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Walker ValleyJuly 4, 1999
After many months of cajoling, Wil finally convinced me to head down to Walker Valley to try out the trails. Situated a mere one hour south of the border, this Offroad Recreational Vehicle (ORV) park offers many challenging trails. If you're getting bored of playing at Blue Mtn, you owe it to yourself to head down to Walker Valley. The trip was a club run for the SNORT (Sweaty Nipples Off-Road Team) members. Although they're a Washington club, they have three Canadian members. Two of them, Dan Owens and Wil Girindra, were heading down there and they invited me to come along. So, early Sunday morning, we headed south and met the rest of SNORT alongside Big Lake. The club turn-out was small. Only Caine & Erica, Trevor, and Kevin & Jason showed up. Typical of SNORT members, their trucks were very, very well built.
We descended down Boulder Alley. Like its name suggests it was strewn with boulders. At its end where it dropped off onto another trail, there was a ledge formed by three large boulders partially buried in the dirt. The underside of each was undercut so there was no opportunity for a gentle descent. The US SNORT trucks had a huge advantage here with their tall tires and lifts...and pre-dented bodies. Once again, the two Candian trucks had to be extra cautious. Dan and I both landed on various parts as we came down. An extra one or two inches of lift would have been greatly appreciated. My transfer case skidplate now sports some new dents. A brief detour was made so we could drive our vehicles through part of the Poop Chute. The Chute is a vehicle-width gulley with five-foot tall walls. It wasn't that difficult but it sure was fun. We then headed back to Boulder Alley to climb back out. As soon as I heard that we were going UP the Alley, I knew I would have to winch. It was way too tall for my Jeep. As it turns out, it was difficult for everyone and for the first time ever, no one in the club was able to climb out of the Alley. The difficulty with the undercut rocks was compounded by a pair of 500 lb rocks on either side of the step, blocking the best line. During one of Trevor's attempts to get his Willys up the ledge, his spotter, Jason, noticed that one of the front u-joints had lost its cap. Not wanting to repair the u-joint on the trail, Trevor elected to take the easy route home in 2WD. Caine and Erica escorted him out since they had to do some work on their house. The rest of us stayed to try our luck at the ledge to no avail. Kevin came very, very close to succeeding but was confounded by the rock on the other side of the ledge.
Lower Cavanaugh was more of the same: tight, twisting trails with some off-camber stuff. We went through one very deep mudhole (came half-way up my door) which I didn't like because now I have to re-pack my hubs. Shortly afterwards, we were back on the pavement a little further south along Big Lake. We used Dan's onboard air to do the tires and went home. I had a great time in Walker Valley. We encountered a few challenging obstacles and there were others that we didn't have time to see. Its close promixity to the BC lower mainland makes it an ideal alternative to those of us suffering from Blue Mtn burn-out. Vehicles with mild lifts and mud tires will find this area quite challenging. The off-camber sections can be a little disconcerting but they're not as bad as the stuff on Vancouver Island...except that you stand a higher chance of sliding into a tree. I'd recommend at least a rear locker if you're going to 'wheel these trails when wet. However, be warned: Walker Valley trails are MUCH, MUCH narrower than those on Blue Mtn. I don't recommend that full-size trucks attempt them unless body damage isn't a concern. Remember, these are recreational trails. As such, there is no justification for cutting down trees. If you don't fit, go play where the trails are wider. The are many more wide trails than narrow so don't start destroying the few that exist just because your truck is too wide. Sorry for the stern words but some SNORT members have run into people who were in the process of cutting down trees because their vehicles were woefully unequipped for the trail. ...lars
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