July 16, 2004 - Trail E, Camp Jeep
Trail E
Wake-up time came way too early for me.
None
the less, I was up at 5:00 AM getting organized and packing breakfast from the hotel
lobby, to eat on the way to the muster field.
Muster
Everybody did a good job getting up and
ready and we were in the Jeep by about 5:30 and arrived at the muster field at 6:15.
There were already many Camp Jeep attendees lined up for the first trail ride of
the day, scheduled to shove off at 7:00AM.
We got everyone lined up, answered
questions and then took in the driver's meeting. Once that was done, we hit the
trail. Our group was sent out first and pretty soon we were at the trail head.
Trail
No matter how many times I
come out here, I always enjoy the drive out to the trail in the morning. It doesn't
get much better than this!
Once we got off the road, we
pulled down to the first turn to clear the way for another group entering through the same
gate. The first part of the trail is easy going, getting progressively tighter and
finally unloading down into a hollow that has some of the tightest trails on the complex.
Unfortunately, one of the
participants got up against a tree and scratched a door handle and some body work. I
tried to get his attention before it happened but he was in and out of trouble before I could stop him.
I called on the CB, thinking he could hear me (he had an antenna on the roof) but
he didn't.
The little obstacle was
finally in our sights and the group stopped to watch Brian go over the rocks. Then
each in turn negotiated the short distance with spotting assistance from Brian, Mike and
me.
Several people made it
through with nothing more than a whisper of chassis contact here and there. One
participant came along and turned in a little too early. He dropped into the mud
hole and hung up his rear differential on a rock. He couldn't go forward and he
couldn't go back. He was stuck. At first we thought we might give him a tug
with a strap. But that didn't work. His right-rear wheel came off the ground
and he stayed stuck.
I asked the guy behind him
to rig up his winch. I contributed a snatch block and d-shackle to the formula and
soon we had a good straight line to the pulley and Jeep. We winched him out without
difficulty.
Now of course it was at the
expense of the fellow who got stuck, but everyone else was very interested in the winching
process. The person who provided the winch had probably seldom used it. So it
was a great opportunity for everyone to learn a few things about vehicle recovery.
After we got him out, he drove right over the obstacle and seemed happy to be on the other
side!
Movies
Not long after the recovery
was finished, another participant with some experience spotted while his partner drove.
He chose to take her over the same line with a little wide turn onto a nearby rock
for good measure. When I commented that I had missed the shot, he had her back up so
I could get it.
The rest of the group made
it through. But not before I got my shot at the obstacle. Maria was good
enough to make a couple movies of my turn. I was able to get through
without any troubles.
Movies
We miscalculated the length
of the line so everyone had to saddle up and pull ahead to provide enough room for the
last three or four drivers to clear the obstacle. Mike spotted them through while we
slowly started out. We reached the river crossing and got everyone over and up the
hill.
All in all it was fairly
uneventful, though a few people did get some beauty marks and one guy crunched a tail
light lens. We regrouped at the trail head and everyone went their own way. It
was a pretty good ride and I enjoyed myself. More importantly, I think most of the
participants had a good time!
Lunch
But that's not the end of the story! It was 11:45
when we got off the trail, we made tracks for McDonalds. It
was faster, cheaper and better than the food tent on site. Once
bitten, twice shy as far as that goes.
Mini Jeep 101 Course Redux
When we got done at McDonalds, I aired up and
reconnected my sway bar and then we headed back to the main grounds to
spend some more time - you guessed it - playing with the RC Jeeps and
Power Wheels Jeeps. I think the kids did more "four wheeling" than
I did on this trip!
Movie
Not happy to just watch the kids go around in circles, I
convinced Teddy to drive up on one of the hay bales. Unfortunately
this did not work in actual practice. The Power Wheel Jeeps have
solid axles and hard mount suspension, so there is no flex... He
tried to get on one of the bales but all that he achieved was to push it
around a little.
RC Jeeps Part II
I think the kids visited the
RC Jeeps station seven or eight times! They both showed signs of improvement within
a couple runs! Here again I was trying to get them to "punch it"
over the ramps, hoping to see the RC Jeep launch into the air. But
they had enough to manage just keeping the Jeep on the course so while
they didn't catch air, they did very well at making it over the ramps.
The sun and all the activity
took its toll and after a couple hours, we were spent. So we hit the road and went
back to the hotel to get a breather before going out to eat. We made a brief tour by
Jeep through Lynchburg and discovered that it's a pretty large town, complete with
historical sights and some interesting terrain. We ended up eating dinner at the
Backyard Grill behind the hotel. The food and service were good and the prices were
tolerable.
Once back at the hotel,
we got the kids in bed and crashed for the night. This Camp Jeep stuff is hard work!
Day 1 | Day 2
|
Day 3 |
Day 4
| Day 5| Day 6
| Timeline |
|
|
|
|
| Day Date |
Event |
Location |
Event Time |
Duration |
| Friday 7/16/04 |
|
Trail E |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Start |
(Hotel
departure) |
5:38:00 |
|
|
|
(Muster
field arrival) |
6:15:36 |
0:37:36 |
|
Start |
(muster field
departure) |
7:32:00 |
1:16:24 |
|
Start |
(trail head) |
7:40:28 |
0:08:28 |
|
End |
(trail head) |
11:45:56 |
4:05:28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Start |
Arrive McD's Lovingston |
12:14:20 |
0:28:24 |
|
End |
Leave McD's |
13:10:40 |
0:56:20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Start |
Air-Up |
13:16:43 |
0:06:03 |
|
End |
Air-Up |
13:25:26 |
0:08:43 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Start |
Arrive Camp Jeep |
13:37:55 |
|
|
End |
Leave Camp Jeep |
16:00:03 |
2:22:08 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
End |
Arrive Hotel |
16:48:07 |
0:48:04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Start |
Tour Lynchburg / Find dinner |
19:02:58 |
|
|
End |
Arrive Hotel |
19:55:59 |
0:53:01 |
Day 1 | Day 2
|
Day 3 |
Day 4
| Day 5| Day 6
