Memorial Day 2010 at Rausch Creek

[Wingman]

Memorial Day at Rausch Creek

If you are ever not sure how to spend your holiday weekend, I’d recommend that you consider wheeling with some friends…

The week prior to the trip did not start well.  My Heep was sick and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get it back in shape before the trip.  I made some last minute mods and got the repairs made.  The Heep seemed ready.

I didn’t feel prepared, though.  Remember that this is not just camping, this is primitive camping.  No electric, no running water, nothing but dirt and trees and rocks.  And I’m not a seasoned camper.

My first trip to Rausch Creek was marred by trailer tire issues.  My second trip to Rausch was cut short by Heep breakage.  What was trip three going to be like?  My wife packed our coolers with amazing stuff, we tried to think of everything we might need, and reviewed the lists again and again.  I still didn’t feel prepared.  It seems like I always forget something.

I loaded up everything I thought we needed, and embarked on a leisurely 5 hour drive south.  I’m expecting heavy holiday traffic, construction, and God knows what else.  Remarkably, the drive was uneventful.  We (my son and I) pulled into Rausch Creek just before dark and were met by Erik, Cora, and Brian who had set up camp already and saved us a parking spot for our truck and trailer.

We parked and stretched, did a little gear reorganization, grabbed our chairs, and sat around the campfire getting reacquainted.  In short order, Mike M., Mike A., and Mark R. arrived and completed our wheeling group.  Not long after, I turned in, preparing for the next day’s wheeling.

Up shortly after the onset of daylight on Saturday, which comes pretty early this time of year, I was excited to get out and start wheeling.  But I had to be quiet and patient so I did not disturb other, more restful campers.  Eventually, most were up and we starting unloading our equipment.  After a spectacular breakfast of cold cereal and milk, some preliminary trail talk, Erik found he had a small leak in his power steering reservoir.  Some creative thinking, teamwork, and power tools, repaired it sufficiently to hit the trail.  Yea!

We hit the first trail and encountered a sizeable obstacle within the first one hundred feet.  The big Dak was first in and gave it his all, eventually conquering it, although abusing a few trees to find success.  After watching his effort, I was hesitant to attempt this one.  It was daunting.  And there was a bypass.  I didn’t come to take the bypasses (not the last time those words would be used).  Getting in was easy, getting out after six or more unsuccessful attempts was going to be more challenging.  Winch cable eventually came out and on we went.  I figured that it wouldn’t be the last time that cable was used.

We also went to the new property across the road where some of the KOH qualifier was run.  The Mikes gave us a tour and showed us some of the insanity that is rock racing.  There were some spectacular views there, too.  We returned very dusty and hot to spend another evening around the campfire, telling stories and laughing at our camping neighbors.

Sunday was not to be without its’ problems, too.  We met Red and Joe from Rightcoast 4x4 who drove out to ride with us.  Both seasoned wheelers but without operational rigs, we were happy to have them along.  All seats were filled and we set out for the trail.  Again, early in the first trail, Mark R. caught his oil pan and peeled the drain plug open.  About a minute later, I got really hung up.  While some attended to the leak, others helped jack and stack to free me.  With time, both efforts were successful and we were off again.  Not five hundred feet farther was a very difficult spot (and a bypass thankfully) where the Dak got high-centered and broke a front driveshaft.  After a successful winch effort, the Dak was limped back to camp and parked.  Unfortunately, with the broken Dak and limited seating, Red and Joe were bid farewell.  We consolidated passengers and struck out again.

We covered a lot of ground from Trail 13 and Rock Creek, to Pizza Rock and Pitman Rock.  The remainder of the day was mostly breakage-free.  We also came across a couple of trucks that had very recently experienced a small transmission fire.  We stopped and offered support and advice.  They eventually did get back to camp on their own.  We rolled back into camp around 7:30pm for cleanup and dinner.  Mike M. and Mark R. loaded up their trailer and prepared for their journey home later that night.  Shane and his lady-friend (I’m bad with names) arrived and we relaxed around the campfire and visited with them.

Monday morning, I loaded my junk and bid the remaining wheelers farewell and headed home.  Again, the drive was relaxed and uneventful.

To conclude this little saga, the trails we chose were mostly rated black and blue with some red obstacles mixed in.  It kept everyone challenged, or at least from getting bored.  Being one of the smaller rigs on this ride was always in the back of my mind.  I never like to be the one holding up progress.  But who does?  My previous trips were maxed out on blue and blue/black trails.  I’m not afraid of the black trails anymore as long as I have good spotters like I had on this trip!

I can’t say it enough but ‘THANK YOU’, everyone, for your hospitality, courtesy, and helpfulness.  The trails are great but it is the people you ride with that make the trip worthwhile!

Mark (aka Wingman)

[MrMindless]

Thanks for the writeup Mark, I\'m glad you had a good time.  I know I certainly did.  I was glad to have a chance to catch up with some RightCoast folks, and to wheel with a couple fellow \'Lakers who I don\'t see as often.  I hope my trail choices on Saturday weren\'t too terribly abusive for you and Mark.  Everything just seems so easy from the Silly Seat in #571 that I found myself overestimating my abilities first thing in the day too.

I had day-ending breakage relatively early on Sunday but I was a bit proud of the JB job on Mark\'s oil pan, I\'m going to have to exchange the JB Weld in my toolbox for some JB Kwik!

Thanks for a great time, all.

[smichaelR22]

Had a blast this trip.  my first trip of riding passenger, thanks to mike, cora, mark, and erik, i jumped around quite a bit.


wingman, dont forget how amazing it is for us to get TJ\'s through stuff they shouldnt even be in :)

always happy to jump out and give a spot or a yank :)

[ollllllo]

Monday am we bid Wingman and his son farewell!

Shane from right coast 4x4 and his friend Athena hooked up with us for some memorial day wheeling.

Cora and smike in her CJ7, Myself and Bdeely in my Cj7buggy, &  Shane and Athena on her maiden voyage in shanes 4runner.

We headed over to the south property so we could check out the semi new trail called Cemetery. Smike had run it during the KOH qualifier a few weeks earlier, so he had some great knowledge of the trail. I soon found out why it was named \"CEMETERY\"... every other rock was pointing straight up and just waiting to kill your drive train if you fell off line. What a fun trail with an awesome uphill section that had multiple line choices,  doable, difficult, & holy crap!

After Shane tightened his battery terminals, we all met up on the main road and headed over to camel back. On the way, I decided to test my drifting skills on the wide open access road. Sliding 4, 18\" wide Boggers through a corner at about 30mph is way more fun than I anticipated. Mid corner we experienced what can only be explained as a gun shot which seemed to come from under my jeep. after throttling down, Brian and I did our best to asses the situation. was it an axle shaft? was it a blown tire? maybe a hydro steering  line exploded. It turned out to be a water bottle that had rolled across the floor and fallen into the t-case shifter hole (no shifter boot). it got crushed by the front drive shaft, and exploded. what a cool sound! however, the empty plastic bottle remained stuck between my drive shaft and my belly pan, and sounded like a child\'s bike with baseball cards in the spokes!

We ran Camelback trail, which is a series of dirt mounds strewn with boulders and rocks. it makes for a few moments of \"BUNGHOLE PUCKER\", in my opinion, one of the most fun.

We ran Snake bite backwards towards lake christy. Snakebite is marked as mostly black, but in my opinion it shold be re-branded blue or at least blue black.

We dropped into the area around lake christy, mostly to show Bdeely. (it was his first trip to rausch) another group was having lunch lakeside. shane started his way across the lake, testing the water depth slowly. after his front tires sunk out of sight he stopped. while attempting to back up, I managed to sneak up behind him and bump his tires with mine, not allowing him to back up. for a few moments he had no idea what was happening. I gave us all a good laugh!

We ran Roxys way trail out of lake christy on our way over to trail 22. mid trail i heard a pop. a few feet further i heard another pop. upon further investigation, I found that my pasenger front axle shaft U-joint decided its caps were not welcome anymore and it spit them onto the ground. After escaping major breakage all weekend, I decided to call it a day. i removed the passenger drive flange, so there would be no stress on the axle shafts, and we headed back to camp. On the way we passed a couple who had parked their jeep on the side of the trail and (lets put it this way)... they were REALLY REALLY enjoying some quality time together!

After loading our jeeps and gear in 90 deg sun and heat, we finally hit the road.

The trip home was, thankfully uneventful. although my newly found passenger did buy us all Rits\'s ice cream on the way back north!

This past weekend was just what the doctor ordered. Good weather, dam good food, and above all else..., making memories with great friends doing what I love to do the most! Happy Memorial Day! 2010

[CoraC143]

Great write up guys!!!! These trip reports are such a great idea. Its like re-living the event.

I too had such a great weekend. It was refreshing to have more than the usual group. The two TJ\'s went everywhere we did on black trails all day, every day that weekend. I was very impressed by their determination to not take a bypass.

Thanks for the fellowship and good times! !