathan:
Yeah, and I'm thinking 33's too.
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From the vantage point of our side-by-side Jeeps, Jonathan and I watch
the others get wet as they prepare to extract Dave's 'Cruiser from
a "puddle"
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I didn't mind getting as wet as I was, though. It was like being
in the shower in the morning. 'Cept I was outside. And I had
clothes on. And I wasn't 100% wet. And it was kinda cold. And
I was walking in mud. Anyway, everyone knows what rain leads to!
Mud! Heh heh! Yeah! Mud! Heh!
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Lars:
Uh, Rob? How would you know what a shower in the
morning feels like? (tee hee)
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Wil crosses the beaver pond
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We avoided the deepest mud holes on the way in. That's alright,
I kept promising myself I'd play on the way out. Mud! Heh heh!
At one point, though, I was getting tired of waiting. It seems
that some mainlanders - I won't mention Larry's, Dave's,
Jonathan's, Jeff's, or Mark's names here - don't like deep water
crossings. Wil and I had no problems. The water was only, like
34" deep at the deepest point! No problem! Hard bottom! They
had to go look for a bypass route. And they call themselves
offroaders!
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Jonathan:
Hey, at least I came through the lake/pond on the way back. Water
was above my door sills and I had no leakage. I'd be curious if
my door sill guards would have compromised the weather seal on my
doors, but I guess not!
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The view from Jonathan's Jeep. Rob is stuck and Wil just got stuck
while trying to get close enough to help Rob.
For someone this badly stuck, Rob sure smiles a lot
Unfortunately, no one has photos of Jonathan stuck while trying to
pull Rob forward through the mud hole
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The next obstacle was a muddy hill like. Heh heh! Mud! No
problems for the most of us. Just the ... Toyota Land Cruiser,
with BFG AT tires. A quick winch and we were on our way again.
Near the summit, a few of us checked out pictures while Larry,
Jonathan, and Dave and Pam went exploring a bit. I didn't 'cause
the trail looked too tight for me to turn my long wheelbase MJ
around in.
Short wait and we proceeded to descend. Not a problem. Pam
decided to ride down with me. Then we came to the muddy section!
Heh heh! Mud!
*play play play* Hm. That looks a bit deeper! Let's try that.
*sinking feeling* Ah Sh*t! Quick into reverse saves the day.
Pam just can't stop laughing. *play play play* Hm. This truck
is doing good in this goo! *play play play* Hm. My rememory
says this is the last stuck-em hole before returning to the
trailhead. *looks around* There we go! That looks like a
vehicle has played there before! And it looks deep....and it
looks wet.... and it looks gooey....and it looks like a fun,
doable challenge. Backs up. Yeah, let's do it!
Heh heh! Mud! Heh! Yeah! Mud!
2nd gear, half throttle, new tires, locked F&R, man it feels good
going into the mud hole. Hm. It's starting to sink. Bit more
throttle, feels like I have committed to this. Hm. Making as
much down progress as I am forward. Not good. Damn. Let's try
and back out. It won't! Hm. Let's try high range reverse for
more wheel spin. Well, that succeeded in....digging me in deeper
and getting the truck real good and dirty. I'm stuck.
I look out the window. Hm. Only about 3 inches of 35" General
Grabber showing. This might be part of the problem! *radio*
Wil's gloating that his Toyota is gonna have to pull out a Jeep.
Hah! He gets stuck trying to even get to me! And Jonathan's TJ
has to pull him out!
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The usual...here's Lars' Jeep pulling a Toyota ;-)
The deep ruts on this hill caused problems for most of us
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So Wil decides to instead back in to yank me out. He's taking a
while, so Jonathan has a better idea. Let's go around in front
of Rob and pull him through the mud-hole instead of back out! I
see this and say "go for it!" Pam and I are laughing. Together
it was "he's gonna get stuck ..... now!"
Here's the situation. I'm stuck. Jonathan "I don't need no
stinking lockers" Yim is stuck. Wil was stuck and trying pretty
hard to get stuck again. And Larry isn't around to get a
picture! Hee hee! Dave is laughing away to himself. Can't coax
him into the mud. Pam is just laughing too hard for her own
good.
Wil's truck couldn't yank me out. Jeff Franchuk's F150 couldn't
yank me out. After much CB coaching, Larry finally shows up
(with camera in hand). In the end, we had to pulley Jeff's winch
cable back and winch me out. That worked. Dave Hansen pulled
Jonathan out...but not 'til after Jonathan made the mistake of
actually stepping out into the mud. The mud line was above his
knee!
Well, after unstuck's, we played a bit more, but generally headed
for the trailhead. There, a lifted XJ owner and I sniffed each
other's trucks out. Quick supper and I only showed up an hour
late for my 4x4 meeting!
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Jonathan:
You bad man. No taunt me with "this is locker territory" or me
no happy. You veddy, veddy evil man.
Lars:
When they first radioed that Rob, Jonathan and Wil were stuck, I
didn't believe them. The day before, they almost had me
believing that Wil has rolled his Toyota at the exact same
spot as last year. Needless to say, I was somewhat
skeptical. Furthermore, Mark and I were way ahead
of the group and had gotten back onto dry pavement after
carefully picking our way through the rock obstacle ditch
which was the entrance/exit to the trail.
I didn't want to attempt to climb back onto the trail
because there was no other vehicle on the trail side to
winch me up if I had problems. When I finally decided that
it wasn't a hoax, my curiosity got the better of me. Mark
spotted for me as I crawled through the ditch and
positioned my Jeep just right. I floored the gas pedal and
clawed my way up the mud bank and onto the trail without
winching! I redeemed myself for the winching earlier that
morning...but no one was around to witness it 'cept for
Mark and myself. Doh!
We reached the mud hole but by that time, only Rob remained
stuck. To his credit, he took it in good humour and he was
stuck in a mud hole which I would never, ever have
attempted. What can I say, the guy LOVES mud.
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Epilogue
All in all, it was a great weekend! I got to meet Alan Chung,
play with the crew, and most importantly...get my truck stuck!
...lars
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