2013-03-24 Rapidan WMA trip report

OCC Members:

Bryan Folts – 99 XJ

Matthew Folts – 91 XJ & Abram Baer, passenger

Chris Stuart – 10 JKUR & friend passenger (sorry, I’m terrible with names)

Doug and Robin Masnick – 93 4 Runner

Roscoe Primrose – 99 TJ

We all met at the Sheetz around 9:30 and departed soon after. Heading towards Wolftown we turned onto Graves Mill Road. After passing through a beautiful valley and past Graves Mill, the road started to climb over the first ridge. Going up the second hill we stopped at the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area, Middle River Tract trailhead to air down. The trail in from here follows Garth Run which we crossed a couple times. There were a couple mud holes we drove through after Garth Run. Matthew went into the second one, still in 2wd and stopped. When he put his XJ into 4wd it only went into Neutral and he went nowhere. After he got it into 4wd he hit the gas and splattered Roscoe’s TJ with mud. We then headed on as the trail went down some steep hills. After crossing Haunted Branch and the Devil’s Ditch access we were running parallel to the Conway River. On the other side of the Conway River we could see the Conway River Trail. This trail is only open to foot traffic as part of it goes through the Shenandoah National Park. A short way down the main trail we turned left down a side trail to a camping spot where the Conway River Trail crosses the river onto the Rapidan WMA. Staying on the same side of the river we drove this trail a few hundred feet where it ended and dropped us back onto the main trail we’ve been following. A couple more creek crossings later we turned right off the main trail. This trail is rutted out somewhat and required straddling the deeper ruts. There’s a nasty looking mud hole on the left in a camp area/opening which no one wanted to go into. After going around in a circle, because I passed the trail I wanted to go up, we went up that trail. This is the long unmaintained trail on the Rapidan WMA map. It’s a long, narrow, steep trail that took us up to 3200 feet above sea level. During the first steep part Matthew’s temperature lamp came on. After a quick stop to assess the problem, Matthew turned on the heat and AC (turns on extra radiator fan) to cool it and had no issues after that. On the way up we could see snow on the hill across the valley. We passed the snow line, but there was little snow due to a Southerly exposer. As we neared the top the trail was half covered with snow. The last climb is very steep. Doug’s transmission fluid got hot going up this climb. At 3200 feet we stopped at the end of the trail and the boarder to the Shenandoah NP. On the way back down there was some discussion about going to the GWNF over the CB. We stopped at a camp site when we got back to the main trail. Lunch, pictures, walking on the rocks in the river, a couple cigars, and the decision to head to the GW all happened at this stop. Since Matthew’s friend had to be home early, the two XJ’s bailed on the GWNF continuation of the trip. We all headed back out the main trail to the Trailhead where we aired down to air back up.

To be continued…..

Happy Motoring,

Bryan Folts

Off-Camber Crawlers Member At Large

www.offcambercrawlers.com

 

TRIP REPORT: OCC Rausch Creek Jan 12, 2013 Fog and Icebergs! Introduction. The Annual OCC New Year's Run didn't happen this year. There didn't seem to be enough interest to make it a "real" run anyway. (don't ask me what constitutes a "real" run….I can't find the rules anywhere). Then global warming started to show up in the form of a 50deg+ weekend (keep your political comments to yourself, I happen to be a big fan of global warming and will vote for it when it's on the ballot). So I had the great idea to go to Rausch Creek last weekend (Jan 12-13). Apparently, great minds do think alike because Doug Masnick, Scott Corliss, Russ and Mike Wallace went too. The Drive. There we were, two enthusiastic off-roaders blindly making our way from Leesburg VA to Rausch Creek. Blind because of the dense fog, enthusiastic for reasons unique to each. Scott having served overseas for a while (thanks for your service Scott!) did not have much opportunity to take his red 2000 XJ off pavement. I was enthusiastic just because. The other guys planned to meet at RC. Doug driving from Charlestown, WV arrived at 0855 claiming he was just in time for the 9am driver's meeting. Russ and his son Mike drove up Friday night and stayed in a hotel. The Run. At 9:20 Doug was ready for the meeting, sort of. When everyone gathered, we made introductions, checked-in, air'd-down, and got ready to hit the trails. Since this was Russ and Mike's first ever off-road experience, Scott's first trip in years, I had my new Jeep, and Doug was with us, we decided to start out on blue trails. We took B to 1a making a left into the "green" spur with myself leading and Doug as tail gunner. Then we went over a small hill back towards 1a. This short little portion allowed me to gage the collective skills of the group. I decided to lead the group around the little blue loop with 2 small hills on the east side of 1a. Having the longest wheelbase and stock suspension, I dragged my belly over the first hill and decided to bypass the next hill (I really wanted to avoid the embarrassment on getting high-centered so early in the day ;)). From there we continued on 1a giving Mike some pointers along the way until we got to the Pole Line. We crossed Pole Line on to 1b. Noticing our group's abilities I led them on to 2 (blue). We started on 2 just before the hill climb and Frog Hole. We stopped at Frog Hole to talk about the legendary pit, read the sign, and take pictures. Doug fondly recalled his first (and last) attempt to cross Frog Hole. The Conditions. This is a good place to describe the ground conditions. Although these are green and blue trails the few inches snow on the ground hid the true size of rocks, stumps and logs, the ice made traction sometimes elusive, and the warm temps made for deeper puddles (really mud holes, right Doug?). By the way, the ice was 2-3 inches thick and acted like rock on the dirt or like floating rocks in the water. So the usual drive-in-the-park green and blue trails, required more of the driver's attention. Back to the trail. The group enjoyed the 2 trail all the way back to the Pole Line where we avoided the mud pit and other really big puddles. There was some CB chatter at this point about attempting a mud hole but nobody lived up to the challenge, yet. We stayed on 2 crossing D working our way towards Crawler Ridge. Just before Crawler Ridge the trail gets a bit more challenging with a rocky uphill section. I didn't think the group was ready for this section so I made the executive decision to jump on D and have lunch at the base of Crawler Ridge. Within minutes the food was flowing and Russ and Mike produced a plate of shrimp complete with cocktail sauce. Pretty good first impression, can't wait to see them make dinner at camp. After a 30 min lunch break, Doug begged to go checkout the Power Line trail. We headed to the Power Line and started downhill. This was nothing challenging or scenic so I decided to take a little detour in one the play areas off the left of Power Line. There was a small hill climb followed by an off-camber section, then an off-camber decent back to Power Line. In the snow, ice and mud the off-camber decent was very interesting. I slide about 2 feet sideways before giving it a little gas to regain controlled movement. Doug chose not to play as Russ, now driving his son's Jeep, tool the same route I did. Coming down the off-camber section his Jeep began the same slide as mine. But for some reason he turned his wheel uphill away from the slide causing his Jeep to get more sideways and slide further. You can hear me on the video first saying "driver, driver, driver" on the CB then screaming "DRIVER" out my window. I thought for sure I we were witnessing a rollover. Feeling a little uneasy, Scott requested a spot as he descended the same hill. But really there was nothing a spotter could do but fake it as the vehicle was going to slide no matter what. Recall what I said about snow, ice and wet conditions? From there Doug led us further down Power Line, not quite to the end of it, then we turned around and headed back to the top. Now on to the South Property. We headed down E straight for the south side. My intentions were to stay on green trails, hit the beach at Lake Christy, take a gander at the Quarry and call it a day. But the group had other plans. We were enjoying the easy stuff until Doug mentioned a small hill climb that "Charles did before". In other words, "why don't you do it, Rich?" So I went around to the bottom of the hill and made 2 attempts but my long wheelbase prevent me from cresting the top. So I backed down and surveyed the blue section of Roxy's Way while the other climb the hill. I walked about 100 yards when I came to the backside or west side of Lake Christy. Along that 100 yard stretch there were 2 mud holes and one small hill. Using a stick I determined the depth and the line most likely to be successful. After sharing the plan with the group to go to the lake shore this way and receiving all nods, I started down the snow-covered, icy, muddy trail. Coming to the deep mud hole I entered slowly staying as far to the right, hugging the shore. When the rutted bottom pulled me to the left into deeper mud/water I had to give it more skinny pedal to make it thru. The water depth was over my fenders just below the hood-level and the climb out the back side was a little challenging with ice and wet tires but I made it. Parking beyond the hill leaving room for the group, I walked back to the hill to guide the next person. Scott, having 33 inch tires and 6 inches of lift really didn't have any problems. But it looked pretty cool. Russ was next in the stock 2-door JK Rubicon. After watching Scott and I, he knew exactly what to do and had no issue. Then it was Doug's turn. Doug started out great, kept his momentum up… but wait. Where is he going? WTF? For some reason instead of hugging the shore as the water got deeper Doug acted like an icebreaker and drove straight into the frozen mud hole only to come to a dead stop. Although he ended up in shallower water than we drove thru he was still in water above his door sills and worse not moving forward or backward. Something under the water stopped him, either a big rock or a tree stump (my guess is stump). Doug reported he could not shift out of PARK so we knew we had to extract him. This didn't seem like a big deal as there some good trees and he had a winch that "he just checked". So as lead I: 1. checked the time….330 ok plenty of daylight if we don't run into more trouble 2. decided to use the "sure thing" winch instead of a pull from another vehicle (tow strap). 3. Make this a good training opportunity….. 4. Most important of all I WAS NOT GETTING WET!! The Extraction. After talking to Doug about options, equipment availability and other such details, he climb to the back of his vehicle to get the winch control while I walked on water to his winch. Okay truth be told I was able to barely step from the shore to his door sill and his rocker rail was in ½ inch of water, not visible but there so it looked like you were walking on water (well maybe not). I climbed on Doug's hood to his front bumper to operate the winch while he stayed in the driver seat. I started to let the cable out with the control and had a difficult time. The spool/drum sounded like it was turning normally but the cable was not moving much and was getting caught on the control box. Doug said I was letting the cable get lose but letting the cable out. We worked about 12 feet out and asked the guys on shore to pull it but it was not easy and it kept getting stuck. Doug swears he just wound the cable neatly and I swear it was a mess. After struggling with the cable for a little while, Scott came up with a plan to use a long ratchet strap to pull the cable. We tied the strap to a tree and successfully pulled the cable free. Great we were all set now, so we thought. We got Russ' Jeep into position to be an anchor so Doug could self-extract with his winch. But as I worked the winch from Doug's bumper, again the spool would turn but not the cable. That's when I noticed the end of the cable which is supposed to be attached to the spool/drum was hanging loose. Oh DAMN! So we took the cable completely off and rearranged vehicles to I was now on the hill at the end of the mud hole facing Doug and ready to winch him out. After setting things up, it was only a matter of minutes and Doug was out and moving under his own power. Whatever prevented him from shifting his transmission earlier was now cleared. This stuck took about 45 min to solve and we were pretty far from camp with the sun going down. Since it was still very foggy/cloudy it was dark a gloomy most of the day and it made night fall come that much quicker. Finally. Having extracted Doug I wanted to make it to Lake Christy….we were just too close. Turns out that Scott and Russ went there and back as they were rearranging vehicles to put me in position to extract Doug. So I drove the 100 or so feet got out to look at the back side of the half frozen lake with icebergs then turn around to head out the way we came in back across the big mud hole. We all made it look easy this time and we did the earlier hill climb to get back up to S trail. From there we drove around to the usual Lake Christy entrance where we went down the beach, parked half-way on the frozen lake, and posed for pics. With conditions the way they were it was a fun climb out. By now the sunlight was gone and we were about to drive in the dark with 20-30 feet visibility due to fog. So off we go heading north up S to E as it got darker and the fog thicker. We reached B and I cautioned the group not to relax too much as the water was the deepest I have seen at RC and more challenging with the ice/icebergs. So we took it at a slow pace and made it back without problems. At camp Doug and I prepared for a cold night of camping and we all decided to go eat at the Red Lion Inn. As usual dinner was great and there is no better way to end a day of wheeling than a meal at the Red Lion. After dinner we said our goodbyes and Doug and I headed back in very dense fog to RC. Conclusion. Doug you're a great sport. Even after all the ribbing, he offered me a cigar and a beer around the campfire. Thanks!!!! To the rest of OCC. "If you weren't there, you missed it." – Yogi Berra (I think, but too lazy to look it up) P.S. – Some of the friendly rules of engagement…. 1. You don't get to give yourself a nickname (got that Doug?) 2. If you ask for a spot and don't take the line he/she suggest getting royally stuck, you are forever subject to ridicule and will likely become the object of future tales of despair. Those who were there! - Doug "Ice Breaker" Masnick in his green 93 Forerunner, with unreliable winch, boat docks on the rocker panels (or were those outriggers?) and opening in the roof for the periscope. Tailgunner the great! - Scott "Doc" Corliss who owns a really nice red 2000 XJ. - Russ "Dad" Wallace and his son Mike aka "Thanks Dad"; driving Mike's new to him shiny red 2-door JK Rubicon. Both did great on their first outing. - Rich Martinez black 2011 Unlimited JK Rubicon with working winch. Hope to see you guys on the trail again!!!

2013-03-03 Meadow Knob / Flag Pole Knob Trail Report

Attendees:

Bryan Folts, ‘99 XJ, OCC member

Doug & Robin Masnick, ’93 4Runner, OCC member

Dwayne, Cathy, Peyton, Emma Squires, ’12 JKU, OCC member

Mark Tuckish, ’07 JK, OCC member

Peter Converse, CJ7, OCC member

Stephen Gibbs, ’03 TJ, OCC member

Dana Grambling, FJ Cruiser, guest

Howard Ford, ’08 JK, guest

Jack Mallam, ’96 XJ, guest

Joe Howe, ’47 Willy’s, guest

Mike Wallace & friend, ’10 JKR, guest

Rich & Matthew Schmidt, ’05 TJU, guest

Roscoe Primrose, ’99 TJ, guest

Russ & Chris Wallace, ’12 JK, guest

We all arrived at the Sheetz in Harrisonburg around 9 AM. After a drivers meeting we headed out a short while later. Joe had left a little earlier to find a parking spot for his trailer and to unload his Willy’s. We met back up with Joe on Clover Hill Road just before turning to get to the trail off of Union Springs Road. Shortly after hitting the gravel, we pulled over to air down tires. With 14 rigs we needed to stop at a wide section on the trail so we did not block other users. After airing down we headed into the George Washington National Forest. As we passed the first creek crossing, Doug announced on the CB that we had another group following us. As we climbed in elevation, the trail became covered with snow. A little at first, then it got heavier and we found that there was ice under the snow. Everyone made it up the long steady climb to the first set of switch backs, although many did slip and slide. After the group all got back together we continued on. As the front of the group got up the next long steady climb and was about to make the turn to the mud flats, a call came over the CB that Russ was stopped and stuck on some ice. We walked back down the trail to see what we could do to help. After Doug helped air Russ’s tires down a little more we got him to back up, get straitened out, and on some rougher ground for traction.  Then we got everyone else past that very slick spot, ran back up the trail and continued on. Once everyone got up to the mud flats, Dwayne broke the ice on the big puddle and the rigs took turns running through the different puddles/ice holes. Heading down to the stair steps, several rigs took the bypass and the others drove the rocks. We headed along the ridge slipping and sliding often. The trees were all covered in ice and sounded like crystals as we brushed them with our rigs. The sun and clouds came and went as did the snow fall. It was very beautiful and very treasuries up at the higher elevations.  Everyone made it up the long hill climb with rocks at the top and our next stop was to be Meadow Knob. There were a few more steep, slippery hill climbs on the way. As I got to Meadow Knob and got ready to eat my lunch, the CB chatter got my attention. Mike was not able to make the last climb before Meadow Knob and had slid backwards several yards. I drove back down and positioned my Cherokee just off the trail to set up a snatch block and winch line to pull him up. After Mike got up and headed on, each of the other rigs took their turn on the icy climb. Half made it up on the first try, and the others took two or more shots at it. No one else needed a pull, so I spooled the line back up and headed to the knob to eat lunch with the others. During the run so far there was intermittent chatter from other groups on the CB. We were wondering what happened to the group that had caught up to us earlier. After lunch and some posing on a large log we headed on to Flag Pole Knob. Again there are several climbs with rocks that were very icy between the two knobs. Eventually all the rigs made it to Flag Pole Knob. We stopped for some photos of the overlook, scenery, and all the rigs. A small group of three pick-ups showed up and asked about the trail we had just come up. They decided to head back out the way they came. As they were leaving a group from Virginia Jeep Off-road came up. It turns out they had come in the same way we did on Union Springs Road, but there was a rig broken down and blocking the trail. It must have been the group that had caught up to us then disappeared earlier in the day. So the Virginia Jeep Off-road group left the group with the broken rig on the trail, turned around and came up Briery Branch Road to Flag Pole Knob. After finding out what we had been through on our run they decided to go back out the way they came also. Our trip out from Flag Pole Knob to Briery Branch Road was uneventful. We stopped at the road to air up, then we headed back to Harrisonburg. Joe headed out as we were airing up to load his Willy’s and meet us back in town. As we got to Old Town, we caught back up to Joe towing his rig back home. After stopping at Sheetz, everyone ended up heading home.

 

Happy Motoring,

Bryan Folts

Off-Camber Crawlers Member At Large

www.offcambercrawlers.com

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

540-229-2855

 

I too led a group on Saturday afternoon after clearing trails in the morning.

First, let me just say I am very pleased to see some younger members becoming
active in the club. It's great to see the enthusiasm and I think it's vital to
the club for the long term. I hope they learn from us but I think we can learn
from them too. For example at some point in the trip, we passed a used tire next
to the trail and Patrick suggested we throw it into the truck. I am usually
pretty good about picking up trash while on the trails but find myself not doing
so much at places like Raush, nor picking up things this big. But it was a good
idea so we did, and we got some entertainment watching Patrick shake the water
out of it before throwing it in the truck (it looked like he was fornicating
with it). So thanks to Patrick for the reminder we should be doing this
*everywhere* and all the time. We have probably all passed that tire several
times before, along with countless other park visitors.

Anyway, we had a great small group, all campers other than Kevin, and his GF
and all with similar capabilities/rigs.

Charles Galpin - 94 D90 on 33's
Jason Lavender - '94 D90
Jeff Huff - 94 D90 on 34's
Morgan Franklin - YJ 35" (Patrick Delaney passenger)
Kevin Patterson - 91 mj 35s (forget GF name, sorry - I think Wendy)

Since there were several groups all heading out at the same time, and several
ahead of us we decided to head over to the west property to avoid any
congestion. J was closed due to the icy conditions so we took H down to 18 and
took it back up to 10 with a brief stop at pizza rock There was a tree fallen
which never used to be there which made it harder for us little guys to get up
on the rock, including Huff who must have bumped the rock with his bumper
several times before getting an approach angle that allowed his bumper to clear.

We did 10, then got on 12A and took it in a clockwise direction to the point
where it gets really close to 15. At this point there is a log that has fallen
at just the right angle that makes taking a right hand turn over it in a jeep
rather difficult because the pumpkin hangs before you can get the left front
wheel over the log and you just slide along it. Kevin adjusted his approach a
few times and made it over, but Morgan decided to cowboy it and applied the
skinny pedal. He literally bounced right over it, but when he came down on the
other side a loud crack was heard and a quick look revealed he had broken both
the left outer u-joint, but the ear off the shat as well.

Morgan quickly whipped out an air tank and air tools, and other than needing to
borrow a couple of wrenches and sockets he was well prepared to remove the axle
shaft so we could get him back to camp. In an amazingly short time he was ready
to go - and a good thing as we were running out of time and needed to head back
to camp in order to make it to the Red Lion Inn for dinner!

Temperatures where dropping and the snow and ice was starting to freeze so
conditions started to get bad. As we headed up the last section of 12c headed
for H I found I was losing traction. Each time I stopped and tried again I had
to roll back a bit further, before backing down to a point where I could get
started and make a run for it. This section didn't give the others any
trouble until Morgan's turn, where we found one wheel drive wasn't going to cut
it. We decided winching him up would be the quickest resolution, and with a
snatch block on a tree on the high side of H Kevin winched him up.

At this point I thought we were free and clear and when Scott called to see
where we were, i assured him we were on our way back to camp. But as we high
tailed it up tower road Morgan radiod back that he had lost traction again. I
circled back just in case to find Kevin had hooked up a strap but now he too had
lost traction so he couldn't even get started, let alone put tension on the
strap. I simply pulled in front of Kevin, hooked up another strap and pulled
them both up the hill :)

We got back to camp in time to all pile into Patrick's pickup (Kevin and GF put
their rig on the trailer in order to gas it up) and headed to the Red Lion for a
lovely dinner. Another great day on the trails!

BTW, we also hit the trails Friday afternoon, but Huff broke in less that a half
hour. His rear locker had a leak which he didn't realize, and he engaged his
lockers to go up a poser rock on 10a for a picture and essentially pulled the
whole truck up with his left front wheel which blew a CV joint. We headed back
to camp and made fun of Jeff while watching him repair it in an impressive 2.5
hours (it's a lot more work on a rover). We have a new motto for him - break
early AND break often.

charles