We ended up at Blue Mtn at noon on a beautiful Saturday break from the weeks of constant rain. Our earlier plan to go up to Eagle Ridge was a washout since access was still blocked, contrary to the information we had.

At the long gravel hillclimb, we stopped to air down and watch a CJ get winched back onto the road. It had started sliding sideways and was in danger of rolling over the side. The Jeep group was on its way out so once they were clear, we climbed the hill, one by one. The Jeepers were impressed at how easily we made it up the hill. They were quite frank in stating that they were new to offroading and seemed genuinely interested in how much air we let out of our tires and the type of modifications we made to our vehicles.

The first obstacle we came to was the The Fins (I just named it). They're a pair of rock fins, positioned side by side on the edge of a rock-covered clay step which demand a careful line in order to pass through unscathed. Mark's 4Runner was making us wince with its frequent undercarriage contact with The Fins. A line was found but it didn't allow a clean pass. Shane came closest to making a clean pass while driving through at a surprisingly fast clip. Mike's big Chevy, which had made the gravel hill climb look easy, gave us an encore performance by driving straight over The Fins. He had the lift and tires needed to make it a non-issue. The rest of us had to pick a line. Some vehicles were aided by rock stacking, others had rocks unstacked to make the challenge suitable for their vehicle. Wil made sure the obstacle was unpaved when we left. Andrew and August parked their trucks near the bottom of The Fins which was a good decision. Stock trucks with no rear locker would be running a high risk of breakage. Because we started so late in the day, Arminder had to turn around and leave. His girlfriend had to get to work. With three trucks less, we continued on.

Raf lifts a tire at the V-notch.

We crossed the creek with the washed-out bridge, went through the deep puddle and came to the next interesting obstacle, the V-notch. This obstacle will clearly indicate which vehicles have good articulation and which don't. The 4Runners, with the aid of their rear lockers, were able to get through even though they were losing traction on the front end. Mike's Chevy, which had done so well up to this point, was frustrated at the V-notch. The problem was that the trail just before the notch began was uneven, with deep depressions alternating on each side of the path. So, if your vehicle didn't have enough articulation, one corner of your truck was guaranteed to lose traction and in some cases, both corners lost traction simultaneously. Mike finally made it through by hugging the far right side. Rob's Tracker had similar articulation problems but they seemed to be focused mainly on the front end. And just like Mike, he was able to find the right line without any paving. Phil made it through easily in his XJ, as did Jonathan and his TJ and Raf in his YJ. I should, however, point out that Jonathan's TJ lifted a tire while climbing up the V-notch. Why am I mentioning it? Because his TJ is widely known for its excellent articulation so we take any opportunity we can to slag him.

I'm almost over!

Phil tries unsuccessfully to climb the wall that I had scaled minutes earlier. Gosh, aren't I special?

While we were stopped at V-notch, a TJ, YJ and full-size Bronco passed us via the bypass route. When we reached the Mini-Funny Rocks (named after a section near the Naches Trail in Washington), the two Jeeps had already climbed their way up and were spotting their friend in the Bronco who was having quite a bit of difficulty. I was near the back of our group but everyone had pulled to the side so I was able to pass by to the head of the line. I knew there were two possible lines over MFR which were suitable for my Jeep. Wil was up ahead, assessing the situation. He had a look and then called for me to approach the obstacle. As I suspected, the Bronco was having difficulty on the left-most of the lines. Just like the V-notch, the problem was a lack of articulation. Since he was off to the left, I thought I would try climbing the middle route which was harder but still do-able, based on past experiences with MFR. Wil had other plans, however. He pointed to his feet, indicating that he wanted me to climb the craziest line: the rock wall he was standing on. I had no expectation to succeed on that line because I had tried it a few times before and was only able to get the front tires over the wall. Following Wil's directions, I started creeping up the wall. Just as my front tires crested, the Jeep wouldn't go any further. Its rear diff was caught on a rock. Mark suggested moving three inches over so I backed up a few feet, turned further left and to my astonishment, crawled right up the side! Wow! If I hadn't installed that front locker a few weekends ago, I know I wouldn't have made it up. As you might have guessed, I was ecstatic.

Phil also tried to climb the wall but was only able to get the front wheels over, just like when my YJ used to have one locker. He ended up taking the middle route which had its own challenges. Raf followed Phil without a problem. Jonathan followed Raf but somehow got his rear diff stuck between a rock and...and a rock. He couldn't go forward or backward so Raf strapped him out - AFTER we took a bunch of pictures of the YJ pulling the TJ. Jonathan is lucky to have friends like us, isn't he? The rest of the group took the far left line. Mike had to get going to he bade us farewell and turned his big Chevy around.

Shane takes the steep line off of Lunchbreak Knoll.

We continued on. I followed Rob & Misty as they headed toward Lunchbreak Knoll (another name I just made up) on the powerline trail. We'd been stopping quite frequently so we didn't stop for lunch here. Some of the group did the optional descent down the rock outcropping below the knoll, where Chris Nielsen's big 'Mog got some monster air in a very scary tripod pose a few weeks before.

Most of the group took the bypass around Two-Step Rock but after my big thrill at MFR, I decided to give Two-Step a shot. I usually make it up Two-Step but the last time I tried, I was unsuccessful. The first step which is actually a steep, dirt slope, had changed drastically. It was now exposed rock with granite curbs which were spaced apart just enough to catch both front and rear wheels at the same time. Any wheel spin was usually rewarded with a worrying sideways slide. If you stay on the gas, you have an excellent chance of snapping an axle shaft or rolling your truck. A real piece of work. For added thrills, the left-side of the face was mottled with islands of ice sheets. I decided the right-side was the easiest and was promptly proven wrong. My Jeep started leaning to the right, unloading the left front and leaving the wheels churning for traction that wasn't there. Mark had climbed to the top of Two-Step and gave me some spotting assistance. I backed up a bit and he aded towards the center of the rock. That line worked. Once I reached the first step, which was about one and a half times the length of my Jeep, I turned left and immediately began climbing the second step. Apparently, not everyone had prior knowledge of my intentions, as evidenced by the fleeing bystanders. The front end came over the top step quite easily but the rears started barking and I could feel the Jeep's rear shift to the right for a few inches before shooting over the top.

Phil conquers Two-Step Rock.

Phil came up next. He took a more centered approach up the first step which was much more elegant than my clumsy execution. After one failed attempt at the second step, he made it up just like I did, with the tires barking and threatening to lose traction just before finally clearing the step. Jonathan was the third and last of us to attempt Two-Step. He clambered up the first step which impressed the hell out of me since he had no locker, just a Trash-Loc limited slip in the back. At the top of the first step, he went right because he knew he wouldn't be able to take the difficult left-side. He almost made it but had problems getting the rear wheels over the step. He was flogging away at different lines when I nudged Phil to get his Cherokee in place to strap Jonathan's TJ. Taking photos twice in one day of Jonathan being pulled out by another vehicle was too tempting. Jonathan must've heard me because that instant, his tires magically found some bite and pulled him over the step. Darn.

After Two-Step, the group started to spread out, some of us zigging while the others zagged. The nice thing about the Blue Mtn powerline trail is that all roads lead to the same place. It was the usual Blue Mtn bouncing and dodging for a while. I saw Rob stop and jump out of his Tracker. He peered under his front fender with a look of disgust. I was worried that he broke something but it turned out that he just bent a swaybar bolt. Nothing that couldn't be fixed some other time. While we were stopped, Phil radioed, saying that he needed to do some "trail-side bodywork." Further inquiries revealed that he was high-centered on a rock. Gee, like that's never happened before (astute readers will recognize my veiled reference to the Toy Run 1998 trip report). Since we were running low on daylight, we decided to press on to see if we could reach the lookout point. Mark stayed behind to help Phil.

Rob & Misty free my YJ.

We got onto the main road on Blue Mtn and headed towards the second parking lot and then turned left into the brush. There were a few inches of snow on the main road which quickly turned into a foot deep in the brush. It was thick, packed snow. The drifts in the center of the trail made it difficult to tell what, if any, rocks were hiding beneath. Rob and Misty were right behind us. August and I were both impressed by how well the Tracker was doing, considering that it's lower A-arm bracket hung quite close to the ground. A few hundred metres in, my YJ started digging straight down into the snow. Every now and then I'd have to back up a few feet and speed forward to break out of the holes I'd dug. Finally, when we reached the high-banked creek crossing, I got stuck. All four wheels were turning but the Jeep was firmly parked on a plateau of snow. I stepped out to inspect the situation and promptly sank up to the knee. Wil said something about me being too fat but I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it. To the utter delight of Rob and Misty, they got the honour of being photographed pulling my Jeep out of its predicament. Oh well, better them than Jonathan.

Two of us steadied the Tracker on the Jackall while another changed the tire.

That was the end of the trail for us. "Us" being me and August in my YJ, Jonathan and Wil in the TJ, Rob & Misty & Dakota and Faith in the Tracker, and Raf and Andrew in Raf's YJ. Heading back to the main road, the order was reversed and I was following Rob. Just as he was about to re-enter the main road, he stopped and hopped out of the Tracker. I think he was agitated but I couldn't tell for sure because his swearing distracted my critical analysis. It seems his front tire scrapped against a rusty culvert edge and responded by rupturing its sidewall. He was upset because it was one of those costly accidents that could be avoided if you were paying more attention. I should know, I've killed a few tires that way. He had no spare (no excuse for that, Rob!) so he was SOL. But wait! What's that sound? Why, it's SUPER JEEP to the rescue! It just so happened that the Tracker needed a 31" tire on a 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern wheel. And that's exactly what I had on my tire rack. In fact, my Jeep was the ONLY vehicle in our group with that bolt pattern and that's because it wasn't using stock axles. Boy, he sure was lucky. While we set about changing the tire, Raf headed off to help out Phil who had just finished unsticking his Cherokee. Great time to help, Raf. :-)

About half an hour later, we're back on the powerline trail, headed towards Phil and gang. When we saw them, there were three guys crowded around the front corner of the Cherokee, pointing at something behind the wheel. Based on my years in the fourwheeling game, I deduced that something was amiss. Sure enough, Phil's lucky charms were kicking in big time. Now his front u-joint was trying to climb out of the yoke. Back when Phil was high-centered (that was shortly after he hammered his rocker panel into a rock), he must have spun his front pinion & yoke against a rock which gave it an exhilarating massage and removed a retaining snap ring in the process.

Now, all good offroaders know that you should never bring any tools with you so, true to that creed, the tools in Phil's Jeep were out-classed by the various rocks found on the trail. (That's sarcasm.) I hauled out my toolbox o'plenty [tm] and handed him a bag of spare snap rings (which you haven't returned to me, Phil!!). Unfortunately, the yoke was too badly relaxed from its recent massage so he had to remove the front driveshaft instead. This was complicated by the fact that one of the u-bolt strap's bolt was stripped. Another victim of the rock spin cycle. Forty-five minutes later, Phil's 4x4 Cherokee was now converted into a really tall Country Estate wagon. With only 2WD, we decided to take the trial to Wil's Waterfall since that would have no uphill sections involved. Just one really ugly drop-off which I wasn't sure if Mark's 4Runner would survive unscathed.

Aside from Phil's one-hour stuck and his 45-minute driveshaft extraction, I would have had lots of time to get home to sign the offer on a house Sue and I wanted to buy.

Jonathan is about to drop down Wil's Waterfall.

Now, I was nervously glancing at my watch every minute (I know because I was looking at my watch when I did it), wondering if I would still be married tomorrow. August and I were at the end of the column of trucks as we trundled through the dark canopy of trees which would take us to the waterfall. Although this route was easier than the powerline, there were still lines which had to be followed if you wanted to avoid bouncing rocks off your under carriage. Mark did a great job of picking the best lines to avoid damage to his almost stock height 4Runner. When we finally reached the waterfall, I explained my situation about the offer I had to sign. Mark, Jonathan and Rob were kind enough to get out of the way or speed through the obstacle to let me get through as soon as possible. I shouted some hurried good-byes out the window and took off. I dropped August off at his 4Runner and fled for the exit. Because I was in a mad rush, it was only natural that when I was 10 metres from the pavement, the trail was blocked by a dead full-size Bronco and a pickup which was trying to pull it out of the way. Upon hearing of my dire emergency, the guys pulled the truck just enough so I could squeeze past.

That was the end of my Blue Mtn trip for the day. I had an incredibly great time. The weather was fantastic (especially after all the rain we've been getting) and the company was great.

...lars