PAST EVENTS
Sorry this has not been updated for quite sometime.
Sorry this has not been updated for quite sometime.
- Our July 5th trail run to the Mara Mountain Lookout (7600 ft) was a success. We invited some of our nonjeep friends along to see what they are missing out on. Well, actually we need to give Glen (Black Hummer) and Leroy and Judy (Black Ford) credit. You gotta have thick skin to go wheeling when you're out numbered.
We learned a few things however like:
1. Jim (red CJ5 with 350ci and 44's) cannot dig to China and come out there (when on snow that is).
2. Warn 8274 is the only winch to buy (which more of us should do, right Darren).
3. A 1992 YJ with a 2.5L from Ontario will run for hours with a big hole in its oil filter and no oil (says somthing for going SLOW over obstacles doesn't it....ok nuff said).
4. Mosquitos are attracted to CO2 from tires when airing down.
5. A half hour hike straight up is tough when at high elevation (ya, like I'd find it really easy at low elevation).
Thanks to everyone who came we had a great time.
- The August long weekend is a busy one in the Okanagan. With the Thunderfest Hydroplane Races happening in Kelowna some of us like to leave the area to avoid the crowds. We went to an area south of Kamloops, B.C. called Roche Lake Provincial Park. There are lots of great forestry campsites on the many lakes in the park. We chose to stay at Horseshoe Lake.
- Horseshoe Lake contains both Eastern Brook Trout and the famous Kamloops Rainbow Trout. The Kamloops Rainbow Trout are shaped like footballs, very thick. But unfortunately the only trout seen by us all weekend were in the tallons of an Osprey that seemed none to shy of showing off each of his catches to us by circling overhead at low altitude.
- Something has to be said about Tremel's packing job. I never thought it would be possible for someone to load 4 bodies (with seatbelts on) and all the camping gear and food needed for a weekend in a YJ with the windows zipped out. Well done .... oh ya and you're helping me move next time, bring the Jeep.
-Sept.13th we took our second and final trip up to the Mara Mountain look out before the snow. Some of us had been up there exactly one year before and the comparison was unbelieveable. It was so dry up there all the flowers and grasses we'd seen last year were all dead. The view was better than earlier in the year due to the overcast sky last trip. The road was a lot bumpier I guess there has probably been a lot of trucks turning up rocks on there way this year. I never get tired of going up there though just a great view.
-On Aug.30th we headed up into the Hunters Range area east of Enderby B.C.. For the previous month we had not done much back country driving due to the high forest fire rating. On this trip we were still amazed at how dry everything was. Some of the trails usually made very difficult even for heavily modified Jeeps were hardly recognizable due to the absence of mud. Just deep dusty ruts.
-We ventured down some of the trails that we new had some good rock crawling once we reached the snowmobile clubs chalet. Gary did a great job driving his stock XJ up and down some very tricky obstacles with only the occational spotter required. Gary said it was really helpful having a Jeep in front of him so he could see just how it reacted and how much clearance they had as they moved over the rock. I had never seen a stock XJ perform so well.
-We did manage to find one mud hole on the trail on the way down. Darren went through to try out his new Boggers and stir it up for the rest of us. William was next...stuck. Then Tremel...stuck. After bowing to peer pressure I was reluctantly next. I decided to get up some wheel speed because the other guys only got half way through. No one saw the rock in the pit because it was under a foot and a half of mud. I think William and Tremel must have dug the rock out of the bottom when they were stuck. Well I hit the rock hard enough to get air before I came to a stop. After a quick check of our collar bones we were ready for Darren to winch us out. The only damage wasn't noticed until later at the car wash. I got a downwards dent fist sized on top of both the front fenders right in the middle in line with the axle. I have seen the same dents on other YJ's in the club. The drivers always have an air time story to go with them. I guess it must be due to frame flex. There is quite a distance between body mounts on the front, one in the middle of the grill then the next is under the floor. Oh well it was still a fun trip.
-On Jan.27th we headed out to play in the snow. It's amazing how the most ordinary logging roads can change into a great trail when you add a couple of feet of snow. Most people who do any wheeling know the advantages of airing down when rock crawling but it is without a doubt the key to snow wheeling. Take your rock crawling tire pressure and cut it in half (in most cases). On this day we headed to Becker Lake just east of Vernon, B.C.. We were joined by Christopher, one of our Toyota driving friends (were still working on him, I think he's about to crack). Darren (YJ) led us, breaking trail down from the lake and I (Shawn) brought up the rear. I got delayed as one of the vehicles got stuck in the snow and needed to be winched out (no names- wouldn't want to make the driver of the Toyota feel bad). When we caught up I was amazed at how close our newest member Darren (TJ) was following Darren (YJ) and they were MOVING. It wasn't until we stopped that I realized they were tied together with a tow strap. It was hilarious to see the huge bow wave of snow pushing up to the hood of the TJ as the big YJ pulled it along. Darren (TJ) was doing a nice job of grooming the trail for us and it wasn't even slowing the YJ down. We weren't laughing at Darren (TJ) but rather with him. He has a great attitude and would later show us how well his TJ handles boulder crawling. We all had a good time even though a couple of drivers experienced some carnage on the last obstacle of the day. They both handled their misfortune with class as we realize it is really just a matter of time before something happens to us all.
-On June 6th we meet at Joey's Only as usual at 10:00. I thought there would be a good turn out because I had been receiving a fair amount of membership inquires. When we headed out we had 10 Jeeps with us. The group consisted of 1 CJ5, 1 CJ7, 3 YJ's and 5 TJ's. Over the past year on our trail runs we generally get a pretty even mix of the short wheel base Jeeps, though we have had a ZJ, XJ or MJ come out once or twice. It took us a little while to get going but we ended up at the trail head around 11:00.
-The trail headed east of Vernon to the Becker Lake area via Hartnel Rd. We took the second right along the trail, which is a short loop back to what would be the third right along the trail. The third right is about the most interesting way up the mountain. This is by no means a tough trail but everyone always has fun. It is a great trail for new drivers because it offers them a chance to feel what a Jeep can do. Stock Jeeps need to pick a good line to get through some of the washouts on this trail without hanging up. More experienced drivers have fun picking the ugliest lines and trying to see how freaked out they can make their passengers on the off camber stuff. It was a stop and go day with a few little delays. Our first real delay was at the top of the longest hill climb. There had been a large tree blow down since anyone had last gone up. We took turns sawing through it then using a snatch block we pulled it off the trail. I wouldn't consider the hill as an obstacle, though its steep enough that if you didn't have 4 wheel drive it wouldn't be easy. We were about half way down the trail when we came to the pit. The pit is a hole a little larger than a Jeep with one side about 1.5' step and the other has a 3' to 5' step depending on where you go into it. Rogie proceeded to show us how well his TeraFlex equipped 98 TJ Sahara with 33's could balance on its rear bumper and spare tire while trying to take on the 5' step. Well.... Jim was not to be out done. After shedding his unwilling passenger, he demonstrated how enough horse power from a 350 applied at the right time can make a CJ5 with 44" Swampers jump up and down on its rear wheels while the fronts float a few inches from the same 5' vertical step. I think we all shared in his pucker factor moment. We continued down the trail with the odd minor delay until we came to a muddy water hole. Every one took a turn through with only 1 stock TJ needing a pull due to water in the distributor cap. This would be the common problem of the day. While some of us were hanging around the water hole the two big Jeeps (Jim CJ5 with 44's and Darren YJ with 39.5's) were playing around in a small recently logged area about 50' from the puddle. It was full of stumps, deadfalls and mud not a place for those who don't have lots of clearance. I'm not sure who got stuck first but they both ended up stuck in the end. Darren was stuck pretty good and needed a winch out. Rogie parked uphill on the trail to be an anchor and Darren used his winch to try and pull the 50'. The Darrens cable snapped after dragging the TJ to the edge of the trail. Next Rogie tried to use his Warn 8274 to pull Darren out. We couldn't get his winch to work, we even tried to jump it with jumper cables. For the next attempt we used my (Shawn) Warn M8000 with my rear bumper anchored to a tree and the cable running through a snatch block on the front of Darren's YJ back to Rogie who had moved down the hill and to the left. We did that so we could pull Darren straight out rather than on an angle. While some of us were screwing around trying to get Darren out it gave some of the newer people a chance to talk Jeep. Jim ended up freeing himself once Darren was clear all he needed to do was apply a few more ponys to get out. We continued down the trail to find one of the more challenging areas had changed from last year. It was an up hill turn to the right with a deep washout down the center last year but it had become so much easier with erosion over the past year that it was barely recognizable. We cleared that fairly easy with the exception being a new driver in a stock TJ. He needed to take a few attempts but probably learned a lot and it would probably be easier for him next time. The group continued down the trail to Becker Lake where we stopped for a few minutes for a snack. There the entertainment was provided by Grahame in his YJ and later Darren in his YJ. There is a row of big boulders at the top of a little hill that separates the upper parking lot from the lower and has often been the site of Darren (YJ) showing off his ground clearance. But this time Grahame thought his dual ARB locker equipped YJ with 32" BFG's and 4" lift was up to the challenge. Well I'll put it this way, we all winced when we heard the under side of his Jeep make repeated contact with the rocks after he lost traction. Grahame would later discover the reason for him losing traction so easily was that he had broken the air line for his rear ARB Locker. We then headed around the back of the lake through a series of puddles, the largest of which is called Baby Becker. These are often called mud holes but are actually just water holes. They have a firm bottom and very little mud, a good driver could drive a stock Jeep right down the middle with no problem. But I would suggest getting a K&N because the water is headlight deep. Some of us had problems with water getting inside the distributor cap and I had got water inside one of the harnesses under the hood. Darren (TJ) pulled me for a couple hundred yards until I got it started (thanks again). Six of us carried on down the short trail behind the lake then made a left at the power lines to meet up with the others where the road crossed. We arrived to see Jim (CJ5) adjusting his rear dif. cover to slow a minor leak he had received. While we were all standing around talking Brent (TJ) who is always looking for something to climb decided to try a short but steep little trail up to another road. He made 3 or 4 unsuccessful attempts to break over the top when he finally applied more of the ever popular wheel speed to make it over the top. Rogie then followed in his TJ and made it with little effort no doubt due to the 33's and TaraFlex lift. Grahame (YJ) thinking that a forward accent had been proved easy, decided to attack the hill backwards. He showed us just how easy it could be if we only had an ARB Locker in the front. While some of us hung around the rest decided to head for home down the highway.
-It was about ten minutes later that we got a call from Jim on the cell phone that he had rolled his Jeep right where he had done a crazy hill climb last year. Last year Jim climbed his Jeep up this steep little hill between a couple of switchbacks on the dirt road. He had followed Christopher (a friend of ours with a lifted Toyota Pick up) up this hill in his CJ5 with 44's and I swear he had 4" of air under his front tires for the last 6' of the climb. As we raced down to help I had visions of him doing the same thing again but flipping over backwards down the hill. Upon arriving I could see the Jeep upright but off the road with the classic CJ in your face windshield frame thing that is inevitable in a CJ without a full cage. I couldn't help but think that this wouldn't be a good scene. Once we stopped and saw Jim and his wife Shelly both were ok but a little shaken we were all relieved. Jim then told us what had happened a story I'm sure he will be asked to repeat over and over. He said the back end caught a rut in the road flipping it over while driving around the switchback and not trying to climb the infamous hill. He said it was a soft roll and that he was only going about 25 km per hour. Darren (TJ) was right behind him and helped get Shelly out of her seat belt while Jim was looking for his hat (well it was a fairly new hat). Darren pulled the Jeep back on the wheels before anyone else got there because the transmission dipstick had come out and it was leaking ATF everywhere. After stripping off the broken windshield frame and removing the fan shroud he was back in business. Jim drove it home with no further problems to happen .... that day. Jim says that night every one drove by his house to take a look. The next day while Jim was driving it to the insurance place the hood flew open and smoked him on the head. He said it nearly broke his neck. He figures some curious "lookie lou" opened his hood to take a look and didn't latch it closed properly. Just what you need a screaming head ache when your talking to those wonderfully helpful people at ICBC (insurance)cough cough. The only thing that could have been worse would be if he had to apply for unemployment insurance that day too.
-Aside from Jim's incident we had a good day with 5 new Jeeps showing up for the run and decent weather and a few laughs. This day was spent as Darren (YJ) summed it up when he said "The day was spent waiting for the big Jeeps not the little ones.". Check out the pictures below they were all taken that day. Unfortunately I had a little bit of light get in my camera and I lost some pictures of Jim and Rogie playing in the pit. Usually we are too busy driving to get alot of good action stuff. Jim is having his Jeep fixed so check his page in the "members Jeeps" area in about a month for the new and improved CJ5. Thanks to everyone who attended we had a great time once again.
-On July 25th we headed north from Vernon to Enderby to hook up with some of our friends. This is our annual trip up to the old forestry lookout on Mara Mountain. We invited some of our nonJeep driving buds along to share in the fun. We had 16 4x4's (12 Jeeps and 4 other 4x4's). Grahame (Red YJ Islander) was having overheating problems on the way up and wisely opted to park it and hitch a ride. Our Chevy driving friend Darryl did his best to show us that his 39" swampers don't supply enough buoyant to keep water out of the cab (please insert boat anchor joke here). We were making good time considering the large group until we hit the SNOW. This was soon followed by the dead fall trees. But have no fear we had Rogi (White TJ Sahara), our handy dandy logger not far from the front. He worked his chainsaw magic on a series of trees for about fifty yards. Our next challenge up front was to get through a really neat section with deadfalls under the snow and tree wells in about 3 feet of snow. Tree wells are steep sloping holes around the base of a tree void of snow because of the branches. They try and suck your 4x4 into the tree. The dead falls under the snow caused for a good frame twister and also made it impossible for you to get up any speed for the trip between the tree wells. This was a fun section. Rogi and I (Shawn) set up for a two stage winching section to help get some of the group through this section. Mean while while we were having fun running winch cable through 3 feet of snow the guys and gals at the back were having fun too. There was side show entertainment provided by Darryl's steam puffing Chevy (clutch fan toast) and Christopher's pinball imitating Toyota pickup who left the crowd saying "What were you thinking?" Darryl decided to head back and fix his truck. Christopher wanted to see if he could get the tree bark and Jeep paint out of the dents on his Toyota. We continued down the trail and encountered another good section and great photo oportuinity. Marshall and Carol showed us just how well their XJ could go with a little wheel speed (OK alot of wheel speed). There were always big cheers from the crowd when the stock Jeeps made it through a tough spot on their own. Grant performed very well with his CJ7 and bald tires, often leaving us with puzzled looks on our faces as we tried to figure out how he made it past some sections. Darren also drove his stock TJ Sahara very well as usual. Trent White TJ Sahara had the only popped tire bead all day therefore proving he had correct tire pressure for snow. This was the first time we had met the owners of a very well built Jeep, Ron and Delores who joined the club later that day. They have lots of wheeling in B.C. including stuff in the Sooke area with the Island Rock Crawlers. As we fought our way through the snow and between the trees we thought the snow would disappear above the tree line. Well we were wrong. It was like driving on the Moon for those with bigger tires. The snow was 6 feet deep in places and had a red dusting of something ontop. I don't know what it was but it was weird. We were still about 1000 feet from the top and it was around 4:00. We decided to call it a day and head back down. Going down was pretty routine and we made good time. Grahame needed a tow back to a gas station where he called a tow truck. We found out later the next day that our trail side mechanics were correct, it was a completely clogged cataletic converter. This was a fun day even though we had a few hiccups.
-September 19th we left Vernon to hook up with the Penticton guys. They had done a scouting trip a week before and we had traded a few E-mails describing what we would find. It was a new area for myself (Shawn) but many Jeep owners will know it well because this is where they hold a Jeep Jamboree over two different weekends through the summer. It was fun and we took a leisurely pace and enjoyed the trails. I think the Jamboree guys must trim back the brush and branches on the trails. I didn't wince once from that fingernail on the chalk board sound you usually get as you leave deep gouges in your paint from broken branches. It was a great day. The sun added a bit more of a challenge to the trails because as you drove up some of the twisty trails the shadows from the branches were quite distracting as they hit the window. We stopped and had lunch on top of a mountain across from the Apex Ski village. We had a great view as Dave (black CJ7) pointed out different points of interest. As we headed back down another trail we decided to try and see how well we could get Grahame (red YJ Islander) stuck. Answer - Very. I think it was the Winchester trail from the Jamboree. A good amount of goey mud and headlight high step made for a tough time even with lockers front and rear. We headed back to Marshall and Carol's place to air up and then we headed back for home. We will definitely be going back to this area as we all had a great time. And no one broke their frame thankfully (inside joke sorry).
