Big Boys Playground Trip Report, 16 December 2012
Attendees:
Bryan Folts, OCC member, 99 XJ
Alan Myers, OCC member, 07 JK, passengers Josh and Devon
Paul Neubert, OCC member, 93 Explorer, passenger Dan Neubert
Marty and Linda Cahill, OCC guest, 12 JKU
Joe and Connor Howe, OCC guest, 47 CJ2A
Frank Ovaitt, B4WD member, 99 TJ
Dave Darling, DDJC, 98 TJ
Patrick Lampert, VA Jeep Trail Dogs, 00 TJ, passenger Heather Richett
Nate Rose, VA Jeep Offroad, 00 TJ
James Truxell, VA Jeep Offroad, 06 TJ, passenger Jessi Lowry
Charles and Adam Brooks, VA Jeep Offroad, 08 JKU
There were 11 rigs and 5 clubs represented. Everyone had arrived shortly after 10 AM and we had a short drivers meeting and introductions. We headed up to the far end of the wooded area and went around the outer edge. The back trail needs to be trimmed back of overgrowth. At the far corner of the woods we turned down hill into the tight trails. It had been raining that night, so the trails were quite slippery. As the front of the group made their way through the twisty trails, Frank got his soft top wedged up against a tree. Alan used his winch and a snatch block to pull the TJ off the tree and Frank went on through. Meanwhile near the top of the trail Nate had slid up against another tree on his windshield frame. I looped around and winched him off the tree and he was able to continue on. The trails proved too tight for Charles’ JKU and he turned around and went back out the way we first came in. Marty was able to get his JKU through the first trail all the way to the bottom. Once all the rigs had come out we split into smaller groups of 3-4 rigs and went to different areas. I went to a rocky obstacle that Paul, Frank, And Joe had attempted. After not making it on the first try I found the right line, made it up, looped around and came back down the same rocks. Paul and Frank then did the same. Most of the group then hooked back up and we went to the longer, hard bottomed water/muddy feature and made several passes. Then I went to climb over one of the rock piles at the obstacle course area, and many others went over the whoop-de-doo’s and attempted the large tractor tires. Frank made it the furthest up on them and his front tires were hanging while he got high centered on the TJ’s belly pan. After some photo opps, he backed off. While many of us stopped for a lunch break, Nate had gotten stuck in one of the deep mud bogs. After James had attempted to snatch him out we ended up using two winches, mine and Dave's, to pull Nate’s TJ out of the mud. Everyone again split up and did different areas. Paul and I headed back in to find a couple rock obstacles I wanted to try. After making two more loops through the woods and over many rocky sections we came across Patrick, Joe, and Frank at the last big rock obstacle I was looking for. The five of us went back around the first trails we did and came back out to the field. By this time some of the participants were heading home. After making a couple passes through the hard bottomed water/muddy feature we stopping to talk to Kelly Straughen, the owner, and thanked him for having us there, the rest of us headed to air-up, trailer-up, and head home. There were several rigs with dents and/or scratches, as well as a couple tweaked tops, but no major damage or breakages. I will need to pull and straiten the skid plates on my XJ after this trip.
Happy Motoring,
Bryan Folts
Off-Camber Crawlers Member At Large