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Rok Park January 2010

Author Topic: Rok Park January 2010  (Read 5014 times)

Offline ollllllo

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Rok Park January 2010
« on: January 15, 2010, 03:37:46 PM »
It was hard to get out of bed Saturday morning. Less than 10 deg outside, and it was 5:30 am. But I was going wheeling, so kissed my girl goodbye and headed out like a trooper.

The Jeep buggy was already loaded from the night before. I took the time to cover it with a tarp, because Brian the \"weatherman\" said it was gonna snow. Now I live in Victor, and the rules are different here. If its snowing everywhere else, its clear blue sky here. Obviously the opposite rule also applies.
My plan is to hit Dunkin Doughnuts then head out to Manchester to pick up Brian. (not a member, yet) Brian has worked for me for the past 5 years, and hasnt come wheeling with me untill today. Since I have no idea what lies ahead, this should be an interesting first time out for him.
Victor was clear, no snow. However as soon as i drove 8 miles east, it was coming down really heavy.
Now Brian usually borrows one of my trucks to plow his drive way, But i didn\'t realized he hadnt done so yet this year. His drive way was about 8\" deep with a slight incline towards the road. We barely made it out of the driveway with my jeep on a trailer behind the superduty.
The thru-way was clear for the most part, so I put my foot into it. (obeying all posted speed limits of course) we arrived at the Mcdonalds / Truck Stop in Fultonville, which was the proposed meeting place. No one was there, so we ran inside for a Pitstop. Called MikeMike, and got directions to the park. MikeMike was 2 hours behind us.

We rolled up and parked on the side of a snow covered backroad just 5 minutes outside of town.
After putting on the 15 layers I brought with me, we unloaded the Buggy and headed down to meet the Rok-Freekz.
We were greeted by a guy who introduced himself as Lyman. He is the Leader of the group. As we decended the small hill towards the group that had gathered around a bonfire and a camper trailer, we realized there were some big guns here.

I recognized one of the buggies from Big dogs Main Jambo 2009 in Virginia, and King of the Hammers Rausch Creek Qualifier. I had never seen the smaller buggy before. There was a stock looking Dakota, an LJ rubicon, a TJ on 35\'s, a flat black YJ on 33\'s, a stock looking Suzuki side kick, and an old school landrover that had a sweet sounding diesel under the hood.
We made a few quick introductions and we took off on the trails. As we decenced the first snow covered hill, i realized there was ice under the 6inches of snow on the ground. We drove about 1 minute and stopped in a small clearing to watch the small buggy try and bounce his way over a ice covered log which was lying 1ft above the ground and crossing the entrance to a rocky hill climb. 15 minutes later he gave up, and realized his alternator wasn\'t charging the battery. Lyman gave a quick jump start and he was running again.
This buggy was brand new, and this was one of its first test runs. I over heard the cost was $124k to have it built. Judging by the quality of the welds, intricacy of the tubing, it was worth every penny.
After numerous attempts, he gave up and the group headed up a fairly steep, snow covered hill climb. The KOH buggy tried and quickly slid back down the hill tires still spinning. After numerous attempts, he finally made it in 3rd gear wide open, 5k RPM.
The rest of the group seemed to walk up the hill with no problem. Brian and I looked at each other and figured we would be pulling cable. The small buggy was up next, and he only made it 15ft up the hill. He and the larger buggy were both on 39\" BFG Krawlers that were a super stickey, Competition compound. We quickly realized they dont work in the snow. AT ALL!

The small buggy chose another route up the hill and then stopped halfway up. The battery died due to the alternator still not charging.
To our surprise, my Jeep buggy walked up the steep hill with ease. I began to think \"maybe these boggers aren\'t so bad after all in the snow.
We spent another hour or so winching the small buggy up the hill inorder to attempt to fix his alternator connections. We finally made it back to base camp, when MikeMike rolled in.
The Rok-Freekz took us around the amazing property they have. It consisted of a wide range of trails, rock obstacles, and hill climbs. However the fun started when Brian and I decided to drop into the Gulley trail.
The Gulley trail was mostly snow covered ice, up hill, with the occasional boulder thrown in for excitement. There was this one spot in particular, it had a very large boulder dead center, and the only way to pass was to drive the passenger tire high on the bank in order to bump over the boulder. We made two attempts, and nailed it on the third with some calculated throttle control.

Brian was thirsty, so we booked up to the truck to grab some frozen iced teas. After shooting the breeze with a few of the guys, we heard some commotion, and figured we had better go check it out.

There it was, the thing we all fear the most... MikeMike\'s Dakota was laying on it\'s side. Apparently he had attempted to ride high on the passenger side front tire, but it only flopped him on his driver side. This after breaking the passenger side window only an hour before.

With some calculated winching techniques, he was back on all four, and past the \"BOULDER OF DEATH\".
Lunch consisted of frozen dogs, cooked over an open fire.
After lunch we headed across the street to see more of the park.

The main trail forked off to the right for some more icy boulder dancing. Uphill!

After bouncing off the very large conglomeration of boulders we found across the street, Brian and I were taken on a walking tour of the remaining sections of rock courses laid out by Lyman himself. He told us this property had been a quarry before he purchased it. that explained some of the VW bettle sized boulders littering the landscape. Most were extremely off camber. Lyman asked if I wanted to give the Gully Trail a try from the bottom. I couldn\'t turn down a challenge.

The trail required us to cross a frozen creek. The ice held the buggy, but not the Dakota. We dropped back in to the frozen creek and headed over to the bottom of the Gulley Trail.

After numerous attempts o reluctantly gave up. The rear pinon yoke was binding due to excessive axle wrap. I figured id rather call it quits, in an effort to save some serious winching to get the buggy out of the valley if the rear drivetrain broke.

The sun was fading so we headed back to camp, said our thankyou\'s and goodbyes, loaded up the wheelers, and headed for home.

The property was amazing to say the least. I can only imagine what challenges lie beneath the snow.
I cant wait for the next 10degree day of wheeling.

Erik Jokinen
85CJ7 Streetable
85CJ7 Buggy style
06 F350 Powerstroke
www.JokinenInc.com

Offline MrMindless

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Re: Rok Park January 2010
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2010, 05:00:47 PM »
It really was an awesome day.
Michael Maskalans
#571 Last Minute Motorsports
High Miler: 07.5 Ram 6.7 6sp 4x2, ARB, 19.5s
2003 R'Audi Allroad 6sp
Road Block: 98 Dakota 203/205 triple stick, 42" SXs
Dumpbus: 97 Ram 24v P-pumped, RoadRanger 13sp
'87 AMC Eagle Wagon

Offline ollllllo

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Re: Rok Park January 2010
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2010, 02:27:00 PM »
BEST PICTURE EVER,
Mike!
85CJ7 Streetable
85CJ7 Buggy style
06 F350 Powerstroke
www.JokinenInc.com

 

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